3D printing and the world of toys are closely tied these days. While the next manufacturing revolution is affecting many sectors, this particular area of transformation is one that demonstrates all the benefits that 3D printing offers to designers who may not previously have been able to get an initial push into the industry.
The toy market, despite all its fun and whimsy, and a younger niche, is obviously an enormous industry worldwide. And while there are many artists and craftsman who dabble in making all sorts of toys, from trains to figurines and far more, this has historically been an extremely difficult sector to break into unless you had gobs of capital. The world of digital design and 3D printing is definitely beginning to change that though, offering designers everywhere a much greater ability to create, customize, and manufacture pieces in a self-sustainable, independent fashion.
Eva
Blokko has long been a champion for this change, and we’ve watched this toy marketplace evolve along the way, working to weave together the world of the author, illustrator, and 3D printed figurines and establishing themselves as a haven where artists can ‘make their heroes,’ as well as a place where they invite and empower toy enthusiasts to design and 3D print toys while focusing on storytelling, roleplaying, and building. We’ve also seen Blokko progress to offering new materials and characters to highlighting their lineup of figurines like Victuals and Bigfoot—two lovable storybook characters. As time has passed, Blokko has worked on refining their platform into something that works even better for new storytellers and toymakers.
“Over the past year we experimented with different products,” Rahul Thayyalmkandy, co-founder of Blokko, told 3DPrint.com. “We have narrowed it down to a product that we believe has a lot of potential. Blokko is now a collaborative platform for storytellers to create and sell toys like the 3D printed figurines at no cost.
“Storytellers run campaigns on Blokko and ask his/her fans for support. Once the campaigns are successful, we handle the design, manufacturing and distribution,” Thayyalmkandy continued. “The profits are then distributed between the storyteller, the designer, and the platform.”
Little Ink
Now that the Blokko team has put in the time for building and optimizing background processes, they can allow their creators to focus on creating great content for their followers—and make money at the same time, with no cost up front. When someone does buy merchandise, 35% of profits go to the storyteller, 35% to the toy designer, and 30% to the platform. They make it sound pretty easy! Just start a campaign and gather your fans, and Blokko takes care of finding and beginning the project with an artist who is ready to partner up. Blokko also manages the timeline and asks the storyteller to come in and sign off at ‘key points.’
The two campaigns going on currently are that of Little Ink, and Eva. The figures—both ready for pre-order–stand 7.5 cm tall and are 3D printed in sandstone.
Little Ink is based on Lost Nightmare, a comic about Ink, who does not want to be next in line to be the Bogeyman. The story follows his saga as he seeks help to avoid having to fill the shoes of the scary icon.
Little Ink
“The amazingly beautiful figurine, modelled by Blender-master Bernhard Bauer, is currently in the technical stage, where it is tested and adjusted to be handled in production,” states the Blokko team on their website. “Once done, it goes through another round of color correction testing and voila, it’ll be on your desk by end of March. All we need is your support to hit the numbers.”
Eva is modeled after a Singaporean comic book, regarding a woman who is absorbed with her youth and looks very young, due to Japanese skincare. This figurine is being modeled by Rachel Collier and is ‘very close to the finish line,’ with just color correction and testing left to do on this 3D printed model as well.
Both of these figures will only ‘become real’ once the campaign is successful, so if this is something you are interested in, pre-order now here. Discuss in the new Blokko 3D Printed Figurines forum over at 3DPB.com.
