Spotlight On: Vinylmation Custom Artist Cesar Diaz

WDWNT on May 5, 2011

As part of today’s Star Wars celebration we have a very special Star Wars themed custom to show! Custom Vinylmation Cesar Diaz from California, who created a great looking LOST set, just finished a 9” Star Wars Tusken Raider. We talked to him recently about this design.

Destination Vinylmation: Tell us about the process of conceptualizing a figure like this? Does it start with a 2D drawing, or do you pencil right onto the Vinylmation?

Cesar: All the vinyls I create always start off as a drawing on paper. The final vinyl always ends up looking a tad different than the 2D version. More detail it seems.

DV: There is a ton of detail in this figure. Was the idea always to add accessories, such as the horns and the weapon?

Cesar: Oh of course! In my head I always saw him that way. What’s a Tusken without his staff?

DV: What is the staff made out of?

Cesar: The weapon is a combination of wood, super sculpey and craft foam. Oh and a old black t-shirt for wrapping the staff.

DV: Why did you choose the Tusken Raider and do you have plans for more characters from the Star Wars universe?

Cesar: My original plan was to do a Sand Trooper. When I told my friend the idea he said a Tusken Raider would look so much better. And you know what? He was right! As for more Star Wars characters, I do plan to make more 9″ ones. I already made a 3″ Greedo to go with Han Solo.

DV: Even going back to the LOST series, you always seem to make fantastic use out of the Vinylmation’s ears. Was that part of the canvas ever a challenge for you, or do you enjoy using your creativity to make the ears work?

Cesar: I’m the kind of artist that believes in making things work with what you got. I will never alter the vinyl in anyway. If I ever do, it stops becoming a vinylmation. The ears are always a challenge. Part of creating something is solving the problems it comes with.

DV: As an artist, what are your first impressions of the new Vinylmation 3″ mold and do you want to see that form come to create your owns?

Cesar: I’m actually a bit disappointed in the new mold. I really hate the fact that the new mold has no nose and no buttons. It is now a semi looking Mickey. If they changed the hands but kept the same body, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. But I also believe in “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. I understand why they did it. And I am curious to try the new mold.

DV: What’s next for Cesar?

Cesar: Well….I have a grip of vinyls lined up to create. My next 9″, which I’m creating right now is going to be pretty cool. I wish I could create vinylmations for a living. But for now, customizing will do just fine.

DV: Cesar, thank you for you time today. Where can people see more of your customs?

Cesar: If anyone is interested in seeing the rest of my work, please visit my website at mycustomations.com

Kidada’s Sweet 9″ In Hand

WDWNT on May 4, 2011


DV Reporter Zoe was nice enough to take these pictures for us. Check out the front. She says it’s “even better in person”. It does look pretty sweet.

Here’s our first real look at the back side. Kinda of strange as Minnie is thru the hole on the front, but on the back she’s also thru the hole. The only other really noticeable part of the back is the Life is Sweet in the ear.

Here’s a look at the charm bracelet that came with the piece. It’s a bow. Not quite big enough to wear though, I thought it might come with a matching piece for the buyer to have.

All photos by DV reporter Zoe

And here’s the bottom. Check out the cool giraffe design Kidada uses for her symbol. She also uses her full name on the bottom, “Kidada Jones”.

What do you think of this vinylmation now that we have seen it in full? Worth the rush? There were only 500 total, and the online store sold out of them in about an hour. The stores only seem to have about a dozen each in them, and I’m sure most of them are gone (we know Santa Monica is sold out).

Stormtrooper of the Week #14

WDWNT on May 4, 2011

It’s Star Wars Day. May the Fourth. Not all stormtroopers are heartless killing machines. Sometimes they have fragile hearts that can be broken. Sometimes the world just doesn’t make any sense to them. Just look at Bob here…

Kidada Disney Store Release- NYC Edition

WDWNT on May 4, 2011

Our reader, The Playwright, was at the Times Square NYC store for the opening of the Kidada section of the Disney Store. Here are some pictures that were taken from the trip.

The first floor looks like it is still under construction, but as the sign says, “There’s plenty of Magic upstairs.”

This is the 9″ box from the front. We’ve seen this image a lot, but it still retains the “New Flavor” starburst.

Here’s the back of the box. Kidada’s logo is interesting. It’s got a Giraffe as a central part of it.

Check out the side of the Kidada 9″ piece. Lots of fun details about the production including this Nutrition Label.
That’s right, this piece covers 100% of your daily allowance for Girly Fun, Vinyl Perfection, as well as the Vitamins C(ollective), D(elicious), and A(dorable)!

Taken thru the box, this is the Artist’s Card. (So these still have them, I wonder how long it will take to completely stop them)

The 9″ was on display with Kidada’s other recently released items, the Wish-a-Littles.

All pictures from The Playwright

They are pretty adorable themselves. According to a tweet last night, @evilosart also seem to like them.

We’d like to once again thank The Playwright for these pictures from NYC. What are your thoughts on today’s release. Also look for a similar post from the left coast coming soon!

Kidada 9″ Donut Disney Store Exclusive

WDWNT on May 4, 2011

Update: 5/4/11 8:06 AM EST – SOLD OUT at the Disney Store Online.

We also got a better look at the charm that comes with this 9″ figure. It’s in the shape of Minnie’s bow.

Update: 5/4/11 3:45 AM Today is the day Kidada’s vinyl comes out. In fact, it’s already out at disneystore.com. Check it out! Only $49.95. Get yours while you can. Remember to use the code “SHIPTODAY” for free shipping on orders of 2!

Update: 5/3/11 @DisneyStorePrez tweeted that the other Disney Stores will be Chicago’s Michigan Ave Store, Santa Monica’s Store, and San Fransisco. We already knew they would be in New York City’s Times Square and online also! Coming out tomorrow! The Prez also stated the price to be “around $50”. Thanks to @lilsqueakrr for asking him!

Update: 5/3/11 DV reporter Zoe noticed that the website Stitch Kingdom (really great Disney news site!) found the pictures for the upcoming exclusive Disney Store Kidada merchandise including the 9″ Vinylmation.

Artist: Kidada Jones

Released at: NYV Times Square, Chicago Michigan Ave, Santa Monica, San Fransisco, and the DisneyStore.com
Price: $49.95
LE 500

Also, take a look at the right wrist:
Each 9″ Vinylmation will come with little charms hanging on it. Looks like maybe a diamond and a Mickey Head. UPDATE: Actually it’s a bow…


Update: 4/29/11 @DisneyStorePrez just tweeted that the Kidada Vinyl will be available online and at 5 Disney Stores, including Times Square NYC. So if you aren’t in New York, check online on May 4th.

Update: 4/29/11 After some digging, we also found this picture up at @meltdowncomics’s webpage: meltcomics.com. According to them, the vinyl will be exclusive to NYC stores! This tweet was also forwarded by @DisneyStorePrez which legitimizes it.

4/28/11- Today @NeRdArMy posted the following picture up on twitter:

Rumor has it, this will be a Disney Store Exclusive released on May 4th. Looks like a 9″ figure. A bright, colorful design depicting what looks like pink ice cream on an ice cream cone. There is a hole in the middle with Minnie Mouse peeking through! Reportedly, the artist is Kidada. That artist showed up on the DisneyStore.com as well today as the designer of a new line of little Disney Princess collectibles called “The Wish a Littles.” According to this screen shot, this product is coming out on May 4th exclusively at Disney Stores as well.

If you visited DisneyStore.com today, you couldn’t miss these little Princesses hopping across the screen! A Google search brought up fashion designer Kidada Jones, who has designed a line for Disney Couture. If this is the same Kidada, she is also the daughter of music mogul Quincey Jones.
We put in a call to Disney for information about this figure and will let you know when anything official is released.

WDW Trading Event: May 20th

WDWNT on May 3, 2011

Update: 5/4/11 Thanks to Konrad for noticing that Disney updated the events page confirming this event as vinylmation!


Disney Pin and Vinylmation (confirmed) trading event:

May 20, 2011 – 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Disney’s Contemporary Resort – Ballroom of the Americas

This will also be the first day of Star Wars Weekends, where it is rumored that the Star Wars set will be re-released. (As part of SWW the new Star Tours 2 will open!)

We’re looking into confirming the event is also for Vinylmation. Vinylmation.com still has not listed the event, so we will keep you updated. Although, even it it’s not a confirmed “vinylmation” event, we are sure there will be some vinyl trading going on. (At the last event the vinylmation trading was mush bigger then the pin trading!)

See you there!

Nature’s Calling!

WDWNT on May 3, 2011

Today, Disney also gave us a vague look at some future Vinylmation. At first glance, they seem to be from two different series.

Update: Thanks to a comment from “Unknown”, the ALT tag for the original picture of these on vinylmation.com says, “Urban 7”. We don’t think that they ALL are part of urban 7, because the squirrel and the penguin seem too similar to each other. So far, none of the Urban series have pieces that go together (other than gears).

The first two seem to be from a set focused on nature animals. Each one is an animal that is paired with a particular food that they might ingest. We’re going to call it “Food Chain” for now.
Food Chain- Squirrel and Nut

Cutesters Too had a kid in a squirrel outfit. On the bottom next to Maria’s name was an acorn. This is a similar idea, only the Squirrel is more realistic, as is the nut.

Food Chain- Penguin and Fish
Another penguin! (Which Disney actually made a joke about!) Here he is holding a fish. This one seems a little more gruesome then the squirrel, because the fish is living.
The last one is just a weird one. No idea what set it’s from. It doesn’t even really look finished. If something from this set IS Urban 7 (see update above), then this is the most likely candidate.
Cyclops

This is the hardest to understand. It looks like a crazy cyclops gingerbread man. The top almost looks like some kind of Asian writing. Or it looks like the first stage of a Bob Ross painting. All it needs is some “happy little trees”.

We will let you know when we get more details on these figures, but in the mean time, what do you think?

Spotlight On: Vinylmation Custom Artist Joe

WDWNT on May 2, 2011

We here at DV are huge video game fans, so we were excited when Vinylmaiton Custom artist Joe got in touch with us. Joe, a huge video game fan himself, focuses on video game characters for his designs. Joe, who resides in Pennsylvania, recently talked to us about himself as an artist and his new 9” Bioshock Sander Cohen figure.

Destinaiton Vinylmation: Besides Vinylmation, what other art forms are you into?

Joe: I have been painting with acrylics on canvas since I was about 12.  Haven’t put my paint brush down yet… I’m 28.  I also enjoy making custom hand painted/sculpted action figures.  I focus on a making video game characters from games that I’ve come to love.  I also collect vinyl art figures, original paintings, and way too many action figures!

DV: What other Vinylmation customs have you created?

Joe: I have only created a few Vinylmation customs so far, but plan on making plenty in the future, especially video game based vinyl.  So far I have made a 3″ NES Nintendo controller and 3″ Shadow of the Colossus vinyl.  The 9″ Sander Cohen was my first in that scale.

DV: That Sander custom really caught our eye here at DV. I like the use of the whole canvas to convey different representations from the game. 


On his website, Joe described in his own words some of the features of the 9” Bioshock Sander Cohen:

I used only a pencil and acrylic paints, no stencils or shortcuts.  He is by far my favorite villian from Bioshock, so I wanted to point out some of his features I gave him that are also seen in the game.

His right ear is the symbol for the “Incinerate” plasmid.  Basically gives him fire at his fingertips to defeat foes.  His left ear represents the “Houdini” plasmid, which helps him to teleport short distances.

I painted his face in a skin tone, then went over it many times with mostly subtle shades of white and grey.

I wanted to emphasize the flower on his jacket lapel, so I made it bigger than it should be.

For the back of his head, I painted a wooden bunny mask.  Many references to bunny masks in the game, including his symbolic poem about not being able to take his off.  Confetti surrounds his mask to represent the confetti falling when you first lay eyes on Sander Cohen in Bioshock.

Also wanted it to be possible to turn his head around and make it look as though he’s wearing the mask.

His back focuses on a mannequin (really a person forcefully covered in plaster) holding an empty picture frame on a stage. The mannequin was part of Sander’s work of art which he called his “Quadtych”.  It featured multiple mannequins holding picture frames that you had to fill as part of a mission in the game.

DV: How long did it take you to create Sander Cohen?

Joe: Lots of research, planning and painting went into creating Sander Cohen.  I wanted to include many of the aspects of his character from the game Bioshock in the vinyl.  I would say overall it took about 25-30 hours start to finish.

Concept Sketch
Concept Sketch

DV: What do you enjoy about creating art on the Vinylmation shape?

Joe: Creating art on Vinylmation is a lot of fun for me because Disney is deeply rooted in my childhood.  I loved watching the Disney movies as a kid, and being able to create artwork in the shape of Mickey now is awesome!  Painting on CYO Vinylmation is easy and enjoyable for me due to the soft smooth finish of the blank figures.  I will mostly stay true to the Mickey shape, but once in a while I might chop an ear off or add to his shape with sculpting apoxy.  A hair dryer and a sharp knife go a long way with soft vinyl!    

DV: Looking at your work, you’re obviously a huge video game fan.  What are some of your favorite video games?

Joe: Talk about deep roots!  My parents bought a Nintendo for my brother and I when I was about 5, so I love a lot of the 8-bit titles like Mario Bros. 3, Double Dragon, Wizards and Warriors, Jackal, Operation Wolf…the list could go on for another page.  And don’t get me started on all of the quarters I pumped into boardwalk arcades at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware!  The huge arcade cabinets for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men drew me in, and in turn started me in my action figure collecting!

DV: What games are you playing the most right now?

Joe: Right now I am playing the newest Mortal Kombat for 360.  Got the arcade stick and all!  Toasty!    

DV: What video game characters will we see next in Vinylmation form from Joe?

Joe: I am planning on working on more Bioshock themed Vinylmation.  At least one more 9″ and a possible full set of 3 inchers (chaser included).  Other than Bioshock, I’d love to create characters from the days of the original Nintendo.  Maybe even make them look overly pixelated.  Planning on making vinyls from Mario, Donkey Kong Country, Double Dragon.  I am also more than likely going to work on 9/3″ sets of game characters.

DV: Joe, we appreciate your time and look forward to seeing those old school Nintendo customs. Stay in touch. Please visit Joe’s blog to see more of his Vinylmation customs as well as his other creations.

http://joeofwarcustomactionfigures.blogspot.com/

Evilos Contest Winner

WDWNT on May 1, 2011

Last week we got an email from Sabrina. You might remember her as the winner of the Evilos’ Evil Kermit Contest back on April 15th. She sent the following pictures, along with a few kind words.
“I got my Vinylmation yesterday! It is amazing- and it is a 9 inch! I was totally expecting a 3 inch, so it was a wonderful surprise! It is my first 9 inch. He also included two of his custom pins!

Thank you so much to Evilos for donating these prizes to the contest and thank you to Destination Vinylmation for hosting the contest! The figure and pins are wonderful.”

-Sabrina
We’d like to congratulate Sabrina again. A big thanks also goes out to Evilos for his contribute to this contest, as well as donating those surprise pieces Sabrina received. Thank you Evilos and keep up the good work! We’d also like to thank everyone who entered this contest. If you’re looking to have some fun and possibly win another vinyl, check out our Combo Contest #2!