Destination Vinylmation: How did you get into art? What's your background?
Mark Johnson: I have had art as my background my whole life. My main job is working on sound for live and themed entertainment. I've been working in theatre since high school and before that I always took art classes. I think I have just always been interested in creating stuff.
DV: Have you ever done other vinyl before this?
MJ: Nope! This is the first time I have ever painted anything like this.
DV: Do you collect Vinylmation? Which one by the Disney artists is your favorite?
MJ: This is a tough one! Yes I most certainly do collect vinylmation. I have tons! I have so many favorites by disney artists! Creepy wallpaper, Plane Crazy Mickey, Haunted Mansion Clock, and both P1 and P5 Yetis are amongst my MANY favorites in my collection
DV: What drew you to UP as an inspiration for a set of custom vinyl?
MJ: This is actually kind of funny. I drive a lot in California and one day I was driving and suddenly thought that someone should make a custom Kevin from Up using the Have a Laugh Ostrich mold with neck extension. I had never seen anything like that done before. I couldn't stop thinking about how to design it and how different it would be from any other custom I had seen before. I even then contacted Josh Edwards, whose work I really enjoy seeing, to see if he would make one for me. At this time I had made 1 custom for myself which was Steam Boat Willie, a simple design but one I couldn't believe didn't exist, so I made it myself for my collection. I told him my idea about Kevin and asked if he would make me one. He said he loved the idea but was a bit busy, so it would be a little while until he got to it. While waiting I randomly decided to try making old Carl and Russell to go with him. Carl was the first Up character I made, complete with sculpted cain with tennis balls. I posted him and got an amazing amount of feedback, including some from Josh asking why I didn't just make Kevin myself. So I decided to make a whole series. There are actually 2 more in my original designs that have not been finished yet. Old Ellie and the Up logo/balloon house. Up is a very special movie and all the characters in that movie are so special and unique. They fit perfectly into the Vinylmation world. Originally I wanted the series for my collection. I wanted them so I made them. After posting just Carl, I was contacted and sold the entire set! I hadn't even made more than 1! So that motivated me to keep making more!!
DV: Which figure is your favorite? Which was the hardest to create?
MJ: My favorite is probably Young Carl. He was the second character I made and I had a lot of fun trying to make his helmet look textured and leathery. Plus I was certain I wanted to give him his red balloon! As far as the hardest to create, that had to be Kevin. Kevin has a lot of color and texture and most importantly he is tall and skinny, which the Mickey mold is not! Getting the colors to blend perfectly took a lot of time and patience and paint. I didn't want him to feel short and fat so sculpting his head to be larger and adding the longer neck let me make the whole series in a much closer scale to one another.
DV: Tell us a little about the process you used for one of the more difficult pieces.
MJ: For any of my more difficult designs, I still like to draw it out on paper. However, there was no way I could sketch out Kevin ahead of time. There is no outline to draw with the neck extension and I knew I was going to sculpt his head. I started with his head, using clay to get the nose to feel right. My main goal was to make sure he could still stand up, even with the tall neck and large head. Once that was made and dry I started with the paint, first the head. I almost always start on the head. It's the first place you are going to look when you look at a vinylmation and I knew that if his head looked weird it just wouldn't work. So after I finished his face I moved down to the neck, body, then arms. Originally I was going to paint his feathers on top of his head on the ear, but while making it my fiancé asked how I was going to make those feathers. Painting them on would look way too small for his head so she suggested sculpting them too. Those are simply clay and a paperclip. In the end, Kevin certainly took the longest but always gets the best reactions so that is worth it.
DV: I enjoy the boxes, what inspired you to create them?
MJ: The box idea randomly came to me while I kept thinking about how I was going to ship these out. Of course I wanted them protected and thats when I realized, well if these are good enough for Disney to ship them around in and be safe, they must be good enough for a custom piece! But I didn't just want to re-use the box it came in, I wanted this to feel like a finished set. I wanted my clients to have the same excitement and joy you get from seeing a Disney Vinyl new on the shelf. Every time I get a new set I have the hardest time taking it out of the box. I love the designs and I thought it gave me a chance to give my characters a nice home! Plus I hadn't seen anyone else creating anything like it and thought it would give my pieces something unique and different.
DV: Where can people find your work, and how can they contact you?
MJ: I post all my work on my Facebook fan page, www.facebook.com/MarkJohnsonVinyls
You can also find some of my work on my new Instagram page. http://statigr.am/MarkJohnsonVinyls
and to contact me you can reach me at MarkJohnsonVinyls@gmail.com or though the messages on my facebook fan page. I am always excepting new commissions.
DV: Thanks! Anything else about your UP customs or vinylmation you'd like to add at this time?
MJ: I would just like to say thank you to everyone that has been supporting my art and all the interest I have received! When I started painting these I never thought I would have so many people interested or even looking at my work, let alone an interview! So thank you and please keep leaving me feedback and suggestions for more pieces to create. I'm always happy to work on a new piece for you. (and a special thank you to my fiancé for putting up with the mess creating vinylmations makes and the late nights I've spent making them)
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