3D Printing Meets Toy Design – the Creative World of Wonzeez

We’ve nailed it many times on our blog – by giving you some real and amazing examples that show that 3D printing doesn’t always boil down to industrial applications. The fact is that this technology finds its utility in multiple surprising and different branches, each time giving the users great business opportunities and lots of joy.

3D printed octopus toy

Arpine and the Monsters

Ever wondered what sort of creatures live deep down in the ocean or reside in the darkness under your children’s bed? Well, Arpine Keurjikian made all these fantasies tangible. Inspired by the underwater monsters and images from her imagination she turned her passion into her profession with a little help from the latest technology and Zortrax M200 3D printer. The young designer is a fresh graduate of Otis College of Art and Design and has her degree in Toy Design. Although she has been devoted to toy design for many years and had the possibility to gain some experience working for toy giants such as Mattel, only recently she has switched from the traditional methods to the more contemporary ones. As usual, you can check out the amazing results of this transition on our blog, or find some more examples of 3D printed toys and figurines.

3D printed fish toy

Toy Time

A great passion and devotion into work could be the key to success, but these days you also have to be well equipped to make your work more efficient and smart. Fast and precise tools like Zortrax M200 3D printer provide you with the basis for your work – a finished object that is ready for adding the final touch to it. The way from changing the model from a sketch to a ready object takes usually a few hours and allows to avoid lots of manual work. The traditional sculpting on the one hand helps designers to improve their skills, but on the other hand can be a bit monotonous and simply too slow if you want to launch various types of products and show them to the future customers.

Unpainted 3D printed toys

Bizzare is Beautiful

Wonzeez toys ready for packing

The most appealing feature of the models created by Arpine is definitely their looks and it shouldn’t surprise anyone. The creepy and cute toys are colorful masterpieces with intricate shapes and a lot of attention put into the details. It has been proven many times that great design is the feature that could determine the lifespan of our object and is a factor that differentiates your product in its sector. In the sea of products with similar properties the quality and the original design should be on the highest level to win the hearts of clients and make your brand shine on the market.

Play with the Variety

Taking a closer look at the Arpine’s collection we can distinguish two different types of figurines: the ones that remind scary underwater monsters, bugs or fish and the ones called Wonzees – a set of pet like toys all dressed in onesies. The 3D printed models have in fact some things in common, these are mainly the bright colors and the overall quality, especially precise and well done post-processing is the thing that draws attention to the models. Asked about the details, Arpine claims that all the activities she performs include sanding, priming and painting the objects with acrylic spray paint. The finished models, thanks to the fact that they imitate the look of end-use products are well used for the testing and evaluation. The designer herself claims: “I use 3D printing to create prototypes of the toys I design. Having a physical model helps communicate and sell an idea. It also helps see what changes need to be made. You can simply print as many modified versions of your design and decide what works best”.

3D printed toys in full colors

When Shortcuts Pay Off

Switching from the traditional methods of making figures with modeling clay may seem as an “less artistic” option for some of you, however the fact is that the designers can show off their talent by creating designs in modeling programs, for example the ones preferred by Arpine like Rhino and Z-Brush. The thing which is essential about the 3D printing technology is also its universality and the fact that you can use both methods and adjust the tools to your individual needs. Just as the Designer advises: “I sometimes combine both traditional and digital methods of sculpting in my work. What I love about 3D printing is accurate results, the ability to print multiple pieces, adjust size, experiment with different materials, and bring what’s on the screen to life!”