Friday, February 29, 2008
Custom Action Figures: Marcus Fenix (Gears of War), Old Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid 4)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Photo: A whole bunch of retro-futuristic robots
Photo link. You can buy many of these from the Builder's Studio store. And here's an interview with the creator of all those robots.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Warhammer 40K: Looted Space Marine Dreadnought transformed into Orky Killing Machine
Excellent step by step photos here showing how "jamsessionein" started with this concept art
and these pieces
and created this
and these pieces
and created this
Customizing Idea: George Washington as the Hulk
Art by Chris Haley, larger version here.
Relatedly: America's greatest presidents as the Fantastic Four.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Custom Action Figure: Victorian Iron Man
What kind of saw should you use to cut up miniatures?
Go here for a discussion of various brands, including a endorsement of Hasegawa's Tritool series micro saws: "You can actually split the fingers on a Marine's hand apart from one another without destroying the hand with these little gems!"
Monday, February 18, 2008
How To: Lots of ideas for modeling spider webs
For example: "You could simply find a material such as thick glue. Position some wire where you want the web to go. Then drip the glue over the wire and paint it pale looking as though it is spider web."
Link.
Link.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Privacy Policy
Like just about every other site on the internet, I use various programs such as StatCounter, Site Meter, and FeedBurner, which collect and use the data contained in log files. The information in the log files includes your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AT&T), the browser you used to visit my site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited my site, and which pages you visited throughout my site. Some of these programs may also use cookies to record information such as how often you have visited my site. You can actually see my Site Meter information by clicking in the widget at the bottom of the sidebar.
I also use Google AdSense, which collects additional information about your websurfing habits as described here. You can learn about turning off some of those features here.
Finally, I won't sell user information to a third party.
Thanks very much for visiting my site.
I also use Google AdSense, which collects additional information about your websurfing habits as described here. You can learn about turning off some of those features here.
Finally, I won't sell user information to a third party.
Thanks very much for visiting my site.
The merits of mixing Super Sculpey and Sculpey 3
A useful discussion here, including the suggestion that you buy a pasta machine to mix.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Customized Action Figure: Iron Man/M.O.D.O.K. Mashup
Zero G used a mixture or Super Sculpey and Milliput, around a core of aluminum foil.
*Buy MODOK toys at eBay.
Airbrushing tips
Here's some useful tips on selecting and using an airbrush. For example:
Next, comes the paint. What type? Laquer, enamel, or acrylic? The choice is yours. If you can't vent off really well I don't recommend lacquers... they're deadly stuff to get into your lungs and the thinner itself is deadly also. It can cause sterility, death, blindness, etc... not recommended stuff.
Friday, February 15, 2008
How To: Paint a Harad Corsair (Games Workshop)
Click through for step by step instructions for painting this Lord of the Rings miniature from Games Workshop.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
How To: Sculpt with Greenstuff
Some very useful tips. For example:
By varying the ratio of blue to yellow, the properties of Greenstuff will be modified. Using more blue (hardener) in the mixture, the putty will cure faster and harder. Using more yellow (filler) will do the opposite, it will make the putty a softer blend that will take detail better but harden slower.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Custom Action Figure: Fin Fang Foom
Made with a 12" Venom, plastic snake, pieces of 5" X-Men Monster, and Annhilus' wings. Click through for more photos, including an unpainted version.
Interview with Winston Acosta
I've previously featured two of Winston "Scavenjer33" Acosta's fabulous customized Munnys. He was kind enough to answer a few questions.
Q: What kind of art/crafting education do you have?
A: I have always been into art, in middle school I attended one of the first magnet schools in Miami, then for High school I was accepted to a visual arts program and went to college for commercial arts.
Q: What type of tools, paint, sculpture medium do you use to customize Munnys? Do you use any products to seal the paint?
A: It's funny, I just started using Sculpey and customizing toys literally a couple of weeks ago. I had taken sculpture classes in high school but never was into it until now. I've used acrylics all the time for my art and am very comfortable with them. I am still learning Sculpey and use a wooden chop stick that I found as a tool. What ever works! I do seal the customs with Krylon clear acrylic coating.
Q: Do you take commissions?
A: Not at this moment. I would like to in the future.
Thanks Winston! You can visit his Flickr gallery here, and his official site here.
*Previously:
Interview with Tom Torrey of Gamma Ray Bots
Interview with Pete of The Builder's Studio.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Custom Action Figure: Wraith (Marvel)
Underneath all that it's a Iceman action figure. Go here to see lots of in progress and finished photos. "Warrack" made the holster out of paper to get the shape right, and then covered the paper with Milliput.
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How To: A Beginner's Guide to Affordable Customizing
A handy list of the common tools and products you'll need. Link.
Monday, February 11, 2008
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Sunday, February 10, 2008
Tony Stark, Stealth Iron Man custom action figures
Click through for the recipes
Stark's Stealth Iron Man by *Jin-Saotome on deviantART
And here's a step-by-step guide for how it was painted
Stealth Iron Man Painting Step by *Jin-Saotome on deviantART
Stark's Stealth Iron Man by *Jin-Saotome on deviantART
And here's a step-by-step guide for how it was painted
Stealth Iron Man Painting Step by *Jin-Saotome on deviantART
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Warhammer 40K Miniatures: Grey Knights with purple flair
The purple really gives the normally dull Grey Knights some pop. See more photos here or here. And here's the artist's site.
Contest: Create a customized action figure for a movie character
The contest runs through February at Toy Soup (registration req'd). The winner will receive a boxed set of the X-Men movies.
CustomCon XIX is coming
What is CustomCon, you ask? CustomCon is a special semi-annual presentation of new custom toy creations by customizers around the globe. Seven years in the running, it's still going strong. Inspired by the presentations of new product by legitimate manufacturers at Toy Fair and other trade shows, CustomCon is a "fake" convention, whereby customizers present their latest creations and recipes as if unveiling a new line of real toys to retailers. It's always a lot of fun, for both the viewers and the participants.
The deadline will be Monday March 10th, 2008. Click here to read more and see the customized action figures from previous "conventions."
How To: Make lightsabers out of clear rods
Very useful for customizing Star Wars miniatures, here's a step-by-step guide for buying plastic rods and transforming them into lightsabers.
Wizards of the Coast Miniatures: Custom Holographic Thrawn
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"Myname" made custom figures, molds, and then cast the miniatures in clear resin. Follow the link to see his holographic Admiral Ackbar miniature.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Custom Doll: Nurse from Silent Hill
It's pretty creepy, so click through if you want to see it. Ebay.
Lego Minifigs: DC Supervillains
Featuring customized decals and other modifications. See more of "Levork's" DC Comics Lego minifigs here, and here's his personal site.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Darth Maul Munny
I previously posted a Darth Maul Munny work in progress. This incredible, completed Darth Maul Munny is by a different artist and has a very different feel:
Interview with Tom Torrey of Gamma Ray Bots
I recently discovered Tom Torrey's Etsy store, Gamma Ray Bots. It's full of...robots and other neat stuff. Tom was gracious enough to answer a few questions.
Q: What kind of art/crafting education do you have?
I have a B.F.A. in illustration from Mass College of Art in Boston Ma. I also spent a couple of years at a State College getting a sculpture and metals/clay education before switching to Mass art.
Q: How do you design your creations - - do you plan them out, or just dump out your bits box and see what falls out?
Yes,sometimes! I spent a long time without focus in my artwork. I could paint and draw I just didn't know what i wanted to make art about. Being trained as an illustrator did a lot of damage to my creative process. For a long time I couldn't look at a blank canvas without wanting to paint a businessman on it with a fishing pole surrounded by an ocean of dollar bills. It is a kind of brainwashing. When i was an editorial illustrator I didn't feel like a "real" artist. No offense to editorial illustrators you are real artists. It wasn't until I quit freelance illustration and concentrated on the more fine art side of things that this whole new world of possibilities opened up. This is just a long way of saying I love scifi and when I was free of the regimented illustrative training these pictures started to appear in my sketchbook.
Q: What tools/glue do you use?
I use lots of tools. Hand tools mostly. I share a basement with my father-in-law so what ever tool i don't have i can probably find it in his stuff. I try to make at least my robot sculptures as permanent as I can. It can get tricky sometimes. I find myself rejecting a cool looking detail on a robot that I just know would fall off or break in a couple of years. Making an object to pass on to someone else is important to me. My sculpture professor,whom I learned a lot from, always pushed the importance of permanence in art. He said why create this wonderful object just to have it fall apart in a few years. I guess it just stuck with me.
Q: Your robots seem to have very similar legs and feet - - what do you make them out of?
The most common material I use is metal. I also use a common robot body type. This didn't happen overnight. It has come from trial and error. I find what is easily available to me. When I find some food tins i can use for the body lets say i find out just how many are available. I get weird looks from cashiers when I bring 10 coffee tins to the register. I have learned if you like it buy in when you see it because containers disappear and change often. The fun is in the details. My favorite hangouts are dollar stores and thrift shops. This is when the looks get weirder. I often think about what is running through peoples minds when they ring up old silverware, broken tools, lunch boxes,jars of rusty nuts and bolts. I mean to most people this stuff is garbage and should be thrown away. I rescue it and it sits on a shelf in my studio until I find the perfect place for it.
Q: What techniques do you use to promote your store?
Flickr is a great way to generate sales at my etsy.com store. I have gotten commission work based on people looking at my old work. It can be great tool just to show what I am capable of. Word of mouth is good to but it is hard to find my audience. They are out there but can be hard to find. I do some art shows in the Boston area. Another good resource I am gearing up for is magazine ads. I have my eye on doing a couple of spots this summer to push some sales. A small piece of advice to anyone before you advertise yourself, have the stock on hand. Make as much art as you can prior to any sales push. When your name gets out, there is no sales killer like having three pieces in your store front because you didn't get the work done on time. A nice full inventory makes for good sales and keep generating new art. People who like your art will come back and check you out for new stuff. If there is no new stuff they are going to move on.
Thanks, Tom. Visit his Etsy store here, his official site here, and his Flickr gallery here.
*Previously: Interview with The Builder's Studio.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Eternity action figure
It took an eternity to make. Ha ha. Ha. Ebay. Artist site.
*Buy Marvel Legends action figures at eBay.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
How To: Paint with acrylic paints
If you know nothing about painting with acrylic paints, here's a comprehensive guide on everything from cleaning paintbrushes to blending different colors.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Scenery: Iron Man's Control Room
Click through for comments on the construction.
Iron Man's control center by *Jin-Saotome on deviantART
Iron Man's control center by *Jin-Saotome on deviantART
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Nite-Owl Action Figure
Looks like it was made from a Justice League Unlimited Batman. More fantastic figures by Scott Rogers in this gallery.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Superman Action Figure Sculpt WIP
Step by step photos here. The Super Man action figure is being sculpted out of super sculpey using this tool:
The Thing Action Figure (Justice League Unlimited)
Looks like it's a repainted and modified Doomsday figure.
Just one of the many excellent customized action figures in this gallery.*Buy Justice League Unlimited toys at eBay.
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