With WordCamp US just around the corner, one might about any new Wapuu designs on company swag in Portland. A couple weeks ago on vacation with my family, I was walking the beach boardwalk with our kids and saw several Labubus being swung around or otherwise attached to kids’ slingbacks. My brain immediately went to “what would a mashup of a Wapuu and a Labubu look like?” and just as quickly started prompting ChatGPT with image generation requests to get an answer.
The 4o model did a pretty great job from my initial, simple boardwalk-based prompt of “Can you design a mashup of a Labubu and a Wapuu?” even nailing the mashup name of “Wabubu”:
Absolutely — just to clarify first: are you imagining this mashup as a character illustration, a 3D model, or something else (e.g. plush, toy concept, sticker art)?
Assuming you’re looking for a character design mashup between Labubu (the mischievous, spiky-toothed character from The Monsters series by POP MART) and Wapuu (the cuddly WordPress mascot), here’s an idea for the concept:
Labubu × Wapuu Mashup Design Concept
Name: Wabubu
Core Traits Blended:
- Wapuu body shape: round, simple, chibi proportions, friendly pose
- Labubu face: mischievous wide smile, prominent buck teeth, large ears, and wild hair
- Wapuu accessories: hugging the WordPress logo (or an alternate WP-related item like a laptop, Gutenberg block, or code bracket)
- Labubu texture: subtle fur, pointy ears, wild eyebrows
Visual Details:
- Head:
- Wapuu’s round face but with Labubu’s wide, toothy grin and pronounced front teeth
- Big mischievous Labubu-style eyes (slightly tilted, giving a prankster vibe)
- Fluffy tufts of Labubu’s wild hair, slightly unkempt, poking out behind ears
- Long pointed ears, one flopped down playfully
- Body:
- Retain Wapuu’s soft, rounded body and paws holding the WordPress logo
- Covered in soft fur with Labubu’s tiger-like stripes subtly hinted in the texture
- Small tail – could be a hybrid of Wapuu’s squirrel-style and Labubu’s wilder brush tail
- Color Palette:
- Golden yellow fur base (like Wapuu), but with darker brown/orange accents from Labubu
- Blue-and-white WordPress logo contrasts nicely for emphasis
Pose Ideas:
- Cheeky grin, clutching the WordPress logo sideways like it just stole it
- One paw giving a “peace” sign or tiny devil horns
- Sitting on a stack of code books or on top of a WordPress admin dashboard
Would you like me to generate an image of this version of Wabubu for you? If you want it to look more cute or more punk/mischievous, I can adjust the balance accordingly. Just let me know!
The first two generated images, however, missed the mark:
Even asking ChatGPT to show me what it thought was a Wapuu and a Labubu in a basic “a plus b equals c” sort of image was a struggle to get the entire image within the output:
At that point it was obvious that ChatGPT wasn’t super clear on what a Labubu looked like and needed a lot more coaching to create a landscape image of the mashup creation. So I shared an image of the first Wapuu and Labubu image from a quick web search to better define the image generation request and that immediately yielded better results:
From there it was much better at hitting what I was looking for in the Wabubu mashup both in a friendlier Wapuu version and a mischievous Labubu version:
At this point I felt it had nailed the general concept and started asking it to create different image style variants based on quick prompt variations:
Ironically with all the fun I had peppering ChatGPT with image generation variations I hit the cap of my monthly plan limit of image generations (yes, there are some variants and generations that I didn’t include here because they were just _bad_).
So at this point, ahead of WCUS, I’m curious… which of these are your favorite Wabubu variant? Which would you want physical merch of? What other image variants would you create? Do you prefer the more friendly Wapuu or the more mischievous Labubu variants? Which style do you think would make an epic enamel pin, plush toy, or swag giveaway at WordCamp US? Let me know your pick, or suggest a new mashup idea!
Leave a Reply