Destination Vinylmation: How long have you been creating custom vinylmation?
Cesilie: A few months, Ken was the first vinyl I created after holding onto the blank vinyl for about a year! I was super nervous to start and my friend Nat told me to just jump in.
DV: Do you create other forms of art besides vinylmation?
Cesilie: My parents had a craft business growing up so painting and being artsy has always been something I've done. I can usually be found drawing (Hence the nickname I was given, "Mo Doodle"), painting, or creating mini-comic adventures of my pets!
DV: Your custom Ken looks amazing, just like the character from Toy Story 3. How did you decide to create a Ken?
Cesilie: Thank you! I can't believe how well he turned out In fact, he came out exactly how I envisioned him! As one of the many kids today that have grown up with Toy Story I was super excited to see the Toy Story vinyl set come out. I was very happy to see a Lotso but not so happy to see Big Baby. I was hoping for more of my new found favorite characters to be included and I couldn't help but wonder what Ken would look like as a vinyl. For me Ken stole the show in TS3 and I just felt like I needed to add to my Toy Story set!
DV: Talk about the process of creating this custom. Did you sketch out concept art? Do you pencil the design on first?
Cesilie: With Ken I had a hard time debating which outfit I wanted to put him in... There were SO many in the movie that I had to take a vote on which outfit to make. My family and friends voted to just do Animal Lovin' Ken since he was the first version of Ken we met in the movie. I started sketching him on a vinyl outline and sorta just went from there. I'm pretty good at free-handing things and don't really sketch them out first. I've found with a few other vinyls I've worked on that penciling onto the plastic is not something I'm good at, plus I like the challenge of eye-balling it. I also knew I wanted him to have a real ascot, so fabric that matched my paint colors was a must!
DV: What was the biggest challenge in creating the Ken custom?
Cesilie: The biggest challenge I think was the leopard spots. I wanted them to be super accurate and I was really worried about starting to work on them. I ended up using a toothpick and spent about 3 hours trying to get them right on the first ear! After I got that done I was really relieved to see they turned out exactly how I wanted and the the other ear and shirt were much easier and way less time consuming to finish. I also had a little trouble with the highlights in his hair, so I had my expert crafty mom help me out with that one!
DV: Great use of the ears! Was that your original idea or did have other thoughts for them as well?
Cesilie: At first I didn't know what to do with the ears. I thought about painting them brown but as I talked to my mom about it she said it would look funny to have brown hair and then brown ears. Then I considered leaving them blue and just writing "Ken" in pink text (like on the barbie boxes) on his ear.... It wasn't until after I had sketched most of him out on the coloring page that I decided to try the leopard spots on the ears :)
DV: Where is barbie?
Cesilie: Barbie is in the works... I didn't expect Ken to turn out as well as he did. This was my first custom afterall, not to mention my first 3D art piece ever! so I never thought about making his counter part. However, after taking Ken to Disneyland for the pirates event and getting a great response with him I've been working on a Barbie sketch to finish off the duo.
DV: It looks like you have a couple nice looking sports figure customs in the concept phase.
Cesilie: Totally! They are actually my first official commissioned pieces! The guy I'm doing them for is a fan of New York teams (Yankees and the Jets) and asked me to create two figures based off of these teams. The one you can see actual paint progress of so far is the Yankee's player :) I'm waiting for a special little item to come in before I start the football player :)
DV: Two New York teams? What would happen if I commishioned you to create a Boston Red Sox or Patiots custom?
Cesilie: I would totally be down to do both! I personally am not very in-the-know when it comes to sports teams as far as who is who, I just know I'm a Dallas fan ;)
DV: Can people purchase any of your customs?
Cesilie: YES! As of right now I take custom orders of whatever you'd like me to do! I have a cute old-fashioned Minnie in the works as well as the two lil sports guys. I make pretty much whatever your heart desires! If anyone would like to inquire about a possible custom (or to even purchase a Ken/Ken outfit varient) you can contact me on Facebook.
DV: Thank you for your time and keep in touch about your future customs.
Cesilie: Thanks SO much for featuring me!
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