Albert Art Custom "NESS" vinyl toy.A fresh take on a classic videogame character -- a kid with an attitude, and a love for sneakers inspired by Tokyo's urban culture.
When I was commissioned to do a Mother inspired painting for someone, I instantly thought of doing a custom toy. Ness was perfect for toy production. The EarthBound character is short, and stubby, but he needed an update, and needed to shed his 'goody-goody' persona.
For those unfamiliar with the cult Nintendo classic, EarthBound aka 'Mother', is an RPG set in a suburban North American town, with Ness the hero of the game who wields a baseball bat, and a Yo-Yo. When thinking about those elements, all these ideas for a badass Ness came flooding into my mind. Thus my interpretation of Ness, is one of contrast to the original. One that also embraces his Japanese roots, with modern footwear inspired by Tokyo-based Mad foot! shoes, which you can see more defined in the Ness painting. For the toy, I designed something simpler, rather than the high-tops.
This would be my fourth videogame-inspired custom Munny, after Bonk, Mega Man, and Bomberman.
For the commissioned painting, the client wanted to have the Kraken from the game featured with Ness. As you can see I made the sea creature more dominate in the image, with Ness taking up a very small portion (in the right bottom corner) of the space on the 8 x 8 wood panel.
The second painting was made solely as a concept for the toy. The arrows made similar to the Mad Foot! logo on their shoes. I used a combination of acrylic paint, markers, and spray paint.
To create the leg portion of the toy, I had to employ new tools. I purchased a Dremel power tool for cutting, drilling, and sanding, wood stubs which were used as legs. They were fused to shoes which I made with super sculpey.
Unlike the other toys I've made, Ness has his share of accessories, from an over-sized backpack to a baseball cap. In the end the toy is very cool, with a distinctive hip-hop urban personality. Signature Albert Art.
Albert Art in APW custom group toy show!
I'm happy to announce that I will be showcasing my Smorkin' Labbit trio in New York City, for the APW group custom toy show. Going down 4/3/09-4/27/09. I can't be there for the opening night, but maybe you can be there for me?!
APW Gallery 48-18 Van Dam St Long Island City, NYC
And Finally...
For those interested in getting their own Albert Art, I'm offering some art at reduced rates for the recession-challenged.
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2 comments:
Great toys!
I myself is going to school to be an animator, though i still dont decide which should I do, 2d or 3d.
Do you do any 2d animation or just work on toys?
Thanks Johnny!
I went to school and studied traditional animation, and 3D animation. These days some schools only teach a very small part of hand-drawn animation, and are more geared toward teaching Flash, because that's where a lot of 2d jobs are.
Personally if you're going to study animation, (any kind of animation), it is good to be knowledgeable in all forms of animation, 2d, 3d, stop-motion, whatever.
I'm an animator, and I love all forms of animation, but when it comes down to working in the industry film or videogames, you gotta know 3D.
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