The Stories We Were Told

LostLores · Character library

Everyone who lives in our stories

Every character is designed once, approved, and then kept the same in every episode. Hover over anyone to meet them.

HornbillRead about HornbillKweku AnanseRead about Kweku AnanseWeaverRead about WeaverTortoiseRead about TortoiseKingfisherRead about KingfisherHawkRead about HawkRollerRead about Roller

The leads

Tricksters, both of them

On screen

Tortoise

Tortoise

Tizaabuni, “for all of us”

A clever, hungry trickster who borrows feathers to fly to a wedding in the sky, and pays for his greed.

  • Charming
  • Greedy
  • Quick with words
Shell#944f2fShell light#b46e47Skin#91976aBelly#cea86dShadow#4f3010
Keep it consistent
  • His shell is smooth until the fall. Never show cracks in any scene before he jumps.
  • After the fall, the blacksmith rebuilds the shell from pieces: this is the cracked pattern every tortoise has today.
  • His wives and children have smooth, plain shells.
Appears in
Design approved

Spider and man

Kweku Ananse

The spider

The great trickster of Akan storytelling: part man, part spider, always one clever plan ahead of trouble.

  • Cunning
  • Funny
  • Talks his way out of anything
Coat#b3563cPockets#d99035Trousers#49623dSkin and spider limbs#4a3031Abdomen#754338
Keep it consistent
  • The approved design: a Ghanaian man with dark skin and a short afro, and four extra spider arms.
  • His round spider abdomen sits beneath his coat at the back.
  • Kente stripes (red, gold, green) on the collar and cuffs, two gold patch pockets, green trousers, bare feet.
Appears in
  • Ananse and Turtle’s Dinner · Episode 2, in production
  • Ananse and the Sticky Tar Figure · Coming soon
  • Ananse and the Birds · Coming soon
  • Ananse and the Cooking Pot · Coming soon
  • Ananse and the Pot of Wisdom · Coming soon
  • Ananse and the Sky Kingdom · Coming soon

Episode 1

Tortoise’s friends, the birds

Each bird is one colour, and lends Tortoise feathers in that colour, so when they take their feathers back the audience can see exactly whose feathers are whose.

Bird · 1 of 5

Hornbill

One of Tortoise’s bird friends. Lends him red feathers for the flight to the wedding.

Deep red#8c2b37Red#d04a58Beak#a9756a
Appears in

On the cutting table

Characters being designed

These characters are waiting for their stories. Each one is designed and approved before it appears in an episode.