64 posts tagged “custom toys”

I'm a huge fan of Brent Nolasco's work and when I found these images on Vinyl Pulse (more images on their post) I knew I had to put in a plug for these two awesome customs...Brent will be at SDCC with these and other awesome art works.. rumor has it also that he's gonna be sketching too so come prepared!

See Brent Nolasco and his works at Toyqube booth (#4837). 

Via:  Vinyl Pulse: Brent Nolasco X Toyqube @ SDCC

So the first thing that comes to mind here for me, is the name.  Something about the sound of it.. "Avatar 7"  heck I dunno what its supposed to mean but it just sounds really cool.. lol.  Of course that's just icing on the cake of what is an awesome custom already.  In the tradition of Phu's awesome style, we have yet another great toy that he's pumped out, and for the life of me, I can't figure out how in the world he gets so many of these things done per year.  Maybe he's a machine like his customs.. hmmm... could that be the reason for the running theme?  Are you trying to tell us something Phu?  Huh? 



The latest is a 10" Yoka Panda, by Ad Funture.  Created for Cardboard Spaceship upcoming exhibition 'Beasts of Burden' at Subtext in San Diego. Avatar 7 patrol spacecraft comes with 2 Rebel Pilots.

Check out more images via Phu's blog here or check out his section on our Vinyl Toy Freaks forum and join the community!

I've talked in the past about BIlBetSoVic's  customs and I've posted a few of his great work on my blog, I'm always in awe of  his quality work, imaginative designs and equally imaginative stories behind his customs.  I'm sure that more than a few of you would love to get inside the creative brain of his, so I hit Bil up to see if he had time to answer some questions for all of us to get to know him a little better.. 

As a (wannabe) customizer myself, an artist and huge fan of yours, the first thing I would like to say is that I love the way that your designs, art and customs all have some kind of story behind them.  Not only that, they are very imaginative and funny stories.



My first question is, how do you come up with the variety of stories and ideas you have?

First let me say thank you for your kind words! Most of my ideas just sorta pop into my head while sketching in books as the character comes to life a story just pops into my head like im talking to them personally,most of my stories get cut short because i could probaly ramble on for days about that characters "life" lol...

What inspires your art and stories?

TV,cereal,and lots of coffee...simple as that.

Ok, so TV, Coffee and Cereal...  What kind of Cereal, TV Shows?  Espresso or drip?

Bil_team

mostly froot loops,fruity pebbles,anda generic trix from albertsons (tastes like the original trix SOOOO good)tv?i guess more movies than anything lots of goonies,devils rejects,hitchikers guide!anything with caffeine!

Is there anything you do when you need to be inspired? I guess, what I mean is, do you have a process?

Not too much really,i draw alot in sketch books and on certain days come up with so many good ideas,just in case i go in an art slump i can go back and paint an idea i had months ago sometimes it works sometimes i look at my older stuff and think WTF was i thinkin????but i wouldnt call anything i do a process really....

Who are your heroes when it comes to your life and getting you to where you are today?  Who are the heros of today in the art toy scene for you?

Bil_pnkNightmare

Heroes? not too many really my parents have been SOMEWHAT supportive,my mom rescues dogs so i LOVE that,anybody who helps out animals im a big fan of...oh and Bo Jackson he was the man when i was growin up!!!big ups to Bo!!

art/toy scene heroes are too many to list and id hate to forget some so i plead to 5th on that one. 

Tell me whats going on in your lumpy gray matter for upcoming projects!  Anything you can tell us now that you can reveal to us?  What kinds of things can we expect from Betso NEXT?

A few custom shows here n there,might be an artist series for the BETXO's if they do good on the first turn around probaly...hopefully to see my art in more galleries ive been working hard to be an artist that does toys,not just a toy artist....

IF they do good?  Well I think you should have no worries there!  I don't.  :)

BetsoVinDunny

still gonna keep my fingers crossed...but thanx

I don't think that you should worry too much about whether people know you're an artist or not, there is no doubt, first of all just looking at your customs, but once they see your paintings and walls.. there's no question.  Along the lines of art, any new plans to do anything big like big walls or art shows?

A few custom show comin up,6 x 6 show DRIL is puttin on...whatever comes my way...

What is your dream as an artist?

To be able to sit at home and paint ALL DAY and make a good living off it,not even to be rich but live comfortable....

Imagine you're retiring or at least in your golden years looking back.  What do you hope you'll be looking back to see?  What kind of a legacy do you hope to leave?

Bil_toy

I hope to be recognized thru my art and know that ive put a great body of different stuff out

there for people to enjoy,maybe be talked about after death...even if thats on the antique roadshow lol.

We all know that most graffiti, done without permission of any kind, is illegal.  But you and I both know also that there is some very amazing art up on walls -- albeit illegally.  How do you feel about the anti-graffiti sentiment of so many in our society? 

Bil_genie

I guess it all depends on what they see,i JUST moved to Salt Lake SH***y and took my dogs on a walk and some toy hit up on a tree in the middle of nowhere,i thought that was pretty shitty thats about theonly part i dont care for is "nature bombing". Other than that i LOVE all graf,and people should respect the FREE art they see everyday.

Do you think that graffiti can be done in a way that would allow artists to express themselves yet still be able to "tag"? Do you think that would take the "spirit" out of the art itself?

Yeah it would take ALOT of the "spirit" out of it the point is to get up ya know,anywhere and everywhere it a really thin line either way,i see a bunch of garbage graf here in utah so itd be better without it,but in SF,LA, or NY its a beautiful thing....

Bil_dilated

How did you get started with art?

It all started with graf,did that for a good 10 years,than i was gettin tattooed by a ex graf writer and he said somethin like "graf inhibits you to only lettering" so i started doin characters and it all kinda blossomed from there,saw a custom dunny by bLiNkY on ebay one day and that was the beginning of the end...

Was your family a supportive one when it came to your artistic gift?

not really my parents are the work-a-holics type people so they think even if you make a good living off art you should have a 9 to 5????,that gene must've skipped this generation,because i

hate to slave for any corporation hahahaha but they really didnt say much when i was doin graf every nite id be goin out with 3 cand in my belt under a hoodie and my dad would tell me "just dont get caught im not gonna bail you out" but he did a few times anyways!

I'd like to thank BilBetsovic for taking time out to answer all of these questions.  Betso has a new line of toys coming out called BetXOs, and I'll be posting tomorrow about those toys, and following, I will be putting up several more days featuring Betso's work.  Keep on the lookout! 

In the meantime, check out his flickr --- where you can find many more of his works...

As promised, I have the pleasure of presenting ot you an interview with Patch Together, a toy community site founded in December of 2007.  I was very fortunate recently to have received an invitation to look at their site and do a write up about them.  What I found was very interesting and I'm sure you all will agree.  As a vinyl addict myself, and a toy designer wannabe, Patch Together is a very interesting community offering to help the little guys out like you and I (you know who you are..) in getting started.

Let's start off with who you are beyond the brief description above.  Who makes up your team and what made you come up with this community? 

The idea behind Patchtogether came about a year ago during a conversation with several college classmates. At that time, we were all going through a rough stretch of unemployment and constantly doubted the value of our art degrees. We wanted to design and contribute, but our lack of creativity and uniqueness made it difficult. We accepted our failures, but remained passionate with things related to art designs, such as graphic arts and comic arts. The Pathtogether idea finally hit us when we stumbled upon several amazing T-shirt design communities where members were encouraged to design their own t-shirts and submit them for critiques and possible production. We all really liked the idea of artists and fans interacting and helping each other push their ideas. Instead of t-shirts, we added our own little twist and decided to shoot for toys because we are all avid toy collectors at heart. Rather than just selling a product, we wanted to give members an opportunity to be part of the entire toy production process, from design to retail.

The PatchTogether team consists of my two college friends and myself who handles a majority of the maintenance on the site. For the more technical stuff, we get support from our web development team in India. Finally, our prototypes and sculpts are handled by a small company in Hong Kong.

 

What interested me a lot about your community site to start off, is that you say you understand the financial restraints that stop many toys from coming to fruition as a production piece.  I believe this can really pique the interest of artists that are seeking to have their ideas made into a real life toy.  What I wonder is, why toys?  Why not some other venture?  Where does your passion for toys spring from?

 

We love toys, it never gets old and I guess we are all kids at heart. For me, toys are a way to make up for lost time. I come from a big family so there wasn’t much money for toys when I was growing up. The few toys we did get(TMNT) produced some of the more memorable moments of my childhood. When I finally got a job after college, I started collecting toys(action figures, statues) and was totally blown away by the sheer quality and details. Lines like SOTA’s Street Fighter and McFarlane’s Dragons really inspired me. I knew I wanted to make toys, but it wasn’t until I was introduced to vinyl before I knew where I wanted to go with the idea.

Over the many yrs of collecting toys, I have seen my share of amazing designs that missed the production train because financial restraints or lack of exposure. Designer toys are a great way to introduce art because they allow artists to reach a wider audience. The medium is easy to work with and is fun for hands on application by collectors who are interested in customizing. Applying your own paint job is so much fun =). There are great potential for both artist and collectors and we hope it will go mainstream, so more people can enjoy it.

 

Talk to me a little about your site and what one will find there. 

You will find a lot of amazing toy designs from aspiring artists and constructive feedbacks from members in the community. We have also included pictures showing the various production stages for toys in production to promote member participation. After a design is submitted, members can vote and comment on what they wish to be made into toys. If the design generates enough interest, we will start with the production. Throughout the production stages, members are encouraged to continue posting feedbacks on what to improve and change. It really is is a group project!

Your timmy the toxic slimeball is very cool.  Tell us a little about how the Geoff came up with this idea --(feel free to have him fill in!)

Jon and Geoff went to college together and both shared an interest in vinyl toys. Jon has a background in 2d animation and is great with cartoon character design; they wanted the design to be simple and cute, but absolutely disgusting at the same time. As a toy- they felt he needed to maintain a simple shape but have a distinct silhouette, so they started with a sphere and slowly created the stumps, bumps and tentacles that make Timmy... well... Timmy. Jon did the initial sketch and Geoff translated it into a painted sculpture which Geoff then photographed and manipulated on Photoshop. the process of working collaboratively allowed both of them to put our own aesthetic into the toy. As for the story of Timmy...he fits into a bizarre vision of the future.  He's a young boy who's exposed to a large dosage of toxic waste- which mutates him and turns him into an unlikely hero, and evidentially a pretty serious drinker. There are a few other characters in the world of Timmy that they hope will be manufactured one day soon.  

 

Ok so you've covered what you offer artists/designers out there, but as for the collectors themselves, what will they get out of your site?  Is your community section made to consider the collectors as well as the artists?

They can showcase their collections in our galleries and give suggestions or reviews of new additions.  At the moment, we are also considering various competitions for the future to promote custom jobs by our members.

 

If someone were to put up a design to your site, is it limited to only designs for toys?  I notice you offer t-shirts also, is that something you've considered taking design submissions for too?

 

We started with toys, but we are always looking for new ways to expand our website.  Right now, we are making t-shirts from some of the winning designs to help cover a bit of the manufacturing cost for the toys.  We are completely open to using the designs for other products if we feel there's an interest from the members.