If you support me on Printables or Patreon you should have received this month’s reward. In honor of Chinese New Year and 2024 being the year of the Dragon, I brought out the articulated dragon model from the PrintABlok:Beasts campaign. This model has been newly updated with the improved ball joints and so should hold it’s poses better, longer.
In addition, I have some big news. The next major design project to lanuch on Kickstarter will be a little something I’m calling Cthulhu and Friends. Whimsical monsters and eldritch gods as cute and creepy collectable figurines.
Some years ago I made a collection of cute monsters inspired by the designs of H P Lovecraft. It’s one of those projects that keeps coming back around for me. I see prints from that set pop up once in a while and when I point out that I made them, the people who did the printing usually have no idea. That’s what I call “having legs”.
Of course there has been a few things about the designs I wanted to clean up, so I revisited those design recently. And then I and thought they’d be a fun thing to extend with even more characters. And as I started on this, I decided this would be my next campaign and my first new toy line. The works of H P Lovecraft are a surprisingly deep well to draw from, but I think Cthulhu would be friends with all kinds of monsters, including other local lores, ancient legends, and other franchises. (Though, if they’re still copyrighted, they may have to be inspired-by-but-legally-distinct versions.)
Unlike the past couple of campaigns which focused on digital-only delivery, in this campaign I am reaching for a broader audience with physical rewards, as well. Meaning backers will be able to opt to have some or all of the designs from this campaign sent to them. And, yes, I’m planning on doing the manufacturing myself. Which means if this becomes wildly successful I may have quite a challenge ahead.
Part of the reason for my focus on physical rewards is because of what I saw at DesignerCon. There’s a whole audience of people who love toys, but don’t want to 3D print (which I get), and so why not sell to them? In fact why not use this as a way to challenge the whole toy industry. If 3d printers are capable of producing an acceptable quality as mass produced toys, but don’t require mass production, then why not? Let’s disrupt the toy industry with 3D printing!
Okay, it may require just a little cleanup, but I think that’s pretty good. Especially in 4 colors.
I’m giving myself plenty of lead time with this one, getting the kickstarter page up now and spreading the word while I work on some things behind the scenes to get ready. Check it out, and sign up today to let Kickstarter know you’re interred!
