Spotlight On: Ash’s Gummi Bears

WDWNT on August 27, 2013

With the announcement that Disney Afternoons Series 2 would finally have some Gummi Bears as a set, we wanted to see what the custom world had down with such an obvious missed opportunity in series 1. We found Ash, and here are Ash’s Gummi Bears.

“I was a huge Disney cartoon fan growing up and when I got into Vinylmation I was beyond excited to see the Disney afternoon series.
Sadly, at that time, the Gummi Bears were missing. How could they not produce the bouncing here and there and everywhere bunch?


So my series was born! The biggest challenge was finding the right accessories/hats for them all. Took way longer than I thought it would.

I’m really happy with the finished bunch and hope they bring back memories for all those 80s/90s kids out there!” -Ash


To contact Ash, go to his facebook at facebook.com/ash.wonderland.9

Spotlight On: Stephanie’s Delicious Ghirardelli Custom

WDWNT on June 1, 2013

Stephanie Cassata sent over her latest custom she would like to share. (we thought she was sharing an actual sundae too) Take a look. And if you start to drool, that’s okay. You can always stop by her Etsy store to purchase one.

This one is my Ghirardelli custom, inspired by the delicious ice cream and chocolate shop located at Downtown Disney. My favorite chocolate ever, it was fun to take different elements from the shop and create a little character out of it. She has whipped cream hair topped with a cherry and a chocolate square, and even has a touch of Ghirardelli blue as part of her design. The sweetness and happiness I experience every time I go there really came through in this custom. How can you not love chocolate?

Visit Stephanie’s Etsy shop to see more of her work.

Update on Artist Howie Green

WDWNT on June 1, 2013

When we last spotlighted Boston artist Howie Green, he was getting ready to begin his “Golf Balls on Parade” project. He has been busy in 2013. Let’s take a look…

– Completed a slew of custom vinyl toys

Mr. Ghost Rider…. going up on Howie’s Ebay store today.

– Designed CD album cover for Terrell Bowers first album

– Finished up the design for my second production figure for Trail of the Painted Ponies scheduled for release this Fall but which is still top secret since it involves an infamous TV actress/celebrity.

– Completed two large mural painting projects with several hundred volunteers from the Boston Red Sox Foundation (including players, coaching staff, and managers John Farrell and Ben Cherington) at the Washington Irving School and Dimock Center in Boston, MA – even had a visit from the Sox official Mascot, Wally the Green Monster.

– Painted the 3 in a series of 4 giant golf balls in Rochester, NY for the upcoming Golf Balls on Parade event at the PGA Tournament at Oak Hill Country Club this Summer. I’m returning to Rochester soon to paint the remaining 1.

– Published a book of over 300 of my album cover paintings

As always thanks for your support and I’ll keep you posted.

Howie Green
www.hgd.com
www.etsy.com/shop/howiegreen
stores.ebay.com/Howie-Green-Gallery

Spotlight On: Oliver’s Primary Mickey

WDWNT on June 1, 2013

This week we got an email from aspiring 11 year old artist who wanted to show off his first custom piece of artwork. We love custom artists here at Destination Vinylmation, and especially enjoy when we can show off people who might not have the ability to show their artwork off themselves. So here’s Oliver and his Primary Mickey.

Destination Vinylmation: Hi, Oliver, give us a quick intro on yourself.
Oliver: I am 11 and this is my first custom vinyl.  I have been collecting for a
while and while I was in Disneyland I thought I would try a custom out.
DV: It’s a great first custom! Do you like being an artist?
O: I think it is
cool being a custom artist and like having my own work in my collection.

 

DV: I think that’s what makes Nick do his. Have you done a lot of art?
O: I have done a few designs on paper and hope to try some of them out
sometime.
DV: Why did you pic a Rubik’s Cube as inspiration?
O: I just thought it was cool doing  a primary color themed
Vinylmation.
DV: What’s your favorite Disney Vinylmation?
O: If I had to pick my favorite out of my collection I would
pick the Burbank Exclusive Director Mickey, I just like how it reminds
people of Walt himself.

DV: That’s one of our favorites too. What custom Vinylmation design do you think you’ll do next?
O: If I do another custom I want to do something Disney themed.
DV: That’s a good idea. The community kinda loves Disney. 🙂 Thanks for letting us do a spotlight on ya Oliver, and next time you have something, let us know!

Spotlight On: Cesar Diaz’s Custom Iron Man with Packaging

WDWNT on June 1, 2013

Destination Vinylmation: What inspired this custom creation?
Cesar Diaz: Iron Man 3 of course. For me this is the most anticipated movie this year. I’ve always been a big Star Wars toy collector. I have hundreds of carded figures and I love the look the toy brings when it’s carded. I knew I wanted to do a Iron Man Mark 42 suit in honor of the movie but I felt it wasn’t enough just making a custom vinyl, I had to step it up a notch. So I started researching how to make custom card backs and to my surprise I found out that a lot of people do Star Wars toy restoration. I got very fascinated how they do this and hence began my journey to make my own card back.

DV: Was the packaging difficult to create?
CD: 90% of the work is done in Photoshop  Luckily I know Photoshop pretty well so no problem there. The challenge was to find a bubble blister that would fit a Vinylmation. I never realized how chubby Vinylmations are until I actually tried to make it fit in the bubble. I did a a lot of trial and error until I got it just right.

DV: Are you excited about the results?
CD: I’m really happy how this piece turned out and this has to be one of my favorites. I’ve received so many PMs to buy this piece so to make things fair I’ve decided to post it on Vinylmation Exchange: Bid Wars. Later in the week I will post on my FB page www.facebook.com/mycustomations when it will go up for auction.

Cesar Diaz
mycustomations.com
customations@gmail.com
Twitter: @mycustomations
Facebook: http://goo.gl/szY27
Instagram: customations

Spotlight on Joshua Pirtle’s Gravity Falls Custom Combo

WDWNT on June 1, 2013

We were sent some photos of a pair of Gravity Falls customs by Joshua Pirtle from Kissimmee, Fl. Gravity Falls is a Disney Channel cartoon and these vinyls feature the main characters.

Destination Vinylmation: What got you into painting Vinylmation?
Joshua: Back when I started collecting with Park Series 2, I really wanted Vinylmation of two of my favorite characters Donald Duck and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. So I got two blanks and that’s when it all began.

DV: How did you decide to choose Gravity Falls as the subject of these customs?
Joshua: I was watching the show one day and was thinking that Vinylmation of these two characters would be great. Especially now that there was a mold that had a baseball cap.

Spotlight On: Mike Vetrone’s Poison Apple Custom

WDWNT on June 1, 2013

Mike Vetrone sent us a few photos of and a few words on his most recent creation:

“I wanted to share with you one of my most recent works.  It is a 9 in Bad Apple from Snow White.  I wanted to really emphasize the “poison” on the apple so I sculpted it!

This was a total challenge for me, but it was a great learning experience and I love the outcome.  On the back it featured the old hag’s hand holding the apple and the “body” of the Vinylmation is her sleeve.  On the front of the body it featured Snow White and the Prince which acts as foreshadowing.  Enjoy!”

Mike Vetrone
michael.vetrone@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/customsbymikevetrone
instagram @washyourrhands

Spotlight On: Roman’s Jabba Custom

WDWNT on June 1, 2013

In this week leading up to Star Wars Weekends at DHS, artist Roman Rodriquez would like to share a new Star Wars inspired custom he has created!

“I want to take this opportunity to introduce my custom Jabba The Hunt 9” Claymation.  I was approached by Susan Ermish-Gunther to create a realistic and detailed 9” Vinylmation Jabba.  I wanted to give her a very realistic Jabba and I love the way it came out.  One of my favorite features of this custom is the way the clay captures the wrinkles and bumps in his body.  In addition,  I added glass eyes that provide a life like look. These eyes are so real that it seems like he is looking at you and following your every move.  I am available for commission work and I can be contacted at my page www.facebook.com/romanrodriguezart.”