Spotlight On: Amber Gonzalez’s Bilbo Baggins

WDWNT on February 6, 2013

This week while we surfed the facebook I noticed some customs I had never seen before. They were created by Amber Gonzalez. So of course, I had to get in touch with her and ask her about her latest creation. This is what she said…

Destination Vinylmation: I’ve never seen your stuff before. How long have you been a custom vinylmation artist?

Amber Gonzalez: I have been doing customs since August of 2012. Still new and loving every minute of it.

DV: Have you always enjoyed creating art?

AG: I’ve always been crafty. Started painting canvases about 6 years ago.

DV: We asked you to pick your favorite custom so far, and you picked your newest one, Bilbo Baggins. Why do you like this figure so much?

AG: I’ve always been a huge LOTR fan. Last year I made a custom Frodo. With the new movie The Hobbit I knew I had to make young Bilbo Baggins.

DV: I saw the movie, it was much more entertaining that I thought it would be. What else inspired you to make this piece?

AG: I collect LOTR Lego sets and that’s what inspired me to make custom vinyls of them .

DV: Lego makes great video games. Have you tried out the Lego LOTR video game?

AG: I do play all the Lego games. Sadly I bought the LOTR Lego and then my wii died.

DV: That’s a bummer. I think mine’s almost dead too. What was the most difficult part of this figure?

AG: The only hard part was trying to blox a myth and legends Bigfoot so I could use the over sized feet 🙂

DV: Awesome. From the pics of Big Foot I didn’t even know he had different sized feet! How did you make the ring?

AG: The ring is a Lego accessory. They work perfect for vinyls

DV: I love Lego, if you’ve ever listened to the podcast I always joke about leaving Vinylmation to do a Lego podcast. What’s your favorite favorite Lego Minifig?

AG: I would say my favorite Lego minfig is Professer Snape from Harry Potter. One of my all time favorite characters.

DV: Ok, we should get back to vinyl. What is your favorit Disney made vinylmation figure?

AG: Oo tough one. I’d have to say the 9″ UP, I don’t own it but it’s always been a grail of mine 🙂

DV: Thank you for your time. We have one more question for you. Do you take commissions and where can people find out more about your art?

AG: I do! People can email me at vongeek@yahoo.com and also find me on Instagram : HeartBakers

DV: Very good! Well congrats on the awesome piece and let us know the next time you have something interesting to show off! And remember custom artists, you can always email us to display your custom pieces.

Spotlight On: Aaralyn- Roger Rabbit, Vanellope, and Lizard Wizard

WDWNT on February 6, 2013

 

“My three most recent 3” commissions were all a lot of fun to create. My customs always start with a sketch to get an idea of how I’d like the custom to look.

Roger Rabbit has so many adorable features, especially his big eyes, nose and ears. I focused a lot of my design time on getting the right facial expression. I’m really satisfied with how he came out and think he looks adorable.

Recently I also did a Vanellope from “Wreck-It Ralph” and a Lizard Wizard custom from the Disney-Pixar short “Small Fry.” (If you haven’t seen the short, it’s super cute.)

The hardest part of Vanellope’s design were her eyes and figuring out what kind of design I wanted for her ears. I really wanted to convey the childhood sweetness of her character.

For Lizard Wizard the hardest part was sculpting the hat. This custom represents a lot of what I love about commissions because I would have never thought to do this character otherwise and had a lot of fun creating him. I had never heard of the “Small Fry” short before and I really enjoyed the short along with this cute character.”

For more information about Aaralyn:
“Like” her art page on Facebook at facebook.com/artworksbyaaralyn
Follow Aaralyn on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest: @ArtistAaralyn
Visit her website for customs, Disney photography and more at artworksbyaaralyn.com

Spotlight On: Crazy4Vinyls’ Rescue Rangers Series

WDWNT on February 6, 2013

Another regular here at Destination Vinylmation is the custom artist Crazy4Vinyls. We heard he had a great set of Rescue Ranger figures and we asked for more details. This is what he said.

Destination Vinylmation: What was your interest in doing a set of Rescue Rangers?

Crazy4Vinyl: I was actually contacted by a collector who wanted me to create a rescue ranger custom for him. I believe the first one I made for him was Gadget. He wanted her to go with the official rescue ranger set. After he got her he was so pleased that he contacted me wanting an entire set.

DV: I love that you included Zipper as a Jr. You have great choices in characters, how did you choice which ones include?

C4V: The person who I created these for is the one who picked all of the characters so the credit goes to him, I just created them.

DV: Are you a fan of the show?

C4V: I shouldn’t admit this but I have never seen an episode of the cartoon, ever.

DV: That must make it harder to do a set. What was the most challenging part of this set to design/create?

C4V: The hardest part for me was to try and capture an expression or look for each character.  I was trying to stay away from the normal generic faces and tried to create these customs as if they came right out of the cartoon.

DV: What is your favorite Disney created Vinyl these days?

C4V: Most everyone knows me for my love (obsession) of the LGM from park series 2.  This was the first vinylmation that I purchased while on a trip to WDW and continues to be my favorite. I have now collected 23 of this figure.

DV: Don’t worry. Nick’s collected armies like that of Stormtroopers, Bees, and several other figures. In case they don’t remember, where can people see your stuff and do you take commissions?

C4V: You can find me on facebook in two ways:

Customs page:  Crazy4Vinyls Customs by Josh Edwards.  You can send me a message there.

OR

You can send me a message through my regular facebook page Josh Edwards

You can also contact me through e-mail: edwardsjmn123 at comcast.net

DV: Thanks again for sharing these with us. Let us know the next time you have something interesting to share!

Spotlight On: Rust This World’s Two Toned Vinylmation

WDWNT on February 6, 2013

Listeners, you are in for a treat today. We spoke to one of our favorite custom artists Rust This World about his latest series “Two Toned”. He was happy to share this series, and how you could own a piece of it, with us.

Destination Vinylmation: Welcome back Rust, explain your latest set.
Rust This World: Vinylmation 2-Tone is the culmination of several months work. My intention was to create an extremely stylized but also cohesive set of 12 figures. Since I incorporate a lot of shading into my figures anyway, I wanted to see what it would be like in a 2-toned black and white only style, giving it a super contrasted comic-book look.

DV: It looks great! What characters did you use?
RTW: Included in the set are Ariel, Beast, Donald Duck, Pinocchio, Cheshire Cat, Jessica Rabbit, Buzz Lightyear, Maleficent, The Evil Queen, Scar, The Hatbox Ghost, and Sorceror Mickey. There 3 different versions of Mickey because as soon as I showed him off on Facebook, I got over 10 messages of people wanting him.

DV: I don’t blame them, these figures look great! How can I get one?
RTW: There are 14 figures in all and in order to make it fair to everyone who wishes to purchase a figure, I will be selling them blindbox. The price will be $65 per blind box and they will be sold exclusively through my online store at rustthisworld.bigcartel.com starting at 10 am PST (1 PM EST) on Sunday, January 13th and will be available until they’re gone. There is no set limit on how many you can purchase.

DV: Here’s $650. Can I have 10? Just kidding. Good luck on the sale. Where can people find more of yours?
RTW: Visit my website at rustthisworld.com or become a fan on facebook at facebook.com/rustthisworld or follow me on twitter @rustthisworld

DV: Can you tease us about what you’re doing next?
RTW: My next project after this series is working with 11 other artists for the Custom Artist Project series 2. For info on that, join our group facebook.com/groups/ArtistProject/

DV: That project last year was beautiful, I can’t want to see what they do this year. Thanks again, and keep on collecting!

Spotlight On: Lawrence Sharma’s Monster’s Inc. Set

WDWNT on February 6, 2013

We found custom artist Lawrence Sharma online last week showing off his almost completed Monster’s Inc customs. When he finished them we got a chance to speak with him about his work.



Destination Vinylmation: How long have you been an artist?

Lawrence Sharma: I’ve been doing art since I was really young. I mostly dabbled in pencil sketches and comic book styled art until high school when I tried my hand at more digital mediums of art (graphic design, photography, photo manipulation). It actually wasn’t until a couple years ago that I picked up a paint brush to start painting my own clay figures. Then I found out about vinyl toys…that’s a whole different story.

DV: How long have you been doing custom vinyl? How did you first get into vinyl?

LS: I actually just started customizing vinyls quite recently. A couple of years ago I first made a robot mascot out of a Munny for a company my friends and I were trying to start up. I also was able to make a Ron Weasley out of a Munny about a year ago, and that where it ended before I found out about the Vinylmation series. My friends collected vinyl toys and the “DIY” aspect of them just appealed to me.

DV: That’s cool. What’s your favorite Disney designed Vinylmation?

LS: My absolute favorite vinylmation is the Urban 5 3D Mickey Chaser! It really stood out to me when I first started collecting. It was just so creative.

DV: Your Monster’s Inc set is incredible. What made you make this set?

LS: Thanks a lot! I made this set mostly because I wanted to do a Disney custom instead of more customs inspired by comic book characters. My friend BK gave me a Vinylmation Jr. he didn’t want so I immediately knew I would use it for a custom. My girlfriend, Chelcie, actually really loves Monster’s Inc. so I decided to make a set based on the characters.

DV: Sounds like a good place to start. While making this set of three characters, what was the biggest challenge?

LS: The biggest challenge had to be finding time to paint the figures. I had done the sculpting and mutilation of Mike a couple months before I actually was able to sit down and paint the figures. School and work just ate up a lot of my time, but the monsters were always sitting in the back of my mind.

DV: I know the feeling. When you got the chance to sit down and paint, what ended up being easier then you expected?

LS: The painting, actually! I’m still figuring out how to paint my figures since it is a relatively new medium for me. I was so surprised at how quickly I was able to paint them once I got started. I just got in the zone, I guess.

DV: I really like your choice to use just the head and feet for Mike. How did you get the arms into his head?

LS: I want to say I used a drill because it seems easiest…but since I didn’t have a drill lying around I had to poke holes on each side with box cutters and I “drilled” into the head with a screwdriver. After some cleaning and sanding, he had the arm holes he needed!

DV: Wow. Well that’s certainly a unique way of doing it. Anything else about the set you want to talk about?

LS: Just that I’m really happy with how it came out and I’m grateful to everyone for all the nice comments and props I’ve been receiving. Thanks everyone! KCCO!

DV: They came out excellent, especially for a first time Vinylmation custom artist. How can people see your other work or request commissions?

LS: You can follow me on instagram @Lsharma or go to my facebook page www.facebook.com/lawrencesharmaart (slowly updating it) to request commissioned work or to see some work I’ve done in the past. Don’t be shy!

DV: So what do you think about the upcoming prequel, Monster’s University?

LS: My initial reaction to it was disappointment because I wanted to see Boo
again and I don’t like the idea of Sulley being a bully. However, the
more we see of it, the more excited we are. She still bugs me to buy her
the for armed monsters University sweater from the website too.

DV: Those are pretty awesome. Thanks for letting us pick your brain. Let us know the next time you have something cool to show off. And don’t forget to keep on collecting!

LS: Thanks!

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Howie Green

WDWNT on February 6, 2013

Our eyes were recently turned to an artist named Howie Green. Just a quick look at his work, and you could tell he took a different approach than many custom artists were are used to spotlighting. I then discovered he was from Boston… always a plus. He has created some wonderful art on the Mickey canvas, as many of you know, but did you know his art covers his hometown and also reaches far beyond?

Destination Vinylmation: How long have you been involved in the art world?
Howie Green: I graduated from art school in 1970 with a BFA and have been a working artist, illustrator, designer ever since. And actually I was a working artist even when I was in school. I had a design studio for 17 years with 9 or so employees doing all kinds of work for all kinds of clients, won lots of awards, traveled a lot. It was great but I had enough and wanted to do something more focused and less hectic. I shut it all down 10 years ago to focus on painting which I must say has worked out well.

DV: What attracted you to the Mickey shaped platform to create works of art?
HG: I am a life-long toy junkie. When the whole DIY toy thing started up I was painting on any toy I could find; like Kidrobot Munnys and pretty much anything. Initially, I was not interested in the 3″ Mickeys because of the small size, so I started in on a few 9″ ones which all sold.

But I kept getting collectors asking me to do small ones because they couldn’t afford the large ones…so, I started in on a couple 3″ ones and have completed and sold about 40 or so of them to date. Mickey fits my style perfectly… he’s all circles and round and really fun to draw and paint on. Plus one of my early learn-to-draw books was a Disney one so I have been drawing Mickey and crew forever.

DV: Your style is very unique. Instead of creating straight up characters, you use colors and shapes. Is there a name for this technique?
HG: Is there a name for my technique? Probably not… I just call it Pop Art toys. Although I have done several commissions of existing super heroes and such I’m not really interested in taking some character that already exists and squashing it onto a Vinylmation figure. What’s the point? I think the worst example of this is Tinker Bell as a fat Vinylmation. Or the Candice one from Phineas and Ferb. Awful! She looks like she ate Tinker Bell. I look at the form as a fun shape 3D canvas and start from there. But I never loose site of the fact that it’s Mickey. I thinks it’s an honor to be able to use Mickey as a canvas. So I’m trying to create my own takes on Mickey as a Pop Art toy which by itself is a wide open concept.

I was at Disney World a while back when they had 5 foot tall Mickeys that had all been painted by and for celebrities. I would have loved have painted one of those! I do a lot of public art works with the Red Sox Foundation folks and I’m painting 4 giant golf balls for the PGA tournament in Rochester, NY this year…

but I still really want to paint a giant Mickey someday. How cool would it be to be able to paint a giant 5 foot tall Vinylmation? Shortly after seeing all those Mickeys, the Cow Parade came to Boston which led to my being involved in many public art projects. I have painted 3 cows, a bench, public utility boxes, murals and on and on. Two of my Cow Parade cows were made into collectible figures and one of them became a bestseller in Europe.

Go figure? I also designed the “Peace, Love & Music” collectible pony figure for the nice folks at Trail of the Painted Ponies. I’m working with them now on a new pony figure that I’m designing with a celebrity friend of mine and hoping it gets a good reaction. Keeping our fingers crossed and its all very hush hush.

DV: I saw the Boston Celtics artwork you created for the Mayor’s Office’s Spring Paint Box program… can you tell us about that job?
HG: The Mayor’s office started the Paint Box program about 5-6 years ago. They sent out a “call to artists” to submit designs that they would like paint on thousands of those awful metal public utility boxes all over the city of Boston… and there are thousands of them. I never noticed them before but once you start looking you realize they are everywhere. So they liked my designs and I started doing them and have done I think 9 or 10 of them.

Since my style is pretty accommodating they asked me to do one for the Celtics which is over near the “Garden” where they play. I go out every spring and visit my boxes and do paint touch ups. Remarkably none of them have ever been hit by graffiti. “Honor among thieves,” I guess.

Since the Mayor’s office was happy with my work they asked me to paint the front entrance of Boston City Hall when the new doors were being installed. They had an ugly temporary plywood structure covering the entrance and I got to paint it (with my brother’s help.) I have a couple more boxes lined up to be painted in the Spring.

DV: Can you share some other non-Vinylmation related works with us that you enjoyed? 
HG: My other work is all over the map – literally. I still do a lot of graphic design work, web sites, and I paint every day.

I always seem to have various art commissions in the works and when I don’t, I do toys. Actually I do toys almost every day too.  I have sold my paintings and toys to people all over the globe from Europe to Croatia to Australia to Asia. I have had a nice fan base in Singapore and Asia in general since my first book “Jazz Fish Zen” was published back in the 90’s. It did OK in the states but was very popular in Asia. They seem to have a real love for my goofy Pop Art. I was friends with Steve Kaufman just before he died in 2010 and I was going to be part of his museum show that was being planned for an Asian tour. Alas it will not happen. Steve was Andy Warhol’s last assistant and had a major career as a Pop Artist. Wonderful guy.

Just for fun I started a series of album cover paintings in 2004 that has just culminated in the publication of a portfolio book of over 350 of them – hot off the presses last week! My album cover paintings have been a huge project and more fun than anything.

I have done several large installations of them in Jacksonville and Delray Beach, Florida and my portrait of Biggie Smalls was used for the cover of the tribute album called “Unbelievable” that Puff Daddy and tons of others appeared on. Last year I did a large version of the painting for Wayne Barrows for his office in New York. Wayne is a movie producer who manages Biggie’s estate.

DV: How can people contact you and view your work?
HG: I do commissions every day and am always happy to chat about them. You visit me online:
www.hgd.com
howiegreen.etsy.com
Stores.ebay.com/Howie-Green-Gallery
www.facebook.com/howie.green.artist
www.flickr.com/photos/howie-green

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Roman Rodriquez

WDWNT on February 6, 2013

I was at work the other day, just flipping through Facebook (don’t worry, my boss isn’t a Vinylmation fan), when I happened to see a custom by an artist out of Cincinnati I was not yet familiar with. I contacted Venezuelan born Roman Rodriguez right away to talk to him all about his creations, his inspirations and of course, cake.

Destination Vinylmation: Usually we would start off by asking about the artist or the Vinylmation, but in this case my first question has to be… How did you come to own a life size Watto from Star Wars?
Roman Rodriquez: Very good question.  I love Star Wars and I had the opportunity to buy Watto on Ebay and I went for it.  I wanted to have a life size for my office and I was lucky enough to get it.  Plus why wouldn’t someone get him :0)  he is awesome. LOL

DV: A lot of sculpting went into your Watto custom. How long did it take to create?
RR: It took me about 3 days from beginning to end including painting.  Once I get into a project I can’t stop working on it until I am done.  I start with an idea and how to approach each step of the process.  After I get a clear picture from beginning to end I just go for it.

DV: What was the most difficult part about creating Watto?
RR: It had to be getting the right shape so it would look like him.  I was afraid that it may not look like him at the end and I would have just wasted my time.  I was able to see soon enough that it was going to look like him and I just couldn’t stop.  I remember that I just keep on looking at his eyes making sure that I capture the essence of him.

DV: What was the inspiration behind making Mr. Smee as a theme park guest?
RR: My family and I love Disney and we would love to live inside Disney World.  I wanted to create something that would show the joy of a vacation at Disney World.  What better way than Mr.  Smee taking a break from Captain Hook.   He is such an interesting character and gets blamed for everything bad that happens to Captain Hook.  I decided he needed a break so I gave him the vacations of his lifetime.

DV: From looking at your work, you seem very comfortable using props and sculpting… what other types of art forms are you into?
RR: I am into cake decorating you can see some of my work at my Facebook group.  I can apply some of the sculpting techniques to creating Vinylmation.  I love creating something from nothing and letting my creativity run wild.

DV: Cake you say? Tell us about your most memorable one.
RR: My favorite cake has to be the 2nd cake I made.  It was my son’s birthday and since he was into airplanes, I decided to make him a scaled down 747. Even though my skill have gotten a lot better since this cake, this was the one that gave me the confidence to keep on making them.  In addition, it was for my son’s birthday and that made it that much more meaningful.  Thinking back it was also the first time I used an airbrush…WOW… Now I can live without it.  Please check my Facebook group to see this cake in video and my other creations.

DV: What drew you to the Mickey canvas?
RR: I have been designing cakes for about 4 years.  The bad part about it is that after the party you have only pictures and videos of it.  It is hard to put all that time, work, and love into something and then in one minute destroy it all to eat it.  I started collecting Vinylmation a few years back and I wanted to create something that I would actually be able to keep.  What better way than merging my love for art and the passion we have for Disney??? Vinylmation has provided me that venue to express my passion for Disney and Art while keeping it at the end.

DV: Do you have a place where people can view your work?
RR: I feel honored for all of you that are joining me in this new venture.  Please join my Facebook group.  You can see my work or request a special piece for yourself. You can also now like my new Facebook page.

Spotlight On: Aaralyn’s Baby Snow White

WDWNT on February 6, 2013

This week Aaralyn showed off her latest Vinylmation custom, the most recent princess in her princesses as babies style. We asked her for a few words about it…

 “I have quite a few upcoming projects that I am really excited about. My next project is Tiny Tails, my first custom series and I will also be working on additional 9” customs in a slightly different theme/style than previous works. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy my latest custom!

 When I first started creating custom Vinylmations in December of 2011, once of the first projects I planned was creating a set of Baby Disney Princesses. Although my style has evolved since I started, I still plan to finish the series that started with Cinderella, then Ariel and now includes the fariest of them all, Snow White.

The hardest part of designing this custom were her eyes. I sketched out quite a few different styles until one stood out. In the design stage, the eyes are the aspect that always seems to get the most sketch time.

Like the other baby princesses I’ve done, I also had the task of picking out an animal friend to include. One of my favorite scenes from the movie is when the baby bluebird tries to out-sing Snow White and the little bird goes out of tune, making its parents wince. I thought he was a perfect addition to the custom.

For more information about Aaralyn:
“Like” her art page on Facebook at facebook.com/artworksbyaaralyn
Follow Aaralyn on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest: @ArtistAaralyn
Visit her website for customs, Disney photography and more at artworksbyaaralyn.com“

Thanks again to Aaralyn for showing off such awesome artwork!

Spotlight On: Stephanie’s Valentine’s

WDWNT on February 6, 2013

Remember that awesome Sugar Rush Racer we spotlighted a few weeks back. We ran into Stephanie again and she shared a cool custom with us. Also check out her sale she’s running, more info at the end of the post.

 “I love kawaii art, and it fits the spirit of Vinylmation so perfectly. I really enjoy incorporating that style into my customs, which I’ve done a few times already. Inspired by Valentine’s Day (which is one of my favorite holidays), I had to come up with something cute and shiny (and pink is my favorite color too). This little character started to form in my head, and I went with it. I love leopard spots and (of course) a little extra sparkle, so I had a lot of fun making this cutie!

Several additional elements were utilized to give her the extra dimension. I used Sculpey clay for her hair and tail, Swarovski crystals, fabric flowers, and a wooden base for her to sit on. I enjoyed using the clay to form the swirling dynamic features, which come together for nice aesthetic appeal. All separate elements were sealed together using Mod Podge, and the final piece has a glossy Testors finish. And of course, just a touch of glitter paint!”

If you’d like to find more stuff by Stephanie go to etsy.com/shop/StephanieImagined or stephanieimagined.weebly.com/

Stephanie is also running a salethru Valentine’s Day 2013 on her site. Use the coupon code in this image to get 10% off your entire order.

Spotlight On: Mike Vetrone’s Snow White

WDWNT on February 6, 2013

Mike Vetrone is always coming up with great pieces of custom Vinylmation. We spoke to him recently about his latest Snow White figure.

“Thanks guys! This piece was commissioned by someone as a gift for their mother’s birthday who has a huge Snow White collection. I was told her favorite scene was the wishing well. I wanted to make sure that went on front.”

“As I brainstormed and did some research in watching the movie over again I realized I could easily blend the scene into a brick wall that I could put the magic mirror on. The Old Hag is one of my personal favorite villains and I thought it would be interesting to have the Evil Queen looking into the mirror to show the Old Hag. There was an immense amount of work that went into this piece, but I feel it really paid off. I am extremely happy with the way it turned out.”

Find more of Mike’s work at Facebook at facebook.com/customsbymikevetrone. And email him at Michael.vetrone@gmail.com.