Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Chelsey

Chelsey, a custom Vinylmation artist from Los Angeles, California has created some very detailed 3” Carl and Russell figures from the Pixar movie Up. We had the chance to ask her a few questions about her and her designs.

Destination Vinylmation: How long have you been designing custom Vinylmation?

Chelsey: I've been designing Custom Vinylmation for a little over 3 months now. I've created around 15 figures

DV: Do you collect Disney's Vinylmation too?

Chelsey: Yes, I do collect Vinylmation. My favorite figures are Balloon and Pongo Chaser

Pongo: Park 2 Chaser

DV: Let's start with Russell. He looks to be a very detailed figure. How long did he take?

Chelsey: He took me 3 days, about 26 hours total.

DV: How much planing goes into a figure like this before you begin to create the 3D figure?

Chelsey: Took me about 1 day to research and plan how I'm going to create this 3D figure

DV: You decided to use mixed media for this piece, what are the different elements of this figure made out of?

Chelsey: It's made of blank vinylmation, clay, and small metal key chain connector

DV: Let's talk about the use of the ears as a Vinylmation artist. I love the references to the balloons and the Wilderness badges on Russell. Is it challenging or a welcome part of the canvas to show off your creativity?

Chelsey: Ears are the most difficult part for me to create. However, I do love challenges. I often use the ears to show off accessories which are related to the character (like toy story Sid, I used his hear to show his toy)

Russell

Sid

DV: What was the most challenging part of the Russell figure?

Chelsey: To make all the accessories.

DV: You designed Carl with some great accessories as well, tell us about his glasses and walking stick.

Chelsey: His walking stick was made of clay with a wire inside to support the stick. His glasses are made of hard plastic paper. It was really hard to cut out the shape.

DV: You decided to build up the hair on these two figures instead of just painting it on... are these the first figures you did that on?

Chelsey: Yes, these are the first figures I did that. That's not the normal process I use on my creations.

DV: What was the most challenging part of the Carl figure?

Chelsey: The most challenging part of Carl was to make his suit. I had to cut out the pattern of this suit and also pay attention to the arm part. Ineeds to leave space for the suit under his arm.

DV: Will we see a Kevin and Doug?

Chelsey: That's on my future design list :)

DV: Where can people go to see more of your work or to purchase your customs?

Chelsey: I'm setting up a blog will send you the list soon. To purchase my customs, or to request a custom order, people can send me an email to: zhchelsea0513@gmail.com

DV: Chelsey, thank you for talking with us today and keep up the great customs!

Chelsey: Thank you for the interest in my customs. I really appreciate the time and effort you guys put into the DV site. It's really awesome! I'm a constant viewer. Thank you again :)