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Legendary Learners

Legendary Learners

The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction was developing a kindergarten readiness program with Agency MABU and partnered with Birdtree to bring the campaign’s characters to life through character design, illustration, and animation.

Working from the initial concept, Birdtree helped translate the Legendary Learners into a cohesive visual world—developing expressive character designs, illustrating a storybook, and producing animation that introduced the characters to families across North Dakota.

The Challenge

The program centered around a group of adventurous young learners designed to help children build early literacy skills and feel confident about starting kindergarten.

The client had already established the character names and animal inspirations for the cast. Our role was to develop a visual style and set of character designs that could carry those ideas across illustration, storybook pages, and animation.

The characters needed to feel warm, expressive, and approachable while remaining simple enough to animate effectively.

Character Development

We began by exploring shapes, proportions, and expressions that would define the personalities of the Legendary Learners.

Through a series of concept explorations and refinements, the characters gradually took shape; balancing playful silhouettes with simple, expressive features that would read clearly both in illustration and motion.

This process resulted in a full set of character style sheets and final character designs, establishing how the Legendary Learners would appear across the program.

Storybook Illustration

Once the character designs were finalized, we moved into illustrating the storybook that introduced the Legendary Learners and their world.

The goal was to create imagery that felt playful and welcoming while clearly communicating the spirit of exploration that defined the program.

The storybook allowed families to meet the characters and follow their adventures as they discovered the excitement of beginning school.

Storybook Illustration

Once the character designs were finalized, we moved into illustrating the storybook that introduced the Legendary Learners and their world.

The goal was to create imagery that felt playful and welcoming while clearly communicating the spirit of exploration that defined the program.

The storybook allowed families to meet the characters and follow their adventures as they discovered the excitement of beginning school.

Animation
With the illustrated world established, the next step was translating the characters into animation.

Our focus was on preserving the charm and simplicity of the illustrations while adding motion that felt natural and expressive. Subtle gestures, reactions, and timing helped the characters feel alive while maintaining the friendly visual style established in the storybook.

Animation allowed the Legendary Learners to move beyond the page and connect with audiences across digital and social platforms.

The Result

The North Dakota Legendary Learners program introduced a vibrant, welcoming world designed to spark a love for learning in young children before beginning school.

Through character design, illustration, and animation, the Legendary Learners became a recognizable cast of characters that helped bring the program’s theme to life.

The Result

The North Dakota Legendary Learners program introduced a vibrant, welcoming world designed to spark a love for learning in young children before beginning school.

Through character design, illustration, and animation, the Legendary Learners became a recognizable cast of characters that helped bring the program’s theme to life.

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425 N 5th St., Ste 300

Bismarck, ND 58501

425 N 5th St., Ste 300

Bismarck, ND 58501

425 N 5th St., Ste 300

Bismarck, ND 58501