How would you like to think of an idea for a toy design, model it up and create renderings of it… every day. Sounds like a tough job doesn’t it? Well, that is exactly what Anthony Monzo does. Anthony is an Industrial Designer and the Product Design Manager of the Crayola Product Design Team. We talked with him about their process and received a little insight into how KeyShot is helping them create some of the most colorful renderings you’ve ever seen.

Crayola

Anthony is a self taught Rhino user, finding it offers a level of flexibility for the conceptual toy design he does. He first used KeyShot when he and a co-worker received a free trial of the software. “It took about a half hour of using KeyShot out of the box before we fell completely head over heels with everything KeyShot had to offer. It’s almost ridiculous how easy it is to generate beautiful images without even going through a basic tutorial”

KeyShot has delivered the eye candy that folks in the toy industry seem to salivate over.One part of the process as a toy designer is to create product renderings for the concepts he dreams up. “KeyShot has delivered the eye candy that folks in the toy industry seem to salivate over. The closer I can bring a concept to life in the virtual world, the easier it is to sell the promise in the real world. The toy industry is highly fickle and fashionable, it’s great to have such a powerful tool at my finger tips to help sell in new ideas.”

Anthony works on a lot of toys months or years ahead of when they will be released. “All of the products I’ve created over the past 4 months will not be available to the public until almost a year from now.” He is extremely excited about some current projects he us working on and the renderings he is now able to produce. “I am a novice user, but I am learning more about KeyShot with every new rendering I produce,” He says. “Each new rendering I produce is a bit slicker than my previous.”

He’s used KeyShot now for multiple projects and passes along this advice. “Practice Makes Perfect!” Like any new hobby, craft or the raw desire to learn something new, it takes practice. “I am sure I will look back in a year from now at the renderings I am generating and see a huge difference in how I’ve progressed. By no means do I consider myself a highly talented 3-D CGI artist. I am completely in “awe” when I see the images being created by the talented artists featured on the KeyShot website and around the web. The greatest attribute about KeyShot is the ease of use. I can spend a week in meetings killing brain cells (laughs) and then jump right back into KeyShot the very next week and continue to create stunning images.”

KeyShot has been there along the way with Anthony and the Crayola Design team. He recalls a story from when they first started using KeyShot, “We were cutting through the company red tape trying to purchase KeyShot, our trial version expired. Luxion so graciously extended our trial time so we could continue to learn and get hooked. When we had questions or concerns we received answers and assistance in less than 24 hours.”