R4U - Wave One Dinosaur Cast

 

Rooting for You! started off with a very, very simplistic logo. Our design was essentially a free canva.com template (you can find our old logo on our twitter!). But, as we grew our small community... us at Rooting for You! realized we would have to rebrand into something more unique and suiting to the community. What better way than to let our members decide on our new mascot? In February, we ran the following poll:

"We're designing a logo! Who should the mascot be?"

• A Succulent Dinosaur,
• A Sloth Botanist,
• A Toad with a Mushroom Hat,
• A Snail with a Flowering Shell,
• Or... CARLOS! (A round, sloth burrito-like plushie that's become a meme in the community). 

The winner of the poll, with 57% of the votes, was a succulent dinosaur. 

Em (the owner/founder of Rooting for You!) began to draw. Within a day, Terra was born. A simplistic, charming, and cute stegosaurus with succulents sprouting from its back won over everyone's hearts. 

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Within a few days, a cast of dinosaurs was born. Each a different species of dinosaur and plant combination. "Wave one" features six, unique dinosaurs unique to the Rooting for You! community. This post reviews their design process, characteristics, and personalities to bring forth a little light and fun into each beloved dinosaur.

🪴

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(1) Terra (Succulent Stegosaurus)

Our mascot, and favourite dinosaur by far, TERRA! Her name was voted on by our members. Her original design was far more simplistic, with each scale on her back being a succulent leaf. In the end, Em despised the design and started over. You couldn't tell that the scales were succulent leaves, and the colours scheme didn't work too well. Instead of focusing on the succulents, Em drew a cute, little stegosaurus as a base. That's when she found inspiration from a Pinterest post about a dinosaur planter pot. What if she just put the plants on the back of the dinosaur, instead of trying to incorporate the leaves into the scales? ...so that's what she did.

Terra is a caring and selfless soul. She always puts others before her own needs. She enjoys (and prefers) warm, sunny climates. She is friends with everyone and is said to be "the life of the party." Terra has a profound sense of humour. She is always looking to socialize and hangout with her friends. When someone is feeling a little down, Terra is always the first to ask "are you doing okay? What can I do to help?" He empathy shines bright.

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(2) Spike (Cacti Triceratops)

Spike was the second dinosaur to be created and added to the Rooting for You! family! Similarly to Terra, Spike has the plants he is associated with on his back - like a flower pot! Em wanted to make spike especially cute to contrast the "prickly" vibes of a cactus plant. His original design is his final design; actually, he was the easiest dinosaur to design - according to Em.

Spike thrives in arid environments and enjoys taking naps under the warm sun. He is profoundly friendly, and enjoys giving hugs! But, beware! You make get pricked by one of the cacti on his back! Spike can be lazy from time to time, but he says it's because he enjoys slowing down to enjoy the small things in life. If you don't take a moment to pause, life will go by waaaaay too quickly!

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(3) Rowan (Oak Tree Apatosaurus)

Rowan's design was a PAIN IN MY A-

Ehem.

Rowan's design was very, very difficult to draw! For someone who never draws trees, Em found this one to be quite the challenge. Rowan was originally designed to be a brachiosaurus, but our local dinosaur expert - Lloyd - corrected Em, telling her that because the nostrils were on the snout and not the top of the head, it was actually an apatosaurus (🤓). 

Rowan enjoys going on nature walks and deeply cares for her companions - who she will happily go out of the way for. If you need a reliable friend, it's Rowan! She is happiest when she is outdoors. Walking through the forest's trails is her favourite pastime. The forest feels more alive when she is pacing through it. Rowan loves flowers in particular - she will always stop to smell them.

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(4) Venus (Venus Flytrap T.Rex)

Venus is one of Em's favourite designs. Her face was intended to be round with a wide mouth to mimic that of a flytrap's pod. Similarly to the others, Venus' plants are on her back. She is meant to look a little "derpy."

Venus is a social butterfly. She enjoys hanging out with her friends and getting outside. Unfortunately, some are quick to judge her, but Venus keeps her head held high! Venus also enjoys sculpting flower pots with the clay she finds out nearby the river she resides by. Her favourite type of plant to care for - to no one's surprise - are carnivorous plants. She has crafted unique flower pots for all of her little green friends. She keeps track of their growth and preferences in a little journal she maintains.

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(5) Lotus (Lotus Flower Plesiosaur)

Lotus was fun to design! Em tried to make it so she looked like a lily pad with a lotus flower blooming at the center. But, she ended up looking more like the others... which is fine. Em added little fins onto her head to look like lily pad roots. (Though, this design didn't work out too well, so she got annoyed and added a lily pad into the water nearby Lotus!)Lotus was probably the most difficult of wave one to design.

Lotus is rarely seen outside the water. She loves swimming; especially on hot, summer days. She is usually found in her pond nearby the forest Rowan roams. Her best friend, Cricket (a dinosaur from wave two, who will be talked about in another upcoming post!), enjoys swimming with her. The two sometimes compete to see who's faster. She'll always greet Rowan whenever she passes by.

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(6) Chute (Lucky Bamboo Velociraptor)

Chute's design is the only dinosaur in wave one without the featured plant sprouting from the back! Instead, Em decided to incorporate the bamboo into his tail. Chute is very unique and she is quite proud of his final design. While Chute presents with less plant features than his comrades, his design still meets expectations. Being a personal favourite of many, Chute continues to win over hearts of Rooting for You! members!

Chute loves getting outside to play! His favourite way to stay active is going on runs. Chute is very athletic and is always looking for friends to play games with! Chute is friends with Wilde (another dinosaur from wave three who will be mentioned in an upcoming post!) and the duo enjoy playing tag and/or hide and seek! Wilde is very good at hiding, though! Chute enjoys playing games in the bamboo forests on the island.

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There is still so much to learn about the dinosaurs - given this is only the first six! Let's explore their little world together. Stay tuned for future posts where we go over the remaining twelve. Which dinosaur is your favourite? Comment below.

Come learn more! 🔗https://discord.gg/8kEHJBnU5M

Stay happy, stay healthy! 💖🌱