VandrMen
App Friendly Mascot Animation
VandrMen is an app designed to support men dealing with porn addiction, combining tools, guidance and community around recovery. The product already had a distinctive mascot, but its existing animations were too heavy for practical use inside the app. Our work covered the full character animation pipeline, from rebuilding the mascot as vector artwork and creating the rig to animating a wide range of expressions, gestures and actions. Along the way, we built a flexible character architecture that can support new animations as the product grows.
Process
The mascot appears throughout the product, including onboarding, daily check-ins and other interactions, so it needed enough range to work across very different moments. We animated everything from subtle expressions and gestures to larger actions involving different poses and equipment. That range also brought technical decisions specific to the character design. The helmet, for example, made head rotation difficult to handle as a single object. We separated it into rear helmet, face and front helmet elements, then animated them together to maintain the correct depth as the head moved. Similar decisions shaped the rest of the rig, allowing us to create a broad range of movement without altering the original artwork
The mascot appears throughout the product, including onboarding, daily check-ins and other interactions, so it needed enough range to work across very different moments. We animated everything from subtle expressions and gestures to larger actions involving different poses and equipment. That range also brought technical decisions specific to the character design. The helmet, for example, made head rotation difficult to handle as a single object. We separated it into rear helmet, face and front helmet elements, then animated them together to maintain the correct depth as the head moved. Similar decisions shaped the rest of the rig, allowing us to create a broad range of movement without altering the original artwork
Turn the Head
Visual Language
The main challenge was representing abstract ideas such as clarity, momentum, overwhelm and neglect without making the experience feel analytical or judgmental.
Rather than using obvious positive and negative states, we used gradual environmental change.
More activity can introduce life and movement. Neglect can appear through moss or reduced activity. Overwhelm can influence the atmosphere through effects such as fog or vignette.
The physical structure of the garden remains stable while its condition evolves.
The physical structure of the garden remains stable while its condition evolves.
Visual Language
The main challenge was representing abstract ideas such as clarity, momentum, overwhelm and neglect without making the experience feel analytical or judgmental.
Rather than using obvious positive and negative states, we used gradual environmental change.
More activity can introduce life and movement. Neglect can appear through moss or reduced activity. Overwhelm can influence the atmosphere through effects such as fog or vignette.
The Result
The final Rive asset gave VandrMen a much lighter and more flexible way to use its mascot throughout the product. By rebuilding the character as a vector rig rather than a set of fixed animation files, we solved the immediate performance issue while also creating a stronger base for what comes next. The mascot can now support new expressions, actions and product moments without being rebuilt from scratch, giving VandrMen room to expand the character as the app evolves.
The final Rive asset gave VandrMen a much lighter and more flexible way to use its mascot throughout the product. By rebuilding the character as a vector rig rather than a set of fixed animation files, we solved the immediate performance issue while also creating a stronger base for what comes next. The mascot can now support new expressions, actions and product moments without being rebuilt from scratch, giving VandrMen room to expand the character as the app evolves.
The Result
The final Rive asset gave VandrMen a much lighter and more flexible way to use its mascot throughout the product. By rebuilding the character as a vector rig rather than a set of fixed animation files, we solved the immediate performance issue while also creating a stronger base for what comes next. The mascot can now support new expressions, actions and product moments without being rebuilt from scratch, giving VandrMen room to expand the character as the app evolves.
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The Result
The final Rive asset gave VandrMen a much lighter and more flexible way to use its mascot throughout the product. By rebuilding the character as a vector rig rather than a set of fixed animation files, we solved the immediate performance issue while also creating a stronger base for what comes next. The mascot can now support new expressions, actions and product moments without being rebuilt from scratch, giving VandrMen room to expand the character as the app evolves.