Gary Brickel (brixpix)

Adult Toy Story

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 05:54:54 -0700

Part of being an artist is being able to perceive things in ways that others cannot. This toy was sitting around the studio for almost 6 months before I painted her. And when I did, I wanted there to be a back story, not just a pretty toy to play with. As always, I try to incorporate my illustration and cartooning skills into a piece. These photos are ok, but don’t really show how much the colors pop! This and all new published works will be displayed and available for purchase at my Brixpix Eye Candy show on August 28th.

Face Pi Celsius

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:55:19 -0700

I just finished this custom for a contest at Spankystokes.com It remains both simple and complex at the same time. I did some research to make sure there were no other designs even remotely close to mine. I flipped the head around and used the hole, generally used for securing the head to the body, as the mouth. Large bulbous tongue included. I fastened the head to the neck with some magic sculpt and painted the polymer after it hardened. The wings make the figure back -heavy, so I gave it the large tongue to balance it out. This is all brixpix in style. I love comix and animation and this piece is a celebration of the pen. I named it Face Pi Celsius after my face pi bracelet. Squishy little faces in all colors and shapes. Most sticking their tongues out. (Almost a theme of this toy) The 1st 2nd and 3rd place winners of this contest will be invited to have their toy displayed among other toy customizing professionals’ entries at the 510 Celsius show in September in Fremont, California. Good thing Face Pi Celsius has wings. He might be flying out west very soon!

Retro Bot

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:11:44 -0700

Nothing smells as good as fresh Vinyl in the morning. And I have been waking up early every morning this week to work on my entry for Munny Munth at Kidrobot. My love of pen and all things retro brought me to this place called Retro Bot. I chose to leave all extra accessories off him this time. Reminiscent of Wally the Walmart greeter, Retro Bot comes highly detailed in the front and iconically simple in the back. As I viewed the other entries, I tried my best to shield myself from others ideas and create a truly original design unlike any other. Most toy customizers are accomplished painters and sculptors, but few, it seems, like to illustrate. My strong drawing background helps me embellish the munny where painting alone does not seem to be enough. There are quite a few entries and as usual, the competition will be fierce. Check out all the entries at: http://sites.kidrobot.com/munnymunth/entries.php. If you see Retro Bot and you like it, please show your love and vote for it. There are professional judges for this contest, but your vote counts too. Grand prize winner has their design used in Dunny 2011. More contests coming up. Stay tuned!

DogPony Toy

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:27:35 -0700

Dog and Pony Show n. Slang An elaborate presentation orchestrated to gain approval, as for a policy or product. But in this case, DogPony is a creature from my head to my wife’s hands. It was created for a themed show for the Creative Native Gallery. It measure 9.5 inches long and about 5 inches tall and was made with polymer clay and painted with acrylic paints and detailed in pen and ink. I wanted to give it an old Mexican folk art feel and I believe I suceeded. Again, Kudos go out to my wife for creating the most amazing canvas for me to paint on again!!!

Phallik Pholk #1

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 13:25:56 -0700

This whimsical toy was created from the vinyl linking that came with my mini munny cars. I have several of these so I will be making more in the future. I wanted to make a simple toy that may or may not be office friendly, (depending on which office you work in) Phallic is supposed to mean longer than its wide, but we’ll let you decide. Painted with acrylics, hardly detailed in pen and ink, bathed in a soothing coat of polyurethane. Animated Peni? What will that Brixpix come up with next?

Manimals Part 2 Blue Velvet

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 17:37:47 -0700

Blue Velvet is a creature my wife created several years ago and has been begging to be painted and customized. I was up to the task this weekend. Started out with some spray paint and went on from there. I like how fast Krylon goes on. Will be using it much more in the future. This was always a pretty wierd looking creature. I wasn’t sure how to attack it until the tongue came to mind. Blue Velvet is made with Super Sculpey, acrylic base and spray paint and pen and ink.

Manimals Part 1 Sir Crabalot

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 17:36:21 -0700

About 2 years ago, my wife and I were on a roll creating manimals. She makes incredible sculptures from both my mind and hers. Well, some got left over in the customization department as we experimented with other mediums besides super sculpey. This is one that got left behind. It has a different quality as I have been painting steady since 2006. As usual it comes highly detailed. Not too many faces to count, but more than required, so it fits the bill. Created with super sculpey, acrylic paints and pen and ink.

Rockheads A-Z Designer Spool Toys Part 2

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:49:07 -0700

The rest of the Rockheads

Rockheads A-Z Designer Spool Toys

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:20:29 -0700

Before I discovered customizing toys, I was customizing wooden spools. I still possess about 100 more spools and will eventually customize them. These spools are between 1.5 to 2 inches tall. I named them after rock bands as I thought it would be cool to do an A-Z thing as I had 26 spools prepped to customize. They are all painted in acrylics, detailed in pen and ink and bathed in polyurethane to protect and keep them shiny. The style is different from the last bunch of spools I made 2 years ago. I think that I matured my style and that the design stays more consistent within the medium. It may be a little unusual to paint spools as opposed to canvas, but that’s just the way I roll. Viva la portable art!!! Society 6 only let me upload 20 files. The complete colection is available to view at : http://brixpix.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/introducing-rock-heads-a-z-designer-spool-toys/

Happy Fish MadL

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:54:29 -0800

Man did I have fun with this toy. So large and yet so different than customizing munnys. It’s not that easy to snag a 10 inch blank MadL. They are rare and hard to find. When I was able to aquire it, I immediately set out to come up with a design that would suit it’s unique shape. Katsushika Hokusai’s Great Wave woodblock print seemed to swim around my frontal lobe so I seized on that and tried to encorporate a Japanes and aquatic theme throughout. Staying true to my animation roots, the piece is somber, yet cartoony at the same time. The faces are what I deem most important in my pieces. The details are there, although not in the same numbers as I usually bring. I wanted the details to stand out and give the weary observer a chance to rest inbetween eye candy rushes. As usual, I used acrylic paints, pen and ink, prismacolor pencils, and a nice thick coat of polyurethane to wash it down. Japanese culture and art are great tools for thinking outside of the western box.

ZombieRollieSpoolie

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:07:20 -0800

It’s a wonder that I love the whole Zombie culture and have never made a zombie toy. This marks the first in my homage to the genre. The shell is an Avon roll on deodorant. I hollowed out the body with my dremel and found that the liquid deodorant melts down to the base. After a few messy cleanups, I attended to the painting and inking of the toy. I threw in a spinnable retro beanie for good measure. The legs are made of mini spools and are painted and inked to match the zombies pants. The back shows the previous soul who is trapped within the cursed body and is softened with orange prismacolor pencil to a rusty metal exterior.. The arms are small doll arms with a little bit of paint for the torn shirt and blood effect. I hope to make a few more toys that are zombie themed in the near future.

Mini Mad Cow

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:06:57 -0800

This is one of the new DIY vinyl toys from Kidrobot. It is part of the Munny family. This one’s name is Raffy so I guess it’s supposed to be a baby giraffe. Oh well. My warped brain made it a baby cow. A very angry baby cow. It is a simple design. I have decided to try and stay within my classic cartoon and animation roots this year. That’s not to say that I won’t wander off (I have some ideas in mind that clash with the classics). If you consider my art as eye candy, then you will not be disappointed. This piece was painted with acrylics, detailed in pen and ink, and protected by a layer of polyurethane. Look forward to some more munny animals in the future.

Rollie #2

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:44:20 -0800

Kinda getting the hang of this. I primed this toy twice before inking and painting, but it still has ink rubbing off and the pen penetrates the paint like a needle. I like the shadow effects using short cross hatchy lines. Maybe I need to sand down the plastic a little. I am prone to experiment in the middle of a piece. As dangerous as that might seem, it has attributed to many problems being solved in the past. I have 3 more rollies to go. Where the next one will take me… I don’t even know.

Cokeheads#5

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:08:45 -0800

After working on my rollie, I wanted to try something different with the Cokeheads. Not completely comfortable yet with my airbrush, I used some spray paint to continue experimenting on cans. The blue spray made a nice rich background for me to work with. I also used some painter’s tape to make a mask for the buildings and the giant cross. I just wanted to get this can going in a different direction than the others. Once I master the airbrush, I will include more detailed gradients.

Rollie#1

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:23:07 -0800

Like I need an excuse to make a new toy. I got the idea of using roll on deodorant as canvas from a contest done in New York. You can see the video of the contest in a previous post. It is part of my crusade to paint everyday crap that normaly gets thrown out or recycled. I encountered an unusual problem with this toy. It doesn’t take pencil very well. So I used my rapidograph for the outlines. Only thing is that over time, my hands was slowly erasing the lines as I worked on it. I will prime the rollie next time and we’ll see if that fixes the issue. It was fun working with and cheap enuf. I especially like the way the labels peeled off without any residue. Wish I could say the same for a vitamin bottle I have been struggling with for weeks. Hope you like it! Happy Creative Year!!!

Cokeman the Toy

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 17:03:34 -0800

Ok Ok Enough of the Cokeheads. Now for something a lil’ different. How about we create a toy out of a can of Coke. This is a simple toy, but one that had to be made. Spools and doll arms for appendages. A little paint on the spools and some superglue and you have Cokeman. I love the Coca Cola logo, so I am leaving the can unpainted this time. More experimenting, more learning, more fun. Coke cans are the new Lego.

Queen the Toy!

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 09:32:43 -0800

I like toys that actually are functional. Thus Queen. A toy that also holds small items. Only problem with Queen is she holds them upside down. You see, I had to make a decision whether to place her eyes on the top or the side. She functions perfectly when right side up. she holds all forms of small jewelry and trinkets to a tee. But when she’s placed upside down as displayed here, she’s just able to hold a marble or two. Yet, she’s a smashing good toy and that’s what counts. Her eyes look so much better on the side. Finally got to use some of my smaller spools for something useful. Queen looks a little smaller than she is, thanks to my Mega Munny for scale. Simple, yet elegant, Queen is not for everybody, but I’m sure I can find her a good home. Long live the Queen!

Cokeheads#4

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 09:21:39 -0800

Nothing says the holidays like fresh art. Just finished my 4th Cokehead. This one may seem different from the others as I used spray paint for the background and much lager faces. I really like the gradient effect from the spray paint. Pretty sure I’ll be investing in some airbrush equipment fairly soon. The illustrations pop off the can now. Lots more to love. I also am having fun with the abstract free-flowing lines. Throw on some paint. Look at it. Let the brain see patterns and or shapes. Outline it. Might have to do a large canvas painting soon in that manner. Each time I approach these cans, I try to a few things the same, and try a few new things as well to see if they work. If I had an airbrush now, I’d do some black highlights at the edges of the two large faces. I got big plans!!!

Cokeheads#3

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:30:19 -0800

I am starting out with making a limited edition of 10 Cokeheads. This one is my 3rd installment and as all artists know, you learn as you go. I have been experimenting with spray paint on some future Cokeheads and I was surprised with the results.So look forward to that for the next piece. Might have to invest in some airbrush equipment and a nice quiet air compressor. (Hear that Santa?) This one is all about the acrylics and the pen and ink. The bold thick line is expressive and I like it! Here’s a hopin’ you do too.

Cokeheads#2

Gary Brickel (brixpix) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:20:01 -0800

Still got oodles of coke cans ready to either be painted, illustrated on, or both. This is my second in a series of I dunno how many. Just having fun! This one was created for Diane, a friend of mine at Bic Graphic who is retiring this month. I created some flamingo spools for her a few years ago, so I think she might like this one. Again, I don’t know how people feel about collecting cans versus recycling them. They are not as hardy as say wood or vinyl, but that are totally available. I ordered 5 Avon deodorant rollons, so expect some “rollie” toys here in the near future. I will continue to experiment with all kinds of “portable art”. So stay tuned!