MANILA, PHILIPPINES – R Cafe + Bar was buzzing with a unique energy that morning. All tables were occupied, partly with food, but also partly with figurines. It was the morning of The Dokee Show and one long table was filled with figurines of all sizes big and small, each one different from the one next to it. EJ Sulit, one of the toymakers on the rooftop terrace, said “It’s the first time we’re meeting, for most of us here.” But no one would have been able to guess it, especially with how they interacted as if they’ve known each other for years. An emerging subset of the toy community, art toys are essentially similar but differ on the functionality. Art Toys come in different names: designer figures, vinyl toys, plastic figurines. adobo magazine caught up with some of the collectors and artists of Art Toys Philippines to take a look at how they are preparing for the biggest art toy community convention coming up called the National Swap Meet, an annual gathering of toy collectors that started in 2017, hosted by ArtisteSpace. The National Swap Meet is a three-day event to be held on March 27-29, 2020 at the SM Megatrade Hall 2. Raymond Ty of Art Toys Philippines Raymond Ty founded Art Toys Philippines—a community of art toy enthusiasts, makers, and collectors supporting the local industry. A collector himself, Ty finds more enjoyment in appreciating the craft, the characters, and style of local art toy makers. What is Art Toys Philippines? We started back in 2016. We saw the potential of the art toy community here in our country. We started with 300 members, and right now, we’re still a growing community but we currently have 3,700 members. https://www.facebook.com/arttoysphilippines/photos/a.135746231305644/136008127946121/?type=3&theater What fulfillment do you find in collecting art toys? Aside from them being limited, it’s my way of coping with stress. Just looking at it, it’s art. I think the difference of art toys is they’re limited and they focus more on art and the quality of the product. It’s very different from the mainstream collectibles like comics. What is the trajectory of Art Toys Philippines? Ever since last year, our group has been growing in terms of the members and the engagement but the art toy designer community has more potential. We have six Filipino artists who are popular in the States so I think a lot of local artists have that potential to put our talent on the global stage. Badz Palacio of Builtable Badz Palacio is a sculptor and painter. Known as the maker of Bulutraman, his superheroes are made of clay and deeply nostalgic. How did you get into the local art toy scene? Toys have been my fascination since I was a kid. I got into an accident and broke my wrist. Part of my therapy was to play with clay. It was also a time when I would see the other kids with their Gundams and I tried to imitate those, I wanted to create my own version. What is your process like? It starts with a wax clay which I also make. Once I am satisfied with the clay figure, that is when we start to mold. If old photos have negatives, we have molds that can be used for your next projects. But what you use for the actual product is resin, which is a harder material. From there you can paint and polish. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10213473410344417&set=pb.1675597992.-2207520000..&type=3&theater Tell us about your character. My character’s name is Bulultraman, pun-intended, I saw my neighbor had a Bulul, and he explained to me that they guard the souls of those who passed on. I saw the parallel. between that and Ultraman so I made him this cosmic being who can adapt into wherever world he goes. What makes art toys special? Toys are an integral part of our childhood. Once you touch on that, regardless of your age, you’ll get attracted to it. You’ll feel like a kid again. It’s nostalgic. Brian Dee of We Woof Pack https://www.facebook.com/wewoofpack/photos/a.1040445543012011/1040730239650208/?type=1&theater Every young wolf needs the protection of a pack and that is what We Woof Pack provides— a team that can execute and produce the characters from an artist’s concept. What is We Woof Pack? We Woof Pack is a group of artists who collect and design toys to combat the monotony of life; we started out as friends who collect designer toys, sneakers, anything under the sun. Mostly, we’re just a bunch of dorks who do art things from time to time and share a love for cute things and coffee. https://www.facebook.com/wewoofpack/posts/1250290242027539?__xts__[0]=68.ARBMclXWWoeQ25NkF8vrAZdf75sg0F_NtYABrZ8-tJ__jO08f-YQ9vlXs_qFrto4QtcUxiYO8lEt7T4E4DlJyiJ1z2RLJ6qaKYceUZzaNJU5OKspODhle9sfIkgWskYHrYH6I5_zE1pOMD-6PeTOHJjaSV-nPCmhPQ-PQgCllzFOJh9T3Y9KumUbnB4W7S574aOWT-QCh3AvTP8rOmVj8lOghl07gC3feJifFLC8j7uvwle5z1x7nuSG-bWvXJte8eYAl4UEGFXlVDncS1Il9yKkfDZx8B4i_RbvUpWVRODHADB7J349klBOtZLwQa0mzcFrUORM7Auw20Y-1g2lUgVnoS0b&__tn__=-R What makes you different from other communities? We decided to band up together because we have our own characters, we have our own design, and styles. At We Woof Pack, we're able to make these designs into actual figures; we have a team who can sculpt the figures from drawings, and concept. Like other talented artists, we pride ourselves on making our own original designs. What is your background prior to We Woof Pack? Prior to having We Woof Pack, we’ve had a production of resin-based products: corporate trophies, giveaways. Since we see the potential of the art toy market, combine it with the fact that we are able to create and produce the figure. I’ve always been fascinated with pop culture. I really like watching movies, cartoons, anime, and video games, so it’s more on when we grew up and we saw that there’s lots of merchandise out there and we wanted to collect but the limited budget, we’re more on appreciating our hobbies and interest. Mikko “MikoSwabe” Rosales Talk about a man who takes details seriously. MikoSwabe has been customizing toys for more than a decade. Most are commissioned by his friends and members of the art toy community. It took him 14 years of modifying other toys before he started making his own. How did you get into making art toys? I started collecting Marvel Legends action figures, then I started customizing it because I was not satisfied with some of the releases, they were not accurate according to the comics. Three months ago, I started making my own art toys because some of my friends were pushing me to do it. How did you create a following for your creations? Honestly, I also do not know. I was also baffled at first because there was an automatic support system. I never expected to do my own art toys. What was your motivation for customizing toys back then? I wanted to perfect the action figure according to the comics because it was my childhood, I grew up with the ‘90s X-Men cartoons. For me, what I saw in the cartoons should translate to the action figures. Bryan Reynald “Humbly” Antonio Humbly is street graffiti artist who makes his flat drawings come to life through sculpting. He is best known for KR-8, a robot that has become his signature on the streets; and Greg the cyborg, a man with the head of a hamburger. What influences your art toys? I’ve always liked toys, especially vintage ones: the likes of Star Wars. My other influences are science fiction and comics How did you get into the local art toy scene? I took an apprenticeship in 13 Lucky Monkeys where I learned to make silver rings, lighters, and skulls. Before that, I used to do a lot of painting. https://www.facebook.com/humbly/photos/a.827155597338606/2695349760519171/?type=3&theater In 2016, I started making polymer clay prototypes of the characters from my paintings. My character is a robot named KR-8. I often use him in street graffiti in 2014, when I was out and about. It was only two years ago when I started researching how to cast resin and how to make toys. From that came Count Crusader, a mashup of Count Dracula and Batman. That was the first I did. Give us a glimpse of what will be in the NSM Tomi, the mutant space frog, was once a real frog taken care of by a boy whose father was a chemist. There was an accident and some chemicals accidentally spilled on Tomi and that caused his mutation. Dondi Fernandez Dondi Fernandez is an artist who works in 3D printing whose art is influenced by surrealism. He is known for his characters Kareken, Eye Scream and Grizzly. How did you get into the Art Toy industry? I started my fascination with toys in 2007 but I have been drawing for a long time. My sketches are influenced by surrealism and I wanted to make them 3D. However, I did not have the means, I don’t know how to sculpt. When I started my job, that was when I learned how to make models and it was a time when 3D printers were truly expensive. I only started making toys last year, August 2019, and my characters are taken from my paintings and sketches. What was the first art toy you made? For years, my doodles and drawings were just in archive until one day, I made them come to life. My first figure was Scarebear, a fluffy bear’s skull spiked on a popsicle. His details took some time because for example, sprinkles are slightly difficult to work with, because they had to look like actual sprinkles, the color, the orientation and placing. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4E1VGWhmHP/ What is your process like? It all starts with a sketch, sometimes on a doodle book, sometimes on my tablet. Then I start painting it on canvas, to make it an artwork. Then I make it three dimensional on software and I print it. I really made an effort to save up for my own 3D printer. After that, I polish and I cast it in resin then paint it. I started appreciating my characters more when they became art toys because you can see it from all angles, the dimensions are complete, it really feels like they came to life. How are you feeling on the upcoming National Swap Meet? I am hoping to gain more experience as an enthusiast and meet new artists because one thing that I am grateful for in this industry is the support that the community gave me, without having to ask for it. Gemart “Martkills” Ortega Gemart Ortega, known as Martkills online, is visual artist whose trademark is a one-eyed tiyanak. Mini-Tiyanak comes in different variations: fortune cat, Spongebob, Minions, and even Doraemon. Martkills’ works is vastly influenced by Japanese and Philippine mythology. What is it with your Mini-tiyanak that it looks like cyclops? It started with a brand that I used to build where all my designs were one-eyed tiyanak. I was inspired by Japanese Yobai. I am actually a painter, I started collecting toys quite late. In 2015, I started collecting Kaiju, Japanese monsters, which influenced me to make my own toys while integrating our own Philippine mythology to it. Were you able to create a following for your toys? For now, I really can’t say that I have a fanbase for it because the toys haven’t gained that much exposure. I am still testing the waters because from what I see, the market for this niche is not that big. Do you have previous characters apart from Mini Tiyanak? Mini Tiyanak is a part of the Impaktoys series. Prior to this, I also made one toy based from undin, a water-creature that climbs out of toilet bowls to avenge its offspring. But instead of it coming off from the toilet, I imagined it standing upright and in a different setting than the toilet. https://www.facebook.com/martkills7/posts/1349836895198309?__xts__[0]=68.ARC40ysaY0CHu5Pe9lJXlIs7wfdQMCRp1h8rPDnJDCZORtzsCD9CJfF6Zcl26JaFw_igxyz_8Sv4GIFGWB2KURxx7QTZP1wjPsPT8xzum-ssbmbKvH_NU_x-fjUr3CLn6zEmKhvjAC4c7YV8dG1nwWTjYQIrPpGiVIb7lnBrTLUbx9wD4Vw3BcxzVBee7BVkk_cxTZ65ABbTgs7CjbXYa1RSCofNdv11uLKPt-66C70sNK0Ld0Rxk4mXjP8t47ga9q1J5yJGZYgj7LzIoCmWH-oAFtCUITOLCMVAjTvmLxGPTa4LnLojF1IB64Diy74BumYHrj7mUIJmrJBLW4wIm-iv9Q&__tn__=-R Where do you see yourself in the future of the community? As for me, I just want exposure for my characters, to show that there’s a Filipino artist bannering our own mythology. Undin was my first taste of “Oh, there’s finally someone who made an undin.” I also have a collaboration in progress with Humbly, still influenced by horror figures in our mythology—Manang Nanggal. You guys should watch out for it. EJ Sulit EJ Sulit, also known as Slim Sulit, is a toy collector and customizer. Fueled by his love for all things Super Mario, he founded the group: Super Mario Collectors Philippines. What is your background? I started as a diorama artist. Because of my hobby for toy photography, I started creating scenes for my toys. Eventually, I wanted to be different and customize my own toys through upcycling. I use scrap materials, and found objects since I work for a printer company. Most of the things I use for the customs I make are parts of a printer, and instead of them throwing it away, the guys at work give it to me so I actually have a big box of materials I may be able to use. How did you create a fanbase for upcycled art? The following just took form recently, but I work for a multinational company that cares about the environment, pro-reusing and discourages being wasteful. Eventually, I met the founder of Upcycle Philippines, Adavieve Mella, and he was the one who introduced me into the world of upcycling. Would you say that upcycling is more complicated than starting from scratch? For me, it’s not about seeing the output. I really tend to find something and start from there. I see an object and I try to imagine what it could be. I don’t have an arts background. I just look at it and try to recreate it. I guess it’s equally complicated but you don’t say it’s complicated when you’re having fun. For me, it’s actually therapeutic, you’re in the zone, you’re just in the room, you’re quiet, you’re painting, you’re gluing stuff and all of a sudden, you have created something. What is the backstory of your Dokee? Lowkey Dokee used to be the Energizer bunny. In the future, fast forward, when the world has run out of raw resources for producing energy, he started collecting cats with the belief that cats have nine lives. So he traps cats for their energy. Although some of the artists I know also use found objects. Because of my lack of experience, I really try to find a way to look for an alternative and turn it into something. https://www.instagram.com/p/B9HjQXVHWQk/ What do you have in store for the NSM? For National Swap Meet, I am trying to create my first character inspired by Super Mario because I am also a Super Mario collector. My character would be somewhat Super Mario inspired, it’s for you to see in NSM. Wuji Zun, Jr. How did you get into the local art toy scene? I started way back 2013. I really started on Gundams. I usually sculpt commissioned works but last year, I made my own: Mickey. What makes your character different? I can really bank on the cuteness of my character. He has a mask; and that’s symbolic of a person having two faces as if there’s joy behind every sadness. This is influenced by Mickey Mouse from my childhood; then I based off the rest of his character, his clothing from my own style. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2900154833328081&set=pb.100000007774647.-2207520000..&type=3&theater What are your expectations for the NSM? I am hoping for people to chat with us, the artists. I am also looking forward to learn from fellow makers who will talk about art toys and their process of sculpting and production. How do you see the trajectory of local art toy makers? As a Filipino artist, I want to be seen as someone capable of going head-to-head against artists from other countries. But more than that, in the future, I want the heroes of Philippine history to have their own version of toys to pique the curiosity of people and thereby find more about his backstory. *This transcript has been edited and translated for better comprehension Started in 2017, the National Swap Meet is an annual gathering of toy collectors for the collectors. An exciting event of fun and activities where exhibitions, auctions, games, workshop, swapping and selling of priceless collections will take place. This year’s National Swap Meet will feature the Art Toys PH, a group of artists and collectors that support the local art toy industry. The 3-day event will be held on March 27-29, 2020 at SM Megatrade Hall 2, SM Megamall.
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