The fugliest toys you have seen while collecting.

This culture of it being ok to sexualize children because it’s a cartoon or toy is gross. It’s out of control in Japan, and I think it might be the most sickening aspect of Japanese pop culture, Lolly, or whatever the fuck it is. In my mind artists who engage and support it like mister yannen are one degree removed from pedophiles, and I don’t need to hear any artistic philosophy to justify it. Here is another bdsm little sofubi girl.

 

also, the toy looks crap

 

At first I was like “maybe they’re just chibi and aren’t actually children?” Then I noticed “LOLICORN” in the corner.
Yep, those are kids with submissive collars.

 

yeah thats a whole different sub level of FUGLY. i love going to anime cons but this stuff always makes me cringe

 

In America we only put dog collars with leashes on kids to take them to grocery store and the mall.

 

We will destroy all the loli fans

I've wondered at this for some time, the culture of sexualising children. Often wonder how something like the loli genre came to be, but haven't done much reading there. With the popularity of moe stuff, super cutesy media with children or childlike characters, there might be a slippery slope somewhere in there.

It's not a uniquely Japanese problem; the US has child beauty pageants, and the Muslim practice of having girls in hijab as of puberty sets off some alarm bells for me too. There are historical contexts for both of those things that make them more understandable, but to the modern observer it's all a bit fucked.

 

Wooo, OK. I'm always apprehensive about making posts in this thread. Mostly because I don't like poopooing an artist's work. Admittedly, there are a lot of hideous toys on here. Especially bad paint customs, that really do "ask for it" and the term "artist" would be extremely generous to apply to some of these toy-molesters.

But, that's not why I'm here.

This topic of digitally sculpted stuff has been weighing on me, and I feel compelled to jump in the discussion while hoping it doesn't hurt any feelings. As many have already pointed out: digital sculpting is a great tool, and can yield some impressive results when used creatively. As long as the artist is aware of the disadvantages and compensates for them. The biggest issues for me are overt symmetry and this distinct sort of uniform smoothed detail that almost just seems low/res or blurry. 9 times out of 10, I'd likely prefer a poorly sculpted clay/wax figure over a moderately sculpted digital figure (though, probably not buying either).


Now, let me be clear: I do not think the example above is FUGLY, it's not even BAD. Sadly, for me personally, it's overall presence falls very flat, and the result is a massively missed opportunity. I would have loved to own a Ro-Man sofubi, it's my kind of jam. Yet, the fur texture being split so sharply down the center is glaring (to the point of almost creating a rorschach pattern effect), the toes look like a pack of hotdogs (no stylistic consistency with the more accurate anatomy on the hands), and the alternate skull head appears as though it was sourced directly from a 3D stock library (criminy, is it even the exact same skull as the Well Dweller???).

Obviously, digital would have been the only logical choice to design the helmet. Maybe even the basic build of the figure? But, the fur, fine details, and overall pose end up lacking so much personality. Also, I'd wager if the figure had been designed in clay/wax, the shoulder joints would have been formed more naturally into the curves of the sculpt instead of just sharp cuts.

Yes, Ro-Man is inherently goofy with his ultra low-budget simplicity! But, that's gotta be carefully conveyed somehow so the toy expresses that fun B-movie cheapness we love, without literally looking kinda cheap. Maybe the figure starts off symmetric, and then gets a few final passes to differentiate each half a bit more? All I know, is If I can easily spot when something is sculpted digitally, that probably means it's missing a step or two.

 

Hey now..

I resent that comment! I ordered a leash for my son this week! He’s two years old and can almost run faster than me. In addition, I have osteoarthritis in my knees so sometimes it is very painful to walk/run. I can’t let my old man knees hinder his outside time, so a leash it is.. lol

I’m just kidding about the resentment part, I could care less what people think about my parenting style..

 

Ugh. As grateful as I am for this post, you probably just ruined this toy for me! I preordered the orange glow version, which hasn’t been released yet, so I haven’t had the opportunity to hold it and browse the details. But everything you’ve noted is right on the mark. Lesson learned! I usually steer clear of digitally sculpted stuff, mostly on principle, but I made the impulse buy based on the beloved character. At least I’ll have part of the fun of a box day before I pass it on to someone else!
3D sculpting is better left to action figures and other things for the mass market. In this character’s case I have to agree, it is a missed opportunity.

 

3d printed poonanners for your viewing pleasure, also its a gorilla so its extra cool.

 

I was a bit mean spirited in my original post I must admit but you summed up the follies of 3d printed figures perfectly. A very nice write up.

 

3D is a great tool for sure... when used tastefully...
That mirror effect ruins textures and parts that shouldn't be perfectly symmetrical. It's sort of an uncanny valley deal.

Some artists are using machine learning to randomize digital texturing and variants with modeling... Like trees and rocks built in unity.

 

Normally, I'd love to get a glance at some vulvs. But when they make up the happy trail on an android gorilla's beer belly, they somehow lose most of their appeal. Most.

 

NOOOO!!! See why I don't post in this thread?
Ruining other people's fun is no way to live

I even specifically went searching for the neutrally-colored photos I used in the post, because the 2 exclusive color ways I've seen look great. I did not want to imply the artists doing those paint runs deserved to be implicated along with the figure's flaws. In fact, the orange version you got in particular actually improved the figure by at least 60% IMO

 

Thank you!

On the contrary though, I thought you displayed amazing restraint, considering that Well-Dweller has all the same problems as the Robot Monster, but turned up to 11. The stock skulls are bad enough, but the fur(?) texture on that just looks like a coating of slugs.

Now that I say that out loud, a figure that is comprised of slugs sounds really cool. As long as it was actually sculpted... you know, good.

 

No judgement here. I'd strap that kid to a rickshaw so he can build muscle while I sip iced tea and travel in style.

 

I’m totally going to try that but instead of a rickshaw, I’ll use my longboard..

 

Wild guess: Mechacreech guy?

 

Good call. Because he's a DJ yeah? In case anyone has forgotten that.

 

To be fair its not even a tarantula. Its a turntable bug, its got 6 legs.

 

Sooo I just picked up my orange glow Ro-Man today. Totally massive, and the orange is really great. But yeah I can't unsee the mirrored textures. A shame, really. Either selling or at least trading for the Kaiju Live version! I figure between the translucency and the glitter of this newer release, the "Rorschach" flaws won't be so obvious.

 

Yep...

 

Sphinctorah