Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Jorge Castilla

WDWNT on December 31, 2012

Destination Vinylmation: We featured Jorge Castilla in a previous spotlight article and now he is back with some new customs. Jorge, we appreciate you sharing your work with the the DV audience.

Jorge: Thank you for having me back as a featured custom artist. I’m very enthusiastic to share the vinyls I’ve been working on since we’ve last met and some vinyls to come!

DV: Hey, I see a new flavor at Star Ducks Cafe. Tell us about it.

Jorge: The second flavor of the Star Ducks line is Mocha! It’s a darker more chocolaty looking vinyl then the last “coffee” looking Star Ducks vinyl. Each SD Mocha vinyl is very individual too! Every one of them has a unique chocolate topping applied differently to each. That way if you choose you’d like more then one you know each of them will have their own personality! Due to the success and overwhelming demand of the first flavor, I expanded the number of production for this second flavor. The original Star Ducks was made to a limit of 20. This flavor however is limited to 50. Each is signed and numbered and comes with an Artist Card that is also signed and numbered. Just like all my other vinyls.

DV: I love the character this new flavor has. Have you thought about making the chocolate syrup being raised up as bumps on the surface instead of just being painted on?

Jorge: It actually is raised! I use a thick paint for the topping. I use a similar paint for the *Slimed* Lonesome Ghostbuster Mickey variants too that actually glows in the dark!

DV: We have heard other artists talking bout all the time it takes to produce customs. When you are getting a lot of orders in and have to keep production moving, how many cups of coffee do you go through?

Jorge: Man, It’s become close to a fulltime job. But it’s something I really enjoy doing. There’s a sense of achievement each time I finish one of my customs and knowing someone’s going to enjoy them. It take a lot of time though. Especially with my vinyls becoming more elaborate.

DV: Tell us about this robot mickey looking custom.

Jorge: Mecha Mickey is the latest of my current releases. He’s like a wind-up toy! He has a spring-loaded crank on his back too. It’s funny because I was working on this custom in the conceptual stages for awhile. Figuring out how I was going to make the antenna on top, what colors I’m going to use… Then suddenly Disney released a “Robots” line of vinyls. I thought oh dang I better finish some of these already!

It’s my first custom using the “new mold”. Most people I’ve shown it to don’t notice till I say something because of all the additional details I tacked on. The response has been quite nice so far. Did you know the feet on the new mold pop off? Man that makes it sooo much easier to paint them if someone’s the type of custom artist that uses spray-paint or air- brush.

DV: I enjoy collectibles that reference Disney movies without blatantly being that Disney movie. Your new Grape Soda custom is exactly what I mean by that. Talk about the inspiration for this figure.

Jorge: Yeah, I like references that are more of a nod or wink at a movie just as much if not more then I appreciate artwork that is straight up a character from a movie. Making a soda bottle vinyl I feel is something that a certain group of people will clamor for at first glance. You know, the type of person that has to have their movie in wide-screen and watch all the commentaries & bonus features (like me). The more casual fan may look at it and think “meh, it’s just a bottle.” But when they inspect it further and see that bottle cap on top they’ll be like oh yeah! From the movie, UP! That’s what I’m hoping for. Expect the Grape Soda Vinyl to release in mid September.

UP is one of my favorite Pixar films. It’s actually a favorite for me and my girlfriend. We even dressed up as Carl and Kevin (the bird) for Mickey’s Trick or Treat Party at Disney’s California Adventure a few years ago!

When listening to one of your pod casts I chuckled when one of you went on about how depressing UP is. I think it’s one of those films that tells you your adventure continues regardless of the storms you’ve endured, and that you can still make something of the time you have regardless of where you’re at in your life. Oddly enough, for a movie revolving around a house flying using helium balloons, it’s also very grounded in reality.

DV: Are you making these using the clear chaser figures?

Jorge: That’s a trade secret I’m afraid.

DV: I enjoy an ice cold Moxie every now and then. What’s your favorite soda?

Jorge: Water please! Haha it’s actually rare for me to have a soft drink.

DV: Any more Pixar figures on the horizon?

Jorge: Most definitely. I have a couple concepts I’m still playing with. Some Pixar and some more original. For those interested in following my work closely check out my Facebook page devoted to my customs!

DV: Thanks for the update on your work.

Jorge: It’s always a pleasure. Thanks again for the opportunity! Keep up the great work you guys do too!

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Jorge Castilla

WDWNT on December 31, 2012

RedVirtue Vinylmation Arts has some new designs he would like to share including the newest addition to his Star Ducks series.

The Candy Corn Starducks will go on auction starting at $34.99 each. There will be seven of this series.
Series starts it’s release this week.

The Steam Punk Willy will be his first “one of a kind” Vinylmation. Only one will be made. It will release in November. It will also go on auction starting at only $34.99.

Visit his Facebook page for more info and links to the eBay auctions: http://www.facebook.com/pages/RedVirtue-Vinylmation-Arts

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Jorge Castilla

WDWNT on December 14, 2011

Jorge Castilla of RedVirtue Vinylmation Arts is best known for his line of Star Ducks line of customs. Well, it was time to catch up once again with Jorge and he has updated Star Ducks with new flavors and has also just created a new design based on the Stop and Go sign above D-Street.



Destination Vinylmation: What made you think of designing this D-Street icon?
Jorge: Well I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of a great “urban” design. You and I have agreed in the past that the Urban series has been pretty wishy-washy in the delivery department. I wanted to come up with something that yelled “why haven’t you come up with this, Disney?” No disrespect to the artists they generally do a wonderful job, especially with all the other series’. But man that urban series hurts to even acknowledge sometimes. My favorite set is Urban #4. There were so many great original designs in it. Big Teeth, Blocks, Heart Broken, Tin Mouse, and Yellow Splattered remain some of my all time favorite vinylmations in my collection. But it has me scratching my head why I haven’t experienced more amazing designs in the series. Urban is a theme with so much freedom that the other series’ don’t have, but it’s seldom tapped into. So far I’ve designed “Lonesome Ghostbuster Mickey,” which juxtaposed The Lonesome Ghost cartoon with the 80’s blockbuster, Ghostbusters. I’ve also made the Star Ducks Cafe vinylmations that gave a Disney spin to a popular coffee brand. Making “character” based vinylmations kinda seems like something that if you make it Disney will eventually do it too if they haven’t already. So I’ve pretty much avoided making character-based vinyls because I want my customs to remain to have value, and if I make a character and Disney makes that character later I feel that custom may lose some of it’s appeal. So I really take joy in trying to create vinyls that will likely not be made, but still have that Disney flare to them. Like the Grape Soda Bottle custom vinylmation. It isn’t a character but it’s still Disney/Pixar. I mean we all collect Vinylmations because they are Disney themed right? Sorry for the tangent. When thinking of “what to make next” the D-Street icon seemed like one of those obvious choices to do. Just about everyone who collects Vinylmations recognize the icon.

DV: The hand on “Stop” is brilliant. Was the molded hand the idea from the start?
Jorge: Most definitely. It’s another reason why I wanted to do it. I didn’t think anyone had tried tackling it yet and I figured it would either be a long time before Disney does it themselves if at all because of that over-sized hand. I don’t think they would want to invest on making a new hand mold just to use it once. They’ve made claw-hand molds but so far it’s been used twice: Lobster and Cancer. But with the D-Street “stop” icon there really isn’t much use for that mold afterwards which may not be a lucrative investment for them.

DV: Did you have any challenges with these designs? If so, what and how did you overcome them?
Jorge: It took me a little while to figure out what to make the hand out of. My first initial test was with bake-hardening clay. But it seemed that when I painted the baked clay the paint would stay tacky when I applied it to the hand. Luckily I found a great alternative at the hardware store that is very strong and stays dry when you paint it.

DV: Is this set for sale?
Jorge: There are going to be seven sets. They will each be put up on auction on ebay one by one. Each comes with a cool over-sized artist card featuring both “Stop n Go” Mickeys. The third set is already up for auction!

DV: How many times have you ignored the Stop signal and went into D-Street anyway? (We won’t tell)
Jorge: All the time!

DV: Can you hint to any designs swimming around in your head right now?
Jorge: Definitely. There will be a “Marshmellow Mess” Lonesome Ghostbuster Mickey in the future that comes with a pretty cool accessory. I’m currently testing out a variant design for the Grape Soda Bottle vinylmation. Star Ducks is getting new flavors this month too – Strawberries & Cream, and Caramel! There’s also a Peppermint Mocha flavor already in circulation for the Holidays. On the more urban side of things I’m currently working on vinyls that are very Disney but very non-character specific. I wish I could say more this early because I’m very excited about them. But we’ll have to wait till next time.

DV: To keep up with Jorge, visit his Facebook page.

Destination Caffeination

WDWNT on August 27, 2011

Jorge from RedVirtue Vinylmation Arts served Destination Vinylmation a special treat at D23.

Take a closer look at this special Starducks Cafe Mocha custom Jorge made for us!

I’m a huge coffee addict, so this is the perfect addition to my collection. Jorge is known for his caffeine inspired creations.

He has some great designs, other than Starducks coffee to choose from. Check out the RedVirtue Vinylmation Arts Facebook page. Jorge, thanks for the Disneyland tips and it was nice meeting you at D23 and D-Street. And a big thanks for the custom! It will keep me going through those late night podcast recording sessions.