Recreating my childhood toy - 3D Modelling

This was a design challenge in which we were tasked to recreate our childhood toy or something from its universe, then 3D model it using Rhino, add texture using Blender and then turn it into a promotional poster. This was a very challenging project for me as there was a lot of new complicated software I had never used before.

My Childhood Toy

I was very privileged to be able to have an array of toys when I was younger. As I am the youngest sibling of 3, I had many hand me downs to choose from. My favourite toy however, was one that my dad bought me when he went on a trip to Australia and came back with a platypus! I named him Slushy.

Design Sprint

The design sprint is a plan which you create to step out the task and track your time management on the project.

Step 0 - Assumptions

Assumptions were made to help make decisions about the toy and its materials as well as the poster.

Step 1 - Precedents/ Moodboard

I gathered some precedents based on what I wanted to achieve based off my assumptions. My main goal was to research the poster, as I am not confident in my graphic design skills.

Step 1.5 - Risks

Step 1.5 identifies gaps in your knowledge, and other problems you may face during the design process. I allocated myself 1.5 hours to learn Rhino and watch a graphic design tutorial, however it was much more complicated than I realised, and I spent 2 hours learning the basics of Rhino and Blender and did not have time to complete a graphic design tutorial.

Step 2 -Ideation

I ideated some ideas for the posters layouts based off of my precedents and mood boards.

NOTE: At this point in the task I thought we had to model our toy exactly, so this is what I ideated. This was not the case however, as the toy would be too hard for my modelling skillset, I had to rethink what I could create and decided to ideate things from my toys universe.

Step 3 - Chose an Ideation

I ended up choosing to model a hat for my project as after gaining some feedback, I realized it was the most realistic option and also had the most cultural relevance to where the toy comes from. Being in NZ and Australia, sun damage is a very serious problem, and so a sunhat could also be a way to reinforce sun protection ideas.

Step 4 - Build the Prototype

This part was extremely challenging for me, however once I understood simple Rhino commands, I managed to create my model using simple shapes.

I then added textures in blender.

The poster took a lot longer as I went through several colour changes, and different layouts, trying to stick to my original poster ideation. Some of the process is shown here.

Final Poster

Step 5 - Commentary

I was able to contact some people I know and get some feedback on how they found the app prototype. I asked for feed back based on the main criteria that I had gathered from my assumptions:

1) Do you actually like the toy? Do you want to keep it? Would you use it?

2) Do you like the poster? What stands out to you?

I allocated myself 2 hours to complete this, but it actually didn't take very long at all.

Step 6 - Reflection

The last step is to reflect upon this task and explain what I learned and would do different next time. These reflections are a seperate blog which you can find on my blog page.

Statement of Intent

Originally I planned on modelling Slushy himself, but after reflecting on this, my skill set was not prepared for this task. In thinking about toy relevance and sustainability in 2021, many families already have multiple toys, there are toy libraries where you can borrow toys, so I came up with the idea of an ‘accessory’, a toy that is versatile and can be used across what families already have. In terms of material viability, the hat can be made from simple cotton, thread, rope, and plastic, all which are able to be recycled. This resonates with my cultural context of coming from Wellington, as there is a big push for sustainability and versatility.