A week ago today I found myself in one of the most amazing places I've ever been to. ToyCon UK! I am kind of speechless over the whole thing and I wish I could re-live the weekend over and over and over again. What a place!
On the Friday I set up my table after trying to make my way from Victoria to Bethnal Green with a 40kg suitcase. It nearly killed me, but I was pleasantly surprised with the Londoners willingness to help a poor girl with her luggage! It took me about an hour and a half but I made it to my hotel. I only had a few hours sleep the night before as I literally finished the last resin toy at 9.00 in the morning and my bus was leaving at 11.00. So safe to say I was pretty tired once I reached the hotel. But I had allot of setting up to do so I had a shower and some food and then headed over to the convention hall.
The setting up took me forever! I have never fought so much with paper and cello tape in my life but I got it looking the way I wanted in the end lol. Didn't really talk with anyone on the setting up evening as I find it quite hard to approach people I've never met before. Just set my stuff up and then headed back to the hotel only to fall asleep at 9.30... woooops! Really needed that sleep though, but I felt really antisocial!
I had so much stuff with me! More than I thought I'd be able to finish in time for the Con. But I really pushed myself and I was very happy to see it all come together on the table. To be honest I didn't realize just how much I did have until I put it all out. I felt really bad for not giving you guys a preview of what I was going to bring, I just never had the chance. So I will give you a closer look now.
I think you saw from my instagram feed how hard I worked and how much stuff I actually managed to get done. I am very happy with everything that I made and in the end it was all worth it. The response to my toys have been mind-blowing to say the least. I could probably ride on this cloud of happiness forever.
This Ice-Cream Dunny from Candy Cove was the first thing I sold at my booth and to be honest I would have been happy with that. So when one thing after the other just went and my table looked emptier and emptier you can maybe try to imagine this crazy buzz I felt inside. I still can't believe that people want to own my art but you make me feel so damn good. And to meet so many of you have been such an amazing experience.
It's been so nice to meet all of you and to put faces to names. I do wish I had the chance to talk to many of you more than I got to do. Things were just so busy! But I do want to thank you again and again for buying my art and for supporting me and by doing so helping me to achieve a dream. A dream that is coming true a little bit more every day!
One thing I never thought would sell was this 8" Dunny. My first 8" actually and probably my favourite out of all the toys I've made. It was heartbreaking to see him go but at the same time I was super happy. I loved working on something bigger than a 3". So much room for imagination, plus the fact that it is much better balanced than a 3". I could never have put a huge lump of wood on a 3" Dunnys back without it falling over. He is a warden from the Whispering Woods. He looks after all the flying critters and foes of the woods. On his back he is carrying seeds of different sorts that he feeds to these animals.
I hope to do many more 8"ers in the future it's just very hard to get hold of them if you don't want to pay an absolute fortune, which I can't afford. This one was just a lucky hit on EBay a few months back! I'm in love with him.... going to miss him forever! The little Labbits were part of the custom as well :)
I'm also trying to explore new areas like with these two steam-punkesk Copter Dunnys. I love using the dirty look but I need to work on it a bit more as it takes me forever and many mistakes before I am completely happy. But as I've told you before, I like challenges and I need new obstacles to overcome or I get bored. I really like how they came out in the end though and even though it might be different from what I normally do I still think I've maintained my style. The copter girl is also one out of only two customs left in my store after the convention if you feel that you fancy her :)
Now this was my biggest achievement! My first original resin toys. The Baby Colossus and Mr. Bun Bun. They are all sold out now, but that is not what I'm talking about. This have been on my agenda for a long time and I finally did it. I have struggled so much with them though and it took me so much longer than I thought it would, this is why the week I would have had spare before ToyCon became the most important and most stressful week of my life. I'm not going to run you through all the problems I ran in to as it would take me forever and this blog entry is already getting way to long. Let's just say that making resin toys isn't as easy as it might seem...
Either way they were a huge success and I want to thank all of you that picked one up! There will definitely be more Bun Bun's and Colossus's in the future. Actually I am already planning the next Bun Bun release.....
Now I also met some awesome people and new friends. I want to thank Andy (TTC), RX7even, Penny (Taylored Curiosities) and Ian (Uncle Absinth) for and absolutely amazing night. You made me feel like I was 20 again and it's been a long long time since I had such a laugh and went to bed drunk as a skunk at 4.00 in the morning. I can't wait to hang out with you guys again next year. What a night! Here's to ToyCon UK 2017 it's going to be a BIG ONE and time just can't go quick enough! The Toy community is really something to be part of. Never in my life have I felt so welcome among strangers! Thank you for having me! <3 <3 <3
"The Golden Leaf Tribe persists of a group of fox like creatures and is located deep in the Whispering woods. Some say that these creatures guard the very heart of Tomodachi Island, in the shape of a golden glowing leaf. However no one knows for sure as nobody will get through the force barrier that the tribe have created around the heart. They are gentle creatures, but they have sworn to always protect whatever it is that they protect, with their lives.
You often hear their hymns echoing through the forest and it brings calm to all who live within the Whispering Woods."
Gorudo
This is Gorudo. Not much is known about him as he along with the rest of the tribe tend to keep to themselves. All we know really is that he paints his body in different golden leaf patterns and that his hymn is one of the most beautiful we've ever heard.
Gorudo sits on a 4" Nakanari Spiki platform. He's been airbrushed with acrylics and carefully finished with a fine brush. He's got fine golden touches on the back of his head and down his back.
Gorudo will be for sale this coming Friday the 15th of January from my BigCartel store at 21.00 BST. £100 with FREE UK shipping. You can find a preview HERE!
This is Gin. Just like Gorudo there is little we know about her. All we know is what we've seen from a far and on pictures. She seems to be very obsessed with her hair and she likes to decorate it with silver streaks. In general the members of the tribe seem to be very fond of metals like silver and gold.
Gin sits on a 4" Nakanari Spiki platform. She's been airbrushed with acrylics and carefully finished with a fine brush. Shes got silver streaks running down her hair and a small silver leaf on her forehead.
Gin will be for sale this coming Friday the 15th of January from my BigCartel store at 21.00 BST. £100 with FREE UK shipping. You can find a preview HERE!
I've worked very hard on both of these little fox creatures and spend many many hours on sculpting their features and especially the hair on both of them. They will be the last toys for a little while besides from a few commissions that I still have to finish. I need to focus on my stock for ToyCon UK now and I can't wait to get started. I've got allot of work to do, and I hope I will be able to pull it off. I am extremely excited about going to ToyCon UK and I want everything to be perfect! You will see many new and exciting things happening here this coming year. 2016 will definitely be a very good year! And starting it off with these two that I'm very very happy with feel very good.
Say Hi to Goo-Jo! My very first Muttpop Tequila custom. He's a commission for Josh who read one of my comments about how I really wanted to customize a Tequila and so he contacted me and sent me one! How awesome is that?! I was over the moon of course and I still am. What an awesome platform this is. It is so well sculpted and the pose is just magnificent too.
Now Goo-Jo is a bit tougher than what you're used to seeing from me. I tend to work with cute most of the time. But after doing the Space Crab I've been so eager to try out new grounds and yet again I was given a platform that gave me a challenge. I'm sure I could have turned him into something cute, but I didn't want to. And I kind of am in a Steampunk mood at the moment as well, which I haven't been for many years, so I am trying to apply that to the things I am working on at the moment.
The biggest challenge with Goo-Jo were the textile elements and the metal ones. Instead of sculpting I decided to give fabric, in this case leather, a go. I am pretty used to sewing but making clothes for models is a whole new spectrum to me. So after allot of fiddling and no patterns, no I had to sew it all on to him lol, I finally managed to make him a jacket! And the leather straps too.
I even made the little buckles out of armature wire that I painted in a bronze colour. It was tricky, but looked great in the end. You can actually buckle the helmet up if you want to, it works :D
I also engraved the helmet with my Dremel. That took a while and was probably what took the longest too.
So here's to another successful custom and to great people like Josh who gave me the chance to work on this amazing fella. Thank you Josh!
My biggest project so far is finally finished! Or maybe not biggest but definitely the longest. 7 long weeks it's taken me to finish this beast. It's not even big but the task was a beast.
The Space Crab Wars is the first show I was invited to and from the second I had the invite I knew I wanted to make something very special. I know that it is a good idea to stay within one set style as a designer. But if I can't progress in my work then I see no point in creating, so I really wanted to step out of my box and do something out of the norm. The Space Crab platform allowed me to do so. It took me a long long time to figure out what to do with it but when it finally came to me I knew it was right.
It all started with a sketch of her head in a helmet and then I just went on from there. I think the first thing I decided on was the colour scheme. I knew exactly what I wanted with the dessert cammo and the contrast of her pink hair. I like the mix of masculine and feminine and I think it softens the whole "war" theme going on.
It was hard though, not to make her to cute and to maintain the masculine part of it. I did work on the paint of her face for a very long time to get it right.
Now then.... This was the unplanned side of this Space Crab that I, in the end, put most of my work in to. I weren't supposed to use the helmet at all. In fact I was about to throw it out and then this thing popped up in my head. Now for some reason I didn't sketch it out, I just started building this thing without any references or sketches at all. I'm sure it would have saved me allot of time if I did plan it better. But I just went on with it.
This is the first vehicle I've ever made and getting all the parts together took a very long time. All the bits are made out of Super Sculpey but as the Space Crab helmet is hard plastic it's not oven safe so I had to do the details and put the Sculpey bits together with Epoxy. Epoxy.... where do I start. I do love it as it is extremely strong and opens up many opportunities that I wouldn't have had with just Sculpey. But it is very messy and hard to work with, plus that the long curing time just prolongs things even more. Saying that, I could not have made this little dude if it weren't for the Epoxy. So yes I have developed a little love/hate relationship with Epoxy.
I also found it hard to find the right accessories for him, like the wheels. I managed to get the ones I wanted in the end, and also had to wait for them for about 3 weeks as they came all the way from China! And I'm not even going to tell you about the paint. Let's just say I had to wait a long time for that too.
I completed these two customs with an enormous feeling of satisfaction! Not only did I push myself but I also feel that I've created something that I can be very proud of and I think it will be a great addition to our European Team. There is some awesome customs from my Team in general and I really wanted to do my very best to make them proud of me. I hope we take home the Victory in November as I think it would be a great achievement for the EU Toy Scene! And I want to thank Jon-Paul Kaiser for personally choosing me to be part of his team of awesomeness!!! GO TEAM EU!!!!
Whilst waiting for supplies for my Steam Punk series I thought I'd finish the Mishka Dunnys that I bought quite some time ago. I also wanted to try out my new amazing Iwata Eclipse Airbrush. All I can say about it, is that it is amazing. Sooooo smooth compared to my old one and such a nicely weighted piece of kit. It rests amazingly well in your hand. I will get some more accessories and nibs for it though so that I can start to work on some very fine detail. I can definitely recommend the Iwata Eclipse to anyone who wants to start airbrushing. A++++++++++!
Now, I wanted to focus more on the painting on these two as the sculpt would be limited. So I decided to work with nice gradients and animal print. Animal print have been on my list for a while, but I haven't really made anything that it would suit until now. I also wanted to give these real bright colours as I tend to work with pastel and quite dull colours normally. The challenge was to look outside of the box and come up with the colour palettes. It is safe to say that I need a kick in the right direction when it comes to colour so I had to look at I don't know how many colour palettes online. I finally came up with these which I think compliment each other really well.
The "Keep Watch" Dunny have been great fun to work on and the base sculpt is lovely and detailed. All in all a great experience.
Kuma
This is Kuma. She's a bundle of joy to say the least. She loves anything sweet and festive and yes, her most favorite thing of all is fancy dress. And she makes all her costumes her self of course.
Gizo
Gizo and Kuma are the best of friends and Gizo loves fancy dress just as much as Kuma if not even more (but hush don't tell Kuma). Gizo too makes her own costumes but another favorite thing of hers is to make origami.
Gizo and Kuma will be available from my BIg Cartel store on Monday the 21st of September at 9.00 PM BST (GMT+1) at £82.00 each with Free Shipping within the UK (£10.00 for the rest of the world).
Here he is! My Seishin Spiki for Martian Toys and New York Comic Con! It is my very first show piece and I couldn't be more excited about participating in "Spiki Attacks New York Comic Con"... I am part of an amazing line up where many of my favourite artists and toys designer can be seen as well. I just feel so honored to be part of this and I hope it is the first of many shows to come.
It's been nice to work on something different than a Dunny as I tend to work on those platforms and awful lot. Spiki caught my eye some time ago and I always wanted to customize one. I have so many platforms sitting on a shelf just waiting to have some work done to them, but I do find it very hard to find the time to get it all done. Work and baby seem to take up most of my time these days but I do appreciate my toys even more so now that I can't work on them every day.
He's an awesome little custom and I hope he will find a forever home over at NYCC next month. He will be available from Martian Toys both along with an array of different custom Spiki's.
I don't know when the next lot of customs will be ready as my airbrush decided to pack up half way through painting little Spiki here. So I will have to get another one. It was nice to work on Spiki the traditional way though and I managed to get some real nice detail in there like the fur on the back of his arms for example. I don't think I would have done that if my airbrush'd still been working.
I will keep you posted though as I have a load of ideas for the next lot of customs. Hope you enjoy looking at Spiki until then! <3
My Little Batlings are finally finished! I've been working on them for about two weeks now. I never thought I would have as little time as I do now after going back to work and all. But I do my best to squeeze in as much toy work as possible when I can.
These Batlings are probably the best customs I've made so far. I have spent so much time on every little detail and I kept sanding and adjusting them for about two days. My airbrushing skills are becoming better and better as well and I think this really shows in the final paint job. Actually I think I am ready for finer detail but I need a new airbrush before I can start practicing that. So I need to save up for a bit. Anyway, I hope you like these little Batlings and don't forget to check the store on Monday night if you want to grab one for yourself. Enjoy reading their stories below.
"The little Batlings live in the deep caverns of Tomodachi Island. Funny enough these little creatures are very scared of the dark. This has resulted in the Caverns being one of the brightest places on Tomodachi Island. They have decorated the caverns with bright fairy-lights in all the colors of the rainbow. Their furs are naturally dark and quite dull but they have sorted this out themselves as well by painting each other in various colors and patterns. "Dark" is just something they don't want to know about, so they pretend that it does not exist at all."
This is Loki. He is sleepy most of the time and he absolutely loves stars, however he is terrified of the dark. It's a bit tricky as you can only see the stars when it's dark so some of the creatures of Tomodachi Island has come to Lokis rescue and collected fallen stars for him so that he can enjoy the things he love the most without having to venture out in the scary darkness outside of the caverns.
And this is Pellie. She might be one of the sweetest little creatures that you can find in the caverns. Always spreading love around her wherever she goes. Of course she is obsessed with anything heart shaped and sparkly. Her most favorite thing to do is to hug and snuggle.
Little Fioline. Constantly running in and out of the caverns to collect all the beautiful flowers she can carry. In fact it is probablt time for a little clean out soon, as the flowers have almost taken over the caverns. The other Batlings love treasure and bling, but not Fioline. She prefers to fall asleep on a bed of flowers every night.
And Guster of course. Who can forget about Guster. Let's just say he's pretty loud. Always high on sugar and his laughter can be heard echoing through the caverns. He likes to play pranks on the Owlings that live and guard the treasures in the caverns. He sure is a prankster, the little devil.
All the Batlings will be available from my Big Cartel store from 09.00 PM BST (GMT+1) on Monday the 27th of July. Be there or be square!
I never thought I'd be able to finish these before my two weeks holiday to Sweden. I meant to finish them yesterday but got really ill and had to stay in bed all day. I don't know what the illness was as it is completely gone today. I had a high fever and everything and slept all day. I think I might have over worked myself again, trying to get as much done as possible before my holiday. Ah well, I am ok now anyway and I am looking forward to the first Holiday in a long time and I can't wait to hang out with all my friends and family. I miss them so much!
"The Leaflings are tiny little creatures living in the thick undergrowth of the Whispering Woods. During the day they venture up into the tree canopy to get as much sun as possible. They do this as it gets pretty cold and dark under the thick vegetation that covers the ground of the Whispering Woods. They are creatures with strong powers and through their crystals they bring balance and peace to their surroundings."
These Leaflings sit on a 3" Kidrobot Dunny Platform. Painted with acrylics and finished with a matte UV resistant varnish. It carries three Amethyst Crystals around its neck which are said to provide calm, balance, patience, and peace.
"This Leafling has reached his final for as a Seishin. This means that it is ready to leave Tomodachi Island and cross over to the Spirit world called Seishin. Since all Leaflings carry crystals and feel very lost without them they are allowed to bring them when they pass to Seishin."
This Seishin Leafling sits on a 3" Kidrobot Dunny Platform. Painted with acrylics and finished with a matte UV resistant varnish. It carries a Rose Quartz crystal arround its neck which is known as the 'love stone' as the message it emits is the strong vibration of unconditional love, joy, warmth and healing.
I decided to change the name of the spirit world to Seishin as Yurei is a bit to dark for Tomodachi Island. So the new name for it is Seishin. These will be the last Dunnys for a little while. I am going to take a nice long break in Sweden and just enjoy life with family and friends. I hope to come back with a fresh mind and allot of new inspiration. I am also going back to work on the 25th of June so that will be interesting. I work part-time in a pet shop and I am really looking forward to going back after a year of maternity leave.
Now I got to pack for tomorrow! The Dunnys will be up for sale from 6.00 pm (GMT +1) in my Big Cartel shop HERE!
Wow I can't believe both Karii and Ekii sold out within a few hours of putting them up for sale! I am so excited! Actually I got so excited that I decided to have a Summer Sale this weekend ONLY! over at the Big Cartel shop!
So head on over this weekend to get 25% off your entire purchase! Just enter the code SUMMERSALE upon checkout and you shall receive your award!
I am going away to Sweden for two weeks from the 6th of June, but before then I hope to get at least two more Dunnys made. So during next week at some point there will be another two Dunnys posted in the shop. I will keep you up to date! I am really sorry for the ones of you that missed out! But there will be more chances. I am focusing on creatures from the whispering woods at the moment, and this will be the theme of the coming two. Also don't forget that I do take commissions through THIS form! If you want to make sure that the Dunny is yours then I suggest hitting me up for a commission! They start at £65.00 (excluding shipping) so don't hesitate! :D And don't forget to sign up to my Newsletter where you will get info about up and coming releases as well as discounts and events!
Karii and Ekii are finished! I know I've said it before but I have to say it again! I LOVE WORKING ON THESE LITTLE THINGS! I am definitely addicted to Dunnys and I can't stop working on the platform. Anyway who cares! Keep reading for a closer introduction of these two little fellas.
"Karii comes from the northern part of the Whispering Woods. It is slightly colder here but his coat is thick and warm. Karii is part of the Deer Folk tribe. This tribe always travel in heards through the woods. Just like deers they are always on their guard and they can be quite hard to spot. They specialize in camouflage and melt in with their surroundings really well. Not much is known about them as they tend to keep to themselves. Maybe they will let us in one day, but until then, lets enjoy their beauty from a distance."
Keep in mind that these are only 3" tall and the detail on the wood was very time consuming.
Karii came out just as cute as I'd planned and I think he looks pretty much exactly like the picture I drew. Whispering Woods is such a large part of Tomodachi Island and I have got loads of creatures lined up from this part. I wish I had more than two hands sometimes...
"Ekii is a shy little creature. Part of the species Snubble Folk. He is very small, about the size of a house mouse and his favourite thing to do is to build little nests inside of old tree trunks. Don't think that his nests would look anything like a mouses though. Oh no, Ekii spends allot of time planning and gathering the perfect materials for his nests. They may be small but oh so grand! He is a craftsman and his handy work is quite impressive. Maybe he will show us one day, but for now only the Snubble folk of the Whispering Woods will truly know what his creations look like, as they are the only ones he work for."
I think it is obvious that Ekii took me the longest to make. His pine-cone/acorn hat nearly drove me insane. Saying that I probably didn't have to spend half as long on it as I did. I have discovered that the scalpel is a much better "sanding" tool than sandpaper, so get things very even. This also mean that I have found another way of getting lost in nit picking and fine-tuning.....
Oh the tiny tiny detail.....
Both Ekii and Karii are available for purchase in my BigCartel shop: HERE!
"Swashbuckling Judith - She is the Queen of Candy Coves sister, believe it or not. Several years ago she was caught leaving the Island on a pirate ship that was passing by. Now she travels the seven seas together with her pirate mateys in search of treasure. Some say that she's lost her mind, but who knows. She's not set foot on Tomodachi Island since she left so these are only rumors. She was last seen on a ship heading towards Switzerland"
My very first Dunny Commission! I am in love with 3" Dunnys and I have gotten myself a smaller army of them after this. I was so daunted by working on something so small. But it turned out to be a delight to work on these 3" beauties!
Swashbuckling Judith sits on a 3" Kidrobot Sword Swallower Dunny!
She's got a pretty collection of skull beads decorating her hat.
And who can travel the seven seas on a pirate ship without a Jolly Roger? Not Judith anyway!
"Rikkit Tikki - The coolest girl at the Bamboo Coast. She wasn't cool before her one of a kind Adidas pumps got washed up on the beach on day though. Now she struts around in her pumps with everyone being super jealous. After she got her shoes she just wont wear anything else but black and white to match. Strange little thing she is, but she sure has got the coolest pumps on the Island... "
She came out so sweet! I've been working hard over the weekend to finish Rikki Tikki. I've promised a preview of my sale for today and so I just had to finish her. I am happy to say that all is ready to go now! I've been so busy over the past two months trying to get my first sale up. I am very proud of myself to say the least. Two months ago I didn't have any custom toys and now I've finished 10 (!). You will get the preview later today as I am still to price everything.
Rikki Tikki sits on a 5" MadL platform. Sculpted with Super Sculpey, painted with acrylics and finished with a UV resistant matte varnish. The pompoms are needle felted :)
She will be available from the webshop on Friday the 1st of May at £110. More info to come!
"He was once a magnificent beast from the Whispering Woods. He migrated to the Sakura Sanctuary quite some time ago now. He has now reached his final form as a Yūrei and is now ready to leave the island to become part of the spirit realm."
Rooz is now finished and I've almost hit the finish line. One more to go and the sale is only a week and a half away. I am very happy with Rooz and so pleased to have worked on this kidrobot platform. I know he is quite rare, but I don't understand why. It is amazing to work on and has a super cute silhouette.
The are hard to come by but I hope to work on this platform again in the future. I always keep an eye out for good deals and rare platforms so I am sure I will bump in to him again some time.
I used decals for his forehead and his back which worked really well with this job. For tiny detail I find the decals very handy and I love designing them on the computer. It can be a real struggle to work with when it's this small though. But with patience it will come together in the end.
"The Passing to Yūrei" will be part of the sale on May 1st at 12:00pm GMT.
"Well well well if it ain't the Miochos. They're part of the Queens guard but they are pretty lousy at their job. Laughing and joking about absolutely everything. No one knows why she hired them but I guess they do bring her a good laugh. There's not really anything to worry about on Tomodachi Island anyway, so why not laugh instead. "
Oh I am feeling productive this week and I've only got two more toys to finish and one drawing before my big sale on May 1st! I can't wait. Love how these came out and it was nice to work on something different this time. I do love sculpting but I think I will keep painting and using decals as well in the future. Especially on tiny vinyl figures like these 2.5" Dudeboxes.
These will be for sale at £35.00 each on May 1st!
Wow I am so sorry! 11 days and no blog posts. I started last week with getting ill and having loads of orders to do. Not a good combination if you want to get toys and artwork done as well. What normally takes me a day to complete took me three so I have had next to no time to work on my personal projects. I did manage to start my mini dudes however and I thought I'd give a little update on what's actually going on here.
As you know I am working hard to have my first art and toy sale here on the Tomodachi Island website. I am happy to say that I am almost there. I have set a date and the date will be the 1st of May! So do mark this date in your Calendars if you're interested in any of my pieces. I will hold a preview 5 days before the actual sale, with prices and all the items available. I am working on three 2.5" Dudes and this 4" Kidrobot Rooz at the moment.
I also hope to get started on this MADL this week, and that will be it before the big sale.
I also received another 7" Foomi in the post the other day. She's for my next sale that will be on the 1st of June. I hoped to get her done for the first sale but I am realizing that I am running out of time and this one will be quite detailed. Many hours will be put in to this one and I have high expectations of her.
As you know, the big Dudeboxes are finished but I am still waiting for their zipper pulls. They should be with me by next week and I can't wait to show you these guys in all their glory. I am so happy with them even though I nearly gave up half way through. I guess to actually finish them is the reward at the end of a long long struggle. And it does make it all worth while.
This week will be full of WIP pictures and updates to make up for the past week that gave you absolutely nothing. I am looking forward to it and I hope you are too. Yet again sorry for leaving you in the dark last week. I'm back with vigor this week!
This project is definitely one of the longest ever. The finish line just feels further and further away every day. Funny thing with toys is that I always finish them. If this was a painting I would probably never finish it, as I run out of patience when things take to long. It goes to show once again that I am truly in my element now. I think this is the last time I will be working on three toys at the same time however. But they do go in the same series so I guess it had to be done.
The paint job took forever and is only about 50% done. I can't wait to be able to afford some proper air brush paint like the high flow Golden acrylics though. I got black and white the other day and I now know why everyone loves Golden Acrylics so much. They sure as hell are the best acrylics out there for custom toys, and probably for painting as well.
I also managed to break all the zippers whilst painting them. But I think it was for the best or they'd probably broken in transit anyway knowing my luck. But I have a solution to that problem that will look so much cooler. So no biggie really.
Sorry for the lack of updates this week by the way. Been a busy one and yesterday I took my little baby girl to London for the day which was a bit of an adventure. Today I am absolutely knackered though. Looking forward to next week when I plan to get loads done and hopefully finish these little devils.
I only just finished my first custom vinyl toy. It is litteraly just over a month since I did Trikky and Brob and just a couple of weeks ago that I finished The Queen of Candy Cove. I could never have imagined being featured by Kidrobot them selves but not only did they feature The Queen of Candy cove on their Instagram but also in their Blog!
I've been such a massive fan of Kidrobot for years and years so to be featured by them is a huge dream come true. Wow! I'm so happy! Thank you guys so much!
As if that wasn't enough, The Toy Chronicle, which is an amazing UK Toy Blog that I have followed for quite some time as well, did a full feature on me.
The feature made me feel special and it's brought out even more inspiration than I thought was possible. The boost from these features is just amazing. I really feel on top of the world and I can't say thank you enough! THAAAAAANNNNKKK YOOOU! <3
CLICK THE PICTURES TO READ THE FULL FEATURES!
I did manage to get some sculpting done over the weekend anyway. So the Dudes now got little horns in various shapes and sizes and the third Dude has got a face as well. I managed to start on the zippers as well which was one hell of a tricky one but came out nice in the end.
Teeny tiny detail.... Even made my hand shake for a second and I can't say that has ever happened before. The detail is great though and I'm very pleased with the end result. Now I got another two to make... pheeeeew!
Maybe maybe maybe I will be able to start a paint job next week. Let's hope ey!
And the third face is in place. Might make some small changes to this one though, it don't feel finished for some reason.
I am actually getting somewhere with these. Mainly because I've chosen to loose sleep rather than loosing time on my toys. So I've been getting up around six every morning to feed my little girl and then she goes back to bed and I go into the workshop. I've also been working later at night when she's asleep. I just can't put my toys down at the moment.
I've managed to finish two faces so far and I think that will be more or less it before the weekend now. The parents in law are coming to visit so I will have no chance to work during the weekend. But I will be back on it first thing Monday!
Here's some WIP pictures anyway. Loving them so far and can't wait to finish them.
My favorite tools that I tend to use more or less all the time :D
All hail the Queen of Candy Cove! She has finally made he first appearance after her mother sadly passed away. It is time for her to take over the reign of Candy Cove and her nerves are more on the outside than the inside. She's not much of a people person and hates center of attention (sucks being a Queen then I guess?!). This is something that she'll have to deal with however and she needs to take control over the terrible sugar lows she tends to get after eating to many Love Hearts!
The Queen of Candy Cove is modeled on an 7" Kidrobot Foomi DIY Platform by Emelie Jensen for Tomodachi Island.
In her left hand she carries a golden lollipop with pink rhinestones. Completely hand sculpted.
The Queen of Candy Cove will be part of Tomodachi Island's first Sale which date is still to be announced. Stay Tuned for more info!
