21 posts tagged “designer”

A while back I met Ryan Crippen (aka Reactor88,  previously rc44) on the Vinyl Toy Forum, where at the time he was a mod and of course an already advancing customizer.  I have since, watched his skills advance and grow. Even though now he does some seriously intricate designs, he somehow always pulls them off without a flaw.  And although his work is near perfect in my opinion already, he always seems to knock me off my feet with his next design! 

So anyway, I thought I'd take the time to give you all a glimpse into yet another of the great designers out there and their world.. Here's the interview with Ryan Crippin, A.K.A., RC44.

s4ndm4n:  Most people on my blog will know you only as a custom toy designer, but you're more than that.  Can you give your fans a little insight into what else you do as a designer?

Reactor88:  In college I focused on graphic design and illustration, and when I got out I fell head first into the internet world.  I'm currently a web designer/developer at a software company and I also do a little bit of freelance design and illustration on the side.  A few years back I was heavily involved in the 3D animation/motion graphics world, and I've also toyed around with sculpture a bit.  Basically I dabble in a little bit of everything.

s4ndm4n:  How and when did you get started as an artist?

Reactor88:  Following suit with most artists, it all started with drawing when I was a wee lad.  My father drew a lot as a child, as did my older brother.  I find it interesting that I'm the only one that stayed with it, as they were both very talented.  I drew anything and everything, but mostly "mechanical" stuff- cars, motorcycles, airplanes, spaceships, robots, etc- pretty much whatever I was into at the time.  I remember for a period I had gotten into reading my dad's old comic books, so I tried creating my own detective comic series.  I think I illustrated three issues, with fake ads inside and everything- crazy.   Everything between then and now is just a big blur.

s4ndm4n:  How did you get started with customizing toys?  Did you start out as a collector and then start customizing or was it actually the customizing that appealed to you from the beginning?

Reactor88:  My whole venture into the toy customizing/collecting world was very disjointed.  I had been familiar with the scene for a while, but only as a window-shopper.  I lived very close to Giant Robot in West LA, so I'd always go in there and look at all the books and crazy toys, but never bought anything.  Then after the Munny came out, I searched around and saw the Kidrobot forums and all the very creative things people were doing with Munnys.  I was also heavily into painting/building model kits when I was younger, so there was an extra crossover appeal with DIY toys for me.  So a few days later I went down and bought one- and it just sat there on my desk and collected dust.  About 5 months later, I was at Munky King checking out all their cool stuff, and as a surprise my girlfriend bought me a blind boxed LA Dunny.  After that I was hooked and started collecting, and a few months later I decided to finally break open the Munny I had purchased and got to work on it.  So technically I started collecting before I actually started customizing, but I would say the customizing is where the initial appeal was.

s4ndm4n:  I know you now have a huge list of people waiting for customs from you.  To me that's a sure sign of success.  How do you feel about where you are today as a customizer?  Did you ever expect this kind of response to your work?  What is it like to be as popular as you are?

Reactor88:  Oh man, I don't even want to talk about my list- ha.  I never expected to have this type of response to my work.  I'm ultra-critical of everything I do, and for me I'd keep working on/tweaking a piece forever if I didn't force myself to put it down and call it quits.  So to read all the kind words that people post about my work is a really nice feeling.  It does feel great to be in high demand, but at the same time it's stressful.  It's really hard balancing a full-time job, freelance work, and all the toy work that I do.  All I can say is I'm glad there are some very patient folks on my list.   I'm still very new to all this and have big plans for the future.  I'd love to get some of my designs produced on some platform toys, and eventually create my own resin figures.   I have so many ideas- I just wish I had more time..

s4ndm4n:   Tell us about your most popular design, the Totem.  I believe that you've said to me in the past that I was correct that these totems are designed with inspiration coming from the Pacific NW Indian Totems, am I correct?  Can you tell us what is so inspiring to you about them?

Reactor88:  I've been a big fan of totem poles, and on a larger note Pacific Northwestern Indian/Haida artwork for as long as I can remember.  I'm not really sure where or when I first was introduced to it- maybe on one of those elementary school field trips to a museum?  There's just something about the faces and animal renditions in those dramatic color schemes, and the way they use simple shapes and curves to illustrate those ideas that really fascinates me.  There's usually some sort of greater meaning or story behind each piece, and that just adds to the cool factor.  The more I learned about the vinyl toy scene the more I realized that "totem" art wasn't really being represented.  There were the Biskup Totem Pals and a small Qee with a Native design, but not much else that I could find.  At that point creating the first Totem Munny was a no brainer- and I haven't looked back since.

s4ndm4n:  The clean designs and craftsmanship in your work is mind-boggling.  Do you have a specific method for attaining such perfection?

Reactor88:  Like I mentioned earlier, I am really hard on myself to make sure each piece is the best it can be.  I'll re-paint things one, two, three times until I think it looks okay.  For me it just comes down to a lot of practice with my brushes and pens and taking as much time as possible on each piece.  I'm also pretty methodical when it comes to my entire custom toy design process.   I always sketch my ideas out on paper or on the computer.  Once I have something I like, I'll create some color studies- either digital or with markers, colored pencils, whatever.   Once that's all set, I feel I'm ready to begin the actual toy.  Sometimes the final design and color scheme will deviate from my original sketches and color studies, but for the most part it stays true to the original concept.   I think by laying everything out as clearly as possible ahead of time I can concentrate completely on the technique while I'm actually painting.   I personally think I'm still learning and have a long way to go- I guess never being satisfied is what keeps me on my toes.

s4ndm4n:  You seem to have a good head on your shoulders so I'm thinking you've got an answer to this:  What are your future goals in the creative field? I mean, both for your career goals and your customizing/freelancing goals?  Any plans to go 100% freelance ever?

Reactor88:  Hmm- this is a tough question.  I've had aspirations of combining all of my skills (graphic/web design, animation, illustration, traditional painting, toy customizing, etc.) into a 100% freelance career, but to be honest it's a little scary when I have a pretty comfy, decent paying (but not very creative) full-time web development job.  I was actually looking to move back into a more creative position this year and even toyed with the 100% freelance idea, but some circumstances changed (for the better) at my work.  I decided that I will stick that out for a bit, see how it plays out and just continue to burn the midnight oil, packing in all my freelance and painting/customizing in the evenings and on the weekends.

s4ndm4n:  Can you share any thoughts on what you'd want to do if you were to do your own resin toy?  What about vinyl production, what would you like to do with that?  I'd be very excited to see what you came up with! 

Reactor88:  I have a couple little characters in my sketchbook that I always thought would be fun to sculpt, so I guess those would be my first choice.  One is this funny little bat- he's basically all head, super big eyes (which is ironic since bats are blind), and then a tiny body and wings.  Then there's my Dawg.  Once again, he's a sort of bulldog with a huge head/jaw, and a tiny little body.  I was commissioned to do a painting of him and was told he'd make a cool toy by a few people, so he would probably be my first choice to try out.  I don't think I'm really interested in creating a vinyl toy, at least all by myself.  I wouldn't want to get into a situation where I'd need to find investors and make a few thousand toys, and then be pressured to sell them all just to break even.  I really just want to see some of my 2D creations come to life in 3D form, and then be able to share those with a few people that are interested as well.- so I think a very small run of resin figures is the way to go.

s4ndm4n:  What is your favorite medium, since you've worked with a number of them.. sculpting, painting or other?  Do you feel any of those mediums are better suited to you and your style of design?

Reactor88:  I think the majority of the inspiration for my designs just came from the lack of representation of the Pacific Northwestern Indian/Haida style in the custom toy world.  I also base a lot of my designs around my Spade-Skull logo.  Besides being cool (everyone loves skulls, right?), it really seemed like a no-brainer to repurpose it on toys.  As far as artists, it was cool to see guys like Shag, Biskup, Barr, etc. who I respected for their 2D work, working with this medium as well- that definitely made me think these were more than just "toys", but works of art that could be appreciated on a higher level.  I'm not really sure if that answered the question? :)

s4ndm4n:  If you could choose any artist  to be an mentored by who would it be? What contemporary artist and what classical (if any) would you choose? 

Reactor88:  For a contemporary mentor, I would probably choose Mark Ryden.  I would love to just pick his brain and sit there and watch him work, from the beginning when coming up with concepts and sketching, all the way to the final application of the sealing varnish on the painting.  His technique is on another level, and his subject matter is beyond comprehension- if I could absorb just a small bit of that I'd be a happy.  As far as a classical mentor- DaVinci all the way.  There was so much going on in his head, just to be able to talk to him and see how he worked would be incredible.

s4ndm4n:  in closing,  what would you tell the artist out there who looks up to you as a role model, for their success as a designer and artist? 

Reactor88:  Philosophically, I would say strive to be the best that you can be and never stop learning.  Experiment a lot and try to find what really speaks to you in terms of designing/creating art- it's amazing the feeling you get when you create something because you love it, and not just because it's paying the bills.  Now for some real world advice that most folks probably know, but just to remind everybody :)  Look at anything and everything- art is everywhere and anywhere.  I usually keep my digital camera on me and take reference photos.  I see neat stuff just running errands on the weekends, and will break it out and take a few pics.    Learn to market yourself- get yourself a website or blog to showcase your work, join some message-boards and organizations, print some business cards, t-shirts, stickers- go the whole nine yards.  With the advent of the internet, it crazy how easy it is to get a worldwide audience for your work.  Stay organized and never sacrifice quality for quantity.  I've overbooked myself with freelance work in the past, and know if I pull too many all nighters in a row the work inherently suffers.  Set a schedule and try really hard to keep your projects on track.  A big one- stay in constant communication with clients and live up to the promises you make.  And lastly, make sure you keep your idea/sketchbook at your bedside each night- I think most of my best ideas come to me either right as I'm falling asleep or wake me up in the middle of the night.  I know if I don't document them in a little sketch or some notes, by the time the morning comes the concept has vanished...

And with that, I wanna thank you, Ryan, on behalf of myself and all of your adoring fans (and waiting list members..lol) for giving us this short glimpse into your world! 

Check out more of Ryan's great art on his site:  Reactor88 and follow up by subscribing to his Reactor88 blog!

Well its been awhile since seeing new stuff from Sam Flores, but finally we get a glimpse of his latest work, found on his blog. 

Not much info on this.  He just says "still working on this one..." Anyway.. Looks good so far Sam!

Brandi Milne is one of my favorite contemporary artists today so it is a great pleasure to be given the opportunity to interview her.  The latest show she took part in was Smitten at the Thinkspace gallery along with Audrey Kawasaki, Stella Im Hultberg, Amy Sol and KuKula.  Her art is unique and fresh for today, in a world where many artists and designers are playing the "me too" game and springboarding off of each other's design styles.  She does nothing of the kind, but instead, her brand of art all her own.  I'm sure you'll agree.

Thank you for allowing me to take up your valuable time, Brandi.

S4NDM4N:  To get started, can you just take a moment to tell everyone about yourself?

B:  Well, i grew up in anaheim, ca. in a family of 6.  i'm the youngest, with two sisters, one brother, and my original parents. 

i  always loved to draw, color and do projects in school, but my mom always says that i was pretty average at it.  i didn't know tho, so   according to me, i've been an artist my whole life. the way i grew up, the things my brother and sisters and i would do, and the way my mom thot and saw things is what has had the biggest influence on me and my work -to this day.  and the older i get, the more it literally comes out in my work.   maybe that's true for most people tho...

i didn't go to college, not for real anyway.  a few classes here and there, but mostly i'm a self taught artist.  and i guess that
has it's good points and bad points.  in some ways it's been a challenge, and in other ways i'm pretty grateful to not have been "molded" in any one way.

S4NDM4N:  The ladies that you paint, have such a distinct style I can't pass up asking you a few questions specifically about them.  First of all, they really seem to have that Nouveau-taste to them.  Is that something you've done intentionally or did it just occur that way in your art?

B:  my girls have a strong Nouveau feel because of alphonse mucha.  before they looked like they do now, i was illustrating them at about 4 inches tall, very basic stick figure-esque.  (they were actually formed from drawing real stick figures in high school) then at some point i was introduced to mucha's work, and i was plaqued with it.(did i spell plagued right?)  you know how once you're effected by something, you can never go back to the way you were.  and that's what alphonse mucha did to me.  his work is beautiful.  and i guess that has been my strongest influence.  you could say second to that would be japan.  not just the old classic art, but the culture as well.  i can't get enuff of it, and i love the complete richness of it.

S4NDM4N:  The one thing I really love about the women are there super extreme long legs and stylized feet.  How did you come up with this style, thats really so "Brandi Milne" brand?

B:  the legs?  hmmm....when i was "filling out" my stick figures, i think the legs were last to fill out.  and instead of drawing a foot, i kinda just ended it at the ground.  you know, like bell bottom pants.  her legs are bell bottoms themselves.  i like that because it gives a real grounded feel to the illustration.  strong, not frail and spindely.  and i think that is one reason why her butt is so big also.  i mean, i like the sillouette, but it gives weight down on the bottom.  if she was a statue, the shape would be pleasing to the eye, but it would be sturdy as well.

S4NDM4N:  I also love your take on Alice in Wonderland.  Can we look forward to more of these or maybe more art based on classics like that?

B:   i have a solo show with copro nason gallery in '08, and i am playing with the idea of doing classic children's stories/ rhymes.  just all spread out across the walls!  obviously, that is where i developed a looooooooooooooove for illustrations - from all the classic children's books and nursery rhymes.  there is a never ending wealth of inspiration there, and i would love to explore it further.

S4NDM4N:  I just looked at your plushie section on your website.  Do you still do the plush thing?  Is that just a hobby or something you do with the same passion as the paintings?  How much more can we expect to see that stuff?  (I love plush stuff lately btw)

B:  my plush is still going strong - i will have 5 new pieces in my solo show in december (at the corey helford gallery).  i have a LOT of fun with plush, it is so different from the painting.  i've wanted to do it for years, but finally actually did a doll for my husband about 2 years ago.  after that, i put them in a few shows in LA, and they've done pretty well, so i'm continuing with them and having a blast.

S4NDM4N:  I especially like the big white one, is he a yeti or something?  What's his story?

B:  yes, the piece on my website that yer talking about is a yeti.  i have a new yeti for the solo because i love yetis.  and bigfoots.

S4NDM4N:  You mentioned a couple of the inspirations behind your style in your artwork already but I just want to know, who are your other favorite artists today? 

B:  my inspiration is changing all the time.  i mentioned before that camille rose garcia is my all time favorite artist, and that stays consistant  always.  i can't stop loving her work - she's the genious of all geniouses.  i found a new (new to me anyway) artist the other day, his name is paul barnes, and i can't believe he's not ruling the world with his work.   i wan't 8,000 books filled with his stuff.  right now!  i love amanda visell's work and humor.  she just doesn't stop, and i hope she never does.  i recently bot a  piece of katy horan's work, and i can't get enuff of her.  (did i mention her before??)  kathleen lolley is unbelievable as well.  i love her colors and her sillyness with owls throwing up beer.  it's soooo awesome.  and there's an artist that i have looooved for years, her name is johanna parker.  she does halloween figures, and she's amazingly brilliant.  a lot of the art that i'm into today could be classified as folkart.  i love the "simplicity" and the creepy/goodtime feel to it.  it seems to kinda sit there and smile at you from a place that kinda creeps you out - but in the most awesome way!  can that make sense??   richard coleman, julie west,  julie morstad, matte stephens, cj metzger, camilla engman and jen corace are some more that keep my inspiration at it's fullest, and i love it and i'm so thankful that i get to see it everyday if i need/want.

S4NDM4N:  Tell me about your ritual for getting in the "zone"... I know it takes me awhile before my creative juices are moving and it takes a lot of music, viewing art and pacing. The last part takes up a lot of the time.. ;)  What do you go through and how long does it take you typically?

B:  "the zone..."  let's see.....  if i'm tired, forget it.  it's not gonna happen that day.  but as far as getting there, music is heavily involved.  i listen to classic rock, 70's crap.  i think it must remind me of when i was little, and how your imagination was extremely vast because you really didn't know things for sure.  so you picture them purely the way you want or sometimes not.  at least i think that's why music is so good for the zone.  then i need a feeling.  it's usually kinda sad, but not in a sad way.  it's more like a longing feeling, like when you remember something your sister said when you were 7, while you were playing haunted house or something.  y'know?  that feeling.  then i think of "the story" or what the character is gonna be doing.  next is layout and balance and color and on with the piece.  i don't really pace, i just sit there.  and lately it comes pretty quick, the inspiration.  shows are awesome for that, because you know what's coming, you can be brewing something in the back of your mind until you let it out, and it's a constant cycle that's so good.

S4NDM4N:  For a masterpiece such as your "Going to California" (link) Painting, how long did it take you to finish that?

B:  the piece "going to california".  i was inspired by a japanese calendar my doctor gave me.  and i wasn't showing anywhere, so i did it for myself.  i worked on it for about maybe 2 months.  it took me  a lot longer then to finish a piece like that.  probably because it wasn't going anywhere, there was no due date.  also, back then, i was practically holding my breath thru a "drawing", i wanted everything to be "perfect".  later is when i was introduced to camille's work, and artists like liz mcgrath, gary baseman, people who's work was so "free".  you could literally see the freedom they seemed to have with their own work.  and i was envious, because like i said, i was so wrapped up in my work being "perfect", the work was in a way in charge of me.  instead of the opposite, and that's where i wanted to be.  now in my new work, that is what i'm after.  freedom.  and that's why camille's work is so important to me and i'm eternally grateful for it.

S4NDM4N:  Painting takes a lot of your time, I am sure, and even though I know you love it, everyone has to take a break from their "work" sometimes.  What are your typical R and R activities and spots?

B:  and so, when i'm not working on art?  i take care of my son, i spend time with both him and my husband.  i search the land for crap that i don't need.  i work 40 hrs a week.  so yea, i don't have much of that time.

S4NDM4N:  And to close I just want to thank you, Brandi, for taking time out on your very busy (and success-filled) career to talk to me.

For any of you out there that are interested in more about Brandi, viewing more of her plush toys or artwork, please be sure to check out here website at http://www.brandimilne.com/

All images taken from BrandiMilne.com and are copyright Brandi Milne. 

Photos from the Fighting for Dreams Gropu Show in the Minnas Gallery, San Francisco. Other Artists involved were Jeff Soto, Regino Gonzales, OG Abel, Maxx 242, Munk One, Hydro 74, Jason Gallo, Aaron Mason, Acorn, and Gems One.  More images by Munk One at his site:  Munk One Website

Information and images from: Fighting For Dreams Group Show by Urban Retro Lifestyle

Onibaka is an artist from Italy. You can find his work on DeviantArt and I recommend you check it out!  Recently one of his designs, Plantina,  has been picked up to be turned into a toy by Deep Throat Toys.  Check out the prototype, very nice translation, if you ask me, and I'm interested to see it finished!

Info via  Vinyl Abuse

*added from OniBaka's comment:  Link to his MySpace  - Thanks for stopping by!

I get most of my news and information via RSS and some through newsletters.  KaNO is one of the blogs that I like to watch for as he's a very talented artist and designer.  If you don't know anything about him, he's the guy that's designed the Money Grip toy sculpted by Goldmane Entertainment and he's definitely one to watch as an up and coming artist for sure! Anyway, he has a new book that deserves some promoting so check it out!

The book is 45 pages, full color, hard cover and has an introduction by Jackson Puclick and Steffen Destefano, cinsists of charcter design, illustration, paintings,graffiti, toy design and random sketches.

kaNO!: The Hustle

Here are just a few images from his book to be released called "CITIZEN KANO: The Art of the Hustle". 

Hey everyone, forgive me for the long pause between posts, I've been busy like crazy with a lot of different things, one of them being School!  Yes!  I've started going to the Art Institute Online part time and I'm excited about it!  I'm studying Interactive Media Design and can't wait to dig into it... but anyway.. things will pick up here and on URL, but if you see me missing from here from time to time, that's why. :D

I've been meaning to post about Reka for awhile now and I keep getting sidetracked.  Also most of my blogging is done while working, and I can't get his site to work from here so I can't obtain some of his really awesome street art to post!  Well you can check it out though.  His site is pretty nicely designed too.. so go there rekaone.com

This is one of those cases where I like the fact that the artist's work is all very similar in style of design.  Sometimes it gets boring after a few designs, but Reka's is anything but.. Although its very similar, like I said, the designs are varied in composition and subject matter, so it keeps it very interesing IMO.  :D  By the way, this art is all available for sale on Nice Produce, along with many others by Reka.

James Greenaway (Jagi)

Lately I've been regularly checking out Nice Produce, an Art/Design site for new artists and design related subjects to engulf myself in. I've covered the site before but today I'm just covering one artist that happens to have a gallery there riht now.  His name is James Greenaway (a.k.a. Jagi) and his intricately designed artwork is very elegant.  It has a "Persian fantasy" look to it with a bit of a twist, of course.. It's premium artwork.  Find more of his gallery here.