Issue 29

Thai designers and software developers at the Bangkok Comic Con 2015 combined augmented reality with action figures in the hope of using this new technology in e-commerce and animation.

Computer animation is no laughing matter in Thailand. It is a multi-billion baht business.

The country’s digital content market was valued at 15.6 billion baht in 2013, by the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), with 6.4 billion stemming from e-learning, 4.52 billion from online games and 4.71 billion from animation.

Organised in early May 2015, Bangkok Comic Con and Anime Festival Asia 2015 brought together professionals from the film and animation industries of Hollywood, Japan, Thailand and across Asia to showcase their latest achievements in the entertainment and animation industries. 
Napat Phromphruk, Project Manager and Developer from Mafia Factory showcased the CE (pronounced as "Zee") Toy, the first platform toy designed and produced in Thailand at the event.

“We were one of the finalists who were chosen at the International Design Toy Awards 2011 in the US as Best DIY Platform and Most Influential Event for the CE Toy,” said Phromphruk, “This project started a few years ago, when we created a mascot for the Thai government under the Creative Economy, Creative Thailand policy, and after than we wanted to develop it, so we found a toy manufacturer who has been working with us to produce [the CE Toy].”

Apichai Ruangsiripiyakul, augmented reality (AR) software developer at Mafia Factory says, “Napat [Phromphruk] wanted to merge the hardware and software together to create the CE Toy. Our next stage will be developing [the CE Toy] to become interactive and to use in e-commerce, and we have also collaborated with different Thai and international artists.” 

Apart from being the first official launch of the CE Toy artist series which is designed by Malaysian, Indonesian, and Thai artists, the toys also came with blank faces so that even the most basic users can design the faces themselves and use the applications to enable the figures to move in 3D onscreen.

“The movement and characteristics would depend on each character, whether they are serious or playful, and users have also been giving us feedback on how to design movements,” says Ryangsiripiyakul.

Thanawat Ruamwang, art director of Lenarai, is another Bangkok-based designer and manufacturer of action figures and collectibles participating in the Bangkok Comic Con. “Ten years ago, we started the company from our Moderndog figures [Thai alternative band],” says Ruamwang,“People now regard these figures as art pieces, and they show much more interest than in the past.”

He reveals that this year the company is collaborating with a Japanese comic license owner to produce figures based on a popular comic, with another project to produce models of classic arcade games. “We think our designs are unique from others, and we have a clear style and unity [in our products],” adds Ruamwang.

Words by Sirinuch Borsub