Sofubi, short for “soft vinyl,” is a type of plastic material used to create Japanese vinyl toys. These toys have captured the hearts of collectors worldwide due to their unique aesthetics and tactile appeal. One reason why we love Sofubi is their ability to be…
The Triple Crown of YoYo, a contest series for modern yo-yo play, approached us with vector art of their mascot. From their vector art, we were able to create a full 3D digital sculpt ready for output, to be used to create a mold for…
Yes and no. Time for math fun. The total cost of a “run” of toys is the combined result of complexity, size, material, packaging, and number of units. Let’s look at a run of resin figures as an example. There are “one time” costs such…
Designers who are planning a toy occasionally wonder whether to produce their figure in resin or vinyl. Both materials are being used to make wonderful and attractive figures. Here are brief overviews of the materials. More!
You want to make a toy and you don’t know where to start? Simply put, have a strong original idea. It’s okay to be inspired, we’re all inspired by the fantastic work being made by the artists and designers that we love. But it’s harder…
When we’re not designing or making toys, we’re using the magical power of our electronic wizard machines to produce engaging and haunting digital illustrations.
Well loved artists and designers with massive fan bases could see four figures come in from a successful run of toys. Inspired and talented designers who are just starting out might see “sushi money” come in from a successful run of toys. There’s a complex…
Every step of the process of making a set of figures has options and choices that affect the cost. Possibly the best way to answer this question would be with a flowchart, but for now let’s pick one option and stick with it. Let’s consider…
What to get the Predator fan who has everything? Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 3d Systems and Shinbone Creative bring your favorite nightmare to life. Using 3d Systems photo based portrait technology, you can have your very own statue of the Predator holding your bloody…
Collectible urban vinyl space marine that debuted at Blizzcon.
We’re massive fans of “The Law” and Scott jumped at the chance to sculpt a character study of Judge Dredd. Readers of the British comic 2000 AD will recognize his unique silhouette and trademark giant green knee-pads. Green is a notorious color to make look…
John “Spanky” Stokes asked for a smooth DIY version of his hairy mascot. Because we had sculpted the original hairy version digitally, it was simple enough to shave the beast, remove his facial features and clean up the mesh.
October is the most wonderful month of the year. Why? Because it’s “Monstober”. What’s “Monstober”? It’s a daily challenge to design a new monster. While a drawing or sketch would have been acceptable, we went the extra mile and sculpted up a new critter most…
A cute but street savvy rhino character study done as an urban vinyl toy. Created as a digital illustration, sculpted in 3D, and ready to be rapid-prototyped for production and manufacturing. We look up to all the legendary designers such as Tristan Eaton and Jeremy…
Short answer – rarely. But patching up the high poly game asset for print is not too difficult. Detailed high poly game models are used for a few reasons in the game development pipeline. For “next gen” titles, the high poly models are used for…
Tim Stephson is an Austin, Texas based designer and sculptor and we are updating his classic figure for a new vinyl release.
Who likes monsters? Who wants to get their hands on a nice juicy, drippy, lumpy freak named Skullbee? If you’re curious about the magic behind the mischief, grab yourself this file and take a peek. If you’d like to play with the character, go right…
It should be obvious how much we love giant monsters around here. We love giant monster movies, giant monster toys, and giant monster shaped snacks.
Digital sculpt of the an original character by Superdeux, used for production of limited edition fine art statues for a gallery exhibit. Figure was sculpted specifically for output and casting as a resin statue.
No, producing your own toys is not cost effective – but it is fun! There is a tremendous amount of enjoyment and satisfaction to be had if you’re a designer and you make, package and sell your own figures. Keep in mind, while interesting, it…