How to Design Amiibo? The Pre-Production Process Behind Amiibo

I want to highlight all the work around the pre-production process behind amiibo in this article, from the art concept to the final sample version.

Sometimes, the Goddess of Fortune smiles at us, and we have had the opportunity to admire some concept designs and prototypes, which let us discover the creative process of our favorite collectibles.

Of course, Nintendo has always protected its know-how with an aura of mystery, but since amiibo was released, we could find some clues about it which show us with great accuracy, how this amazing process works.

Besides, thanks to some collaborations between the Big N and other companies, such as Yacht Club Games or Activision, provide us with a wider vision of it.

Now, it is time to immerse ourselves behind the scenes and enjoy how the amiibo figures are designed.

Concept Art Design

To me this is probably the most relevant part of the creative work, where the artists bring to life a basic idea, transforming it into a visual concept.

At E32015, some of the artistic sketches of Skylanders X amiibo were revealed to the audience at Activision’s booth, captivating the most demanding fans, and discovering every single detail of Bowser’s graphic designs.

As we can see in the images below Activision developed several concept stuff, including different poses with weapon variations.

The same year, Yacht Club Games signed an agreement with Nintendo to develop its first NFC figure. And here is the art concept from the indie studio, showing off the early strokes of the Shovel Knight amiibo figure.

However, and to be honest, I have never had the opportunity to see or find a previous concept design from the Japanese Giant, but we don’t have to be any kind of a genius to assume that the processes used by Nintendo are like the other ones.

Pre-Production Models

In the old days of the toy industry, sculptors had to model pre-production molds by hand, but now that responsibility lies primarily in graphic departments, and the process has evolved, using design programs and 3-D printers to create those prototypes.

The first clue from Nintendo about amiibo prototype samples was in 2015, when The Nintendo CSR Report was published, finding out in the digest version, a big focus on amiibo, including this priceless picture, introducing part of the modeling process.

Lucky for us, Nintendo finally displayed all the pre-productions prototypes at E32016, where we could figure out more about this incredible process. As we can see in the following image, there are four samples of Wolf Link.

We have the 3D Printed Model or Digital Print prototype (first phase) and the Masterpiece, or the Casted Mold Maquette (second phase). Those are pre-production types, and they are also known as pre-production prototypes.

But Nintendo shows two prototypes more, the Test Sample also called Test Shot (third phase) and the Final without Paint or Unpainted Final Version (fourth phase). These last phases got the green light and are considered on the production step.

As you can imagine, Yacht Club Games and Activision used the same process a year before, so, you can check some of those unique samples below.

Is It Possible To Get Some Of Those Prototypes?

As collectors, it would be awesome to add some of those prototypes in our collections, but the truth is that it would be an impossible mission to have them on our shelves, whatever people may think, Nintendo never gives them away.

So, in case you will find some amiibo prototypes in the wild, I would recommend that you don’t buy them and think that someone could print them at home, because it would be all too good to be true.

I invite all of you to know the Amiibo Price Guide experience by visiting our blog where you will find curious facts about Nintendo and beyond. Let me know if you’d like to know more about the pre-production process behind amiibo in the comments below and have a great day.

Javier Serrano