Did you ever make up some fantastical creatures as a kid that you wished existed as actual toys? Maybe you tried to put your parents to work helping you mold them out of clay? MOYUPI promises to make kids' creatures even more real through the magic of 3D printing and a little hand-painting.
The company uses digital modeling software to prepare your creature (or MOYUPI) for 3D printing, and then renders them in kid-friendly, durable ABS plastic. Due to the rudimentary nature of color 3D printing and the creators' desire to precisely follow directions, color is carefully added to the designs by hand. MOYUPI can be rendered in three different sizes (15cm, 10cm and 7cm) and two types of boxes designed by Brazilian artist and illustrator Mayra Magalhães, and can also be shipped without paint so kids can do it themselves.
The limitations of 3D printing that the creators have encountered also happen to sync up fairly well with many children's drawings; for example, irregular shapes are considered ideal for making a MOYUPI, but stick figures and other designs below a minimum thickness can't be accepted. The MOYUPI project also encourages children to be original, as the creators can't print licensed characters like Spongebob or Elsa (but they can print designs inspired by them).
"A team composed by artists... is the opportunity to get creative in the design process," said MOYUPI founder Juan Ángel Medina in an email. "'How did the kid imagine his Moyupi?', 'is that an arm or a horn?', 'is this element part of the shape or just something drawn on it?'. These questions aren't always easy to answer, so we need to put our minds in a kid-like state to imagine what the kids wanted to portray and design it in the most accurate way."
So what's the big-picture mission with MOYUPI? The young team of six designers says they are interested in donating a portion of the company's proceeds to organizations: "ASPACE, ALES, PÍDEME LA LUNA and ASPERGER, each one linked to one of MOYUPI mascots."
An early-bird special allows backers who pledge $34 or more to receive a small MOYUPI figure as well as a Maxi Pack; a special XXL size (30 cm high) for $114 will also only be available during the special Kickstarter campaign. A variety of other configurations, some geared toward multiple kids and families, should be a great opportunity for kids and adults alike to unleash their creativity.
"The material I would like to use for the Moyupi is a rubber-like one, in order to make them even more friendly and resistant. That's a possibility we are currently researching," said Medina. Stretch goals also include a video game, YouTube series and research into making posable, articulated figures: all promising ideas for a kids' brand.