SNAFU Con Mascots

This page explains how mascots work for SNAFU Con, which characters are part of our recurring mascot set, and how mascots should generally be used with the current year's theme.

We are moving toward a recurring mascot set

Historically, SNAFU Con has often had yearly mascots that changed with the theme.

At this point, however, we are working toward having a more consistent single mascot set rather than treating every year as a completely fresh mascot start. This does not mean that we can't create new mascot art but that we are trying to move towards building stronger visual identity by returning to a smaller pool of recurring characters and using them in-theme rather than replacing them constantly.

New characters are still fine, but the more we can pull from our recurring set, the better.

The current recurring mascot set

At this point, the mascot set we are building around is roughly:

• Con Bat (trying really hard to use this little guy as often as we can)
• The auburn-haired girl (needs a proper name)
• Her blond friend (also needs a proper name)
• Sam (comes and goes)

Not every character in the set has to be used equally every year, but these are the characters we should generally think about first before inventing a completely unrelated new mascot.

Con Bat

Con Bat is the character we are trying to use for stronger and more consistent branding. Con Bat has roots with actual con history, where we've had bats get into the building over several years. Many of the staff adopted the idea of "con bat" and it was beloved among the staff before the concept was ever put to art.

That does not mean Con Bat must always be the only or even the main mascot in a piece. If a design calls for a clearly recognizable SNAFU mascot, Con Bat should be strongly considered. At this time we're largely using Con Bat for smaller elements and plastering different designs in places, rather than using as our main art. Con Bat makes a nice side mascot.

Practical notes on Con Bat

Con Bat is a strong branding choice, but bats can also be trickier to draw and pose than some of our humanoid characters. Keep that in mind when planning large projects around the character.

You have to draw the bat with actual wings-as-hands, and a bat's feet face the other way around, which can make a lot of actions or poses very tricky to draw, especially if you want to stay cute with it.

Note the eye color and ear color and specific gray of the fur is relatively consistent. Red and gray are the con colors, and con bat uses the con colors for fur and ears, with a matching red tie.

• 
  2023. First iteration of Con Bat. Drawn in Clip Studio by Beta and exported to PSD. I was far too focused on proper bat proportions.
• 
  2024 theme bat, drawn by Beta in Illustrator for the 2024 "Science!" theme.
• 
  Drawn by Beta, 2024, in Illustrator for a con book image, used on the back by the staff list and "please volunteer" ad.
• 
  Drawn by Beta in 2024 for the 2025 theme in Illustrator.

The auburn-haired girl and her blond friend

The auburn-haired girl is one of the recurring mascot characters we are using more often.

She is part of the mascot set we are trying to build into a more consistent identity for the con.

She still needs a proper name.

• 
  2010
  Yeah her hair was orange at the time, but honestly, looking back, this is the same girl. Drawn quickly by Beta in Illustrator.
• 
  2023
  I didn't quite mean to reuse the 2010 girl, but man, I think this is the same girl. Same eyes, and vaguely the same hair. Sure, why not. Drawn in Illustrator by Beta in 2023 for our "day zero" welcome signs. Uses a direct link to the T-shirt logo.
• 
  2024
  I spent so much time on that hair, and dedicated myself to more sketchy shading than I realistically should have. There are so many lines in this Illustrator file it doesn't always like to load. Drawn by Beta in Illustrator for the 2024 Science theme.
  
  Introduces a blond friend that I swear we used in other places but I can't find examples of right now.

Important notes on her appearance

Her hair should read as auburn or brown-red, not bright anime-red or orange-red.

This is important because we do not want her reading too closely as another con's red-haired mascot. Hair tone, styling, and general presentation should help keep her visually distinct.

Eyes are blue, hair is generally shoulder length. Put her in a SNAFU Con t-shirt if you can, unless it doesn't match the plan.

Sam

Sam is a recurring mascot character, but is a little less central and more variable in use.

Sam comes and goes.

That means Sam is absolutely part of the pool of characters we may use again, but should not necessarily be treated as one of the primary branding anchors in the same way Con Bat is.

Sam is a good character to use when:

• The design benefits from the character specifically
• The theme or joke suits the character
• We want variety within the mascot set
• A piece calls for one of the established recurring characters, but does not need to lean as hard on Con Bat branding

NOTE: Since Sam is stepping back from con in 2026, whether he remains a stage personality or not will determine if it's appropriate to continue using his image for con. While he likely doesn't mind, it doesn't feel appropriate.

• 
  2016
  By Beta, traced over an actual picture of Sam and heavily edited in Illustrator.
• 
  2015?
  Drawn by Rieev.

Departmental Mascots

Some of our departments pick mascots to represent them. As part of the con team, these are fair game for some of our mascot uses, as long as we recognize they're for specific departments, not the con as a whole.

Mr. Squid—Volunteers

Blanca decided on Mr. Squid and he has been Volunteer's mascot ever since. Beta made vector art that can be used on signs or other pieces that Blanca approved.

Kobold—Tabletop

Tabletop's mascot is a Kobold. I don't think it has a name, but there's been some art over the years.

Badger—Registration

Not drawn yet, but a badger is Registration's mascot, at least in name. What type of badger? It's certainly a tough call between the cute European ones, or a more on-point Japanese one, vs honey badgers and their bad-assness. Maybe we should run a poll with the department?

One-time-use mascots

Most of our mascots are effectively one-time-use mascots, meaning they were created mainly for one theme or one year's materials and are not part of the current recurring cast.

On occasion we may bring back one-time-use mascots, but it's usually for something like an anniversary set showing many of our past mascots.

As a general guideline:

• Recurring mascot set = characters we are actively building brand identity around
• One-time-use mascot = older or theme-specific mascot

How mascots should be used in-theme

Recurring mascots should be updated to match the current year theme. While we can reuse older pieces for things like random signage or smaller elements, our main art used on promotional materials for the year should be unique to the year.

Consider:

• New costumes
• New props
• New poses
• New environments
• New expressions
• New activities
• Different pairings of characters
• Different mood or styling
• Theme-appropriate visual jokes
• Different emphasis depending on what the year's branding needs