Reflection on the Daguang Toy Design Process
by: Larissa Kuo
english version
Have you guys tried to make toys for other kids with 3D printers? This semester we made toys that we designed from 0 to 100. Every process is difficult in its own ways, but at last, everyone sent out our toys perfectly.
When Dr.Lee announced that I will be making toys for two little boys, I kind of felt sad because I really wish I got a girl so it will be easier for us to communicate. But during the first meeting with the two little boys, they are good listeners, they would plan with me about the things they like, and they trusted me with their secrets. I showed them I few ideas I put together and we both agreed on one, a baseball game.
Both the two boys love to play baseball, so making a toy that is related to baseball is very interesting. I made a mini size baseball field that goes along with two mini bats, two mini baseballs, 4 mini bases, 2 mini characters, and one mini middle base. We made each and every one of them by Blender, after we printed them we filed each and every one of them, we also painted each of the small details.
While discussing the toy designs with the kids, they wanted me to make 2 toy figures out from a video game they like. But I asked the teachers about their idea, but it will be really hard to make all the details the same since I am not a professional. So I told them because of copyrights, I would not be able to make those models for them. Of course, they understand and they are ok with the baseball games.
After this experience, we still another big piece of toy-making for even younger kids. So next time, it will be easier for us to do the process once again because we are pretty skilled enough to do this kind of project again.
chinese version
你們有沒有嘗試過用 3D 打印機為其他孩子製作玩具？這個學期我們做了我們從0到100設計的玩具。每個過程都有遭遇困難，但最終每個人都完美地發出了我們的玩具。
當李博士宣布我將為兩個小男孩製作玩具時，我有點難過，因為我真的希望我能幫一個女孩，這樣我們就可以更容易地交流。但是和兩個小男孩的第一次見面，我發現他們是很好的傾聽者，他們會和我一起計劃他們喜歡的事情，並且他們信任我的秘密。我向他們展示了我整理的一些想法，我們都同意了其中一個，那就是一場棒球比賽。
這兩個男孩都喜歡打棒球，所以製作一個與棒球有關的玩具很有趣。我製作了一個迷你棒球場，裡面有兩個迷你球棒、兩個迷你棒球、四個迷你基地、兩個迷你角色和一個迷你中間基地。我們用 Blender 製作了每一個，在我們打印它們之後，我們將它們中的每一個歸檔，我們還繪製了每個小細節。
在與孩子們討論玩具設計時，他們希望我從他們喜歡的電子遊戲中製作 2 個玩具人偶。我問了老師他們的想法，但由於我不是專業人士，因此很難使所有細節都相同。所以我告訴他們因為版權問題，我不能為他們製作這些模型。當然，他們理解並且他們對棒球比賽這個主題沒問題。
在這次經歷之後，我們仍然為更年幼的孩子製作另一件大玩具。所以下一次，我們再次做這個過程會更容易，因為我們非常熟練，可以再次做這種項目。