Hi, I'm Vincent 👋

The human behind Shy Pug — and yes, there's a real dog in this story.

Vincent, the maker of Shy Pug, smiling with Henri the dog in a blue party hat — That's me and Henri. 🐾

A printed coloring page of Henri as a birthday boy, held up next to the real Henri — both in matching blue party hats and bandanas — On the left, Henri as Shy Pug drew him — birthday boy, party hat and all. On the right, the real one. He was the very first coloring page this whole thing ever made.

It started as a birthday gift

A friend was turning another year wiser, and I wanted to make her something nobody else could: a custom coloring book based on her life — with a generous pinch of my own imagination thrown in. 🎨

I've spent a good chunk of my life in technology, so naturally I didn't just draw it — I built a little tool to help me make it. It turned out to be a wonderful gift… and somewhere along the way I thought: why keep this to myself? So here it is, for everyone.

Why coloring

Coloring is quietly magical. It's proven to be relaxing and a little bit therapeutic — at five years old or ninety-five. A few crayons, a quiet moment, and the world goes soft for a while. I wanted to give anyone the chance to turn their own photos — their people, their pets, their memories — into exactly that kind of moment.

Why a shy pug?

I love dogs, so the name had to have one in it. Shy Pug just felt right — a little gentle, a little goofy, never taking itself too seriously. (Henri, for the record, is neither shy nor a pug. He didn't get a vote. 🐾)

The bigger reason

I believe, maybe a little stubbornly, that technology and AI can make the world brighter, not colder. Shy Pug is my small proof of that hope: something built with care, that turns a photo into a smile on a kid's — or a grown-up's — face.

Made in Québec, with a lot of heart. If you make something you love — or you just want to say hi — write me anytime at vincent@shypug.com. I read every message.

— Vincent Jean

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