Lalo

Alright, well I have been really thinking of designing some toys.
Specifically using Vinyl as a medium.
And if I create something I really like, I would like to sell it.

But I have no idea how to start. From paper/mind, what is the next step? I'm thinking of getting a 3-D graphics program, and using that to get a blue-print of what I want before sending it out to a place that can make the real thing.

Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

future9er24

What kind of toys? Vinyl? I'm kinda lost...

burningman

wish i had a clue about that stuff

Lalo

Here is a brief history on vinyl toys:
http://www.millionaireplayboy.com/toys/urbanvinyl.php

and here are examples of vinyl toys:

Lalo

Here's a place that I found that makes toys for people:
http://www.chlproducts.com/index.html

Blue Notch

That sounds cool!!

future9er24

Lalo, that stuff looks pretty sweet. I'm sorry I can't give any insight, but I'm pretty sure you could swing something like that. You're a great toonist and artist, and shoot, you can substitute teach hoodlums like myself while retaining sanity.

In typical rowdy Arin fasion...

YOU CAN DOO EEETTT!!

Knight

that looks pretty cool. Any hints on what kind of toys you want to make?

Lalo

Right now I am working on a design that can be used over and over again for different artists to design on, a la the dunny, munny, smokin' labbit, Mad*L, etc. It's more like a canvas than a toy. (like it states under the Dunny boxes "This is not a toy, it is a work of art."

Lalo

Here are some of my designer toys (mixed with other toys i have)
I bet you can't guess what they all have in common lol
It all started with the knockman (right of iPod)


In other news, I am well on my way to creating a design that I like, and with the help of Rich, I now have a program that I can use to create a "blue"print

Evil_Capri

What about using CAD with a 3D printer? Of course most 3D printers are expensive. And I'm not sure about the textures using their material.

http://www.dimensionprinting.com/

http://www.zcorp.com/

Blip

Lalo, that's a cool idea.
Can't wait to see the finished "product."

Orphan

Any good at sculpting? Scupt your own out of clay and make a mold of it. Then you can cast as amny as you like.

O

Lalo

Well, I had a great idea of making TV headed toys with a body, I created the front, back, and sides of it on Expression about two weeks ago. I had dubbed them "Channels"... but I havent had access to my main computer since the black out happened, so I didnt have an opportunity to post it

Anyways, I just found out that a designer toy company is releasing TV headed toys soon! So my idea is scrap now...

Back to the drawing board

Funny thing, my brother had an idea of making toys representing the different elements... the same company with the TV Head idea is releasing Element inspired toys in a month or two lol
http://kachingbrands.com/

future9er24

Ouch Lalo, it's gotta blow when someone thinks of your idea and markets it first

If you ever get a chance, theres a Mark Twain essay on the subject, "Mental Telegraphy" While it's not exactly comforting, it makes for a nice laugh

Knight

My brother and I always said that we communicated by mind. Cause we would always have the same exact same ideas at the same time. We suspected it was mostly me projecting thoughts to him because i would always think of good inventions and companies would make them after the fact. So Lalo i have had the same problem..but yours is a little closer casue you even had a means to make it..my ideas were always things that i couldn't readly do myself.

future9er24

It's happened to me a few times with various Lego kits. Sometimes comparing what I made as a kid to what they as a company did months later is really eery.

Still, just like Chris, I had not the means :-\

n00bstang

that would have been cool if you made the toys.
i would have bought one. fo sho.

Lalo

I'm gonna spill one of my ideas right now, since I don't have access to a scanner... See what you guys think about it.

I want to create car-toons made of vinyl! Vinyl is a very lightweight plastic that works great as a "canvas" to draw on.
The model will be blank, and the shape will be pretty simple (no light bulbs, grill, etc.), just the general overall shape. This allows artists, enthusiasts, everyone and their mother to draw on the model and create their own creation without too much constraints and limits.
I'm thinking of making a "Muscle Car" model and a "Mini" model. The Mini model is complete on paper.
I also plan to send these models out to various artists and car designers (including two from TMS ), in hope that they will draw on it, and allow me to produce limited numbers of their work for sale.

So, for example...
Here is a blank "canvas" toy... very simple, overall shape


People/artists buy them, and then draw, paint, accesorize, and everything you can think about

Blip

Lalo that's a great idea, now quickly get to a copyright/trademark lawyer
to protect your idea. It will cost some bucks, but will give you the rights to produce the design.