On To The Next One...

So i'm not sure if you guys have checked out my WIP tab, but I posted a pic of my current work in progress which is from the dunny figures. Dunny's are figures that resemble a bunny from a company called Kidrobot. They are by far the most popular figure to customize. Since i could not find a diy dunny, I had to buy a designer dunny and strip the paint. I purchased a dunny that was designed by Klor, sorry Klor. Will post more on this project soon. But for now, here is how it all starts.

Stripped 3" Dunny

Mickey Mouse Batman?

DIY Vinylmation

Batman Head

After the positive feedback from the ICS Android I decided to try another custom but this time doing more than just painting the figure. Due to the lack of money I couldn't go out and just purchase a blank of my choice, so I turned to a Vinylmation I had bought my son. Vinylmations are Disney vinyl figures based off of the Mickey Mouse character. Created to cash in on the popularity of Designer Urban Vinyl, disney has over saturated this line of toy with hundreds of different designs. Being a fan of Batman, I decided to make a vinylmation interpretation of him. The idea again was to keep it simple but have enough features to where anyone would recognize that it was supposed to be Batman. I chose to go with one of my favorite Batmans ever, the Dark Knight. After washing the figure with warm soap water, to take off any residue left from production, I heated the figures ears with a blow dryer. This makes the vinyl very soft and easy to cut. With an exacto knife I cut the ears into the shape of Batman's ears and filled in any imperfections with super sculpey. I then added the brow definition on the mask. The body only needed the Batman logo on the chest which was real easy to cut out and adhere to the body. The spikes on the arms were a little challenging but they ended up looking pretty cool.

Ready for Primer

Sketch of Logo & Belt

After all the sculpey was in its proper place, I boiled everything to harden the sculpey. I sanded the sculpey to smooth it out a bit and primered the figure with a black sandable primer. After giving it a nice sanding, I was able to start painting the belt and eyes. Once all the painting was done, I did a matte gloss finish on the entire figure to seal in the paint. I used cel vinyl paint on the entire figure by the way. The cape was cut out of a piece of clothe. I was kind of lazy on it but will most likely have someone sew a proper cape for Vinylmation Batman.

Dark Knight Vinylmation

Primed and Ready

Yummy!

The idea behind my design was simple, take the os name and make it look like that. The newest Android operating system was given the name Ice Cream Sandwich. My job was made a little easier when Google unveiled the statue for the os. So I tried to stay true to the design of the statue when creating the mini Android.

 I started by taping off the lines which was fairly simple. Once taped off I painted several coats of brown. I used cel vinyl paint diluted with water at a 1 to 1 ratio. The paint dried fairly quick so I was able to get about seven coats done pretty quick. The figure itself disassembles into four pieces, the head, the body and both arms. I focused on the body first. When I was done painting the body, I lined up the head and marked off where the lines would continue on the head.

                  

After taping of all four parts and painting the brown on the Android. I went back with white cel vinyl paint (not diluted) and put the ice cream dots and filled the eyes in. Once it was all dry, I spray painted the entire figure with a matte gloss sealer. This made the brown become richer looking and sealed the paint so it won't fade or scratch. Then I just put it back together and I had me my first Custom Android Mini. It was featured on toysrevil.blogspot.com, which was cool.

1st DIY Attempt

Okay. So the way I got into designer toys was through the Android Mini Series created by a guy named Andrew Bell. He partnered with Google to bring their Android logo into the 3D world. Originally made to give out to business partners and employees, the Android figures became loved by all Google fans. So they decided to make some for the the fans. The first series contained 16 different designs by several different artist. Anyways, Andrew created a blank version of the figure. In the biz they call it a DIY (Do It Yourself). This is basically a 3D canvas. And this will be my first attempt at a DIY using the Android Mini Series canvas.

Check Out The Sites Tab

I added a Sites tab! Under this tab you will find some of the blogs I FOLLOW! They are all great in their own right and it is a must to visit these guys. Toy Break has a weekly video show that discusses all sorts of toys and of course they do reviews and unboxings! Spanky Stokes reviews toys and usually gets scoops on soon to be released toys. He also does LIVE reviews, so follow that guy he's good peeps. Toys R Evil is another blog to check out Andy runs his site from Singapore but is always posting updates. He works hard to keep us all informed. The recent winner of the 2011 Designer Awards for best blog, Toys R Evil is a must read. These are some of the websites I have listed so click on the tab and see what else is out there. 

Uh...Oh...

So when I was pulling the plaster apart some pieces chipped off. I believe I didn't use enough release agent. And when I was pulling the figure from the plaster mold I accidentally broke off his leg. Nothing a little gorilla glue and sandable primer couldn't handle. I think he looks pretty bad ass in flat black. I eventually want to make resin versions of this guy, but need to make a mold that will actually work. I'm thinking of outsourcing the molding process to the professionals.

Time To Wait

The plaster is poured. Now it's time to wait. It will take around an hour before you can start taking it apart. You want to peel off the boarders carefully. Flip it so the plaster is on the counter. Then peel away the clay. Create a new boarder and spray a release agent or coat with vaseline and repeat for the backside of the figure.

Plaster Here We Come

Ready to pour the Plaster of Paris. Make sure there are no holes along your border, because then all the plaster will leak out. Also, you can notice I made holes in the clay. These are called keys. They are there so when I put both sides together they fit together a whole lot better. You also want to spray a release agent over your figure and clay so you can remove it from the plaster easily. You can also use vaseline, that works too.

Lay It Down!

Now the process really begins. You have to create a border around the figure with clay. I used Sculpey III Polymer Clay. Imagine this becoming the seem you see on figures, where two sides meet. Also create a pour area. As you can tell I have a rubber funnel on the top of his head. This way I can pour the liquid plastic or resin through there to fill the void left by the figure. If you have questions please leave them in the comments area and I will answer all questions.

Primed And Ready For Sanding

Finished all the detail. Simple design, but this is supposed to be a DIY (Do It Yourself) figure. So I wanted to keep it simple enough but have enough detail where an artist can really make it his or her own. He is baked and primed ready for reproduction. I used a Krylon Primer and did about two coats. Time to make a mold. Going to try Plaster of Paris just because i'm on a major budget and Plaster of Paris is really cheap. Wish me luck.

First Attempt @ Sculpting

This is my first attempt at sculpting a figure. The idea is to make a figure and then make a mold of it. Once you make the mold then you can reproduce it as many times as you want. He is based off of the Korn rag doll from their Issues album. As you can tell, I have used Super Sculpey to sculpt the figure. It's easy to work with and then you bake it to cure or harden it. Pretty simple, but if you are using your home oven you might want to get a baking bag to bake it in. They are those bags you bake turkeys in. This reduces the toxins released into your oven, so make sure you clean your over after you bake your sculpey.

HELLO

So...my name is Joseph and I recently discovered the world of vinyl art. I have always loved art but was told that pursuing it as a career was a waste of time. There was no money in it and I should choose something else to study. I never wanted to do it for money but you need money to live so I did pursue something else. When I found out about vinyl figures I was blown away. I could take two things I loved (Toys and Art) and combine them to create unique awesome figures. So here I go. I decided to make this blog to share my experiences with you guys and hopefully inspire other people to pick up paint and brushes and have at it. I will post links to some of my favorite artist as well as tips I have learned. This will be my journey into the vinyl world. I have limited funds so my process will be slower than others. Remember I have barely begun this journey so I am not a professional at this craft. Yet...