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Toy Designs + Prototypes
My interest in building toys began at a young age while growing up on the beaches of Ecuador. My sister and I would create our toys using seashells, sticks, rocks, and sand. What started as playful experimentation evolved into a lifelong interest in toy making and collecting (one that I now hope to pursue professionally). My early prototypes were crafted from natural materials, but over time, I’ve expanded to working with foam and various clays, including air-dry, curing, and bakeable types.
The designs and prototypes featured here began as personal projects and assignments that were further developed during my toy design and production classes at The School of Visual Arts, under the guidance of my talented instructors: Jason Freeny (Hidden Dissectibles), Anne Benovitz (The Magic Show),
and Kun-I Kang and Wendy Shin (Space Rabbit).
Pickled Monster - Sensory + Toy Figure
Handmade figure - 2024
Materials: Polymer clay, acrylic paint, mason jar, slime.
The toy was developed from an assignment where I had to combine two everyday objects that sparked an idea.
Pickled Monster was born from my obsession with pickling vegetables and the "Monster" energy drink.
Sunny Sundae - Toy Figure
Handmade - 2025
Materials: Polymer clay, aluminum foil, acrylic paint.
The character was a random sketch on a Post-it that I wanted to realize after further developing sculpting techniques. The character evolved to use it on different products. Eventually, it developed into a toy figure with different variants and seasonal scents for a unique feature.
Pugnacious 1
Handmade - 2024
Material: Foam core, paper clay, acrylic enamel paint.
Pugnacious was gradually developed in the toy production class, where I learned how to design a character with proper orthographic projection, toy sculpting materials/methods and packaging design. My goal in this toy is to achieve a smooth
3D-printed-like finish by using traditional sculpting materials.
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Pugnacious 2
Handmade - 2025
Material: junk items, epoxy clay, Popsicle sticks, bamboo skewers, acrylic paint.
This version was created as my thesis project for my senior year.
I wanted to expand the character's story with a picture book
and a new toy version that allows world-building and playtime.
Click HERE to read Pug's story.
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Tic Tac Waffle - Tic Tac Toe Game
Handmade - 2025
Materials: Foam clay, acrylic paint.
For this project, I was given the option to create a type of strategy game. I chose a food-themed tic-tac-toe game to realize a memory I had playing with food with my sister as children. There are already many food versions of this game so I implemented difficulty levels and a "screw you factor" - a catapult spoon,
and cubed butter that blocks a grid.
Egyptian Balancing Game
Handmade - 2025
Materials: Construction foam, paper clay, pebbles, gesso,
acrylic paint.
The idea was initially inspired by studies of ancient civilizations that talked about Egyptian mythology. The deity featured is Ma'at, the goddess of balance and order. The game sort of plays the funerary ceremony of the diseased where the heart and Ma'at's feather are balanced from each other.
Deeno - Veterinary Dummy Dog
​The toy design was developed for an assignment to include an educational aspect within the toy. With my work experience as a veterinary assistant, I decided to design a dummy dog to use for clinic demonstrations that lets the person practice basic pet care.
Comfort Llama - Talking Plush Toy
​The toy design was developed for an assignment to include promotional art and video campaigns for mobile platforms.
The characters pay homage to the culture I grew up in and the idea of therapy animals.
Chosen version as final.
Wheely - Toy Figure
​The toy design was developed for an assignment to combine three given words to build a toy with a backstory and unique packaging. The words I had were: Keith Haring, toilet and guinea pig.