We have a couple very special guests coming in from Japan for a huge pitch tomorrow with a super secret licensor, so we went to town getting some fun on the walls. Sure, it isn't in my job description to apply vinyl, but oh how I love and miss it! Soon I'll snap pics of a walk through of Funko and all the goodies floating around the office. Stay tuned!
Below is the interview with ColorInk Book that can be found here
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See the image below and you will know the genius of Kyle Kesterson. 
When did you decide art was where life was taking you?
A conscious decision? I’m not sure I ever made one with that intention. It’s been more of a series of experiences, in retrospect, that showed me the path I was on and where I should be headed. Near the beginning, I chose ‘graphic design’ at a small tech college because that sounded the most interesting and I was forced to choose something after dropping out of high school. I then chose Illustration at Cornish College of the Arts, mostly because I wanted to learn how to materialize my ideas for my own endeavors, but was terrified of doing it for money, since I was lead to believe that my soul would be sucked dry if I exploited my ideas and/or abilities. Ever seen Kenna’s “Hellbent” video?! haha
Define the word “doodle”.
To draw without ego, I suppose. Most of my doodling sessions consist of only making a single mark or shape on a piece of paper and just SEEING what develops. That leads to what I like to call “intricadoodle”. I doodle object A, then I’ll doodle object B (both positive shapes) and using the negative space between objects A and B will see the positive shape that is to become object C. It’s all about power by association and is completely organic.
Where is the best spot on a Friday night in Seattle?
Up until last week, I would’ve said Tini Biggs – awesome martini bar. However my good friend is no longer bartending there, nor hookin’ a guy up, so… I’ll have to get back to you on that!
Do you have any upcoming projects you are stoked on?
Absolutely! I’ve been working at Funko (toy company) on a line called “Nodniks” (nodniknation.com). We started developing them back in October and was a completely new line for us. It’s our 2 cents on the art vinyl circuit. We use characters from our major licenses and work to illustrate them around 1 of 2 body shapes. We also have blanks to sell and a place for people to share what they’ve created. Another project I’ve been working on is this fresh new print boutique called “Early Morning” (earlymorning.us). What started out as doing a wall mural / installation for their retail space, turned into me becoming one of the designers helping get the shop going and working at the design bar. The beast behind the shop is a CMYK + white apparel silkscreen printer that uses water based inks that prints full spectrum color designs/images on shirts. It’s an incredibly unique business model and the quality is amazing (same machine that Ed Hardy and Diesel uses for I believe). You can expect plenty of apparel to be coming from me in the future… haha 
What has been your most “fun” project to date?
Well personally, I’m an analog, hands on type of guy (despite working almost entirely digitally during my 9-5)… and when I was working for Urban Influence Design Studios a few years ago, I built a 60+ building cardboard city. Each building was fabricated from textures and elements, then branded, then constructed. You have to see it in person to grasp the magnitude. We got to create our own world with tons of tongue-in-cheek throw backs, as well as inside jokes and things we think about. Unfortunately the project got scrapped after about 4 months, about a week away from completion. It was hard to accept, but was ultimately the smartest decision on their part. The Nodniks pretty much ties with the buildings though. I made a New Year’s resolution 2 years ago that I wanted to make a manufactured toy. That was before I had heard about Funko. … funny how life makes paths for you after you postulate something.
Which X-men film is your favorite and why?
Probably X-Men 2 because my brother-in-law worked on it and I’m generally biased to the stuff he works on. That’s right, I liked the Eric Bana ‘Hulk’ better than Norton’s! 
As a toy designer: what has been your favorite finished piece?
Probably the Spider-Man Nodnik because it took like 15+ rounds with our factory to get it right. It was the first major test in the line and had been the most complex. I think I heard it was like 18 pad-print molds just to get the web pattern on the head to line up… either way, we were incredibly happy with the results and it put our mind to ease about the possibility of the line.
You work with a whole variety of materials: what do you feel most comfortable with?
With traditional drawing, I can handle Prisma markers really well and know the whole color library off the top of my head. I usually identify colors in life that I see based on their named pallet. My favorite media though is cut vinyl. I loooove cut vinyl. I’ve done really intricate, 8-16 layer, cut vinyl illustrations. Some I’ve used a plotter, others I’ll cut by hand. I have hundreds of rolls of every color and type of vinyl and sometimes just get really into a project. I used to work at a sign shop and would spend hours on end, just weeding out the insides of letters. You can really get lost in the therapy of it. A mix of cut vinyl and “fun” projects, would definitely be my Tapeworms. I might post that project some day.. As for my every day medium, Adobe Illustrator is where it’s at. I can end up with 4-500 gradients in a single rendered character illustration. Working at Funko, I’ve gotten pretty quick at flipping out a decent rendered character. My version of Rayola took a little over an hour.
What gets you going on Monday morning?
Nothing. I just wait for Tuesday.
Sandwich or Burrito?
Quizno’s Torpedo – Honey Bacon Club (with Ranch added to everything else)
(Click to enlarge images)
This is a custom painted Nodnik, from our new line of art vinyl here at Funko. Hop on over to Nodnik Nation and check out some of the other customs by some really talented artists! You can even get your own to do up and share.
I will be sharing a booth with fellow Funko artist Wilky. We will have tons of goodies for your eyes and pockets. Come say hello!
From a long hiatus of being wonderfully overwhelmed, here is a little bit of what I've been up to. (Aren't blogs all about haituses anyways?) :P
Recently I was commissioned to paint a mural at a new print boutique called "Early Morning", which is opening up in the mall. It's a retail store that provides you with a rainbow full of blank fine cut 'n sew garments that allows for you to print whatever you'd like.
The machine that is used to print the shirts is the same machine that Ed Hardy and Diesel uses for their printed apparel. In short, it is amazing! It uses water based inks, and silkscreens full CMYK + white plate (to get bright, vibrant prints on dark apparel). There are no color limitations, no minimums, no set up fees and all that good stuff. It is ideal for anyone looking to either have and own unique, one of a kind clothing, either of your own making or one of the Early Morning designers, or if you have booths, retail space and so forth, you can get your inventory at wholesale.
Anyways, to learn more about the boutique, go to EarlyMorning.us
Back to what I've been up to.. we came up with the idea of having GORT, from The Day the Earth Stood Still, being this ominous, over-lord character that draws the viewer in. It was to incorporate alien/ufo imagery, earth and some bursts. The store is super monochromatic, so I went with that color scheme but with one power color. It was intended to be over the top, in your face.
Here is the concept sketch: (The inner gray rectangle represents a 5ft x 6ft canvas that the character is placed on, then breaks the canvas to fill the whole wall) - Wall = 9ft x 16ft
Process painting (pic 'n vid)
Final stages
(size comparison - click to enlarge)
I cut out the eye and replaced it with this translucent film that was backlit by LEDs. I also fabricated 3-dimensional laser beams that come out of the eye and attach to the window, trying to further bring the character off of the canvas. Lastly, there were to be UV lights that would light up all of the fluorescent orange, really bringing it to life.
Before I got to the finishing touches, we took the paper off of the windows, stood back and realized the concept was way too ironic for the concept of the store and didn't fit the mall setting.
I ended up putting up a vinyl wall print of a pattern made from their logo. There will be a merch table set in front to bring more attention to the clothing.
Here's the final wall - concept / production (UV vinyl print) / final
Click to enlarge
I will be unveiling a new 5ft canvas at the reception. Hope to see you there!
Charlie Brown - 2006 Made by Funko
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I know I've been on a bit of a hiatus lately, but for good reason! I have 2 upcoming shows that require quite a bit of daily creative energy. I'll update about the shows shortly and will work to get some more daily goodness out to ya as well. :)
Click to enlarge each photo
My eye:
All images of my brother's reptiles (and my eye) are taken by Brian Brew. This is just a small sample of what you can find on his Flickr.
I highly suggest going through his gallery and seeing some of his amazing shots; so captivating! Make sure to see the high resolution images of some of the eyes and textures.
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
There was a tricycle race in Seattle this last weekend:
http://trikeforbeers.com/ (check the flickr pool)
It was dangerously fun. Flying down super steep hills in the middle of the road, blowing through stop signs and flying by people at parks with the biggest WTF look on their face. :)
Click to enlarge
$10 kit included: 2 vinyl decals, a breathing mask, a bottle of hand sanitizer, a button, a vitamin, a stencil and some propoganda.
(Does not include pepper spray, goggles, spray paint or quarantine tape)
Paypal $10 + $4(SH) to iamintricate@gmail.com - include your shipping address in the message.
Infect one person, infect the world. Click to enlarge
Shot of the space at the Very Sheri show
Timelapse of process:
"Weeding" vinyl
Applying vinyl
I've been working at Funko on this bobble-head toy line called "Nodniks" from its conception, and today, we finally received the molded blank plastics! It's been a long time coming, but we're all super excited about this line. We have some very cool community oriented projects in the works for these guys, so stay tuned!
