Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The Workshop

Sometimes called the kitchen. In a studio apartment, you do what you can. Which sometimes means a big mess to be cleaned up when you're not exhausted from doing all the creating + the stuff you do to survive to create another day. The second cloud cast is in the front of the ranks (The Lady got the first one, cause she's The Lady). The purple thing is the mold, with a curing cloud inside (super hot that stuff, don't touch!). The paper cups are for the mixing/pouring, and the two plastic jugs are the two parts of the plastic mixture.


The thing that I think is just amazing is that for the longest time as a kid, I had wanted to make my own toys. I was always making paper action figures and lamenting their lameness. I got a knife and tried to carve action figures out of wood, and gave up because they would never EVER be as cool as the stuff you could buy. But years later, and even though I'm not necessarily going to be able to make jointed toys that have great articulation (maybe, but not with my current skill set) I'm still able to come up with a concept and put out something that's pretty darn cool, in a durable plastic that I can pour in my own kitchen. That's something that just blows me away.

I think once I get a few more clouds cast (which means buying some more casting material) I'll post the process of making a mold. I'm going to make a large mold with six or eight clouds in it, so that I can do a larger batch all at once. The other reason, besides just the larger quantity, is that this first mold was flawed because the original was flawed in a couple ways that I didn't see (and one that I did). The original had some space under the sides where the silicone crept in during the moldmaking process. So the mold ends up making some crazy looking bases for the toys. A little sanding on all of these castings, and then a new mold will get rid of that, and make the next generation a bit more easy to finish once I pop them out. With these I'll really have to do some heavy sanding to make them look nice.

Also not sure about the black eyes and mouth. Thinking I might do them in powder blue instead. The Lady was saying I might consider molding faces for them on top. That's definitely a possibility. I think though, that I want these to be customizable, if one wants to do that, so I may do some customizations like that on my own, and encourage others to buy blanks to do such a thing, but that the mass produced ones that I'm putting out (or as mass as I can do in my kitchen) should be smooth. That would allow for if you wanted to do a custom job of your own and not be married to one of my molded faces. I like the Munny for that reason, and that's definitely the reason Munny works so well for customizing.

If you're into toy customizing, let me know what you think of these. I'd love to get some feedback from people who do this stuff too.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Dr. Phil, reaching out.

This is fucking brilliant.
But you have to listen to the end. I was thinking, "ok, it's a good gag." But the end is 100% win.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Bronx Kids Talk About Obama



Nothing wrong with a little wide eyed idealism coming from kids who sound like they were verging on hopeless a short while ago. I just hope their hopes are founded, and that the person they're resting on delivers if he's tapped.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Duh. S. of A.

This is me. Asking you. To not be so GODDAMNED PROUD of your IGNORANCE!!!!!

Here is a quote I just read in a Chicago Tribune article concerning the general feeling about Obama vs. Clinton in Pennsylvania. In it, a lady in a bar (who is not alone I'm sure) talks about Obama's loquaciousness.

"'He speaks more—I don't want to say over your head—but he uses more clichés. She's more straight up. For him, I'm not quite sure what he's saying. But he says it eloquently—all the time,' said Reda, a trace of disdain evident in her final words."

Dear Jesus Christ on a fucking handcart in Mardi Gras!! It's not like the man is using twenty dollar words all the time putting on a show that he's smarter than you. It's not like he's out there every day on the campaign trail telling us how he was in the lab with Madam Curie discovering radium. (I'm sure someone is going to go write some Curie/Obama slash fiction now, you perverts). He's just a well educated guy who's got a decent command of the English language.

But what the fuck?!!! What if he WAS a Rhodes Scholar? What if he WAS really so fucking smart that his brain was huge and bulbous and made him say things that half of us couldn't understand because it was so brilliant. Would that be SO BAD??? He's running for PRESIDENT!!!!!!

Haven't you had enough of your monkey-fucking-smirkey-chimp-headed-Conneticut-by-way-of-Texas- Hillbilly-Martha's Vineyard-draft-dodging-ignoramus of a president? Haven't you had enough ignorance to last you a thousand lifetimes?

Don't you want somebody in that office who might have a fucking clue as to what's going on in the world? I know YOU don't want to know what's going on in the world. I don't always want to know either. But don't you think the FUCKING GUY IN CHARGE should FUCKING KNOW???

Okay. I'm done.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Sanded and ready for molding

So tonight, I sanded down the cloud-y guy, and put a new face on him. This one has the eyes a little farther apart. I'm not sure if I like it better or not. I'm so happy with the way this guy looks now. I wasn't sure it would sand down as well as it did. Can't wait to see how he looks in white. Think this is gonna be really nice. I'll blog the molding and casting process soon.

Muse

This is a sketch for a new foamboard piece I'm planning. It's an updated depiction of Euterpe, the muse of music. The final version will have the same rounded edge on the bottom as is shown here on the top. Just adding a bit to the workblog section of this page.

cloudy days ahead.

Here's the strangely hued prototype of a cloud toy that I'm going to be producing soon. The actual toy will be white, with a couple variations planned which will be obvious when you see them. I did this one in yellow partly because it was the clay I had at hand, and partly because it made sense considering that it would be harder to see imperfections in white clay. So I'll be able to sand this one down and make him closer to perfectly round, and then go from there to making the mold. I'm pretty happy with this as a first attempt, but I may make a few different ones to see if another configuration works better stylistically. Or maybe I'll just make a few to make a few, and have a cloud family. I don't know yet. I'm thinking I'll likely do a short run and then maybe an extended run once I see if people dig them and are interested. Thinking about cute packaging too. Excited by the prospects, as I've always wanted to make my own toys, and this is a good start.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Woke up with a laugh.

This morning I woke up from a dream in which I was talking with someone in a church. It was Easter mass and this lady says to me, "It was around Easter as a kid when a priest tried to touch me inappropriately, so I twisted his arm and flipped him over my shoulder."

My response seemed rather like a Far Side cartoon. "So, which station of the cross was it where Jesus taught Jujitsu?"

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

What she said...

Don't know where it came from originally, but I love it. Makes me think of a few Civil War banners that were going around a while back.