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To those still interested or curious, I will be trying another set of pins this October called "Puss & Books." My hope is that these designs will be generally more appealing to pin collectors. It's an old concept I played with a few years ago but never fully developed.
If that goes well, I hope to launch a more ambitious project for Pintopia 2027. As a toy designer of 20+ years, my goal is to develop a pin and plush toy project. More info on this in the coming months!
So, thanks again to all who backed and followed the Murf•Bot project!
Hope to see you around again soon.
PS: I really did have fun designing the pins . . . and SO MUCH TOAST!
So this collection is officially set: 2" Black Nickel-Plated Hard Enamel Pins.
I'm also giving out a free early bird 2.5" sticker to those who pledge in the first 48 hours which will be included with the order. (Those who back after the first 48 hours, can still get the sticker as an add-on.)
I will be adding my children book at a discount during this campaign, along with some original artwork and sketches.
For this design, Murf•Bot discovers that plants and experimental science don't always mix. Vines, out of control, wrap themselves around the bot. Who knew a toaster head was the perfect place to grow a giant flower.
For this design, I wanted the plants to feel like they were completely taking over, while still keeping Murf•Bot in the middle of it all. With enamel pins, every color has to earn its place, so the greens do most of the work while the red flower and OVERGROWTH lettering give the design its big pops of color.
That's basically the intended set of 6 laid out; but now the work of adjustments for the enamel pins, making all designs unified as a set, begins. It's been a lot of fun coming up with Murphy's Law situations occurring in the sciences (-- and -- there may be more; it all depends on how well the campaign goes for the project.*)
Hope to you'll be here on Monday!
* Yes, add-ons and incentives are being planned, which will be shown on launch day, including a few more pin ideas and other items.
So if voting GREEN made you sad that BLUE won by a strong majority — cheer up, there's at least one green enamel pin coming in the set. Why, just look how happy it's making Murf•Bot!
Remember to follow this project in order to see the exclusive followers-only sketches, polls and extras to these updates.
Below is a collection of sketches I made while creating the Murf•Bot character. As you can see, sketching a character is a great way to test changes—trimming away what doesn’t work, focusing on what does, and practicing how to draw the character from different angles.
Combining all of this into one final turnaround reference, I convert the finalized character into clean vector images. This is the image I’ll refer to whenever I feel I’m losing the character design from memory.
Now I have the challenge of updating all of the final artwork images to match this exact character. As you can see, the first few designs will need work in certain areas—like the bulkier lower-leg calves. (And I’ll double-check that the toaster lever is always on Murf’s right side of its head. Can’t tell you how many times I messed that up.)
© 2026 Arrrggghhh Ink LLC. Murf- Bot character and all related artwork are proprietary. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Be sure to follow my project in order to see 'exclusive to followers only' stuff: extra sketches, designs and behind-the-scenes information. Every person who 'follows' helps the project get more public awareness.
FYI: All pin designs is subject to change, (especially this one with so many unsafe sharp points.)
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Project Update: Thank You . . .
To those still interested or curious, I will be trying another set of pins this October called "Puss & Books." My hope is that these designs will be generally more appealing to pin collectors. It's an old concept I played with a few years ago but never fully developed.
If that goes well, I hope to launch a more ambitious project for Pintopia 2027. As a toy designer of 20+ years, my goal is to develop a pin and plush toy project. More info on this in the coming months!
So, thanks again to all who backed and followed the Murf•Bot project!
Hope to see you around again soon.
PS: I really did have fun designing the pins . . . and SO MUCH TOAST!
Project Update: Final update before launch
So this collection is officially set: 2" Black Nickel-Plated Hard Enamel Pins.
I'm also giving out a free early bird 2.5" sticker to those who pledge in the first 48 hours which will be included with the order. (Those who back after the first 48 hours, can still get the sticker as an add-on.)
I will be adding my children book at a discount during this campaign, along with some original artwork and sketches.
ARRRGGGHHH! I listed the wrong sizes for the previous 'size' poll.* This poll will now have the 3 originally intended enamel pin sizes I wanted to ask about. Sorry for the error. *Reminds me of this old saying I've heard somewhere once; something about: "Anything that can go wrong . . ."
I realize that I put the wrong sizes into this poll. I meant to start with 1.5" and end with 2.5". But I get the sense that smaller is more preferred. I hope everyone is okay if I repost this poll again -- WITH the correct measurements. (And thanks for voting, this information is very helpful.)
Project Update: Project Update: Murf•Bot Enamel Pin #6 of 6 — OVERGROWTH!
For this design, Murf•Bot discovers that plants and experimental science don't always mix. Vines, out of control, wrap themselves around the bot. Who knew a toaster head was the perfect place to grow a giant flower.
For this design, I wanted the plants to feel like they were completely taking over, while still keeping Murf•Bot in the middle of it all. With enamel pins, every color has to earn its place, so the greens do most of the work while the red flower and OVERGROWTH lettering give the design its big pops of color.
That's basically the intended set of 6 laid out; but now the work of adjustments for the enamel pins, making all designs unified as a set, begins. It's been a lot of fun coming up with Murphy's Law situations occurring in the sciences (-- and -- there may be more; it all depends on how well the campaign goes for the project.*)
Hope to you'll be here on Monday!
* Yes, add-ons and incentives are being planned, which will be shown on launch day, including a few more pin ideas and other items.
Community Leaders
Become an active participant Learn more