Video Intro

Sketchatoy Intro from sketchatoy on Vimeo.

Finally got around to creating a little intro for my videos. It's basic because I only have movie maker effects to work with but it'll do for now.

Links and Resources Added

Thought I'd take the time to post a couple of website I like to visit for inspiration and information on the toy world! Also on the menu to the right I will be adding new links as I find them!

Toy Industry Association and Toy Info are great website to find out what's going on in the world of toy. the NY Toy Fair 2010 is just around the corner so make sure to check back towards the end of February for news and updates.

Toy Connections is a networking site for people in the toy industry.

Toys Design is a coroflot group. There are lots of members and a large image pool but I find that the content can stray from toy. Another coroflot group is Toy Design. The image pool is smaller but I find it better.

And finally Toy Arts. This website has a great links section where you can find pages to toy manufactures, inventors, and brands if you're looking to get an idea to market.

In the future I will try to have some posts that feature different toy designers. I'm frantically e-mail people to get this blog off the ground so stayed tuned!

Marker Rendering

sketchatoy four from sketchatoy on Vimeo.

Prepared this semi short video for you. This is the markering technique I use around the second or third phase of a project. I will post up another marker tutorial to show how I use them in the ideation phase. Please enjoy and I hope you can pick up a few tricks.

Line Work
Prismacolor black
Papermate felt tip
Pilot Precise V5 Rolling Ball (extra fine)

Markers
Prismacolor cool grey 30 % / 70% / light umber / light walnut
Tria pantone 121 / 264 / 297 / 374

Deleting White from a Sketch (preserving transparency)

sketchatoy three from sketchatoy on Vimeo.

So how is this useful? well watch the video and find out! I love this trick , I learned it a few years back and I use it everytime I scan a sketch into photoshop to add some color.

This is also really useful if you've done a butch of sketches using different colored pencils and you want them all the same light blue or whatever color you choose.

Deleting White

PC
Adobe Photoshop CS4 (Ctrl+Alt+2)
Adobe Photoshop CS,CS2,CS3 (Ctrl+Alt+~)

Why it changed I don't know?

Mac
Sorry but I don't know if it's the same but this should work for you. Here's the menu path.

Select>Color Range>Select: drop down menu>Highlights (or eye drop the white on your canvas.)>Ok.

P.S. I've resolved the sound issues. I bought an adaptor for my Xbox headset...i may look ridiculous but it keeps my hands free and it sounds great! Thanks for your patience.

What's Next?

Next there will be a "How to Render Plush in Photoshop" tutorial. I'm not sure if I will be doing this or another designer, however the image there is an example of the technique I've learned. So stay tuned!

Plush Duck Sketch

sketchatoy two from sketchatoy on Vimeo.

So now I’m going to show you my technique when drawing a non digital toy sketch. In this case I’m using a colored pencil and some markers. I have several traditional drawing methods but this is one of my favorites. Please enjoy and share your thoughts!

Tools
Sketch paper medium tooth
Ticonderoga red colored pencil
Zebra brush tip pens
Paper Mate felt tip marker

Software
Adobe Photoshop CS4 (vignette/callouts)

Sketchbook Pro Toy Phone

sketchatoy one from sketchatoy on Vimeo.

This is my first post and my first video tutorial ever! I’ll be showing you how I go about sketching in the program Alias Sketchbook Pro. Hopefully you’ll learn something from this, take it and make your own. Please comment and let me know what you thought and how to improve my future tutorial.

I apologize for the sound quality! I will be experimenting with some different mics because obviously my laptop mic is terrible.

Tools
Wacom Intuos 3
Software
Alias Sketchbook Pro 2009
Adobe Photoshop CS4 (vignette)