ABOUT
As a culminative project in an industrial design class, my partner, Jade Chan, and I were tasked with creating a mascot for a brand of our choice. From this we conceptualized a series of themed children’s cookbooks which would come packaged with cooking companions, small plastic toys which had utility in the kitchen. Our proof of concept was CJ, the multitalented cooking crab who also functions as a spoon holder.
We would go on to sculpt an “original” out of oven-bake clay, which would then be used to create a silicon mold. Several plastic CJs were created before being hand-painted, varnished, and photographed.
In the pursuit of realism, we also created a speculative book cover and inner spread featuring photographs and illustrations of CJ.
Initial concept sketches for potential kitchen helpers.
It’s CJ! This was our initial sketch. Elements of the character design would have to be reworked to make the toy creation process smoother.
The original clay CJ, with tin foil armature inside.
One side of the rubber mold from which many CJ’s would be created.
A resin cast of CJ, before sanding and painting.