A quick update to start our final campaign countdown and show off the finalized art print artwork for both the Salesman and Miss Foxglove! Miss Foxglove looks so cute, and the Salesman got some tweaks to match her a little better. Both designs are available as add-ons.
Miss Foxglove 5x7 Print
Salesman 5x7 print
Stretch Goal Recap / Everything We Unlocked 👁️
We've unlocked a lot of cool stuff this campaign! With so many emails going out this Pintopia, here's a quick recap of the new pins we've added just in case you missed it. These are on top of the original collection of pins!
The whole initial collection of pins at launch, including freebies/incentives!
Small pins, plus a teacup mini-pin variant
Small ~1" pins, plus a teacup mini-pin variant.
2 NEW options for dangling pins
2 New dangling pins, roughly 3" in size. My new favorites
Last Stretch Goal 🌠
We're a little under $800 away from our last stretch goal: little eye filler pins. I think we might be able to hit this one before time runs out! And remember, if these are unlocked, everyone who pledges $45 or more gets an eye filler pin for free!
The campaign closes February 12th, 1PM PST. Let's finish strong! :D
Little .7" filler pins in black nickel
As we wind down, I'll begin turning my attention to vectoring any designs that aren't yet a vector, and getting the survey and pre-order store set up. Expect an celebration update after the campaign ends, and later, an update showcasing all final vector artwork before it's sent to manufacturers. 🪄
Note on Surveys
Your shipping fees and your pin design selections will be made after the campaign, in your BackerKit survey. Most folks probably know, but the survey is mandatory in order to receive your rewards. The plan is to send these sometime mid-March, but you'll be notified via updates if anything changes.
Backers who are using the "Pay Over Time" feature will not receive their surveys until the pledge is paid in full. Don't worry, I will keep you folks in mind in my item counts!
And of course, a big THANK YOU for your support, as always. I'm so happy with the level of success this campaign received this year. I was kind of assuming it'd be much smaller than my 2025 campaign, and it really wasn't all that much smaller—plus this project has even MORE pins.
I’m so excited to show you the brand new design after the Loch Ness Monster won last week’s poll - check it out below! This new design will unlock at £5,000, which we’re not far off! And then at £5,000 the rainbow variant will also be available~ I hope you all like them, and I've updated both the campaign page and available tiers to reflect this. This means that the original "All In" Tiers still cover the first 8 pins, rather than the full set of 10, just as a heads up!
What to do if you want to add the extra pins to your pledge:
If you're an Early Bird backer, and you want to add extra pins, EDIT YOUR PLEDGE, RATHER THAN CANCELLING IT, as this still works out cheapest!
If you're on any other Tier, just use the Add-Ons feature as normal to add as many extra pins you want that way. Just message me if you have any questions about this, or add a comment.
I’ve also added the holographic sticker design of Nessie as an Add-On too! I’ll update the image of it tomorrow, but it is available for £3, like the others!
I hope we can smash through the rest of the unlock goals asap as I love this design. With just over a week to go, we’ve got a great chance of absolutely crushing it - help spread the word if you can!
Hey everyone ! We've unlocked all previous goals woo ! I'm here with another new pin design and another new stretch goal, as well as some bag updates and photos ! Firstly lets start with the pin: Changeling who unlocks at $29,000. She will be a standard pin and available to add on for $18.
The next new item is bag charms ! These are jet tag like charms and my original hope was to make them replaceable in the bow slow however with how the final construction of the bag ended up working that didn't work out. So i'm repurposing them as bag charms and they're honestly so cute ! The bat is made of the same PU leather as the bag and the skull will be a thick fabric with embroidered details on it ! These will be add-on items for the campaign for now. They unlock at $27,800. They will be $8 add ons.
here is a photo of the bat sample that i already have in hand, the skull is still being made.
Next I've added a few new pledge levels. I've added a four standard pins pledge level to accommodate the newest designs and I've added two new bag + pins levels that are ita + four standard pins and ita + four standard and 1 supreme pin. These two new bag tiers allow for pay over time to make it easier on some people while adding more pins ! As a reminder for pay over time backers you will not be filling out your survey right away through backerkit but I will be sending you an email to get an idea of what items you'd like to pick ! You will then later fill out your backerkit survey once you've paid in full.
Lastly I have some bag sample updates ! I've got the chain strap ! You can now see how it looks with the chain strap which is my personal favorite but i love having the option ! The leather part of the chain strap is adjustable in length.
they've also removed the extra link at the bottom and I have a sample of the darker red bow color thats an option on the survey, it's super beautiful on the bag especially in person. I also have a sample of the cushion ita insert ! You can see how it looks in the bag with no pins and theres also a photo of it on its own. Its sooo cute and makes it even more coffin-like i'm very excited to put some pins on it !
Cushion ita insert and red bow. Showing how the insert looks when in the bag and outside.
As a note on this current sample the back pocket zipper was moved to the very back to test out the structure and feel of it but I still like both zippers in the middle so expect that on the final bag.
Going forward I'm working on at least one more pin design as well as some printed design ita inserts. Would you guys like to see any more bow colors? I was thinking a dark purple and a deep blue would look nice but leave your opinions down below !
As mentioned a few days ago, I’d love to design another pin as a new stretch goal and I thought asking my audience would be the coolest way to decide on which cryptid to go for!
I like anything a bit more obscure or weird, so the poll options include some pretty random options, but please cast your vote if you get a spare minute as I’d love to hear your opinion. 🤘
The poll will close on the 31st so it gives me enough time to get the design done before the campaign ends. Again, thank you so much for the support on this project so far, it’s been awesome!
Thank you so much for all your support for Warped Ocean. I'm really excited to be making the whole collection of pins, filler pins, prints, stickers and patch and lanyards for you all! :D
Here are alll the unlocked enamel pins:
I'm in the process of prepping the order with my enamel pin manufacturer. This week I've been making some reaaaaally tiny adjustments to the Octopus, Oarfish and Mandarinfish pins. It seems I finally flew too close to the sun on details and needed to adjust a bunch of areas to get them the size I want them. The manu very kindly marked all the tiny area that are too small to fill with little coloured dots so I could make the design adjustments. Here's what they sent me:
And here's how the outlines look now that I've made those adjustments: The only noticeable change really is that I had to redraw the Mandarinfish's translucent fin to have less lines, but I don't think it effects the design much. I may still need to adjust the Mandarinfish to be 2.5" instead of 2" to keep all the details clear. I'll update you folks again once I've got proofs approved and ready to go! Surveys will be going out Monday! :D
hi everyone ! i'm so sorry this update is so late, we were preparing for katsucon and on top of the day job and patreon work i was super overwhelmed but thank you all for the support during this campaign 🖤 currently i have sent the surveys in for review and if those are approved i will begin sending them out soon !
i also just got in an updated sample of the ita wallet, i'm feeling a lot more confident about this design and just want to make a few minor alterations, i'll include some photos and details below:
sorry if these photos aren't the best, i'll get better ones later but i wanted to share this with you guys sooner since you've all been waiting ! this is a photo of the ita side of the wallet, now with the pattern correctly aligned, as well as the logo rotated correctly and the chain strap attached.
here is the inside of the wallet, the cards slots have been turned to the horizontal position which allows the pins to sit more comfortably in the wallet. i am not sure why they added two id holders ? should i keep it though ? it could be a fun way to display a photo or image of your favorite characters or memories <3
here is a photo of the bow side of the wallet, the manu still didn't really fix the shape of the ribbons so i'm going to try and get that to be a more purposeful shape, i also want to add back the horizontal ribbon element behind the bow.
here is a photo of where the ita insert currently is, i am considering flipping the design of the wallet so that the ita insert can be on the pocket side to not interfere as much with the cards.
the inside of the wallet has three pocket compartments where you can fit cash and thin items like your phone : )
here is a photo of the wallet with the two zippers instead of the previous snaps, while i liked the clean look of the snaps, this helps avoid bulging and keeps everything more secure.
lastly here is an example of the new straps. we will also still have the wristlet that will come with each wallet. i originally wanted the full chain strap but they also sent this hybrid chain strap that has a softer faux leather for the shoulder area. i will see if i can provide both as options ! which one would you prefer ?
thanks everyone again for backing my project i'd love your feedback regarding the questions i posted above if you have time !
lastly, if you didn't have a chance to pledge, i do have a preorder shop setup so you can still snag the pins or ita wallet <3 the link is on our main page !
Hey everyone ! Thank you guys so much for the successful campaign we unlocked all goals! This update is a bit late as i was at katsucon all weekend sorry ! I'll be working on the pledge manager starting next week to start on surveys. For now the preorder shop is open for anyone who missed the campaign. Manus are on break at the moment for chinese new year so I wont be able to get anything started until the return :) In the meantime make sure you check your card to see if your pledge went through ! I'll post a bigger update once the factories are back and surveys are set up
Thank you so much for backing Distorted Cryptids! I can't wait to get started with the process of making these pins, as well as designing the backing cards and getting all the other goodies in too!
I'm building the surveys now for each pledge tier, and will be sending them off for review very soon - keep an eye out in your inbox for another update once they give me the go ahead and you'll then be able to let me know exactly which pin designs and add-ons you would like.
Failed Payments
Payments for the funding are currently being processed, and as it stands currently, details on my end are showing that there are 17 failed pledges. Please can I ask you all to check your details and make sure your payment has gone through! You can do this by going to your profile menu and clicking "Your Pledges & Surveys". Click on "Distorted Cryptids" and check if you were successfully charged. If the charge failed, you can retry charging your card by re-entering your card information. If you have any questions, please let me know!
That's all for now, and I'll be back in touch with another update once the surveys are ready to go. :)
Hello Visitors, I came up with many ideas for future campaigns, but wanted to ask for your opinions before I make the poll on what we should create in the future! Please comment below what you would love to see and I will add it to the poll if it is possible for me to do.
Additionally, here is the completed sticker sheet design! It is planned to be around 6.7" x 9". What do you think of it? You'll be able to get it during survey time or in the preorder store depending on if you backed the campaign or not.
