Doktor.A & his Spookypop Customs
:: TOYS / CUSTOMS / INTERVIEW ::
you've seen his inspired customs constantly featured in me humble blog (see bottom of post for links). you see his work being fawned over at forum boards and online toy-entities, now read about the good Doktor.A in a short interview i've had with him just:
TOYSREVIL: how do the concepts of your creations and customs came about? what inspires you?
DOKTOR.A: Anything can inspire me. I dont really know where ideas come from. I get ideas and doodle a little sketch in a note book and then forget it. Sometimes the idea lingers and demands attention. They can get used for toys or paintings, sculptures or just drawings.
TRE: how did you decide on the execution and presentation of your toys?
DOK: Each piece demands a different approach. Some can be just paint, some need a lot of sculpting or construction. I think up the character and that dictates the direction.
TRE: what is your favourite medium?
DOK: I use Acrylic paints. Can't stand Oils.. Its the stink, gives me a headache. Plus i am too impatient for them.
TRE: what do you prefer, a paint-job or a customization of form?
DOK: I prefer simple paint jobs as opposed to chopping the toy about too much. I think they are a purer piece of work. Having said that, there are some projects which require construction of some sort. I like to try and keep a balence with those and not simply sculpt everything onto a figure. I mean i may as well sculpt one from scratch if I am going to do that.
TRE: tell us about your creations. do they have a little story of their own even before you start on them?
DOK: I give them all names which may indicate a backstory but I dont sit down and work the story out. I think as i do more pieces there are links appearing between them and common threads which could be tied together, but I haven't tried yet.
TRE: are there any further development of your creations planned? are there any (secret) Doktor.A toys coming our way? :p
DOK: I have a bunch of toy lines sketched out in various stages or presentation. I have approched toy companies with concepts. All I can say is you will have to wait and see. If anyone out there with a production company wants to get in touch about my ideas I am more than happy to talk to them.
TRE: tell us about yourself. what's your "dayjob"?
DOK: This is my day job.. I am an Industrial Modelmaker by trade. I freelance as an Illustrator and prototyper/sculptor. So making toys is one of the things i do for a living and have done for the last 15 years or so. Its just nice that right now the work that goes into them is started to be recognized as a legitimate artform.
TRE: what/who are your influences?
DOK: Ooh too many to mention and is grows every day. I love pen and ink illustration and fantasy/concept artwork. People like Ray Harryhausen and Brian Froud and Lee Brown Coye. As far as the toy world is concerned i love what Tweeqim are doing. MiQ's stuff was a reason i decided to step up my game with the customising and see where i could push it. he is the hands down master of custom toys, just look at his Ouija Mad*L...
I am not much one for the "street art" thing though I do enjoy a lot that I see on the web from the likes of D*Face and Banksy. I dont understand the whole grafitti/tagging thing at all.
TRE: please tell us what you hope for your creations/customs to do, for you and the vinyl-toy collector.
DOKTOR.A: I hope each of my pieces makes people happy viewing them. There is rarely a message to any of them. They are purely decorative art or craft pieces. I hope the collectors who commission them cherish them for a long time, even if the art toy scene dies away.
TOYSREVIL: cheers for your time and effort for this interview and can't wait to see your new works!
Doktor.A's Spookypop Website
Dok.A's customs on this blog:
- professor teslastein and his electric creation
- automatic girl
- something curious nautilus
- rivethead
- pirate munny
- professor whistlecraft's industrial copper-plated marvel
- greetings from egypt
- decaying orbit
._.
you've seen his inspired customs constantly featured in me humble blog (see bottom of post for links). you see his work being fawned over at forum boards and online toy-entities, now read about the good Doktor.A in a short interview i've had with him just:
TOYSREVIL: how do the concepts of your creations and customs came about? what inspires you?DOKTOR.A: Anything can inspire me. I dont really know where ideas come from. I get ideas and doodle a little sketch in a note book and then forget it. Sometimes the idea lingers and demands attention. They can get used for toys or paintings, sculptures or just drawings.
TRE: how did you decide on the execution and presentation of your toys?
DOK: Each piece demands a different approach. Some can be just paint, some need a lot of sculpting or construction. I think up the character and that dictates the direction.
TRE: what is your favourite medium?
DOK: I use Acrylic paints. Can't stand Oils.. Its the stink, gives me a headache. Plus i am too impatient for them.
TRE: what do you prefer, a paint-job or a customization of form?DOK: I prefer simple paint jobs as opposed to chopping the toy about too much. I think they are a purer piece of work. Having said that, there are some projects which require construction of some sort. I like to try and keep a balence with those and not simply sculpt everything onto a figure. I mean i may as well sculpt one from scratch if I am going to do that.
TRE: tell us about your creations. do they have a little story of their own even before you start on them?
DOK: I give them all names which may indicate a backstory but I dont sit down and work the story out. I think as i do more pieces there are links appearing between them and common threads which could be tied together, but I haven't tried yet.
TRE: are there any further development of your creations planned? are there any (secret) Doktor.A toys coming our way? :p
DOK: I have a bunch of toy lines sketched out in various stages or presentation. I have approched toy companies with concepts. All I can say is you will have to wait and see. If anyone out there with a production company wants to get in touch about my ideas I am more than happy to talk to them.
TRE: tell us about yourself. what's your "dayjob"?
DOK: This is my day job.. I am an Industrial Modelmaker by trade. I freelance as an Illustrator and prototyper/sculptor. So making toys is one of the things i do for a living and have done for the last 15 years or so. Its just nice that right now the work that goes into them is started to be recognized as a legitimate artform.TRE: what/who are your influences?
DOK: Ooh too many to mention and is grows every day. I love pen and ink illustration and fantasy/concept artwork. People like Ray Harryhausen and Brian Froud and Lee Brown Coye. As far as the toy world is concerned i love what Tweeqim are doing. MiQ's stuff was a reason i decided to step up my game with the customising and see where i could push it. he is the hands down master of custom toys, just look at his Ouija Mad*L...
I am not much one for the "street art" thing though I do enjoy a lot that I see on the web from the likes of D*Face and Banksy. I dont understand the whole grafitti/tagging thing at all.
TRE: please tell us what you hope for your creations/customs to do, for you and the vinyl-toy collector.
DOKTOR.A: I hope each of my pieces makes people happy viewing them. There is rarely a message to any of them. They are purely decorative art or craft pieces. I hope the collectors who commission them cherish them for a long time, even if the art toy scene dies away.
TOYSREVIL: cheers for your time and effort for this interview and can't wait to see your new works!Doktor.A's Spookypop Website
Dok.A's customs on this blog:
- professor teslastein and his electric creation
- automatic girl
- something curious nautilus
- rivethead
- pirate munny
- professor whistlecraft's industrial copper-plated marvel
- greetings from egypt
- decaying orbit
._.
