CLEA 2010 - CE Battle Artist Feature: JonPaul Kaiser from UK

Next up representing the United Kingdom for the upcoming CE FINAL BATTLE to be held at CLEA 2010 [www / tagged] is JonPaul Kaiser [tagged] with his Cosmonaut-CE design!

CLICK THRU to find out more about JonPaul the artist and designer, his plans to win the battle, as well as a teaser of things to come! Seeya in Thailand next week, JonPaul!


TOYSREVIL: What was the genesis / design inspiration / concept of your chosen CE-design submission?

JONPAUL KAISER: Well, I've always liked Soviet-inspired design, particularly the old propaganda posters, and last year I visited Prague (in the Czech Republic) with my wife for a long weekend. The city is amazing and tucked away in a small street is the museum of Communism. The country had been invaded and occupied by the USSR as a communist satellite state, and the museum told the story of this episode of their history. It was a small, dusty but really interesting place, full of old weapons, photos and the propaganda of the era, including a small section on the space race and shots of Yuri Gagarin. Upon seeing the CE shape, with the remavable helmet, the photos came straight back to me and one of the designs I worked on was inspired by that photo and museum trip.


TOYSREVIL: What is your "Plan Of Battle"?

JONPAUL KAISER: I'm a big guy, long reach and I can take a punch. Igor's a big guy too, so I think if I take care of him quickly, make an example of him and it'll put the fear into the others; give me a psychological edge ... Oh wait, you're talking about a design battle?! :)

My plan is to just make it as enjoyable a process as possible; if I've enjoyed the design and creation process it will show through in the final product. I'm a graphic designer during the day designing menswear, and packaging as well, so I'm used to all the different aspects of product design.


[More Hitman commissions here]
TOYSREVIL: What are your design influences (as an artist)? How do you engage a custom toy / your process of work? What is your preferred or signature style of customization?

JONPAUL KAISER: I have a huge range of influences with my work, though I always keep it as original as possible. I walk my dog through the woods near my home, daydreaming and thinking of idea there, also with the films I watch. Art-wise I'm inspired by ukiyo-e woodblock prints, graphic novels (though less so these days), other toy artists and designers. There are so many other amazing artists, designers and painters out there that I'm constantly striving to better my work and increase my skills.

When approaching a new custom, sometimes the person commissioning it asks for a famous person of film character, which is then a reasonably straight-forward process of drawing them from a variety of photographs. If it's left to me, I'll often stare at the toy shape for ages, seeing what I can see within it. I don't like to have to sculpt on a toy if I can help it as I want the paint work to "do the talking" part of my black & white style is sort of an optical illusion, losing the depth and some of the shape allows me to redefine what the figure looks like with strong light & shadow.


[More images posted here]
TOYSREVIL: What are you looking forward to do in Thailand, and for CLEA?

JONPAUL KAISER: I'm looking forward to the whole mad adventure of going across the world on my own, taking my paintbrushes and doing what I love doing. Thailand is a mad, bustling city, and I'm excited about soaking up the hugeness and business of the city. It's a clash of the old and new cultures, and I really like the strong contrasts between the classic Siam architecture and the Modern/Post Modern skyscrapers.

I'm also really looking forward to getting together with a bunch of like-minded guys who I've been talking to for years, and just having a few drinks, eating too much and talking nonsense!


[More Septimus Tigris Dunny-custom here]
TOYSREVIL: Share with us, who you are (name/nick)? And what's next to look out for from you?

JONPAUL KAISER: I'm Jon-Paul Kaiser, AKA jpk or jonpaulkaiser on most forums, designs etc. Next up customs-wise from me is a Coarse Toys JAWS as an unmasked Boba Fett, a crusading Big Sal (Super7) custom and I'm currently just finishing off a pair of Squbes, which are a little different, but I love them!

Which Toy releases, the next couple of months are gong to be insane; I've got a 2.5" Qee coming out as part of the Skelanimals set, and 8" Zombie Pirate Qee and a 5" Samurai Pumpkin Qee as well, all through Toy2R. I honestly couldn't say which is the most exciting!