As a toy collector, I often find myself hungering to ensconce myself even deeper into the toy-niverse and become a toy creator. I think it’s the quiet dream of many artists who fall anywhere into the ‘pop surrealism’ genre to have a toy made of their own images or characters, but the road is long and difficult, and absolutely incomprehensible when it comes down to the technicalities of the manufacturing process. I know – I’ve tried.

I have sketchbooks full of ideas, and my hours of plumbing the seedy and / or non-English parts of the internet were only met with frustration, and I came away with no greater knowledge about how to get my toy designs made. I collect this stuff – wouldn’t it be neat if someone collected MY stuff? Isn’t my line of Monsters Sitting In Stylish Chairs vinyl toys worth something to someone?

Jesse Wroblewski has the answer, and it’s called Toy-Creator.com, and lo, it is a bright beacon of awesome sent down from the plastic heavens, guiding us through the previously labyrinthine mire of the toy process. Sure, I’ve never had any problem with the creative aspects, but when you start throwing money and math and overseas construction in there, my brain starts to close off and curl into a tight little angsty ball – more than usual. But a little less than when someone asks, ‘So, what are you doing with your life?’

Jesse presents two distinct kinds of toy creation in his series of six videos, each handsome and clear video running about eight to fourteen minutes long. I won’t hold the wacky backgrounds against him. Even if Jesse’s brand of creepo toys aren’t your thing, remember that the techniques and ideas that are discussed within can be applied to anything; action figures, statues, trinkets, geegaws, etcetera.

First, the general processes of craftily hand-producing your own toys at home is discussed, from prototype to finished product. Of course, these solitary methods are labor intensive and can only produce small amounts of product, but it’s far cheaper than mass production, you have total control of the process, and handmade things are pretty hot right now. While the video addressing handmade toys speaks of things in very general terms, offering hints but few specifics, the series of constantly updated links below each video is where the real money is. Jesse knows what he’s talking about, knows where to get the proper materials, and acknowledges that there are far more detailed resources out there that explore and exhaust the finer points of the artistic process, and so he points you towards them.

However, most of the video series places a heavy focus on exactly what to do with your toy ideas and products on a grand, mass-market level : how to get a company to pick up your idea or how to deal with the mass production process yourself, which overseas manufacturing plants are good to deal with and which ones speak English (which is less common than you’d think), how to buy licenses to make toys or have someone buy your licenses, how to market your toy to the world, and a general miasma of anecdotal wisdom gained from the very difficult process of making a collectible, interesting toy. Again, these all come with super-helpful links on every page, which Jesse strives to keep actively updated.

Because of this, the delivery of the info is ideally suited to the web. While some folks might be hesitant to drop a subscription fee to the website (which is currently around $40), we have Jesse’s assurance that everything will be kept live and updated for the foreseeable future. Don’t be put off by the stark, sales-pitch aesthetic of the introductory pages, because it’s much cleaner and slicker inside – and if you’re serious about getting any of your ideas into three dimension or into mass production, this collection of links alone is a great resource.

No, the site isn’t really designed for someone casually interested in throwing something together for fun; this is business, and it takes a serious investment of time and finances to get it started. If this doesn’t scare you, plunge in. It’s the first investment in a series of greater investments, and hopefully a first step towards becoming the creator of a collectible.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 2:00 am and is filed under collecting fyi, reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.