Posts Tagged ‘toys’
Shapeways Hoodie Toys Revealed!
We can now present a few images of the previously-blogged Customizable Hoodie Toys from Culpritart/toys and Dotsan produced by Shapeways, the company that uses a 3D printer to “turn your designs into reality”. Two things you’re bound to notice right off the bat:
- These toys are TINY. (The green one pictured taps out at 2 inches/5 cm. The red one stands a bit taller at 7cm. This may seem small for $25.)
- Gone is the smoothness of the figure and blister packaging envisioned for the prototype shown here.
If you can get past those factors (I can in this particular case), it’s a cute little toy which presents the unique opportunity to customize the colors of a Jon Burgerman hoodie. Unlike the sandy texture of the figure itself, the process of working with Shapeways was extremely smooth. I emailed Dotsan my preference for green. Within 24 hours, he had uploaded a model to Shapeways. I purchased it, and Shapeways sent me emails when it went into production and when it left the Dutch facilities destined for California. The figure arrived safely packed, but the “packaging” was just a plastic bag.
At first I thought the sandstone was weird, but Greta (often the voice of reason) pointed out that “weird is good.” Doodlesplatter is, after all, not just a project to chronicle every waking move of the artist, Jon Burgerman, but also to showcase the different canvases that are possible for art. 3D printing will probably not win any fans among the hardcore art toy collecting contingency (yet), but if you have a spare $25, you can get a pint-size figure custom-made in Burgerwear tailored to your liking. I like my little dude. Get the 5cm (2 inch) figure (currently the only customizable size) or the 7cm (2.8 inch) figure. Click through to see my guy digging some coconut juice and Jeps’ figure hanging with a Yami.
Customizable Hoodie Toys from Shapeways 3D Printers
Head’s up! Remember this Hoody prototype from 2008? Matt Pattinson (Culpritart/toys, an illustrator based in Edinburgh) and Vijay Paul (Dotsan, product designers based in Glasgow) are producing the figure through Shapeways, a company that uses a 3D printer to “turn your designs into reality”. Culpritart and Dotsan met Jon at the seminal Free Lunch exhibit at Analogue Books, and the seeds for Hoodie were planted.
I dropped Dotsan a note to try to understand the technology of this new toy. He promptly responded:
As product designers, the challenge for Dotsan is to help creative people realise their ideas and introduce them to a new medium and dimension whilst keeping their artistic intent. The photorealistic computer renderings are great for visualising concepts without the expense and time of traditional sculpting and manufacturing processes. Computer modeling allows for many quick amendments and when applying textures and colours there are no limits because you don’t have to worry about manufacturing constraints. The 3D full colour printing allows for complicated artwork to be created. The surface is like fine sand paper and has a waxy matt finish. There are many ways the CAD model can be materialised, Shapeways offers reasonable prices and ordering. No need for tooling, Far East mass manufacturing or stock; the figure gets made on demand and delivered in 10 days.
[Jon's] illustration would be very difficult to create using traditional methods such as painting, decals etc, the 3D printing method works brilliant at this size. To have something that small with that amount of detail gives great pleasure. On Shapeways there is an option to customise the colours or submit your own pattern for the hood.
Culprit and Dotsan are waiting to see the response to Hoodie. This is a new process, and there is lots to learn and understand about how best to use it. Dotsan are working on creating new Culprit characters. There is a large body of work to choose from, the most exciting challenge will be to create Culprit Tech stuff: the renderings and models will be mind blowing.
Well, to be honest, my mind is already kind of blown. I had a second round of emails with Dot, in which I asked about the potential for color customization. He wrote back immediately with a link to the “Jeremy Hoodie” colorway, which features matching green hoodie and green trainers! Well, color me stoked! Naturally, I purchased one immediately. The material is listed as sandstone, which is a new one for the artkive, so that’s exciting. The 5cm (2 inch) figure (currently the only customizable size) costs $23.06 and the 7cm (2.8 inch) figure is $25.76. Shapeways has a minimum order of $25, so if you buy the 5cm, you eat $1.94. No biggie, since you’re already committed to spending this much on a tiny figure anyway, right? There’s all sorts of other fine print about VAT and taxes, that I probably should have read, but really, you had me at “Jeremy Hoodie.” Jeps ordered a 7cm Hoodie, so we’ll post updates when the figures arrive. The Shapeways site says there’s about a 10-day turnaround on production + shipping time. Stay tuned! Lots more photos after the jump.
Rotocasted: The Toy Collector’s Database
I want to take this rainy Friday and remind everybody about one of my favorite websites, Rotocasted. The toy collecting database is being developed by talented toy designer Sergey Safonov, and I help out as a “volunteer librarian”. I like Rotocasted for the fact that I can show my Collection to anybody with a computer, and by extension, I can share my Wishlist with just a link. It’s also extremely addictive. Want to see (almost) every toy that Jon Burgerman has ever made? Or which of Jon’s toys are the most wanted? How about what people are saying about Jon’s Kidrobot figures? Or maybe you just want to see every toy in the database that happens to be green? You can leave comments and make trades. It’s a lot of fun, and like most passionate side projects, it’s always evolving. You can tell Sergey has his heart in this project and really believes in trying to do the impossible: create an accurate, visual encyclopedia of art toys. Every time we upload toys and enter data about them, we’re helping write toy history. Check it out and claim your Burgermenos! One of Jon’s Dunnys is on the Most Popular page; let’s get the Heroes of Burgertown to join him! I wrote a bit more and posted some other screengrabs on The Neon Monster Blog.
Blank Burgermenos
Jon’s Burgermenos Qees from 2007 remains one of my all-time favorite Qee series. While hunting something else on Flickr, I stumbled across these blank Burgermenos that were doodled on during Jon’s signing at Forbidden Planet for the release of the figures. A good one from the vaults. Anybody have these?
Customized Nesting Dolls
An innovative fan brought a set of nesting dolls to Jon’s Kidrobot London signing, and here are the jealousy-inducing results. For a roundup of all the unusual objects Jon doodled that evening, click here.
Jon Does Munnyworld
I really wasn’t feeling these new Munnyworld figures from Kidrobot until I saw these pictures from Jon’s recent signing at the KR London shop. Maybe it’s that I’m biased toward Jon’s art, or maybe it’s just refreshing to see something other than the same old Munny (even if the new Munnyworld shapes aren’t exaclty “new”). But whichever way you slice it, I’m really digging these doodles. Lucky Londoners. Photos from Kidrobot’s Flickr set. You can see all the customized objects from Jon’s signing in this post.
Doodling Results from Kidrobot London Signing
On December 17th, Jon did a signing at Kidrobot’s London location. Beforehand, he used twitter to encourage people to “bring crazy things along to be doodlearized, sillier the better!” The fans really came through with toys, clocks, cups, cars, clothes and even a plastic pigeon. And Jon gamely doodled it all. Looked like a great time. Photos via Kidrobot, The Daily Street, and Elektrodrop. Posts about the individual objects to follow all morning, so stay tuned to Doodlesplatter!
Mega Munny Scrawl
This ornately doodled Mega Munny is currently available at Burgerplex. The figure stands 18 inches tall and is hand-painted and signed by Jon. The £700.00 price tag includes courier shipping. An amazing piece for whoever can afford it!
Doodling and Signing at Kidrobot London
Many people assume that the posse is centered in and around the UK. Not true. We’re global. But if you do happen to be in the London area, go visit Jon at Kidrobot on 12/17. If anyone can save these Munnyworld figures from boring blank banality, it is Jon. Free stickers and accolades for anyone who goes to this and will pick us up a “Trikky” doodled by Jon for the DS HQ!
Join UK artist Jon Burgerman at Kidrobot London on Thursday, December 17, when he’ll be signing and scribbling with all his fans! Get your hands on your favorite Burgerman toy or pick up a brand-new MUNNYWORLD figure for him to doodle and scrawl on!
Full Metal Spread of Cheeseys
Remember our heavy metal friend, Cheesey? Jon’s all-metal sculpture finally gets a proper release from FullyVisual in the complete color spectrum of brass antique, black nickel, copper antique, silver antique and gold. The silver edition (modeled below with my cat) was previously available only through Burgerplex. Each of the 5 colorways will now be available at FV online for $120 each in an edition of 20 pieces beginning tomorrow, Thursday, at 10AM PST. Cheesey comes with a metal cheese accessory and is about 3.5 inches tall. What’s your favorite flavor?
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