Buddi was originally a little doodle fella that I would draw in my sketch books, notes, and on homework pages. I would draw them doing different tasks and as different characters. I started creating my own logos with Buddi dressed up like me, as a way to show off my illustration skills through my own mascot.

Around 2020, I learned about the OC, or Original Character, craze in the illustration sphere, and I realized that Buddi was my OC. From there, I started creating more illustrations and designs of Buddi in their base model form. I was heavily inspired by Hello Kitty and Pusheen to create my own little universe and story for my character. 

At this point in time, I was in college studying graphic design and illustration, so I was able to incorporate Buddi into some of my projects. I created stickers, lino cut stamps, screen prints, and a 3D model of a Buddi figure to 3D print. When it came time to do my senior thesis project, I knew I had to use Buddi in some way. I created a prototype of a daily planner app with Buddi as your personal planner pal, making mundane daily tasks fun by gamifying the task completion process.

Growing up, I loved Pokemon Cards for the creative little creatures and the stunning artwork that went into each card. I was inspired by the Pokémon phynominan to create my own trading card for my character, Buddi. Trading cards don’t just release one card at a time; they release multiple cards in a set all at once, separated randomly into millions of packs available for individual purchase. I wanted to create simulate this experience with my Buddi Trading Cards, so I created 100 individual Buddis with different characteristics for people to collect and trade.