Image source: Toucharcade.com
Technology has advanced so much that the line between digital and physical reality is slowly dissipating. You can easily transfer a physical object into digital space — all you need is a 3D scanner. Likewise, you can reverse the process with a 3D printer. This dynamic opens up new possibilities for the world of visual effects.
I mean, there’s always been a close bond between toys and the entertainment industry. Just look at Disney — every new movie that comes out is joined by a line of toys. There’s a new trend in digital arts that makes that relationship even stronger.
Skylander really popularized this concept. Those of you with kids in the age range of 5-10 might now what I’m talking about. Skylanders is both a video game and a toy. You buy these small action figures, and when you put the toy on this little platform the creature appears in the video game world. This allows gamers to intuitively switch out which monster they want to play by using physical toys. It also drives revenue through the roof by motivating kids to buy both video games and toys.
Disney recently jumped on the bandwagon with Disney Infinity. It works on a very similar concept: buying a toy unlocks the digital toy in the accompanying video game. You can unlock the full potential of these toys in the video game by typing in product codes that come with the toy, or by forking over real cash.
We’re kind of getting into business and corporate strategy here, so let’s bring things back into the world of visual effects. Considering the popularity of Skylander and the potential of Disney Infinity, there’s a good chance that this toy-video game dynamic is here to stay. This could fundamentally affect how visual effects artists design their characters.
Image source: Vg247.com
I realize, of course, that designing characters in order to sell a toy is an old concept. I touched on it briefly back in my article about The Croods, because the designers were clearly trying to sell toys with all of the cute prehistoric animals. Now more than ever, visual effects artists will need to design characters with toys in mind. Sure a model might look awesome on your computer screen, but how well will kids be able to play with it? Can you simplify your model by giving it cartoonish qualities that will make the toy easier to mass produce? That’s what Disney is doing with their Infinity toys — their iconic characters have been simplified into very basic toys that are both instantly recognizable and fairly easy to produce.
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