Doing The Carrot Shake Jake With Gary Ham

Standing 6-inches tall from the top of his straight bunny ears (which are detachable + swapable) - CARROT SHAKE JAKE drinks carrot-shakes because, well, he can't chew his carrots like other rabbits - and one may wonder why that is, given his enormously adorable uber-bite (*cough*) - and there's 500 of him (so there's as many cups of carrot shakes) available via May-issue of the PREVIEWS catalog, or directly via his creator, Gary Ham for US$32-per [click thru for details]

... heck, even just thinking the name "CARROT SHAKE JAKE" puts a bewildered smile in my head, and by looking at online images of the character? A ready smile slides unto thy heavy eyebag-laden face effortlessly (okay fine, you needn't know about the eye-bags, but never let it be said that I don't share my personal life with y'all LOL) and with that, I attempt to dive into both Gary's and Jake's "life" to find out what makes them tick ...eerrr... "shake"
/// CLICKETH THRU

TOYSREVIL: First off Gary, WHO & WHAT is Carrot Shake Jake?

GARY HAM: Carrot Shake Jake is vinyl and stands 6" to the top of his straight ear. His ears are dettachable so you can swap them out to be either 2 straight ears, two bent, or one of each.


[First-Pass Grey Prototype Sculpt with Different Ears]
TOYSREVIL: It's all about teh ears! ... and teeth, of coz :p ... and ya know what they say about procreating rabbits? How many of them are there and how does one self-respecting bunny-lurver get his/her own paws on him?

GARY HAM: He's an edition of 500. CSJ is only available through Previews at the moment, so if anyone wants one they'll have to let their local shops know to order him. I believe he runs in Previews for only one more week. [Editor's Note: which means it may be over as I was slow-assed with posting this interview - my bad - but please double-check with your shop] I can use any help I can get because I hear people and most shops don't order from Previews cuz either they don't know about it or they assume their local shop will order the items which usually isn't the case.

Besides Previews, I will be selling him myself, but have yet to set up any sort of site for orders. People can e-mail me at gary [at] superham [dot] com if they are interested in pre-ordering. Jake will be US$32 and come in a fun full color window box. He will be available in July.


TOYSREVIL: Very true about PREVIEWS tho, tis moreso the customer who orders, rather than the retailer themselves (as far as my comicbook shop is concerned) ... I doubt if CSJ has any issues with Vitamin-C (Carrot) deficiency! ... Would Jake ever do Banana-Shakes? or Chocolate? Any multiple flavors ... I mean, colorways to expect of Jake? And did you produce Jake yourself?

GARY HAM: There could be one colorway of him, but at the moment, it's hard to say if that will happen or not.

And yes, Carrot Shake Jake is self produced by me Superham Designs, LLC.

TOYSREVIL: How did Jake come about Gary? Where and when did it all start?

GARY HAM: Jake came about from an old sketch I did about 4 years ago when drawing on friends and family x-mas wrapping paper. I've always liked his design and wanted to make a toy of him using his teeth to help him stand. He's not a Haminals persay because he doesn't have the giant nostrils, but while concepting for the Haminals, Jake evolved as the rabbit descendant of their designs.


Jake's story is he's a misfit rabbit. He's got giant teeth and little feet. His teeth are so big when he tries to hop he flops and he can't chew his carrots like the other rabbits, he has to drink them. You always know where he's at cuz there is usually a trail left behind. Jakes next adventure could be a fun illustrated tale of his life in book form. I have a really fun story in mind for him.


[Color-Test Sample]
TOYSREVIL: I personally think Carrot Shake Jake is oodles of carroty-fun and can't wait to see more of him (and you HAVE to animate him doing what you mentioned he does above! like, seriously) ... And now, from the Misfit Rabbit to his Creator - WHO IS GARY HAM?

GARY HAM: Who is Gary Ham huh? lol A simple man who has a day job as an animator/illustrator and enjoys creating fun art when I get home. I done lots of freelance and worked for clients like Maxim magazine and Ubisoft. I collect many toys and enjoy concepting them too. I have a line of fun animals I call Haminals. They are Animals with Oink appeal. They have giant nostils and little feet. A crossbreed of all animals with a pig.


I'm working on a children's book for them and have produced several keychains and they can be found at www.haminals.com. I live in Phoenix, Arizona with my dog Elke and my favorite toy shop is Red Hot Robot here in town.

TOYSREVIL: Cheers for your time and trouble, Gary! .. I was gonna ask "what music does Jake Shake-along to", but that would be stretching it methinks ... altho I wonder if carrotshakes have froth ... heh... next up? Gary Ham's MORSELS!

To find out more about Carrot Shake Jake and/or Gary Ham's creations, you are advised to pop-by Gary's blog @ haminals.blogspot.com/ and Haminals website @ www.haminals.com :)