In case anyone’s interested, August is Kiki month for our art challenge series. Here is the link to the theme and rules:
We also have a questions/WIP/discussion thread for the Kiki art challenge and there’s lots of great disccusions going on.
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Oh yea. I should phrase it “ther are people that love anime but hate furry characters” xDD my bad.
Ofcourse that would bring some hard data. But going into place where Kiki haters are and give them voice is to much. I wanted to rely on experience of people here.
Im pretty happy with responses i got here overall. It seem like nothing burger 
I guess i didnt want to find answer but get more confirmation that kiki is awesome xD
I personally don’t think Kiki is harming the software’s image. When I got this on playstore, I saw Kiki and thought she was so cute! And with how well it was drawn, I knew that it was a professional painting/animation app, instead of a drawing software meant for newer artists or young children. Kiki rocks and I think its pretty weird that people think she’s ruining Krita’s image.
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In the 30+ years personal computing has been around, I have never met anyone who based their software choices on a company’s branding/logos/mascots, EVER. Game titles, yes, but not software. I never gave the mascot, or the product name for that matter, a second thought when I first stumbled across Krita looking for free opensource graphics software. I didn’t even realize Kiki was a mascot for quite a while, I thought it was just a nice colorful image for the splash screen.
I have turned several of my full time professional artist friends on to krita, not a one of them batted an eye about the branding, they just tried it out to see if they could use it effectively in their workflow. It was most important to some that it was free, and to some that it was being actively developed, and to others that it worked well with their tablet. Most of them have stuck with Krita, even the one who gets paid to review new Adobe software and Wacom products when they come out, he has 3 workstations between his house, studio, and office, and doesn’t like having to pay Adobe to use each of them professionally.
Google “Krita vs Gimp”, or “best free graphic design software”, you won’t ever see any mention made about their branding/logos/mascots in the reviews. That’s because it’s not important to function or consideration.
I coded for a living for the better part of 30 years, never once did we have this discussion about any software project I was involved with.
If you really think this is an issue, in my opinion, you’re over thinking it 
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I think Krita having a mascot like Kiki helps more than if its just the Krita logo it self. I think its easier for people to relate to a specific mascot or character rather than a logo. Also with Kiki’s overall design with the palette, drawing pen and canvas, it shows what Krita is without having to explain in your standard corporate PR speech.
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I know for me that I do not prefer the furry aspect of Kiki, but I still use Krita regardless. I would prefer she be fully human. I really prefer David Revoy’s version of her which made her look more human. That’s just my opinion. I do like the playful aspect of Krita’s website and Kiki, it makes the program seem fun and adventurous instead of serious and somber which would push me away.
One of the ways among others though that I decided on Krita was looking at the art created by people using it to see how good it was and that gave me an idea of the kind of art I could create with the program if I got skilled enough so that I knew the program was capable enough to do that kind of work so I wouldn’t be wasting my time learning it if there was something better. That was one of the things that sold me as well.
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I haven’t really given it much thought… I’ve used Krita for years on and off, and now it’s my main art program. I love how natural Krita feels to draw and paint with.
Even if I didn’t like the mascot, I would still use Krita, since what’s important to me is how well the program works and so far it’s been working pretty well.
That being said, I don’t have an issue with the mascot. I think Kiki is adorable! I’m really excited to see Krita improve in the future and continue using it! :^D
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I was looking for more information about Kiki and realized that there’s a whole page dedicated to her! In case anyone missed it too (there’s a ton of pictures and commentary! 
):
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All good points. But just because the program has a nice logo or splash page means that it will work better.
But forget about that has anybody ever seen that Jaguar logo looks like an hand at the top.
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I hadn’t seen that before , but now I’ll see it every time 
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I always thought those were hair bun
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I’m somewhat conflicted. I think kiki as a mascot is stuck halfway between cool and cute, chasing both ideas but only managing to achieve half the potential.
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No. Not yet.
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Yeah, instead of mascot. I want to see art made with Krita on the splash screen more. And I feel that the logo being more prominent would help more.
Roughly like this.
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I don’t dislike Kiki. She is well designed and professionally used. Compare her with Gimps mascot that looks childish and unprofessional. So it kinda works with Kiki, even as a playful mascot she does not feel childish. On the contrary.
With that said, I’m not a huge fan of mascots to be honest. Kiki gives me the impression to target certain groups, and that might be fine, but I do not feel to be one of them. This might be a strategy, I don’t know.
How ever, Kiki does not make me consider Krita to be something for kids or Krita to be a simple software. For instance ,I don’t like the tux penguin for Linux, but I can separate the mascot from the product - and I love Linux .
That’s my thoughts, right or wrong 
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I, like a lot of other people here, didn’t give Kiki much thought. Any kind of mascot wouldn’t have any influence on what I thought of the program itself. I didn’t even know she was Krita’s mascot at first. When I first saw the newest splash screen for version 5, I stared at it a long time, admiring the artwork. I didn’t even know who Tyson Tan was LOL. Anyway, I like the Kiki mascot and look forward to seeing new portrayals of her on subsequent new version splash screens. <3
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Such a huge discussion on a Mascot? Even i got curious
I will just add my two cents (or paisa), I like how blender has a special splash screen showcasing the latest features with each release. Maybe we can do that too? I like Kiki don’t get me wrong. Mascot is also essential IMHO. but the design can be changed from time to time
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- I like Kiki!
Her design is so cool and cute. However she’s not a major reason why I switched to Krita. CSP flopped, ibisPaint flopped, Medibang flopped, did not permanently choose Sketchbook because it’s mid, that’s why. Krita is the last option to switch so I won’t lose my drawing hobby, and my last hope. At first, things got rocky but it got better afterwards. I use mobile btw. - No, but someday…
- That would be cool! I don’t mind Kiki not being in the splash art. I like her, yeah, but I don’t mind not seeing her either. (Or did I get the wrong idea? I hope I ain’t becoming dumb lol)
I did not know people dislike Kiki. Not in a trollish “I HATE KIKI HATERS” way, I just did not except that lol. Of course I don’t mind them liking my art. I’m guessing her design is too anime-ish. I know dang well that some people dislike anime. Another guess that it’s simply a “furry” character. Not everyone likes furries as well. I’m not a fan of furries but I don’t mind people following me either.
I don’t think Kiki ruins Krita’s image, I think she is represents the software very well! I think she even gets along with the fact that Krita is a professional drawing software. For me, she is a cool bonus.
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Kiki’s design changed slightly over the many years of her presence.
Michelist
yes, but the pattern is mostly anime based, there can be more art style. that is what I am pinning for with this month’s art challenge.
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