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RawrzToys Goes Wild with the Form 1

Cast-polyurethane gator from RawrzToys
A cast-polyurethane gator, wearing a classy Form 1 printed hat

You’ve probably seen Ann Sidenblad’s work floating around the forums — her eye-catching prints often appear in our roundups! Aside from her job with Dreamworks, Ann and fellow artist Victoria Rose run RawrzToys, an indie operation that releases whimsical pocket-sized creatures into the wild.

Recent coverage from MAKE Magazine and Mold3D, plus appearances at trade shows, conventions, and fairs galore, is generating quite the buzz about the two-person company. We caught up with Ann and Victoria about their design process, future directions, and how the Form 1 fits into their workflow.

Notably, Ann and Victoria use the Form 1 as only the first of many positives and negatives of their digitally-modeled toys:

PreForm and Form 1 printed gator from RawrzToys
This is the part we recognize!

After both were trained in traditional sculpting, Ann went on to digital animation, and Victoria’s work as a feature film puppet maker gave her experience with…well, nearly everything else. “Those skills,” Victoria stresses, “were imperative in producing multiples of our toys.”

From the Form 1-printed “master” model of their gator, they move on to some pretty interesting materials: silicone molding and injected liquid polyurethane.

RawrzToys gator silicone mold
Left: A mold form filled with liquid silicone cradles the little gator. Right: Using a jeweler's cut, Ann and Victoria free the gator from its silicone prison, leaving a perfect negative to fill with liquid polyurethane.

Then, when the polyurethane is fully dried, they sand, primer, and paint the final piece! Often, toys get separate accessories — hats and wings are favorites — which are direct Form 1 prints decorated with metallic paints and shiny coatings.

RawrzToys gator primed and painted
Above, a primered gator sits next to a partially-painted toy. Below, the gator dons a top hat — a direct print coated in glossy paint.

Victoria points out that, while sculpting in polymer clay is great for one-offs, it wasn’t until she combined her skill set with Ann’s and added 3D modeling and printing to the mix that she was able to create five or more identical base toys at a time.

Finished model of Viking gator
A Viking friend of our classy gator would rather sail the Nordic seas.

This let her and Ann streamline their line’s look, and also focus on the individual touches that makes Rawrztoys truly special. It’s hard to find, for example, an alligator with a viking hat anywhere but in the Rawrztoys store!

RawrzToys shark with Form 1 printed pirate hat
Another member of the Rawrztoys lineup, this cast shark wears a Form 1 pirate hat. Yarrr.

In the future, they’re planning to expand the Rawrztoys zoo to include lions, sea turtles, pandas, and more. They’re also intrigued by the idea of working in other materials — for instance, larger vinyl models that could be customized by their purchasers, like the popular Kidrobot Munny figures.

RawrzToys giraffe with Form 1 printed wings
A heart-covered cast giraffe has Form 1-printed wings.
Ann Sidenblad and her Form 1 3D printer
Ann gives her Form 1 a hug at Comikaze Expo.

Their website is packed with wonders. We’re honored to have played a part in Rawrztoys’ process, and we can’t wait to see what they do next!