HUEXóLOTL • Chauskoskis

It's going to be different for sure, and won't come from the same tradition of craftsmanship. That's a big draw for me, and I think I will prefer the more hand-made toys because that's what drew me here in the first place. That said, if newer technology makes it easier for toys stuck in production hell to get produced, even to a lower quality standard, that would be nice.

 

There's been several sofubi toys made from an original 3D print sculpt, but the end result is traditional sofubi methods past the initial finalized 3D print. Personally, I wouldn't be down for a 3D printed soft vinyl toy for two reasons: one, the quality would suffer greatly, and that's a HUGE reason people go the Japanese method/route to begin with. Two, if people, myself included, think the market is over saturated now...

 

That is true, and I'm definitely not saying that the sofubi industry should be replaced by 3D printing! I honor and respect the history, arts/craftsmanship, and traditions. I'm just trying to say that for artists with limited means and resources, this would be a great way to get started, instead of being at the mercy of someone who left you without delivering the goods. I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to invest your time, energy, and resources into making a prototype, only to have the toy production railroaded. Just a humble suggestion.

p.s. I also meant that when technology advanced enough from a technical standpoint, so that the quality would be decent, as well as being affordable.


But I fully support "3D printing" for many other applications


p.p.s. Personally, I'd use the above technique to make Henry and Emma toys, not sofubi , on a more light-hearted level, you know that everything is going to be "manufactured" by Star Trek replicators at some point!

 

That's true. The chance to make anything in your home inevitably floods any market; I don't want to be buying toy designs off Shapeways to make at home. No offense to the wonderful people who already put their designs up there for printing in hard composites, of course.

 

It’s a shame these ended up in that whole Ricky mess. It would have / maybe one day could be a cool figure.

On the 3D note, my Komorebi and Ango figures were sculpted digitally then printed and the masters sent over for to Japan for wax, molds, and casting. While I like the figures, nothing beats hand sculpted. There’s something “lifeless” about digitally sculpted and printed toys. This is coming from a guy that spent WAY to much to have it done. Lesson learned. Only hand sculpted from here on out.

 

I don't know if this might relate to whoever handled your digital sculpts for those guys, Adam, but I think it can come down to whether or not the person has mastered hand sculpting before getting into digital. I follow a bunch of artists on IG who are master sculptors who have, over the last few years, begun to use ZBrush, Mudbox, etc. Of course there's a learning curve, but all of them are now able to use digital to produce work that's every bit as detailed, anatomically well-rendered, and soulful/idiosyncratic as their hand-sculpted work (and it carries across in the prints). The feel for actual sculpting, and the thousands of hours these people put into that first, definitely seem fundamental to really taking off with digital in the way you're talking about.