How to Make Art Figures, The Idea to Realization

Making art figures is a tiring and happy thing. We start from 0 to 1 and make this art figure Cubie Goose. From the initial design sketch to contacting the toy factory for production, and finally promoting it, we spent a lot of time on this customized project and encountered many difficulties, but we finally overcame them.

The Process of Art Figure Design

Based on the prototype of Cubie Goose, the design of the Cubie Goose art figure is divided into the following four steps.

Sketch

Firstly, the sketch of the concept was designed and some creative ideas were recorded, and the art figures were divided into two series.

Gift box art figure series for partners: limited edition, playability, we add the changing shoes and rocker on the basis of the existing IP prototype;

The blind box art figure series is aimed at younger fans: colorful and interesting, emphasizing the concept of the square Cubie Goose by hiding hands and feet, and trying different matching schemes from material technology and color matching.

Model

Then start the art figure model design. Firstly, the model of the Cubie Goose is improved on the basis of the prototype to ensure that the solid art figure can stand and move its joints. The shoulder joint of the hand is expanded to facilitate the 360-degree movement of the arm;

Enlarge the distance between legs and keep the center of gravity of the whole figure. Replacing the prototype shoes further maintains the center of gravity, and at the same time increases the fun of changing shoes.

The design of the blind box emphasizes the concept of a simple game box and strengthens the brand characteristics of the square; At the design level: hide the hands and feet with the shape of a square, and at the same time increase the filling of materials such as square particles.

According to the sketch and modeling design, the 3D modeling is carried out after the basic modeling is determined.

Colors

The color part of the art figure is based on the skin color of the prototype of Cubie Goose, we get the inspiration for the laser from the art toy trend, and the laser is also widely used in the art toy market, so the laser is combined with the prototype color to show the dazzling effect of laser silver.

As for the color inspiration of the blind box, because the goal is colorful and interesting, according to the attributes of the live broadcast of the Tencent game platform and the game IP, we get rich color inspiration from the light waves of each game screen, such as red light, purple light, golden light, green light, etc. (Gradient color, transparent color, matte color).

Materials

We found some popular materials from the market, there are PVC, vinyl, and resin. According to the prototype of the art figure, we finally choose PVC injection molding to make it, because we have to make 5000 pieces, and the cost of injection molding will be lower.

Art Figure Production

The first part is the online design and presentation. There are many difficulties and challenges in offline production.

3D Modeling

We send the design to the toy factory, and then the factory arranges to do 3d modeling and then print it. The worker polishing and assembled the printed model, and colored it with Pantone colors.

This is a process of making samples, which takes one to two weeks to complete, and then the factory will send us the samples of the made art figures for confirmation. After careful inspection, we were very satisfied. Finally, we paid the mold fee and deposit and approved the factory to produce.

Mass Produce In A Toy Factory

Through the many mass production process steps of toy disassembly, mold making, PVC injection molding, polishing, painting and coloring, assembly, quality inspection, and packaging. After continuous communication with the factory and waiting for three months, the art figures we designed were finally made into art toys. This is really a very fulfilling thing, and we are all very happy.

Finally, in some accessories packaging, humanized design is added from some details, such as the easy tearing of blind boxes, punching holes in packaging bags to avoid extrusion and explosion, and some detailed texture design; At the same time, the brand anti-counterfeiting label and the protruding logo on the back of the brooch.

Experience

This is the first time that we have turned the design into an art figure from 0 to 1. The blind boxes project of the first generation of Cubie Goose finally landed. Maybe it is not perfect, but it has far-reaching significance for our team. Through the in-depth practice and exploration of this project, we summed up a set of design process standards for custom art toys, which helped the project to be implemented more effectively.