Character design dilemma

As-salamu alaykum everyone, I’m reaching out to fellow artists and anyone knowledgeable about Islamic perspectives on art, especially character design and animation. I’m hoping to get some clarity on a personal dilemma I’ve been dealing with recently.

I used to be super passionate about character design and animation. It was something I genuinely loved doing. But then I heard different opinions saying that creating representational art, especially of living beings or fictional characters, is considered shirk (associating partners with God) in Islam. This really shook me, and out of respect for my faith, I stopped doing it.

Recently, I’ve heard some other perspectives. Some people have told me that it’s okay if the art is for work or professional use, like creating characters for a video game, animation for a film, or designing mascots for a company. They argue that as long as there’s no intention of worshiping the created images, it’s not considered shirk. This has left me totally confused.

I haven’t touched my character design and animation projects for a few years now, and I really miss it. It was like a big creative outlet for me. I’d love to get back into it, but I’m super hesitant without being totally sure about its permissibility within my faith.

Has anyone else dealt with this? Are there any reliable sources or scholars you could point me towards that discuss this topic in detail? I'm really looking for a clear and well-reasoned answer. Any insights or advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated. JazakAllah Khair.