The Genesis of The Odd Ones - An Interview with Scott Tolleson
Scott Tolleson’s latest project with Kidrobot; The Odd Ones launched early October at 3D Retro, and is currently available on Kidrobot.com and other retailers, and I had a lil’ Q&A with Scott himself about the ins-n-outs of this series, along with a spanking new stop-motion animated videos - made by Elliot Trout - and turnaround-videos of select Dunnys from Instagram @cheahpet888!
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TOYSREVIL: “The Odd Ones”… How “odd” are they? And how did their genesis came about? You pitched to KR, or did KR pitch to you?
SCOTT TOLLESON: "The Odd Ones are REALLY odd. They are a mismatch of misfits who cause havoc and raise ruckus late into the night! Most of the Odd Ones characters were a part of pitch to Kidrobot in 2013. I thought it was strange that Kidrobot had a Dunny series for Mardigras and not for Halloween. Halloween IS the best Holiday, isn't it? Frank saw may designs soon after he came on board at Kidrobot and green lit them for release this year."
TOYSREVIL: How did you pick who to pick, and WHO (Just ONE! :p) is your most favouritest? And WHY?
SCOTT TOLLESON: "I wanted to make the series a combination of classic monsters and monsters that I created. I think I had designs for 22 total monsters before I went into the final design stage. It was fairly easy to narrow down the best designs in the end. Late in the process it became obvious which designs did and didn't fit.
One design that I really liked but didn't use was a witch doctor. He had a crazy mask and just looked crazy. Ultimately, I thought he was maybe too scary and weird so I left him out.
It's hard to pick a favorite Odd Ones but at the moment I really like the twins, Jack and Jill. They are super creepy and I could see a continuation of these characters in the future."
TOYSREVIL: Now I would’ve LOVE to see the Witch Doctor! As well I am loving the duo-faces - especially for “Professor Heckle”! Sweet design! Very intrigued how the Dunny production form had been pushed in this series … were there much changes you had to do for this series? Or was it all smooth sailing from drawing to toy? How long has the process/wait been?
SCOTT TOLLESON: "I like Heckle but I think he would work so much better on a larger platform. In my head, his monster face is more gnarly with bumps and wrinkles, etc.
The process with working with Kidrobot was seamless. Since I've had production pieces with them in the past were familiar with my process as was I with theirs. I really can't think of any major changes on their side once I submitted my final designs.
The one thing I had to think about while designing was sculpt to deco ratio. Which Dunnys needed sculpting? Which need mostly deco? Also, how many had accessories? These were all things I was conscious of while fleshing out the series."
TOYSREVIL: Having been a huge fan of your work, especially your Americana-style of illustrations and aesthetics, I’ve wondered if the characters in your Odd Ones Dunny series had any previous incarnation, drawn as a humanoid character?
SCOTT TOLLESON: "Actually, yes. Maybe you can remember back a few years when I released my Uncle Argh figure with Toy2R? The Argh Barber is a throwback to that character. I also did an Android design with the "Argh design". Also, there's Argyle Warrior 2.0 which is a new take on my 2013 Argyle Warrior Dunny."
TOYSREVIL: Loving the new stop-motion animated video, Scott! Can we be looking forward to more future Kidrobot projects from you?
SCOTT TOLLESON: "Why yes I do! There's a large project slated for 2018 that I'm working on now that I'm VERY stoked about. I have some time to really think this one through so wish me luck. Also I have 2 or 3 projects scheduled for '17 and I'm excited about all of them!!!"
(Image of PINK Variant from IG @cheahpet888)
