Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist John Ward

We spotlighted John Ward last year with some of his great 9" customs and he is back to share a couple villains and a non-Disney set as well.

Destination Vinylmation: Why all the villains?
John: The villains are some of my favorite characters in Disney movies, so naturally I enjoy creating customs of them.

DV: What is the first custom you'd like to share?
John: First up is my 9" Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast. I sculpted a rifle for him to hold and also a quiver, with a couple arrows, for his back. This was the second time I sculpted something from the reverse of a Vinylmation figure, which made things easier since I knew what not to do.

DV: What was one challenge you had with this figure and how did you overcome it?
John: I had a hard time deciding what to put on his ears, but finally decided on making it a stormy night, like when he confronts the Beast towards the end of the movie.

DV: Your next custom is Judge Frollo, from Hunchback of Notre Dame. What are some of the features of this character?
John: I must be honest, I still haven't seen this movie, although I really want to. I just never got around to watching it, but I will one day.

 I knew that with Frollo I needed to sculpt his hat, it was a must because the figure wouldn't look right without it. I also wanted to sculpt his rings. I felt they would also add something to the piece. The hat is the largest sculpted piece I've done to date, which was a challenge in itself.

I also added the cloth red part. I was thinking of sculpting that too, but decided that using cloth would make it look much nicer. Also, if you remove the hat, you can see I added a couple arches on the ears.

DV: One of our favorite TV shows is The Big Bang Theory. So your next set really excites us. Tell us about these figures.
John: I don't normally work with 3" pieces, I've only created 2 so far, and both were commissioned pieces. However, I felt that for this set, 3" would work better.

The set is the main characters from the show. I enjoyed creating them more than I thought I would. My number one concern was if I'd be able to get the detail I wanted to achieve on a much smaller work area than I'm used to. In the end though I was able to through using the small brushes and lots and lots of patience.

DV: Can you give us some hints on what your working on right now?
John: Currently I'm working on several projects. A piece for a charity event here in Jacksonville, some 3" pieces for Evilos' Blind Bag Series coming out later this year, and also I'm re-working one of my earlier customs, Jafar. I have a couple ideas on how to improve him and make it a better custom piece, along with adding something to him that I haven't tried before.

DV: If readers would like to inquire about purchasing your work, how can they do that?
John: All of my current customs are for sale on my website; www.siberianarts.com along with all my other artwork. Any questions about my pieces can be sent to siberianarts@gmail.com
You can also see my latest projects and updates on my Facebook page; Siberian Vinylmation Customs.