When I was researching monsterfucking for my last piece, I found myself charmed by the fantasy sex toys manufacturing world swirling colorful silicone into some of the most obscene, fantastical shapes known to humanity. I’m delighted that several of those creators agreed to speak with me about making a living through the manufacturing of fantasy genitals.
The sellers I interviewed had backgrounds in sex toy sales, art, or both, and chose fantasy toys as their niche from the start.
All were quick to tell me that the reception they have received to their businesses has been positive, with a community of indie sex toy creators and buyers supporting each other in a field that can be challenging to succeed in.
Ultimately, indie sex toy makers rely heavily on social media to advertise, but algorithms and shifting censorship rules limit their reach, which jeopardizes sales. This is made all the trickier because as Teenie, a founder of The Wandering Bard says, “When you are only a two-person business there are a lot of hats you have to exchange between each other, and many different business parts to run daily.”
In other words, the person pouring the molds is also the person stuck navigating advertising on sex-negative platforms.
Kurdos from The Wandering Bard
Teenie from The Wandering Bard
Other Business Realities
There are also material challenges associated with the work due to the limits of, well, the material.
Silicone, the go-to substance for both versatility and body safety, can be touchy. And 3D printer errors result in messed-up molds.
Ere, CEO of XenoCat Artifacts, notes there are designs that won’t become toys, “due to mold complexity and overhangs that fall under the normal limitations of standard mold making or one-part molds.”
One-part molds are also cited by Meesh, founder of Strange Bedfellas, as a factor that influences design because, for customers’ physical comfort, “we need to avoid things like mold seams as much as possible and there are just some shapes that don’t cast well in one-part molds.”
3D Model Fantasy Toy Werewolf via 3DExport
Diversity of Design
Still, there’s a staggering amount of diversity in the designs of fantasy sex toys. In some cases, monsters of media act as the inspiration. The Wandering Bard uses D&D as a starting place, and Ere credits films like Alien as an influence.
In a different vein, Ashes, the founder of KuduVoodoo loves using, “organic shapes and styles” inspired by nature, and Meesh likes designing the full creature and then asking, “What does this character’s junk look like?”
Other inspirations are more abstract; Ere’s designs can be the stuff of dreams.
They explained, “I tend to lucid dream…and I tend to have a lot of nightmares or sensory dreams. Most aren’t truly scary…and feature forms and places that are unusual to what we know normally. This inspires me a lot. I keep dream journals after some of them to mark down concepts or key aesthetics.”
Given the diversity and creativity on offer, a newbie to fantasy sex toys might be overwhelmed by choice. And therefore, unsure of where to start.
One option?
Choose a widely-beloved design.
According to the sellers, insertable toys with knots—an extra-bulbous bit towards the base—are bestsellers, as are tentacles. Meesh notes that some people feel most comfortable starting with a toy that has, “A little bit of a humanoid feeling but is still very much a beast. Sort of a blending of familiar and fantasy.”
Fantasy Sex Toys via Creature Feature Toys
Which Monster Fantasy Sex Toy Would You Choose?
A great way to choose which monster will be your first? Ask!
Every seller I spoke to loves matching customers to the beast of their dreams. You can also ask the communities of fantasy sex toy creators, appreciators, and collectors on platforms like Bluesky and Discord. They eagerly share recommendations with the monster-curious and monster connoisseurs alike.
Or you could start with one of the creatures the creators would like to take to bed themselves; dragons, minotaurs, werewolves, aliens, and snake beasts…oh my!
Some final words of advice. Try not to put pressure on yourself, keep an open mind, and let your imagination run wild.
As Meesh says, “Monster toys are FUN! Embrace the fantasy! If you’re intimidated, try stepping back and looking at the general shapes of these toys. There are a lot of shapes out there in the fantasy toy space that don’t exist in vanilla sex toys. They can be a LOT of fun to experience.”
