Conversation topic!
I’m a character designer, and I feel like when designing animal characters, The amount of heads tall your character is will change how the audience reacts, and the words people would use to describe it.
The first cat would be called a cartoon character
The second cat would be called a furry character
I noticed this pattern awhile ago, but I’m wondering what others think!
Would you call these two cats different words even though they’re the pretty much the same?
The focal point of cartoons is expressionism. Exaggerated facial features are best suited for that, by making the rest of the body lose importance just as it does size; and the many faces become the central source of information. Then some deeply ingrained semiotic stuff comes into play but I won’t get into that.
Anatomically accurate bodies elicit responses to relatable kinesthetic stimuli, and while facial expressions can have a strong presence if used right, the movements and poses become the prime source of information.
This will most likely drive the viewer into having bodily reactions. For instance, fight scenes may raise awareness of one’s own motor skills, characters experiencing harm may make you flinch trying to imagine the pain, and erotic settings trigger sexual responses.
They’re furry because of this last point.