Cartoon images are one of the important carriers for the inheritance of folk literature and culture. We should pay attention to the positive role of cartoon images in the inheritance of intangible culture. So the study aims to design and develop cartoon images of main characters in the Legend of the White snake based on audience intention. So that the cartoon image can be endowed with historical and modern cultural connotations. In this way, it can play a role in inheriting intangible cultural

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... eritage and enhance the cultural confidence. Through the combination of qualitative and quantitative method, it compared the main characters of the Legend of the White snake at home and abroad. After carrying out desk research on the historical background of the legend, we used the concept of participatory design to conduct a questionnaire survey on the preference of cartoon images and analyzed the problems of character design, carrier, communication, and etc. Finally, based on the audience's extraction and combination of design elements, the cartoon image of the main characters in the Legend of the White Snake was generated, which meets the perceptual needs of modern people. By making full use of the narrative function of cartoon images, the creatively designed cartoon images of the main characters in the Legend of the White Snake are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. It can also raise public interest in the culture of the White Snake and arouse emotional resonance. In this way, it promotes the inheritance and development of the intangible cultural heritage, the White Snake, and provides a certain reference for the design of cartoon images of similar characters in folk literature.