Konqi and Katie are the mascots I designed for KDE, a free and open source software community. Konqi is a little green dragon, and Katie is the girl next door.
- KDE website: https://kde.org/
- Konqi’s backstory: https://community.kde.org/Konqi
- Konqi and friends gallery: https://community.kde.org/Promo/Material/Mascots
My first version of Konqi was created around 2012, it was chosen in the Konqi revamp/redesign contest. A second version was created around 2018 – 2019, it has a more streamlined, modern visual style. This version can be seen in many places since KDE 5.
Konqi and Katie weren’t my original characters. They are redesigns of the old Konqi and Katie from the KDE 3 and 4 era. Konqi first appeared in KDE 3 Help Center as an animated assistant (similar to Microsoft Office Assistants, Clippy), replacing Kandalf as KDE’s mascot. The original Konqi was a 3D dragon created by Stefan Spatz. Katie was derived from Konqi’s design by KDE Women Group.
Although the mascot contest also accepted new mascot proposals, I decided to renew Konqi and Katie instead. In my opinion, they are part of the community’s identity, and their legacy should be respected.
I gave Konqi and Katie antlers that shaped like the letter K to emphasize their connection with KDE. I also removed the wings and rounded their spikes for a more friendly look.
Individual Pictures
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