Thursday, October 30, 2008

Albert Art Custom Bax Bear Vinyl Toy Halloween 2008

Happy Halloween!

New art from AlbertArt.net

Finally I'm able to present to you all my latest custom vinyl toys, fresh out of my ghetto workshop (aka my apartment), and just in time for Halloween too.

I haven't made a custom since my brother passed away back in June of this year, so I'm definitely ready to get back into it, and to make more toys before the year is up.

I finished these toys in just under two weeks. I started working on them a couple of days after I got back from my trip to Tokyo. Inspired, and ready to get creative on some customs, I had brought back a bunch of toys with me but the problem was I already had toys piling up sitting around at home. So I decided to work on those older DIY toys gathering dust to make space for the new stuff I picked up in Japan. More on that at a later time.

First things first, which toy was being neglected the longest?

Despite how uninspired, and boring the Bax Bear toy is, I just had to do something with them. Does anyone even remember Bax Bear? I bought a pair of these DIY toys a long time ago, and didn't really know what to do with them. The odd placement of the nose, and the shape of the head really annoy me and I think it limits what can be done with the toy. These toys have been criticized by artists as being Toy2r Qee bastardized ripoffs, and I can't blame people for thinking that way. They kinda are. Though, a canvas is a canvas, and a toy is a toy, making even the shittiest DIY toy look good, that's the job of the artist right?!

So I went ahead with customizing these, with the Halloween theme in mind. I didn't want to do your average classic Halloween character in vinyl toy form. No Dracula, Werewolf, or Frankenstein Monster for me. I wanted to make something new, and kinda bloody.

I sketched out several ideas, but I kept coming back to the first one I drew. From there I did a mock up painting with canvas and acrylic paint, to get the mood of the toys.

"Buck Bear meets The Surgeon," custom Bax Bear vinyl toy.

In comes 'The Surgeon'. A sadistic, cannibalistic bear who's handy with tools (Chainsaw and Hammer), but can't really see straight because his hair flops down over his eyes. On his back is a modified Medical Field symbol, made demonic to fit the toys evil nature.

His victim the cowardly bucktoothed 'Buck Bear', yells for help.

Hand-painted, with the Surgeons accessories found at a flea market, I also used some super sculpey in the handles of the hammer and chainsaw to add some thickness, so that they would fit the hands snuggly. Together these toys stand atop an 8x8 wood stage I painted.

These toys including this painting are for sale, and can be seen up close and on display at the Artist Perspective Art Show in November here in Vancouver, of which I am a featured artist. Details about the show will be posted, as the plans get finalized. Be sure to check back often.


I also contributed some stickynote Halloween art to the Stickynote-theatre. Using Japanese stationery I picked up on my trip, these stickynotes are oddly shaped, but still cool. Hope you like the art!

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