Clan Symbols Style Guide

Symbolism over Realism

Focus on creating a symbol that represents the prefix, rather than an image that realistically conveys the prefix. For example, consider the canon Clan symbols. RiverClan’s symbol isn’t a realistic portrayal of a river, rather it is wavy lines that suggest waves.

Straight POVs over ¾ POVs

Straight angle POVs are far preferred over ¾ or other angled POVs.

This Adder symbol has a very slight 3/4 angle. This is acceptable, as it helps convey useful depth. Notice, however, that this angle is very subtle, and that overall this looks more like a straight profile of an adder.

This Aphid symbol is a straight top-down angle. Top-down is a great way to handle insects and other animals. For example, a bird symbol could be a top-down view of the bird with it's wing's spread. Notice that this aphid is symmetrical and aligned to the Y axis, this is preferred over a diagonal alignment.

Simplicity over Complexity

Symbols should avoid lineart whenever possible. Think of your symbol as though it is a rubber stamp or a cookie cutter. If it was a shape cut out of cookie dough, would it be immediately recognizable? Or would it need extra frosting details to be understood? We want to aim for immediate recognizability through shape alone. Consider how you can utilize the negative space to enhance your symbol.

This Condor symbol is a straight side profile shot and has zoomed in to focus on the silhouette of the bird's head. The head is a very recognizable part of a condor, so it is what we focus on for this symbol, rather than drawing the entire bird. Notice that there is a balance here of both silhouette and linework, this is utilized to show the difference in color between a condor's head and its feathers. However, the linework is kept very minimal and clean.

This Burn symbol uses negative space to add more information without lineart.

Satisfying Pixel Work

Pixel art can, at times, feel very limiting! You are constrained down to a tiny canvas and a single pixel can have a huge impact. You have very little wiggle-room. However, it also has its strengths! I find pixel art to be incredibly satisfying in how it naturally accentuates straight lines and angles. We can take advantage of that satisfaction in our symbol work.

Check out the ripples of this Drizzle symbol. Rather than trying to force the ripples into a circular shape, the artist instead worked with the angles that come so naturally to pixel work.

This Rain symbol juxtaposes the perfectly straight cloud bottom with it's curved top. The rain itself has a very satisfying one-pixel step

The Antler symbol has a nice balance of curves, angles, and straight lines.

Thinking outside of the Cat Box

The vast number of prefixes within Clangen give us a unique challenge of attempting to symbolize very similar words. Cloud vs. Cloudy, for example, or Adder, Snake, and Serpent. Some prefixes are very amorphous or abstract in concept like Faith, Haven, Fallen, or Fickle. It's important to think outside the box in how you can portray these ideas. Consider synonyms for the words or unique angles to approach them from. What other ideas or objects are associated with the word?

Adder, Serpent, and Snake all look at their subject from different perspectives, creating unique options for players to choose from.

The Blotch symbol shows off some creative thinking in illustrating itself as a cat's paw "blotching" something on the symbol.

Wish is conveyed as a cat "praying" to StarClan.

Fickle is a difficult idea to show in a symbol. Here, the artist conveyed it with a leaf being blown by the wind, similar, perhaps, to a cat's fickle and fleeting ideals.

Thinking inside of the Cat Box

Warrior Clan symbols have one very unique aspect: their cat shape! This is something we can and should take advantage of. Additionally, you may have noticed that the canon symbols frequently break their "boundaries" and cut through the lines of their shape entirely.

The Hollow symbol is very well done, in that it takes advantage of the natural funnel created by the cat ears to move the shape into a tree's trunk.

Notice that the Milk symbol gets rid of the bottom line of the symbol, but still preserves the side lines all the way to the natural bottom of the symbol. This helps preserve the correct size of the symbol, instead of leaving it feeling short next to all the others.

A variety of symbols turn the cat head into another animal, or use it very plainly as a cat head! This can be a great way to communicate animals that have very distinctive facial markings or to show off a more abstract concept, such as Shy.