These are two characters I developed for Kayak .
They are the new ambassadors of Kayak magazine to Canada's young and impressionable. I chose them because many of our national emblems have been used so many times. We had a Beaver mascot who did not grab the hearts and minds of our readers. We've tried Moose which I am totally against. Not because I dislike moose but because anthropomorphic rendering does not lend itself to such a majestic animal. They always look goofy and ridiculous. They are not. Moose are huge, and I mean huge majestic animals. To round their antlers make them seem sweet and cuddly does a diservice to them, it also makes people more ignorant to the danger they can pose as wild animals. I simply did not want to do to the moose what Disney has done to the Hippo.
I considered the Lynx, raccoons have been done. Then I thought, maybe otters. Playful, river creatures that can stand on their hind legs and lend themselves to looking a bit more like humans and the ability to wear historic costume if need be. I absolutely love the response so far. It ranges from complete acceptance to confusion followed by acceptance. I have yet to meet a person of despises otters. I myself am a big fan of them. Their names are Beau and Teeka and I hope you like them, because you will be seeing a lot more of them in upcoming Kayak issues. My first two page spread in the magazine was done introducing Beau and Teeka. You will find it in the current issue of Kayak due to drop in the mail shortly. It will be on the newsstand in April.
