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

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/

When Paul Met Julie

WDWNT on April 21, 2011

We here at Destination Vinylmation would like to congratulate Paul and Julie on their engagement. Paul took a special approach to asking his lady for her hand, and since it involved Vinylmation we asked Paul to tell us a little about what went into making that special night.

“It was June of 2009 in California Adventure that my girlfriend, Julie, and I purchased our very first vinylmations. Little did we know that almost two years later our small purchase would become our biggest addiction and hobby together. Going to either Disney World or Disneyland every year has become a tradition for us, and now collecting and trading vinylmations has become part of that tradition.”
“When I was in the planning stage of proposing to Julie I was trying to come up with a great shock that I could do that I hadn’t seen before, something not cliche. So I ordered a couple of blank vinylmations not knowing how that would work out. Upon starting work on it, I really liked the way it was coming out and had to move on to the next step in the process; how to make this whole thing a surprise.”
“The plan was to place my custom, inside a sealed package, then place that sealed package inside a current series vinylmation box and glue it shut. Opening a box carefully and patiently, so I could reseal it, was not so difficult. Opening the vinylmation bag inside the box was. I tried to open some vinylmation bags like a bag of chips. This result did not work out. So I eventually made a small slit on the bottom of the bag with a razor blade, and slide out the vinylmation feet first. Once I finished my custom vinylmation and custom artist card (yes I created a custom artist card also, gotta be authentic), I slid it inside the bag and used some clear packing tape, carefully placed inside the slip, to seal up the bag. Next, I glued the box and I was all set.”
“Later that evening, I invited Julie over to open up the vinylmations I had bought over the weekend. It worked out well that Muppets 2 was released this past week because it didn’t look suspicious that I had purchased some vinylmations for us to open. We set up to open hers and mine, I had her go first, and the rest is history. I was very nervous because I’m not much of an artist but, I’ll say she was totally surprised. I would say it was a home run.”

-Paul

Spotlight On: Custom Artist Justin Marshall

WDWNT on April 6, 2011

Recently we received an email from Justin Marshall, and inside it contained a whole lot of pictures of his customs. There were a whole lot of good ones, but the one I wanted to talk about today was the Haunted Mansion.

I really like the look of this figure. He does a great job of getting a lot of details with his paints. The hitchhikers on the front, and the shadow on the back. I also enjoy the wallpaper eyes all over the front. This makes me look forward to the official Haunted Mansion set coming out this fall!

I got a chance to ask Justin more about this figure.

MC: How long have you been creating custom Vinylmation?
Justin Marshall: I have been creating them since July 2010.

MC: In that time how many pieces have you created?
JM: Close to 20-30.
MC: What piece that you have created is your favorite?
JM: I think my first creation that started it all, Captian EO.
MC: Do you collect the Vinylmation created by Disney artists?
JM: Of course, I love them!

MC: What is your favorite official Vinylmation figure?
JM: That’s hard, Haunted Mansion Wallpaper, but also love Mr. Toad!
MC: Well that makes sense, especially since you made your own version. How did you come up with the idea of a Haunted Mansion piece?
JM: The original poster you see at the entrance of the magic kingdom (under the railroad track).

MC: Can you describe this figure? The inspiration. What detail went into it?
JM: I love the original conepts when WED was creating this attraction. The park has so many characters, but when it comes to the Haunted Mansion, in the early years, there weren’t any characters, just a large creepy structure. So the hitchhikers have grown to be the memorable characters ove the years and people love at the end of the ride when one of the 3 hitchikers jumps into your doombuggie following you home. So gathering what a vast population of Disney visitors know was the key. They can relate to it.

MC: What is your favorite aspect of it?
JM: Painting those odd shaped hitchhikers on the front. One’s tall and skinny, one’s heavy and wide, and then you have the little guy that’s holding the ball that probably weighs more than him! I picked a pale blue just like you see when you’re in the graveyard. I wanted the precise color.

MC: I think you did a great job on them. What was the hardest part in creating this figure?
JM: Trying to duplicate the wallpaper! I was going to do a wallpaper head, but if you really look deep into the design, it’s complicated, especially when painting on a rounded surface. I ended up with just the eyes, but have plans in the future to conquer the wallpaper design!
MC: So when you’re finished with that wallpaper one, or if anyone wants to see your other work; where can people go to find out more about your pieces and see your work?
JM: I am working on a dedicated page solely for my vinylmation creations. But I am on Facebook, just look up my email, jchad1000@hotmail.com, or people can email me a request for something they would want to see put on a vinylmation.

MC: Thanks for dropping by! Again, love this figure.
Pictures of Justin’s customs by Justin

Spotlight On: Photographer Cassie Dyer

WDWNT on April 4, 2011

This Spotlight On segment is going to be a little different than normal. Usually we use this segment to highlight interesting Vinylmation artists. Today we will do that same thing, but in an “outside the box” way.

On twitter the other day we spotted a tweet about vinylmation pictures. We clicked on the link and found one of the coolest niche sites about vinylmation we have ever seen.

Cassie Dyer is a professional photographer from Ohio. Along with her husband, she runs a local portrait studio. In her free time she’s fallen in love with a little Park 2 friend: Poncho the Mouse by Randy Noble.

Cassie created the site ponchothemouse.tumblr.com and takes all the photos you can see there. We had a chance to “sit down” with Cassie and talk about her, and her site.
MC: How long have you had your site?
Cassie Dyer: My first Poncho picture was taken in June 2009. I would just post them on my Facebook, but due to his growing popularity I decided to create a blog site in June 2010 for a larger audience to see and enjoy.
MC: What’s your favorite picture so far?
CD: It was incredibly fun to take pictures throughout Disney World, but I think my 2 favorite pictures are “Poncho went rock climbing” and “Poncho went searching for dinosaurs.”
MC: The dinosaur one is pretty cool. How did you come up with the idea for the website?
CD: When photography became my career, I lost my passion to shoot anything that wasn’t portraiture. I wanted to take pictures outside of the business but I had to think about what my new subject would be. What did I love? Disney World was the obvious answer. At that time, my parents had fallen in love with vinylmations. I looked them up online and knew that one of those vinylmations would be perfect subject. Poncho seemed to have the most personality out of the bunch. It was love at first sight!
MC: He is cute. What reactions have you gotten from the site?
CD: Outside of the Disney fanatic world, I get some funny looks when I’m taking pictures of a toy mouse, but it’s very fun. My friends and family love the Poncho the Mouse series. He makes so many people smile. Now I’m really wanting to branch out into the Disney community.
MC: They are a great community to be involved with. Speaking of Disney, what is your favorite Vinylmation figure? (Or 2nd if the answer is Poncho)
CD: Aside from Poncho, I love all of the EPCOT vinylmations. I’m also really looking forward to my Disney World trip in July to buy park series 6! The EPCOT road sign and Norway troll vinyls are too cool!
MC: Are you working on anything else vinylmation related?
CD: We have about 25 vinylmations and I’m wanting to take pictures of them soon. Check out Poncho the Vinylmation Mouse on Facebook and I’ll be sure to post some!

MC: I will! How can people find out more about your pieces and see your work?
CD: You can go to Ponchothemouse.tumblr.com or become a fan of Poncho on Facebook by searching Poncho the Vinylmation Mouse.

MC: Thanks for joining me, and I encourage everyone in Destination Vinylmation land to click on the link above and check out all Cassie’s photos!

Spotlight On: Celeste’s 9″ Villains

WDWNT on April 2, 2011


One of our favorite custom artists here at Destination Vinylmation recently let us in on a little, well 9″ tall, secret. After receiving her Villains 1 9″ figures, Celeste thought, “I want to see my other favorite other villains in 9″ form”. So she did it herself! Check out Scar (Lion King) and the Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland). You might remember Celeste from other figures we have showcased on this site. Her work with Adam Lambert for his charity auction was cool, but her Muppets’ Animal has spoiled us for whatever plans Disney has for their upcoming 9″ Animal.

Scar

When I first saw the picture of this figure I was amazed. Whatever Celeste has done to finish the paint on this vinyl makes it look like it’s straight from the Disney factory. Not only that, but the face is perfect, right down to the sideways glancing look in his eyes. Her use of space on this figure is wonderful, having Scar’s head fill most of the front. On the back is a nicely rendered tail, one that makes me not care that it’s not 3D.
Queen of Hearts

Wonderfully colorful, this piece comes alive with the queen’s mouth screaming “Off with their heads”. I love that Celeste uses Mickey’s nose as the queen’s chin. And check out the crown in the ear. Great piece, I’m sure it would look even cooler with a tiny Alice next to it!
Nevermind, Celeste already though of that idea!

We’d like to thank Celeste for letting us see these figures, and plead with her to continue doing exactly what she’s doing! For more of her custom’s check out Celeste’s site at celestecustomvinylmations.blogspot.com.

Thousand Evilos Woods

WDWNT on March 30, 2011


Evilos (the maker of the Mickey in Carbonite figure) is back with a custom set of Pooh and his friends. I really like the gold color of Pooh and the writing of his name on the shirt is wonderful! Also amazing is the mohawk for Eeyore. I’ve always identified with Eeyore for some reason. Check out this set at his site evilos.com. Also check out all his other customs, like the aforementioned Mickey in Carbonite and his cool take on TRON. (Also note the Evil Pooh in the background. I believe this is his trademark, making character’s evil, and where he gets his name.) Right now you can pick up Pooh for $50 and Eeyore is $80. No word on Tigger as of yet. Thanks Evilos, your customs really raise the bar for everyone else!

Spotlight On: Cesar Diaz

WDWNT on February 21, 2011

Last week, Cesar Diaz from Reseda, CA sent us pictures of his custom Vinylmation LOST set. Check it out here if you missed it. Impressed by this set, we asked Cesar a few questions about his artwork.

Destination Vinylmation: How long have you been creating custom Vinylmation?

Cesar: I’ve been doing customs for about a year now. Only recently has it become more serious.

DV: How many pieces have you created?

Cesar: I’ve done about a total of 25 vinylmation customs. I started off with Munny customs. But once Vinylmations were introduced there was no turning back.

DV: What’s your favorite creation?

Cesar: My favorite so far is Lilo. That was the first custom I added clothes to.

DV: What other art-forms do you create?

Cesar: I do illustrations and cartoon/comic drawings.

DV: Do you collect the Vinylmation created by Disney artists?

Cesar: Of course I do! I only collect the ones I like though.

DV: What is your favorite Disney Vinylmation figure?

Cesar: My favorite is Stitch (Park 5), although Buzz Lightyear is great as well.
DV: Can you describe the creation process of the LOST figures?

Cesar: The origin of the LOST customs came from an idea my cousin Steve Zaragoza and I had. We started to talk one day about how cool it would be if Disney would make a LOST series. But we realized that probably would never happen. So I decided to make my own. The first one I did was Locke. My cousin Steve sent me a sketch of Locke. Once I get the sketch I modify it to make it work on a vinyl. Steve designed Locke, Hurley and Kate.
The others were designed myself. I always knew I wanted to do a series of 12 vinyls. Some days I would make 1 per day, others it was 3 per day. As far as the clothing, I wanted to put them in the clothes they wore the day of the crash. None of them were really hard to do, just a lot of fun to make.
DV: Some artists struggle, but you made good use of the ears. Was painting the island on the ears your plan from the start?
Cesar: Your so right! The ears are always a challenge. When my cousin Steve sent me the first sketch of Locke he put the island on the ears, which I thought was brilliant. It wasn’t until I had a couple of vinyls made that I decided to make a part of the island in the ears, so when you put them together it completes the island.
DV: Which one of the Lost figures you created is your favorite?

Cesar: I don’t really have a favorite. I love them all. I did have a lot of fun designing Charlie, his shoes especially.
DV: Where you happy with the LOST finale?

Cesar: At first I was a bit disappointed. Not many things got answered about the island. But as time went by, I re-watched the finale and I get it now. It was never really about the island. It was always about the people. So I’m happy with the ending. LOST will always be a big part of my life.

DV: Will we see a LOST Series 2 from you?

Cesar: Most definitely! I’m already thinking about the characters. One thing’s for sure, Series 2 will be the Dharma edition. I’m really looking forward to creating Desmond and Ben.

DV: Do you have any for sale?

Cesar: All the vinyls I create are for sale. I also do special requests.

DV: How can people contact you?

Cesar: If people are interested in any customs, they can email me at darthcees@gmail.com also they can add the facebook group “My Customations”.

DV: Any tips for people who want to begin creating custom Vinylmation?

Cesar: The only tip I can give is to have fun with it! Oh, and try to get your work seen. It’s always good for people to review your stuff.

Evilos Strikes Back

WDWNT on February 19, 2011

A while back we posted about the custom Mickey in Carbonite we bought from Evilos, showing a picture we took of Boba Fett pushing him to his ship. Evilos has one-uped us by creating one rad diorama with several of the Star Wars Vinylmation characters and his custom Carbonite figure. As always he fills the piece with lots of extras, like the guns for everyone and Boba Fett’s cape (see 2nd picture). This is a great way to show off the custom piece he’s created. The base also plays the Imperial March. Check it out.

We also got a chance to talk to Evilos about several aspects of the diorama’s construction.

Destination Vinylmation: We really like the guns you find for your pieces, where did these come from?
Evilos: The guns were from the 3 3/4″ product hasbro line, also Boba’s cape. The guns were dry brushed with silver to make them look real and glued
DV: The base is awesome, tell us about it.
E: The base was custom masked and painted, all figures are bolted to the base. Static but Heads and arms still move.
DV: You say the base plays the Imperial March. How was that constructed?
E: Low profile base stand legs used to help house (hide) the sound component. Sound works with a switch in the back of the base.
DV: Lastly, the floating Carbonite Slab looks magical. I know in my picture it was a camera trick, but here its floating from all viewpoints. If you can, could you explain how that happened?
E: The floating effect is achieved by pinning the block to the side of Boba, then bolting Boba to the base to hold the weight of the block.
DV: Wow. Amazing as always. Thank you for your time, and once again we appreciate the contribution to the Vinylmation community you and your art provide.
To purchase this detailed representation of the famous scene from Star Wars, just to to the eBay action here.
Evilos makes and sells his custom pieces at Evilos.com and is on twitter at @EvilosArt. Check out his stuff.

Back to Jabba’s

WDWNT on February 8, 2011

Custom designer Evilos (@EvilosArt) has finished his latest project.


Borrowing from his previous, Mickey in Carbonite which we post about a little while ago, Evilos has made the figure inside the carbonite removable. Now not only Han Solo can go in, but Darth Vader can win and Luke Skywalker can fall for his trap. Or even Kermit the Frog.

For me, however, the most interesting part of the picture he put up was the laser gun that Boba Fett has. (Enlarged in top right of photo) That didn’t come with the original vinyl! I like it a lot.

Update: According to Evilos-

“Fetts gun is really Han’s Blaster from the
Hasbro 3 3/4″ Figures product line.”

Cool.

Beautifully done as always you can pick this piece of art up at Ebay: Vinylmation Custom Star Wars Han Solo In Carbonite ESB
Or visit his blog over at evilos.com

Photo by @EviloArt