More and more 3D printed consumer products are beginning to – literally – take a physical form. The formula that seems to be affirming itself is that of either using 3D printing to create new products (such as drones), or as a means to augment and personalize the user experience in entertainment products. For example, take the recently announced NecroVirus 3D printed board game.
Founded by Rahul Thayyalamkandy (CEO) and Prad Lal (CTO), a new project, called Blokko, intends to use 3D printing to expand the user experience in all storytelling, by offering a content and commerce platform where storytellers can publish and then collaborate with a community of 3D designers to create and sell merchandise relating directly to their IP.
The concept is simple and likely to be effective when the platform, now in its final beta testing phase, goes live. Upon entering, you can select between two main categories: stories and toys. The first will lets you access a list of pages with information on several comic book- and book-based tales.
The list currently stands at six titles, including Leo the Maker Prince, Shadow Hunters and Untold Tales of Big Foot, which is an all-ages adventure created by Vince Dorse. From there, you will, in some cases, be able to school through many chapters or event the entire story, or simply connect with the story’s and the author’s website.
If you select Toys, you will find a selection of full-color, sandstone 3D printed characters based on the stories and designed by the Blokko community. For example, a a 12.5 cm tall figure from the Untold Tales of Bigfoot tale costs $60 and usually ships out within a few days. Eventually, users will also likely be able to 3D print the characters with their home 3D printers.
This means that both storytellers and designers can create new revenue sources by leveraging a community that can help both rely on one another’s capabilities and turn original ideas into physical products through 3D printing. Time will tell if the shared approach to merchandising will prove successful, but giving more independent artists access to a platform that can turn their unique ideas into physical products sounds like a great idea to me.
