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REPORT FROM NEWPORT
The magazine of Salve Regina University

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New Seahawk Takes Flight During Fall Festival Weekend

Continued from Report from Newport Vol. 34, No. 1, September 2007

Brendan Whitty and Aubrey Fishman of Street Characters Inc. share their thoughts with Report from Newport on the creation of Salve Regina’s new Seahawk Mascot

RFN: When you look at Salve Regina’s Seahawk what do you see?

BW: I see a character design that will work on two levels.

1. Anyone familiar with the Osprey will recognize this mascot right away as a
bird of the same feather.

2. The facial expression has enough human-like characteristics that people will be able to relate to the character and clearly read the expression. That expression also works on two levels in that it's friendly enough that the younger kids will not be scared off, and the student body will appreciate as being "cool".

RFN: What is the hallmark of a Street Characters costume?

AF: Once we work through the art process to create a custom character design that you will be excited with, Street Characters prides itself in accurately bringing that artwork to life. This is not something to take for granted, since it can be very difficult to build a three-dimensional costume that accurately portrays the two-dimensional sketch.

Street Characters also prides itself in not just making great looking mascots, but functional, performer friendly costumes are critical to our success as well.

We always keep the performer in mind, trying to give them the best possible comfort, vision and footing. Cutting out fur and replacing it with Cool-Max mesh under the mascot's clothing whenever possible, is one example of our efforts to make the costume performer-friendly. We also make our mascot heads as light-weight as possible, while still maintaining good vision and independent head movement for safety.

RFN: What makes a good Mascot?

AF: There are three keys that come together to make a good mascot.

1. A great costume (Street Characters is proudly taking care of this for Salve Regina).
2. A committed organization that encourages and supports the mascot program.
3. A great mascot performer.

RFN: Where do you gain your inspiration in terms of developing the design and look of a particular costume?

BW: Understanding and communication with the client are both key to my personal inspiration with a given mascot. When a client is passionate or excited about the project –that instills a desire in me to reward that excitement with a great design. Getting a good sense of what the client is after really helps me create a sketch that lives up to their expectations. It's in instances where the client logo is not indicative of the mascot, and they have an older costume (that is often times hideous to behold), that I am truly inspired to "knock their socks off" with an appealing and inspiring mascot design.

RFN: What was the most complicated costume you have created?

BW: This fellow goes by the name of Izzy the Islander, and he's the mascot for Texas A&M - Corpus Christi. From the "shark tooth" anklet, to the seashell belt, to the airbrushed mask with the foliage, the guy was very detailed and so much fun to watch come to life. I'm not sure if complicated is the correct term, but he had a lot of special details that made him stand out from the crowd.