JFury & Urban Vinyl Daily Release KingPins Series Online

Did you miss out on the pins Urban Vinyl Daily released wit the artist JFury at Designer Con? Well now you can get all three of the KingPins artist series designs online from the artist! And that is not all, JFury has also made a deal that if you order all three of the pins he will toss in three vinyl decals based on his famous characters. So what are you waiting for? Head over HERE and grab them for $10 each.

Klim Kozinevich Interviewed on Adventures in Design Podcast

Our friend Klim Kozinevich of Bigshot Toyworks is interviewed by Mark Brickey on the AMAZING Adventures in Design podcast. They talk toy design and development, working with clients, managing development projects and the evolution of Klim's career... all the dirty details, from tendonitis due to days of sculpting by hand, to the early moment of desperation that led Klim to don a homemade monster suit and hand out resumes outside of Toy Fair.

REALLY fun to hear the backstories of "the dude behind the dude." He's come a long way since then, stacking up some of the biggest brands in the world as his clients. Listen here on the AID website where you can play the track via SoundCloud or iTunes.

TeeFetch Offers Solid Info and Reviews of T-Shirt Printing Companies and Graphic T-Shirt Designs

I don't know about you but I've produced a few different t-shirt designs, and nearly every print job I do is through a different company, using different ink application processes. Basically, for about a decade, I've been winging it, choosing my printing company essentially willy-nilly.

That's dumb.

Enter TeeFetch to save the day: TeeFetch has put together possibly the most useful, independent coverage of the print-on-demand t-shirt industry that I've ever found. TeeFetch aggregates all of the good Limited Edition and Shirt of The Day deals as a homepage gallery for shoppers' convenience. They have Tee Design reviews, Tips and Resources for those interested in opening an online t-shirt shop, and for artists who want to start designing their own shirts. Brand Vs Brand comparisons, SEO help, and even a fairly detailed history of the t-shirt itself which was used as source material for Wikipedia and Shirts.com!

I know a LOT of you print your own artwork on t-shirts and sell the shirts on your websites. It's pretty much the most accessible form of your artwork for a buyer, at a price point that anyone can afford. I have a ridiculous artsy graphic tee collection, thanks to all of you! But I have to be honest: some of your shirts have held up better than others.

Seeing as how we all make and collect tons of t-shirts, don't you think you should do a bit of research into the graphic quality as well as the printing process of your t-shirt printer? Your customers will thank you. Check the TeeFetch Brand Reviews page here before your next shirt printing run. The TeeFetch blog is also a source of great info for anyone diving into to the t-shirt vertical.

TeeFetch offers independent tee shirt graphic design reviews

TeeFetch also offers detailed side-by-side comparison reviews of t-shirt printing companies and their products

Well that's new! A manatee toy design by Artefacto Inc

Found on the Artefacto Behance page. Some cool stuff there. Artefacto are designers from Colombia - so cool to see our little collectible toy community growing!

See more pics, turnarounds, Zbrush work here.

Sooooo... who's gonna offer to turn this ridiculously cute figure into a 3" keshi? Cuz that would be rad. Tru:tek I'm lookin at you buddy. SEA COW FTW!

Rich Page of UME Toys Leading Online Class About Creating Designer Toys

Richard Page, founder of UMEToys, is producing an interactive online class for those who are interested in learning how to create their own designer toys. The class is titled " Designer Toy Creation", and will be offered via Mold3D Academy. Mold3D is an online resource for designers interested in digital fabrication and has been focusing on educational programs for the past several years.

This is a one of a kind class that promises to teach you how to design, sculpt, cast, mold and finish your custom toy. Alongside this, Richard will explain how to market and grow your toy brand. Registration begins August 31st, and the class runs the week of October 5th through December 13th. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity!

For more information head on over to:

http://www.mold3dacademy.com/designer-toy-creation.html

Announcing CoolFun Magazine Issue 1

Announcing Issue #1 of CoolFun Magazine, a new monthly from Singapore featuring toys, games, design, movies, pop culture and lifestyle coverage! Issue 1 hits "newsstands" in late January and we're getting a limited stock of them. Click here to preorder the 112-page inaugural issue!

NEW Lavabear shirts by Nathan Hamill at outsmART Originals

Outsmart Originals is proud to present two new incredible releases from artist Nathan Hamill. Based on his iconic designer vinyl figure, Lavabear, we are thrilled to be working with Nathan on these new releases. We have two t-shirt projects dropping in October with the first being ‘Lavabear Rising’ featuring the vibrant and sharp, eye-popping color design screen-printed on ultra cotton tees.

The second release, ‘Lavabear: Artist Edition’ depicts the character in an original hand-drawn design by the artist.  A mix between minimalism and abstract styles, the artist has created a classic version of Lavabear that is easily identifiable as well as fascinating.

**Both releases are now available for pre-order and will only be printed to order and are scheduled to ship in October. Men’s shirts will be screen-printed using ultra cotton tees for a classic and long lasting fit while the women’s tees will be printed on soft-style ring-spun cotton jersey tees for a flattering fit.

Join the Lavabear clan and proudly show your support for Nathan Hamill’s loveable creation.

"Lavabear was once a shapeless, colorless being created from stardust by The Those. Over time, he rose into a vibrant, ursine-esque creature.
His sole purpose was to guard the entrance to the Sacred Realms of Märchen and, along with it, its memories, treasures, and secrets.
The legend goes that if awoken from his deep hibernation, those foolhardy enough to trespass on his Sacred Grounds will be met with a terrible and ancient wrath.
His paws, it was said, shall lower, igniting the Eyes of Ulyssia and, with it, one thousand cursed flames. Once alive, Lavabear will seek down the intruders and bury their bones in his fiery belly…
…returning him once again to his deep, sound slumber."

- Nathan Hamill

CHECK OUT ALL THE OUTSMART ORIGINALS SHIRTS HERE! 

Some seriously f#cking cool designs from amazingly talented artists.

Design a Dynomighty Wallet, Get Sales, Get Paid, Go Global!

Dynomighty Wallet design by SENA

Dynomighty Announces their "Artist Collective" program, designed to encourage submissions of new designs for their MightyWallet Tyvek wallets. Tyvek is that crazy material the USPS uses in their Priority Mail packaging. You can print on it like paper, but it doesn't tear.

Artist Collective is a creative channel where up and coming, developed, or masters of the fine arts can produce a MightyWallet® of their own design. Artists from around the globe have joined in and started sharing their art to inspire others...not to mention create an amazing wallet! Once the artist's design is approved they can choose to launch it immediately or save it to coincide with a show or event to help cross-promote. It puts the power of promotion into the artists hands.

Once the design is launched, there is a 30 day window in which they will need to have 30 backers support their design. If the wallet design clears the 30 by 30 challenge, the wallet will go into production. Any and all backers will receive the wallet. A few of the most successful designs will be offered to over 1600 stores across 66 countries around the globe. So not only do you get to create a wallet of your own design, but if your design clears the 30 by 30 challenge, it will be seen around the globe.

This unique project is part of Dynomighty's commitment to encourage art and design. Founded by an artist, Dynomighty has and always will support art, artists, and those that choose to Be Mighty!

Dynomighty Wallet design by Alisa Yang

So here's the thing: if you're an artist, and you are ALREADY producing artwork in various forms to sell online, you should DEFINITELY take advantage of this program to get products with your art on it distributed around the world. Worldwide recognition is NO JOKE. As an artist it should be your main goal, if you hope to support yourself on the sale of artwork alone. You're gonna have to sell both original art, and products like this with your art printed on them, in order to make it.

And you KNOW I would never push you to do something that's a waste of time. Money MUST be the end goal.

Basically the program works like this: go here, click on CREATE, and upload your design. From that point you have 30 days to get 30 people to pre-order your design. That's as easy as a little social media work, or blogging work, or an email blast to your mailing list (because you DO have a mailing list, right?). MightyWallets are $15 at retail- super cheap for customers. If you have a mailing list of 300 people, and you might get 10% to spring for it, you're golden.

You can see this process in action here, where buyers would browse designs.

OK so once you get 30 of your people to back your wallet design (it's like a mini 30-day Kickstarter), your wallet goes into production. Your backers pay and get theirs and ALSO you get 15% of the profits generated by the sales of your wallets on the Dynomighty site.

ALSO, the most successful wallet designs are offered up at wholesale to Dynomighty's impressive network of retailers in 60+ countries!

To sum up: if your design goes through, you get MONEY and GLOBAL RECOGNITION. What the hell are you waiting for?

Go find Dynomighty on their website, Facebook and YouTube.

Dynomighty Wallet design by ieatcoffee

Dynomighty Wallet design by hero