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Who exactly... is Ko? (28 days to go!)
11 years ago
Last February when the idea to create a parent website for Little Paws Elementary School was born, along with the ideas for the various features, it became immediately apparently that while the now replaced Tusks was a good mascot for LPES, LittlePa.ws itself needed someone else. LittlePa.ws needed a general, official mascot! Not just because it's all the rage, but as a way to represent who we are, what we represent, and what we stand for.
So at that juncture I went to a good friend of mine, known to many around the FA community as Nathahniel, who came up with the original concept design for Ko and even the first itteration of the LittlePa.ws logo. My only requirements for Ko was that he be a kemonomimi, that he be a pre-adolescent, and that he be cute and colorful! So, I have to say, Ko definitely met all those qualifications. Nathaniel took that, gave him a name, the outfit you all love, and our mascot was born! So I'm sure you're wondering why I asked for those specific things.
When we say that LittlePa.ws is for littles of all ages, we mean just that! It doesn't matter if your persona/fursona, inner-self, OC, etc., is an infant or even a teenager. If their age is below the age of consent, then they are completely welcome. Making Ko a preadolescent was the middle ground. While Ko doesn't have a definitive age, I'd say that he's somewhere between 9-11. I chose for him to be a kemonomimi for much the same reasons, we accept Littles of ALL species! LittlePa.ws isn't just for furries, so whether you're a feral, anthro, kemonomimi, human, or mythological creature, it truly doesn't matter. Since anthros and humans seem to be the most common extremes, a kemonomimi seemed to be a good middle ground between the two.
So what about the cute and colorful bit? WELL... cute is ultimately subjective. I think that Ko is very adorable! Everyone may not agree on that, and if you don't, that's perfectly fine! Our community is chocked full of people that don't like plain Jane anthros with one species and typical colors, and even people that don't like human personas at all, even of the kemonomimi variety. It's our diverse tastes that are a part of what define us, and as long as you aren't mean to someone because of their opinions that everything is a-okay! But on a less serious but rather true note, his colorfulness is undeniable. I mean, look at that outfit and the paw sneakers! Who doesn't want paw sneakers?
So here we are today, a collective of days before launch, and you have seen all SORTS of representations of Ko; although the majority of them are chibi-fied. While Ko is trademarked by LittlePa.ws, we wanted to keep the art of Ko across the website as consistent as possible. The best way to accomplish that? Use the same artist for all of it. Poor, poor MonochromeAgent from FA and dA, who while a quiet appreciater of all things cute (although we didn't tell you that) took on this rather arduous task. The logo, the images you'll see around the site at launch, and even all the images you saw on the Teaser were all done by this same artist. Other than our being the likely cause of his chronic tendinitis, for which we are very sorry, we are very happy to have him around ^^.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What species is Ko?
Well, Ko is a kemonomimi! Which means a human with animal traits. The question of what animal he is fused with has been a rather contentious issue! In fact, I had always assumed he was a panda bear and I'm the owner of LittlePa.ws (although I'm color blind so I'll simply blame it on that >.>)! Thankfully I was able to get in touch with Nathahniel and get some clarification on the issue. Ko is part Ursus arctos horribilis, otherwise known as a grizzly bear or North American brown bear.
What race is Ko?
This has been a topic of much higher interest than I anticipated! Not really sure why so many people are interested, but here's what I've got for you. Obviously, Ko is not caucasian. Despite his anime exterior, he isn't Asian either. Ko is Native American. Not only because he was born in America, but also because of the animal he's fused with. I have always found the connection between many Native American spiritualities and animals to be intriguing, and LittlePa.ws is, ultimately, an American made website. While that should in no way suggest that we don't accept/encourage members from all over the world, I thought it was a pretty fitting place for him in the whole race thing.
Can I draw Ko?
Absolutely! Anyone is welcome to draw Ko as long as credit for his trademark and link to LittlePa.ws is mentioned. All that we ask is that it not be anything... too extreme. Although if any of you want to regress poor Ko, go for it!
Does Ko mean anything?
In Japanese it means child, kid, infant or tot; that's the short and sweet answer. The kanji that represents his name is 子 which has ALL of those fun definitions (even if there are a variety of Kanji for Ko and other ways of saying those words.)
I have more questions about Ko!
Well ask them below! I'm sure that the staff can Ko-llectively figure out the best answers! We even promise to get back to you real soon!
So at that juncture I went to a good friend of mine, known to many around the FA community as Nathahniel, who came up with the original concept design for Ko and even the first itteration of the LittlePa.ws logo. My only requirements for Ko was that he be a kemonomimi, that he be a pre-adolescent, and that he be cute and colorful! So, I have to say, Ko definitely met all those qualifications. Nathaniel took that, gave him a name, the outfit you all love, and our mascot was born! So I'm sure you're wondering why I asked for those specific things.
When we say that LittlePa.ws is for littles of all ages, we mean just that! It doesn't matter if your persona/fursona, inner-self, OC, etc., is an infant or even a teenager. If their age is below the age of consent, then they are completely welcome. Making Ko a preadolescent was the middle ground. While Ko doesn't have a definitive age, I'd say that he's somewhere between 9-11. I chose for him to be a kemonomimi for much the same reasons, we accept Littles of ALL species! LittlePa.ws isn't just for furries, so whether you're a feral, anthro, kemonomimi, human, or mythological creature, it truly doesn't matter. Since anthros and humans seem to be the most common extremes, a kemonomimi seemed to be a good middle ground between the two.
So what about the cute and colorful bit? WELL... cute is ultimately subjective. I think that Ko is very adorable! Everyone may not agree on that, and if you don't, that's perfectly fine! Our community is chocked full of people that don't like plain Jane anthros with one species and typical colors, and even people that don't like human personas at all, even of the kemonomimi variety. It's our diverse tastes that are a part of what define us, and as long as you aren't mean to someone because of their opinions that everything is a-okay! But on a less serious but rather true note, his colorfulness is undeniable. I mean, look at that outfit and the paw sneakers! Who doesn't want paw sneakers?
So here we are today, a collective of days before launch, and you have seen all SORTS of representations of Ko; although the majority of them are chibi-fied. While Ko is trademarked by LittlePa.ws, we wanted to keep the art of Ko across the website as consistent as possible. The best way to accomplish that? Use the same artist for all of it. Poor, poor MonochromeAgent from FA and dA, who while a quiet appreciater of all things cute (although we didn't tell you that) took on this rather arduous task. The logo, the images you'll see around the site at launch, and even all the images you saw on the Teaser were all done by this same artist. Other than our being the likely cause of his chronic tendinitis, for which we are very sorry, we are very happy to have him around ^^.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What species is Ko?
Well, Ko is a kemonomimi! Which means a human with animal traits. The question of what animal he is fused with has been a rather contentious issue! In fact, I had always assumed he was a panda bear and I'm the owner of LittlePa.ws (although I'm color blind so I'll simply blame it on that >.>)! Thankfully I was able to get in touch with Nathahniel and get some clarification on the issue. Ko is part Ursus arctos horribilis, otherwise known as a grizzly bear or North American brown bear.
What race is Ko?
This has been a topic of much higher interest than I anticipated! Not really sure why so many people are interested, but here's what I've got for you. Obviously, Ko is not caucasian. Despite his anime exterior, he isn't Asian either. Ko is Native American. Not only because he was born in America, but also because of the animal he's fused with. I have always found the connection between many Native American spiritualities and animals to be intriguing, and LittlePa.ws is, ultimately, an American made website. While that should in no way suggest that we don't accept/encourage members from all over the world, I thought it was a pretty fitting place for him in the whole race thing.
Can I draw Ko?
Absolutely! Anyone is welcome to draw Ko as long as credit for his trademark and link to LittlePa.ws is mentioned. All that we ask is that it not be anything... too extreme. Although if any of you want to regress poor Ko, go for it!
Does Ko mean anything?
In Japanese it means child, kid, infant or tot; that's the short and sweet answer. The kanji that represents his name is 子 which has ALL of those fun definitions (even if there are a variety of Kanji for Ko and other ways of saying those words.)
I have more questions about Ko!
Well ask them below! I'm sure that the staff can Ko-llectively figure out the best answers! We even promise to get back to you real soon!
