UPDATE: Launch planned to begin on Oct 21st and run until Fri. Nov 6th.
I’m new to BackerKit, so I’ve been spending some time looking around, studying what works and what doesn’t. (I’ve also somehow become a backer on a few projects myself. Couldn’t help it—there are some really good things out there!)
I’m new to BackerKit, so I’ve been spending some time looking around, studying what works and what doesn’t. (I’ve also somehow become a backer on a few projects myself. Couldn’t help it—there are some really good things out there!)
Of course, looking around gets my mind wandering. Before long, I’m imagining new ideas, designs, and characters. Two things I’ve noticed here on Backer Kit: there are a LOT of cat lovers AND a LOT of book lovers
So . . . Puss & Books is my next enamel pin series, set inside a cozy, old-fashioned bookstore “ruled” by two very different cats.
- 'Puss': The black cat is silent, sharp-eyed, stealthy, calculating, and she's always three moves ahead.
- 'Books': The orange cat is frantic, wide-eyed, accident-prone, and forever getting himself into exactly the kind of predicament Puss already saw coming.
It's a small bookstore world for these two cats, with books, and their antics among the bookshelves.
Follow along as I tell the visual story of Puss & Books, one enamel pin at a time—launching late October.
Be sure to stop by in the coming weeks for updates, sketches, polls, and other cat/book-related things.
Hope to see you there!
Slightly Related
I’ve drawn quite a few cats with books over the years, so I thought I’d share one of my inked cartoons. The two cats in it have a dynamic very similar to Puss & Books.
The cartoon was inspired by seeing two cats together: one seemed young, energetic, and prone to chaos, while the other sat calmly, watching its companion act like a lunatic.
Old Idea, New Twist
Even before the sketches above, I’d come up with the name Puss-N-Books in 2021 for a drawing I made using Procreate. It showed a black cat reading a book; (added the banner and name on a separate layer.)
This drawing was part of a challenge I’d set for myself: create simple character illustrations using only red, black, and white. I never did anything with that image, but the name and idea stuck.
Latest from the Creator
Jim "ARRRGGGHHH" Romer
about 11 hours ago
UPDATE: Puss & Books Launch Date
Puss & Books Launch: the plan is to begin on Wed., Oct. 21 and run until Fri., Nov. 6.
This is slightly earlier than I originally planned, since my professional product-design work gets more frantic around Halloween (and the following holidays).
I've been sketching out my pin designs—happy with some, not as much with others. (That's just my normal creative process.) The starting lineup will be 4 pins, with a stretch-goal 5th pin in development.
I'm also tackling the backer-card artwork, which I admit is getting overwhelmingly detailed—but I'm liking the results. I hope to show this (or at least a preview) sometime this week.
I'm aiming to update a minimum of once every week on Wednesdays leading up to the launch.
But please don't hold me to that; my normal workload is hard to navigate week to week, with changing deadlines, design revisions, and surprise client demands. If I can't make an update on Wednesday, it will go up ASAP once the dust has settled.
I'll also post a poll soon so all followers can weigh in on a grouped decision about a certain detail for one of the pin designs.
For those 'meeting' me for the first time:
I'm a time-tested Creative Director/Product Designer/Illustrator/Kids' Book Author with decades of experience, having designed hundreds and hundreds of toys, costumes, pet toys, decor and novelty items for major retail stores. (Walmart, Target, PetSmart, Walgreens, Dollar General, just to name a few.) Mix in a thoroughly newb-ish understanding of everything BackerKit, but I'm learning.
Please feel free to discuss the project, ask questions, offer suggestions, and point out any of my errors (which I'll probably do on purpose, you know . . . just to make sure you are all paying attention).
This is slightly earlier than I originally planned, since my professional product-design work gets more frantic around Halloween (and the following holidays).
I've been sketching out my pin designs—happy with some, not as much with others. (That's just my normal creative process.) The starting lineup will be 4 pins, with a stretch-goal 5th pin in development.
I'm also tackling the backer-card artwork, which I admit is getting overwhelmingly detailed—but I'm liking the results. I hope to show this (or at least a preview) sometime this week.
I'm aiming to update a minimum of once every week on Wednesdays leading up to the launch.
But please don't hold me to that; my normal workload is hard to navigate week to week, with changing deadlines, design revisions, and surprise client demands. If I can't make an update on Wednesday, it will go up ASAP once the dust has settled.
I'll also post a poll soon so all followers can weigh in on a grouped decision about a certain detail for one of the pin designs.
For those 'meeting' me for the first time:
I'm a time-tested Creative Director/Product Designer/Illustrator/Kids' Book Author with decades of experience, having designed hundreds and hundreds of toys, costumes, pet toys, decor and novelty items for major retail stores. (Walmart, Target, PetSmart, Walgreens, Dollar General, just to name a few.) Mix in a thoroughly newb-ish understanding of everything BackerKit, but I'm learning.
Please feel free to discuss the project, ask questions, offer suggestions, and point out any of my errors (which I'll probably do on purpose, you know . . . just to make sure you are all paying attention).
Since we're no longer strangers here, feel free to call me Arrrggghhh. Most people misspell that nickname.
-- OR -- You can just call me Jim. Most people spell that name correctly. (Most…)
PS: Followers will get to see some of the work in progress!
Like the #2 pin design below . . .
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