babyvtec

babyvtec was raised in Texas and now resides in Los Angeles, CA.

babyvtec found her niche in accounting, but knows her heart belongs to the arts. She misses the time when she could fill her notebooks with doodles instead of lecture notes and dreams of a future where she can draw, paint, and sculpt in broad day light, during the week.  Her background in art derived solely from her love of museums. Exhibitions all over California and New York City continue to stimulate her and she hopes to return to Musée du Louvre in Paris soon. 

Despite the fact that most of babyvtec’s drawings reflect a cartoon personality, her sculptures and custom work speak Victorian. She is inspired by the classy yet gothic twist of the Victorian era combined with ornate and Baroque stylings, damask patterns, and even some kitsch décor.  

babyvtec’s motto? If ain’t Baroque, fix it!

More Info about babyvtec can be found here:

babyvtec.com

twitter.com/babyvtec

TOYSREVILs *I Like Toys* Blog: Sneak Preview by VISEone for "Cast In Plastic"

Toys R Evil has done it once again. We were listed on their blogspot for a sneak preview of VISEone's custom for our show. Read all about it here. Thank you Andy!!!

TOYSREVILs *I Like Toys* Blog: Sneak Preview by VISEone for "Cast In Plastic"

Anville

One of the most highly notable details to inkwork comes from another one of Houston's local artist, who goes by the name of Anville.  

Anville was born and raised in Houston, TX his entire life.  He began drawing at an early age. His inspiration for art came from his fascination with cars and all things mechanical.  As his years of artwork progressed, he turned to comic books, where he learned to appreciate inkwork and figure drawing.  He recentaly discovered the great masters of color and forms over the last few years, such as Gustave Dore, Klimnt and Mucha. 

Anville's main influences as of late are engravers from the early 1900s, dutch still life painters, along with more contemporary icons such as Kozik and Damien Hirst. For Anville, being an artist is intersting in that each pieceis an adventure in a way, a journey to discover certian things along the way towards its completion. If you see art in that way, it never gets old, and theres always an opportunity to try something new.

Check out Anville's work at:

http://www.anville.net/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anville/

All photos are (c) all rights reserved by Anville

TOYSREVILs *I Like Toys* Blog: Cast In Plastic @ Domy Books (May 14)

We'd like to thank ToysREvil for posting us up on his blog. Thank you Andy! <3

TOYSREVILs *I Like Toys* Blog: Cast In Plastic @ Domy Books (May 14)

MeSmithy

Meet MeSmithy.  Well known for her furry and unique stitched leather customs.  

Megan first discovered vinyl when she came across a few boxes of Joe Ledbetter's Finders Keepers and instantly fell in love with the medium. While she likes to explore various mediums with her customs, including painting and fur application, her most unique is the stitched leather style. By using scrap leather from a clothing company she is able to help recycle and reduce waste while making one of a kind pieces of art.

You can find out more about MeSmithy at:

http://www.mesmithy.com
http://www.twitter.com/mesmithyman
http://mesmithy.blogspot.com/

All photos are (c) all rights reserved by MeSmithy

NREAZON

NREAZON is an artist based out of Dallas, TX.  She is well known for her use of brightly colored characters and 2D artwork. 

NREAZON is a self taught artist. She has never stepped into an art or graphic design class before.  For her, being an artist is more than just putting paint on a new canvas or toy.  It's about reaching out to people and letting them know where she came from, telling hem about her life experiencs, and meeting great people along the way.  Whether they are wearing one of her T-shirts or collecting one of her custom toys; she wants them to be knowledgeable about what NREAZON stands for.  She now creates artwork full time for the world to enjoy. 

No Rules-No Boundaries- No Regrets No Reason

(en-ree-zon) meaning: I have no reason for what I do. I do art because I love it.”

Read more about NREAZON at:

http://www.nreazon.com/

http://www.twitter.comn/nreazon

http://www.facebook.com/nreazon


**All photos are (c) all rights reserved by NREAZON

Squink!

Coming in as our 22nd artist from the UK is Squink!

Raised in Dronfield in the United Kingdom, Squink! grew up on a diet of popcorn, candy, and Jayce and the wheeled warriors. Qualified as a graphic designer but also a keen painter from a very early age, he became a toy collector with the launch Of the Toy2R Qee, which eventually lead to customising everything he could get his hands on! A head filled with characters in need of being set free finally had an outlet. Heavily influenced by japanese culture and 80’s cartoons, he claims to put a little bit of his soul into each character he creates, giving them all a unique personality, fueled by coffee, good smelly cheese and shoegaze. Gathering inspiration from the toys and natural forms he surrounds himself with. Squink! has more recently branched out into canvas paintings, and also limited edition screen printed t-shirts.

Find out more about Squink! at:

http://www.squinky.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/squink1#!/pages/Squink/7069606893

http://twitter.com/#!/squink

All photos are (c) all rights reserved by Squink!

Luihz Unreal

Luihz Unreal is Cast In Plastics 21st artist.  

Luihz Unreal is part of the new team of designers toys customizers in Brazil.  Owner of a unique style and full of personality, his art is influenced by the manga universe, with touches of modernity and lots of sense of humor.  His customs are characterized by the incredible deal and the absurd degree of precision in his lines, even in the smaller toys. 

Find out more about Luihz Unreal at:

http://luihzumreal.deviantart.com/

http://www.redmutuca.com/ 

Rocketboy

Our 20th artist of the show is Ryan McClure aka Rocketboy who resides in the Windy City of Chicago, IL.

Rocketboy has always been in loved with art since he was a child, but never pursued it as a career.  He attended college and received a degree in Industrial Psychology.  After college, he went on and pursued a career as a semi-achieved independent professional wrestler, where he traveled throughout the U.S., entering competitions.  Shortly after a 10 year period in shows, wrestling events with the WWE and a few surgical operations, he decided to retire from the scene and return to his creative outlet with his paintbrush.

At the first introduction into the custom toy scene, Rocketboy fell in love instantly and was engrossed by all the talent surrounding him.  Needless to say, once he picked up that paintbrush and tried out a blank of his own, he has never stopped.  The custom toy scene is a huge part of his life.  Never being professionally taught, he was constantly developing his skills and learning new tricks from other customizers on the scene.  People like Fuller, Ashley Peterson, Mike Malo and many others were his mentors and gave him tips and techniques.  

Rocketboy has been in a few galleries in Chicago, the CTU Project Bear show online and a Qee show in NYC.  His inspirations come from comic books (since he is kind of a fanboy) and whatever else is going on in his life at the moment. 

Check out Rocketboy at the following sites:

www.RocketboyCustoms.com

http://twitter.com/RocketboyRPM

James Fuller

Our cutest, yet wicked designs comes from our 19th artist, James Fuller in Minnesota.  

Fuller has been an artist his whole entire life.  From drawing Spiderman on the bottom of his mother’s coffee table at the age of four, he has been working in the graphic design field as an adult ever since.  His first introduction to the custom toy scene started back in 2008.  Fuller happened to be in a store one day and ran across a Might Mugg that caught his attention.  He believed it to be a Stormtropper, well it didn’t matter, it caught his attention and he had to have it anyways.

Fuller decided to search the internet for more mugg s and came across a website that showcased a variety of mugg that were painted on or customized.  As an artist that was introduced to this new concept, he decided to try it out himself.  From that day on, he was hooked.  It had opened up a whole new world of customs he never knew existed. Fuller believes the people in the scene are so nice and supportive of one anthers work, which is why he still does it today. He has been customizing toys for over three years now and enjoys every minute of it. Fuller strives to make each piece better than the next, to continue to learn, and try new things.

You can check out Fuller's website at:

http://www.Fullerdesigns222.com

Christian Navarrete

Artist number 18 was born in the East End Side of Houston, TX 31 years ago.  His name is Christian Navarrete.  

Christian discovered his love for art at the tender age of five.  He began drawing superheroes while teaching himself the fundamentals of art along the way.  As he progressed he started experimenting with various tools, mediums and subjects.  

He has been an aspiring artist for the past 15 years and has had a number of commissions from a variety of clients in the Houston area.  Christian has created art for the City of Houston, Houston Zoo, Texas Art Supply, HISD and many close friends.  He has exhibited at the Arlington Museum of Art, Lawndale Art Center, Houston Community College, Encantada Art Gallery in San Francisco and many Houston art galleries and spaces. His artwork is surrealistic with a subtle satire and is a reflection of his daily encounters with everyday life experiences.  He is versatile with many mediums, but prefers to use acrylics to execute most of his body of artwork. 

You can find out about Christian Navarrete at:

http://twitter.com/artelibre

http://www.navarrete-art.blogspot.com/

Saner

Meet Edgar "Saner" Flores, an urban artist, illustrator, graphic designer and our 17th artist for the show. 

Raised by his parents in Mexico City and surrounded by rich color and tradition, Saner developed an interest in drawing and Mexican muralism early on. He began expressing himself on paper and through graffiti art, later going on to earn a degree in graphic design from the Universidad Autónoma de México. His creations are influenced by Mexican custom and folklore, color, mysticism, masks and skulls. A mix of these lifelong interests and passions has led him to become the artist he is today. Saner's work has been featured in galleries in Mexico, the United States, London, Berlin and Barcelona. He has collaborated with Kidrobot, Vans, G-Shock, HQTR Canada, Pineda Covalin, Persigna Store, Bacardi, Adidas México, Televisa, and many others.

You can read about Saner at:

http://saner.com.mx/

http://www.saner-dsr.blogspot.com

Fried Gold Productions

Fried Gold Productions is artist number 16 and based out of The Woodlands, TX.  

Fried Gold Productions started out as a random idea between a brother and sister and became an outlet for the creative juices of Ashley Peterson, a web/graphic designer from The Woodlands, TX. After spotting a Mighty Mugg at the store one day, Ashley was instantly hooked on the odd toys. After discovering that people actually customized the chunky plastic figures, the rest was history.

At first, Ashley just painted muggs for fun, but then began accepting commissions and soon branched out to other vinyl. She has a soft spot for robots, but likes to do all types of characters. Although her day job consists of web design and development, Ashley also helps out as a moderator for the Custom Toy Union.

To find out more about Fried Gold Productions, click on:

http://www.friedgoldproductions.com/

http://twitter.com/_friedgold

http://friedgoldproductions.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/friedgoldproductions

All photos are (c) all rights reserved by Fried Gold Productions

Matt A

If you thought customs couldn't get any crazier, check out artist number 15, Mr. Matt A from Virginia.  

Matt picked up art early as a kid. About two years ago he was introduced into the Urban Toy Art scene. Ever since then he’s been hooked on vinyl customs and hasn't slowed down since.  Matt attempts to take his customs to the next level every chance that he gets.  He does this by not only using paint and sculpting techniques, but he also incorporates mechanical elements to his pieces. He always strives to push the envelope in the custom community; From working on customs such as his Munny fountain (based on Luke Chueh's " The Alchemist" ), to the Infrared Steampunk Angel, along with his most Remote controlled Munny project and onto his new lines of custom series at Tenacious Toys.   

Matt continues to come up with innovative ways to customize his vinyl toys.  As he states, “I hope to continue breaking the mold in the Urban Art world and leave my mark along with the many great artist for decades to come.”

You can find out more about Matt A at:

http://wix.com/MattAcustoms/Matt-A

http://www.mattacustoms.com/

http://www.twitter.com/mattacustoms

All photos are (c) all rights reserved by Matt A.