Been working on a Dinosaur for a bit now. These are rostocast soft urethane plastic with cast-in pearlescent colors shift. Planning on releasing a first run of 10. Have about 5 done so far. gonna have a homie take some good flicks. Looking for a price point and designing a card while I wait for the bags. View this post on Instagram
Re: Mark the Dinosaur Im my opinion (which isnt worth much) this guy feels very basic and a little too simple. I would take sometime to refine it and give it some more character. Not sure what the intention of the sculpt is, but the head seems its trying to be a penis. I apologize if its not, none of this is meant to offend.
Re: Mark the Dinosaur damn... I guess it does look like a dick, huh. Not the intention. More I think about it the less I like it. shit. Great to put a bunch of time and $ into something and have it look like a hoak hogan python... complexity in textures is hard when I can't use pressure pot because I'm rotocasting an already complex mold. The idea was to limit the amount of bubbling. Can see the want for something mind melting though.
Re: Mark the Dinosaur Hopefully you are posting it here looking for honest feedback, because, I'll be honest, a lot of people have claimed that in the past only to come away angry/hurt/reeling when they actually get that. I am only saying this as a prelude, because this is a toy forum after all, and we do love our toys - and yet people genuinely seem shocked and/or surprised when folks on the board offer their critique. One had to consider that (not speaking for myself here) there are good people here who have decades of experience in toys, and others who have envisioned, created, sculpted, broken down, and went back up to full manufacturing of their own figures. Any of those people will freely tell you that it has not come absolutely replete - and in fact is probably more the norm than the exception - with massive setbacks, huge developmental hurdles, having to restart from scratch, rethinking, personal emotional and financial loss, etc., etc. I just want to put this out there, to have it be said this is no easy 'business' (not that it is one as such anyway) and as with any artistic endeavour, you have to be open to other people not seeing your creation from the same point of view you do. None of this is meant to be directed at you, but is offered as general advice for anyone coming here with thoughts of producing their own toy. Just to say that I admire the people with the creativity and passion to do this work, and respect the honesty and artistry that comes with it. SUMMARY: If you are not doing this for love, you are in it for the wrong reasons. So, getting to the particular feedback on this guy. Nice work so far, and I can appreciate a good dinosaur aesthetic. But it does seem a little early to move on just yet with this sculpt as-is. I think you have some work to do before you move on to the next stage. While my mind did not immediately go to the wang motif, I do think he is still looking a bit basic, and the body/legs could use some work in terms of proportion, and not making it look so hand/Thing-like (unless that is what you were going for). Personally I would definitely like to see more definition in detail and work to give it a bit of life or personality so one could imagine the character. You have to understand that when making something like a dinosaur, you are coming up against a lot of competition and a whole massive history of toys and sculpting; not to mention some semblance of a real creature to which the audience will have preconceived notions, realistic or not. It can be a tough challenge. Honestly not trying to harsh on your vibe here, and I know Emanuel wasn't either. It is important to develop a skin for hearing feedback on your work and not get discouraged. Overall a nice start for a first toy though, keep up with it, and I will be interested to see how the sculpt evolves.
Re: Mark the Dinosaur My two cents. It's not so much a texture or finish issue, but the proportions aren't right for a sauropod. The body needs to be longer and bulkier, even if you're going for a stylized look. I would look at some reference material and do a few sketches or something. I like the pose, which is dynamic and hard to achieve for this type of dinosaur. My second two cents. I wouldn't start so hard into the 'let's bag these and sell a few' type of talk. That tends to rub folks the wrong way. From what I've seen, people seem to respond better if you show a little development on the figure before putting it out for sale. Particularly if it's a first attempt.
Re: Mark the Dinosaur Thanks for the passionate creative critiques. I can't afford to buy many toys these days, so I'm making them.This forum is a wealth of knowlage and that's why I am here. I'll take these ideas into consideration Best!
Why are sculptors using to texture? I was using a hard cast of and orange peel... I was thing about going to Home Depot and looking around. I'll Try to take some better pictures
There aren't any rules in that regard. Get creative. Home Depot will certainly have many options. Though remember that you can find a lot of good stuff for free, out in nature and the trash even. Orange peels are a good idea though it may be too subtle for what you're looking for. You can sometimes find interesting leather shoes with nice texture and or patterns on the cheap at a goodwill. Depending on exactly what you're doing it's not always necessary to disassemble the shoes either, as they can be easy to roll and press with your hand inside. Just make sure that wherever you lay pressed texture that the overlap is blended to your eyes' delight
i found if you use release spray or talcum powder there is a less chance of voids. Especially if you are hand rotocasting. Also i make texture tools in magic sculpt. Take a ball of magic sculpt and find something with texture and spray release or pam on it and push the clay on it. Remove and let dry. Then when you lay the final surface you spray the tool with release, pam or vasoline and press all over it. Here is a example
here are some mashup/knockoff resin mini figures I Frankensteined. I call him FIGHTIN' GARY! View this post on Instagram View this post on Instagram View this post on Instagram
If you don't have one already, do yourself a huge favor and buy yourself a Dremel. I forgot what model I have, but it was $70 and came with a little box full of attachments... All sorts of sanders in different grains, polishers, engravers, and the like. If you're not trying to preserve texture, you can just sand the "flash" (the part in between both sides of the mold) right off with the dremel. Saves you tons of time rather than painstakingly hand-sanding it all off. I tend to hand-sand delicate parts anyway, though.
Dremels are fantastic go-to tool for a wide range of applications. They have come down significantly in price over the years, but even still, you can often find a corded no-name version at your hardware store for 20$ with a series of attachments. Keep your eyes open for sales, as they do often go on offer. Might not be as great as a Dremel, but they will get the job done.
I have a sweet Black and Decker dremel. I honestly never put 2 and 2 together for using it applied to toys! sweet.
I had some Marvs bagged and carded for DINK here in Denver this weekend. View this post on Instagram Here's a DRpepper just in case people get salty j/k n/r <3 Thanks for letting me share. BTW. If drawing comics for years has taught me anything; it's that after I meet the rules I've gave myself I don't obsess over idiosyncratic things. I will move on from here to the next thing, that will be more awesome. At the point I have to dwell on it and it becomes unenjoyable I move on. I make art for the love of it for sure. I'm just happy to be making art. If I don't try to sell it within my creative community, I'm shorting myself.
No... Other wise I'd link y'all a place where you could buy one. I'm just sharing art. I want to make toys! It's more important for me to see the project all the way through from inception to packaging. My overhead and time spent was too much for me not to see it through; all the way. Consider it an arbitrary exercise, much like a critique in a controlled classroom environment. The discussion and critique through the whole thing is important to me. I honestly take selling these about as serious as you take them as toys. I try to make an earnest effort to make art. Be it objectified or not. Sometimes art fails. That outcome isn't up to me after a certain point. People fail because they're afraid to put themselves out there and/or see projects through. Question: What kind of toys do you want to see? What kind of toys would you want to give to your friends?
Are you asking because you want to make a toy you can profit off of? If you want low hanging fruit, make star wars bootlegs. Those tend to sell. or Nagnagnag bootlegs. There are probably a total of 5 people on this board who would buy a resin toy. Not the audience you should ask. If you're making toys for your own enjoyment, make what you think would be cool and hopefully others agree. What's the point of making something you don't really care about for a money grab? At that point, it's work like anything else.
I think what Joe is trying to say (and correct me if I'm wrong, Joe) is that making toys isn't something that you just "do," it's a labor of love and a creative outlet just like any other kind of artwork... Because that's what it technically is, an art form. Sculpting, mold making, even casting are things that take a lot of practice and time to master. A lot of toy makers are in debt for a long time because the cost of materials from their trials and failures outweighs their profit. They don't just go ahead and start bagging and tagging their first works for $50 trying to recoup costs. I'm not trying to be insulting, I'm just saying that as things stand, you are not an established toy maker. You are new to the craft. Hell, I'm still new to the craft. You have to start making a name for yourself through your work, through your own imaginings, and establish an aesthetic that's your own. Some people who get into resin toy making just create what people want... Like Joe said, Star Wars bootlegs and bootlegged sofubi. It sells, people gobble it up, but at the end of the day it's just a recast of someone else's works, and your pieces have become your cash cow. You have the enthusiasm, that's a big part of it. Now you have to find your identity. You have to figure out what you love to make, and if it's good, people will follow.
That is a good perspective to have but I can't imagine that taking two existing toys and doing a head swap then molding/casting/selling them can be very satisfying from an artistic standpoint. Regarding your texture question I find that aluminum foil is good to roll up and texture with tools then you can use the foil itself on wax/clay. That way you get texture you actually created yourself.
Id liken the mash up to a multi media college. It's actually a muscle figure with a toybiz collisus head and gi Joe hands. I did however sculpt a sweet mullet on him with green epoxy clay! Contextually and conseptually it's pretty loaded. I draw comics most of the time so it was a nice vacation. I just finished with DINKDENVER today and sold all my fighting Gary figures. This allowed me to break even on booth costs and the response was positive. It also allowed me to network and have conversations with people I might not have about making toys. Got feed back and made new friends. So it was gratifying. I didn't attempt to sell any dinosaurs. I'll work on that one a bit more. I thought about what was said and feel akin to the critique. I understand people have allot invested in collecting and making toys, here. I'm glad that passion shows in what people have to say. I thinking the come to Jesus meeting about the subjective nature of success is important aswell. In the end I don't see much difference from toys or Indy comics or music. It's all hard to make money off of and if you do it Indy it's for the love. I'm just starting from here, I guess... Bear with me and I might make something cool, eh. I will take the critiques into mind for the next time around , and try to post something y'all might like a bit more. Thanks for the tips y'all!
I was making a cyclopian cave troll. I got bored after the head. So, I made some amulets. View this post on Instagram
I have to say, I'm liking the gritty paint applications. Seems like you're having a bit of an issue with bubbles, though. Are you pouring or hand-rotocasting? I find that hand-rotocasting leads to fewer bubbles, but still it's nowhere near as effective as having a pressure pot. That's a big investment though.
I am... I poured them, I should have rotocast them. I was reading that paint pots work well as well. I cant bump a compressor due to my living situation. Ill rotocast the next batch. thnx
I went to harbor freight and bought a Paint pot. Unfortunately the lid leaked, so I had my pop weld it. the results were pretty out standing. I noticed that the slower cure resins turn out WAY better than the quick cures. View this post on Instagram Here are some UV Trolls Ive been working on. View this post on Instagram
