Project 11 / 23 · Character Design & Visual Development

Publix

Best Friends — Character Design Pitch

2025

Project overview

For an Untold Studios pitch in 2025, I explored the canine cast for Publix's Best Friends: a neighbourhood pack attempting to repair their relationship with Bob the mailman through the universal peace offering of homemade pie. Rather than designing a single hero, the job was to build an ensemble in which every dog could be recognised instantly by breed, silhouette and personality.

The explorations moved between realistic anatomy and the tactile appeal of a handmade puppet. Bulldogs, ridgebacks, pugs, terriers and assorted shaggy suspects were tested through different proportions, materials, eye shapes, muzzles and expressions, with group lineups used to make sure the cast felt varied but still belonged in the same world. A successful design needed to look touchable, perform clearly and retain enough genuine dog behaviour to keep the sentiment from becoming too sweet.

Designing a pack is essentially casting a very furry committee. The bulldog needs gravitas, the pug needs to look as though it has just remembered something important, and every pair of eyes must communicate remorse without suggesting that the postman's trousers are still in danger. Considerable time was spent adjusting ears, brows and the exact emotional difference between sorry, hungry and sorry because hungry.

Untold's work was an exploratory pitch route and is not credited on the film ultimately released in 2026. The finished campaign was created by FIG, directed by Mark Molloy through SMUGGLER and brought to life with handmade puppets, with final post-production and VFX led by Alt.VFX. The released film was shortlisted at the 2026 Cannes Lions in Film Craft, in the Production Design / Art Direction category. It is included here as context for the brief; the artwork below represents my earlier character exploration for Untold.

Selected frames

21 images

Ensemble of tactile dog character concepts for the Publix Best Friends pitch — Ensemble character and world exploration

Dog character ensemble staged in a community hall — Alternative ensemble and lighting study

Wide lineup of dog breeds explored for Publix Best Friends — Full cast silhouette and breed lineup

Three scruffy dog character design alternatives — Character shape and material exploration

Three dog character concepts with varied coats and proportions — Character variation study

Three brown dog puppet character design alternatives — Proportion, expression and construction study

Single tactile dog character concept for Publix Best Friends — Individual character exploration

Handmade-style dog character design study — Individual character exploration

Dog puppet visual development concept — Individual character exploration

Alternative dog puppet character design — Individual character exploration

Early bulldog character design for Publix Best Friends — Bulldog design exploration

Alternative bulldog proportions and expression — Bulldog design exploration

Tactile bulldog puppet character concept — Bulldog material and expression study

Expressive bulldog character concept — Bulldog facial design study

Final bulldog variation from the character pitch — Bulldog proportion and appeal study

Ridgeback dog character design exploration — Ridgeback design exploration

Alternative ridgeback puppet character concept — Ridgeback shape and material study

Refined ridgeback character concept with collar — Ridgeback character styling study

Pug character design exploration for Publix Best Friends — Pug design exploration

Alternative pug puppet character concept — Pug proportion and expression study

Compact tactile pug character concept — Pug material and silhouette study