Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Chelsey

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

Chelsea, a custom Vinylmation artist from Los Angeles, California has created some very detailed 3” Carl and Russell figures from the Pixar movie Up. We had the chance to ask her a few questions about her and her designs.
Destination Vinylmation: How long have you been designing custom Vinylmation?
Chelsea: I’ve been designing Custom Vinylmation for a little over 3 months now. I’ve created around 15 figures
DV: Do you collect Disney’s Vinylmation too?
Chelsea: Yes, I do collect Vinylmation. My favorite figures are Balloon and Pongo Chaser
Pongo: Park 2 Chaser
DV: Let’s start with Russell. He looks to be a very detailed figure. How long did he take?
Chelsea: He took me 3 days, about 26 hours total.
DV: How much planing goes into a figure like this before you begin to create the 3D figure?
Chelsea: Took me about 1 day to research and plan how I’m going to create this 3D figure
DV: You decided to use mixed media for this piece, what are the different elements of this figure made out of?
Chelsea: It’s made of blank vinylmation, clay, and small metal key chain connector
DV: Let’s talk about the use of the ears as a Vinylmation artist. I love the references to the balloons and the Wilderness badges on Russell. Is it challenging or a welcome part of the canvas to show off your creativity?
Chelsea: Ears are the most difficult part for me to create. However, I do love challenges. I often use the ears to show off accessories which are related to the character (like toy story Sid, I used his hear to show his toy)
Russell
Sid
DV: What was the most challenging part of the Russell figure?
Chelsea: To make all the accessories.
DV: You designed Carl with some great accessories as well, tell us about his glasses and walking stick.
Chelsea: His walking stick was made of clay with a wire inside to support the stick. His glasses are made of hard plastic paper. It was really hard to cut out the shape.
DV: You decided to build up the hair on these two figures instead of just painting it on… are these the first figures you did that on?
Chelsea: Yes, these are the first figures I did that. That’s not the normal process I use on my creations.

DV: What was the most challenging part of the Carl figure?
Chelsea: The most challenging part of Carl was to make his suit. I had to cut out the pattern of this suit and also pay attention to the arm part. Ineeds to leave space for the suit under his arm.

DV: Will we see a Kevin and Doug?
Chelsea: That’s on my future design list 🙂
DV: Where can people go to see more of your work or to purchase your customs?
Chelsea: I’m setting up a blog will send you the list soon. To purchase my customs, or to request a custom order, people can send me an email to: zhchelsea0513@gmail.com
DV: Chelsea, thank you for talking with us today and keep up the great customs!
Chelsea: Thank you for the interest in my customs. I really appreciate the time and effort you guys put into the DV site. It’s really awesome! I’m a constant viewer. Thank you again 🙂

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Chelsey

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

Destination Vinylmation: Chelsey, this Lion King vinyl is one of the most gorgeous 3″ customs I have ever seen.
Chelsey: Thanks for your compliment!

DV: When you sent us the pictues, my jaw dropped. There is so much detail here. And then when you told us how you did it, it made this piece all the more amazing. Please share your technique with our audience.
Chelsey: As an artist, I always like to do something Unique. I did the Grizzly River Bear on the 9″ last year which was my best piece. And now, I want to do something different on the 3″. I always think about what I should create on the outside of the 3″ figure because the 3″ figure is solid inside.

But I remember my father told me, “whenever there is a dream, there is a way!” So I want to challenge myself and try to make it possible. I first picked a figure with a clear head. I tried many tools to make the hole in the head bigger. However, the result is either not smooth enough to paint, or too thick so I can’t really see it from the outside of the head. After many tries, I finally found a way to make it smooth and thin enough so the painting can be seen from outside of the figure. However, my first painting experience is not successful because I am not really familiar with reverse painting technique.

In addition, the scene is really detailed and tiny. The paint sometimes can’t stay on the smooth surface. This was another tough challenge. It’s really hard to find the balance to figure out how to make the inner surface rough enough to hold the paint and still clear enough to be able to see the picture from outside. Again, lots of practice finally pays off. Finally, I did reverse paint on the inside of the head and normal paint on the body of the figure to create the whole Lion King Scene. This figure become my first Special Edition Inner Reverse painting “Lion King” Custom Vinylmation 3″.

DV: Is this for sale or for the personal collection?
chelsey: My creation is always for sale. But I haven’t though about price for this one yet. Anyone who is interest in my custom Vinylmation can reach me through email: zhchelsea0513@gmail.com or leave me a message on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chelsey-Custom-Vinylmation/181170415290217

DV: Don’t forget to like Chelsey’s FB page to get updates on her latest work.

Spotlight On: Customation Project Artist Chelsey

WDWNT on September 23, 2011

We are going to finish the week off with one of the best artists. (I maybe be partial, I have one of her customs!) We’ve featured her before here on Destination Vinylmation. The first time was for her awesome Kevin from Up. She also made use this awesome Destination Vinylmation custom!

Destination Vinylmation: If, for some reason our readers haven’t read about you before, where can they find your stuff?
Chelsey: You can check out my stuff at: facebook.com/pages/Chelsey-Custom-Vinylmation/181170415290217

DV: WE love your stuff (of course!) How long have you been making custom vinyls?
C: I have been making custom vinyls for almost 10 months now.

DV: Can we have a sneak peak into the pieces you’ll be bringing to the show?
C: I’m still working on several pieces. But the two pieces I have ready are Mickey as Wolverine 9″ and Captain from Wall-E 9″ + Wall-E & Eve set.

DV: Those sound awesome. Why did you choose Mickey and Marvel?
C: Since Marvel is part of Disney now, I decided to show the merge on my vinyl as well. That’s why I created this Classic Mickey as Wolverine 9″ custom. He has the classic expression along with his cigar :). He took me 4 days to finish. I really like how it turned out. Really shows the combination of two classic figures.

DV: He looks great. You seem to really like Pixar movies, it sounds like you really like Wall-E. Tell us about the set you’re bringing.
The next piece I’m going to present is a set. The 9″ one is the captain of Axiom in “Wall-E”. I really like when he find out that “Auto” was the on who’s controlling everything and tried to fight back scene. That’s why I also created “Auto” in his hand. He also have a tough look when he’s fighting back (which I reflected on his face). Besides the Captian will be my version of Wall-E and Eve. I do like the official Wall-E and Eve combo set. However, I feel like Wall-E is too “clean” as he worked for over 700 years to clean the place. There’s must be some dust and rusty spots on him. That’s why I created this “original” Wall-E. I also like the scene where Wall-E takes care of Eve when she finds the plant and went into “sleep” mode. That’s why my eve is in “sleep” mode. This set took me week and half to finish. I’m also pretty happy about how it turns out.
DV: Those look amazing! Thanks again for all your contribute to the world of vinyl. I can’t wait to meet you as soon as I can!

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Chelsey

WDWNT on May 12, 2011

Update: 05 12 11 The custom Kevin you see here designed by Chelsea is now available for purchase on eBay. Click here to visit the auction.

Last week, we featured the work of Californian artist Chelsea with her Carl and Russell Up custom Vinylmation. This week, she gives us an exclusive preview of her newly finished Kevin 9″ Vinylmation.

Destination Vinylmation: Chelsea, tell us about the design on this figure.

Chelsea: I’ve decided to stick with my 3D idea for Kevin. His feather was made out of clay.

I used a picture from the movie scene where Kevin was found by Russel and Carl in the jungle. On the back of the vinyl, I decided to use the abstract view of Carl, Russel, Doug and Kevin looking up at Paradise Falls with the house on top of it.

DV: This is a perfect use of the Vinylmation shape to draw Kevin. Is this the way you always pictured it, or were there a few different ideas before settling on this design?

Chelsea: This not the way I always pictured it. My original ideas was to draw it on both sides and show the beak in the front. However, after the initial sketch, I found it’s not the best way to show him.

DV: I enjoy when artists don’t just force a mirror image of the front onto back. The back of this figure is a beautiful depiction of the movie UP. Is it difficult to paint such a detailed image onto the Vinylmation canvas?

Chelsea: It’s quite a challenge to put such a detailed image onto the vinyl. However, as always, I do love challenges. It really took me a while to finish such a high level of detail.

DV: After looking at the finished figure, is there anything you would do differently if making another?

Chelsea: The only part that I’m not quite satisfied about this one is the pink color on his tail. It’s not the perfect pink I want. I want the pink to be lighter than this one.

DV: What is your favorite part of this figure?

Chelsea: I think my favorite part is I was able to blend the front side and back side. There’s no clear cut of the front side and back side. It naturally transitions from front to back so it looks like a whole piece.

DV: I love how colorful it is. It’s a great looking piece of art from one of my favorite movies of all-time. I know I would love to add this to my collection… Is this a one of a kind? And will it go on sale or is this for your personal collection?

Chelsea: I am planing to make 3 of them. I’ll keep one for myself for sure. (The others) will go on sale after the exclusive exhibit on Destination Vinylmation for the week. If anyone is interested in purchasing this figure before I put it up for sale, please email me at zhchelsea0513@gmail.com. I’ll put it on Ebay afterwards. Thanks for the continuous support.

Special Birthday Present for M.C.

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

Chelsey surprised us first with the Blind Box Buyer. Then, as a listener to the podcast, she knew it was M.C.’s birthday. So she gave M.C. a really special birthday present.

Wow! Look at this guy. A ninja warrior. The detail on this figure is astounding.

With one sword in hand and another in holster, he is ready to go into battle.

Speaking of battle, this ninja warrior has a carrying case on his back with a scroll.

The scroll comes out and unrolls to reveal a real saying the warriors memorize before going into battle.

Then, in one last special touch, Chelsey wrote a special birthday message for M.C. and dated it on the bottom of the scroll case. We can’t express how thankful we are for these amazing gifts Chelsey. We look forward to all your great customs to come.

The Customation Project Wrap Up

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

Congratulations to Cesar and all the artists involved in The Customation Project. It was an event held in California on September 24 showcasing the talents of custom Vinylmation artists. We would like to share some pictures and a video from the event. The full photo album, and believe me, you MUST see it, can be viewed here.

Spawn by Celeste
Dia des los Mickey by Lucas Yoshida
Batman and Joker by Cesar
Marty McFly and Disneyland by Angie Annett
Epic Donald by Chelsey Zhang
The Faries Den by Celeste
Soldier by Chelsey Zhang
Dr. Jones and Dharma Mickey by Cesar
From left to right: Jesus Paez, Chelsey Zhang, Celeste Villanueva, Lucas Yoshida, Cesar Diaz, Angie Annett.

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Chelsey Zhang

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

Destination Vinylmation: You were a featured artist at The Customation Project a few weeks ago and you came up with some astonishing figures.

Chelsey: As I mentioned, I want to take my custom to a next level. Well, here it is.

DV: Ok, this first one is California Adventure’s Grizzly River Run. Tell us all about it.

Chelsey: This piece is my favorite so far. I spent over 3 weeks to finish it. I sculpted the inner scene from the famous rush down on the ride. Then I made it light up from the vinyl’s head. I covered it with a cap (which is removable so that if the batteries runs out, it will be very easy to replace the batteries in the flash light).

Outside of the bear is realistic fur instead of paint. That’s one of my favorite rides in California Adventure. That’s why I really wanted to make it perfect. Hope you guys like it.

DV: Next up is Tom and Jerry. How did you decide on this custom combo?

Chelsey: I really loved to watch Tom and Jerry when I was young. I haven’t seen any artist make any customs on them. I decided to take a shot.

DV: That is a very inovative use of the 9″ Vinylmation. The third custom you are sharing with us today you call Dream castle. 

Chelsey: I wasn’t really impressed by the castle nine inches that have been produced (i.e. Hong Kong 9″ castle.) that’s why I decided to make my own version of it. I wanted to make it more 3D. That’s why i sculpted the balconies for the princesses.

DV: As always Chelsey, thank you for sharing your work with our readers.

Chelsey: I’ll send you the new 3″ ones later. Hope you guys enjoy. Again, thank you very much for helping post the info about The Customation Project.