Stuffed & scuffed

A coded app that turns photos into ugly plushies

Stuffed & scuffed is a mobile app I built that turns any photo into an inflated "plush" version, that lives in a sandbox type environment for the user to interact with. Users can add photos from their library or camera, name their plushies, drag and throw them around, pet them, party with them, and scrap them when they’re done. I wanted to work on a small project to push myself beyond designing static prototypes and get closer to building the ideas I always imagine in my head. Instead of handing off the experience, I wanted to understand what it takes to make the details work in code. The app runs on my phone and everything is fully functional, so it became a way to explore how AI code tools can help me blur the line between design and dev.

Role

Builder

Timeline

3 days, '26

Coded designs

Screen recordings of my fully functional app. Please allow some time for assets to load!

Coded designs

Screen recordings of my fully functional app. Please allow some time for assets to load!

Create from anything

Users can start by choosing a photo from their library or taking a new one with the camera. Once the image is added, they can name their plush before it drops into the sandbox and becomes part of their collection.

Play with the physics

The plushies are meant to feel soft and physical, so users can flick them across the screen, drag them around, or hold them, dangle them, and rotate them in space.

Have fun!

Beyond the core interactions, I added a few moments that make the app feel more fun. Party mode turns the sandbox into a tiny nightclub, while focusing onto one plush lets you pet them!

Edit and scrap

Users can change plush names or scrap them entirely.

Building the experience

I wanted this project to feel polished and fully usable, not like a static prototype. These were the main areas I had to figure out while designing and building it.

Making photos feel like plushies

This project was originally inspired by those ugly custom plushies made from real photos. I wanted to recreate that charm digitally, so I explored how flat images could become stuffed objects through texture and 3D-ish mesh wrapping.

Designing soft physics

The challenge was making the physics feel right. I used my sense of game feel to tune the weight, bounce, drag, and impact response until the plushies felt just right.

Expanded user control

I used AI tooling and API integration to handle more technical parts of the build. It became a way to learn by building, while blurring the lines between design and dev.