How custom toy creations help me fight burnout
As a graphic designer who sits in front of a computer 90% of the day creating advertisements, content, and direct response communications, my creative battery tends to wear down every couple of months. It’s actually a pretty common occurrence for people in my field, and it sometimes seems like there’s no way to get out of the funk. They say you just need to wait it out.
I got tired of “waiting it out”!
After talking with a few of my college buddies, I was given the idea to explore a physical art. Now I know what you’re thinking… “How is more art going to help with creative fatigue?” The short answer is it just does. The long answer is more interesting.
You see, clicking away at a keyboard and mouse gives me no great joy. I’m good at what I do and, contrary to the belief of some, graphic design is an art form. But it’s not self-propelled—it doesn’t belong to me. It’s collaborative and compromising, and often quite disposable. I get no lasting happiness from creating a digital ad or a high-performing DM kit, no matter how cool it turns out.
That’s where custom toy creation comes in.
As a child I adored the Masters of the Universe toy line. The concepts and ingenious machinations integrated into each figure engaged my imagination. I would spend hours setting up scenes and battles of good versus evil. I never stopped loving those toys and when my friend, Airmax (follow him on Facebook!) shared some of his custom creations, I decided to give it a go using my much beloved He-Man toys as inspiration.
Creating custom toys engages all the right parts of my brain. Concepting, problem solving, using my hands, tapping into my consumer mentality, learning new skills, reliving the glory days, and exercising unbridled imagination. Since I started two years ago, I’ve customized 6 figures.
Between repaints, mashups, re-imaginings, and character creations, my creative cup overflows. Coming up with a concept is the easy part, I just start with whatever pops in my head. Once I know what I want to do, I start thinking about how I can achieve it. Collecting the parts I need to accomplish my goal usually entails plenty of searching on eBay and at the local craft
store. Then I get to work. Sanding and sculpting. Spraying and respraying. I love the sensations: The feel of the Sculpy, the smell of the spray paint. The design comes together little by little, day by day. I spend hours in the creation process jamming out to my favorite records (on vinyl of course). Then finally, what I envisioned in my head is now a physical representation which the entire world can see. This is what gives me great joy.
By physically engaging my creative muscle, I’m able to really scratch that artistic itch. When I feel worn down it helps me “pull out of that funk.” It makes me feel renewed. It gives me a feeling of ownership because they are my ideas brought to fruition, by me, using my own skills and will and problem-solving acumen.
Custom toy creation may not be something that works for everyone but doing some other type of art that does not require a computer can be cathartic. Whether you’re sculpting, painting, or just playing with toys, some after-work creativity will always help feed your soul and get you back to feeling like an artist again.