Cartoon Cast of Characters Needed

Looking for a talented, creative, visionary graphic artist to create a new and exciting "cast of characters" for use on our websites and in our marketing and advertising materials. The artist we select will be utilized many times in the future for ongoing development of these characters for different uses along the way. There will be 6 characters total, each having a distinct personality and style. The first step will be the recreation of an existing character "Miles the Monkey" (see attached files for examples of existing renderings of Miles), who is the centerpiece for the rest of the team in terms of the style they should be drawn in. The style of characters we are seeking is something like a classic Disney-esque look and feel, with warm, colorful and friendly appearances, suitable for young children between the ages of 1-5 years old. Though the characters are animals, they should have human qualities about them (i.e. clothes-wearing, 10 fingers and 10 toes, friendly "bright" eyes, etc). The initial use of these characters will be in an adventure themed setting, travelers, classic adventurers, explorers. Each character outfit should be designed to match their personality, but include a "world traveler", easy going feel. We are looking for the following 6 characters to be drawn (a minimum of 3 poses each, to give us a sense of the artists talents in capturing multiple angles, expressions and body positioning for each of the characters). Final renderings must be in Adobe Photoshop (CS4 or higher) with individual elements (arms legs, eyes, clothes, etc) broken into layers to allow for alternate posing and positioning. 1) "Miles" the Monkey (Male) 2) "Miley" the Monkey (Female) 3) "Max" the Mouse (Young Male) 4) "Hana" the Hippo (Young Female) 5) "Felix" the Fox (Young Male) 6) "Percy" the Penguin (Male Kid) ATTENTION: If you are interested in being selected for this job, please review the attached renderings of Miles the Monkey we've used in the past. As a test to determine the finalists for this project, we are asking each artist to produce one (sketch only) of Miles in an original pose, apart from these images. This will help us determine if you are able to capture the essence of the character in a natural way. We look forward to seeing your submissions! *All images, renderings or references to "Miles the Monkey", "Images 4 Kids" and all related materials developed during, before or after completion of this project are the exclusive property of i4K Franchising, LLC. Business concept is trademarked and all rights to the visual, graphical and descriptive nature of this character are fully reserved by Images 4 Kids and I4K Franchising Corp, LLC