{"id":27091,"date":"2015-08-18T11:23:04","date_gmt":"2015-08-18T18:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entertainmentearth.com/news\/?p=27091"},"modified":"2019-03-06T17:49:14","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T01:49:14","slug":"pop-vinyl-artist-spotlight-jokers-wild-customs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entertainmentearth.com/news\/pop-vinyl-artist-spotlight-jokers-wild-customs\/","title":{"rendered":"Pop! Vinyl Artist Spotlight: Joker’s Wild Customs"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

With the wild success of Funko<\/a>‘s Pop! Vinyl Figure arose the Pop! Vinyl custom artist. These artists create “customs” using existing Pop!s which they mold over and re-paint. We at Entertainment Earth had the pleasure of interviewing one such artist– the talented Jared Breslow of Joker’s Wild Customs<\/strong>. You can view the interview below, and don’t forget to check out Joker’s Wild Customs on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n

1. What is your artistic background?<\/strong>
\nEver since I was little, I’ve been doing some kind of art, whether it was drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. I am a graphic designer\/artist and photographer. Aside from making customs using Funko products, I also incorporate my custom pieces (and production pieces) into photographs, making little scenes to mirror the movie\/TV show that they come from.<\/p>\n

2. What is the process of taking a Pop! Vinyl and “making it your own”?<\/em><\/strong>
\nI always like to see what characters Funko has not made yet and go from there. I like starting from scratch, so I’ll always strip it down and primer the entire thing, even if it doesn’t need a repaint on certain parts, to ensure the paint appears uniform. I like to mix different versions of a certain character and combine them into one piece, thereby creating my own variation. With customs, I feel as if sometimes the smallest details can make the biggest impact, so I really try to pay as much attention to the paint job as I do to the accessories.<\/p>\n

3. What inspired you to begin making custom Pop! Vinyls?<\/strong><\/em>
\nLack of certain characters at the time and fellow customizer, Dan Stevens from Dragonfly Designs, sold me a custom he did about three years ago and I was amazed by the detail and overall quality of it, including the custom box. From there, I said to myself, I’d like to try doing this. Dan let me pick his brain a little bit, he gave me a few pointers and helped me whenever I had a question. I also noticed, at the time, there were not a lot of different variations of characters or secondary characters for that matter, so I wanted to fill in the gaps where pieces were not made.<\/p>\n

4. What makes your customs unique?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI think what makes them unique is that for 95% of the customs I’ve made, there was only one made of them. For the most part, I don’t like making multiples of customs, unless it is a widely collected character that people are constantly asking me about. I like my customers to feel that the one they have is special because there are no others like it out there. I also pay attention to detail and even if it’s the slightest thing like the color of the belt buckle or how his boots are a tad lighter than his pants, I want to make sure it’s as accurate as possible to what everyone knows.<\/p>\n

5. Are you a Pop! collector? If so, what types of Pop!s do you collect?<\/em><\/strong>
\nYes, I am a huge Pop! collector. I collect all different lines, Horror, Game of Thrones<\/a>, The Walking Dead, Movies, Star Wars<\/a>, Marvel and DC. My favorite being DC, because I am a huge collector of all things Joker, so the Batman line is a must.<\/p>\n

6. Which Pop! is your favorite custom creation?<\/em><\/strong>
\nMy favorite custom creation is hands down my Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park<\/a>. Jurassic Park was one of my favorite movies and I was bummed that Funko had never done anything with that line, so I had to make it myself. I think I spent about a week painting him, making sure the shades and details lined up perfectly with the movie stills. Believe it or not, he is the only custom I have ever made that I kept for myself, though I do get about 5-6 emails a week asking how much he is.<\/p>\n

7. What has changed since you first began making custom Pop!s?<\/em><\/strong>
\nI have only been doing customs for about 2.5 years, but a lot has changed. When I first started, there wasn’t a lot of Pop!s to choose from when it came to mixing and matching hair, body styles, accessories, etc., [and] now there is an endless supply. I remember making a custom for a customer where I had to match his hair style and I spent days trying to find a figure that had something similar, with no luck. I ended up sculpting something, but now there are so many to choose from, that if you cannot find something, you’re not looking hard enough.<\/p>\n

I also think the amount of people doing customs has skyrocketed, especially with the popularity of Funko products. When I started I think I knew of like 4-5 people who were making them, now there are dozens.<\/p>\n

8. How do you decide which custom project you\u2019ll take on next?<\/em><\/strong>
\nIt’s hard to say. Sometimes I’ll watch a show and get immediately inspired to make a character, or I’ll get a request from someone asking me for something that I’ve been wanting to attempt for a while, and it’s the little push I needed. If I randomly see something that triggers an idea, I’ll just go from there.<\/p>\n

9. What\u2019s been the reaction of fans to your custom pieces?<\/em><\/strong>
\nI started doing customs just for fun and to make pieces that they didn’t have yet, never really thinking I was doing anything special. So, when I get an email or a PM from someone, telling me how much they love something I did or how happy they are with a piece I made for them or even of them, it makes me feel good. It’s very humbling to see something that I handmade as part of their collection.<\/p>\n

10. What is your relationship with geek and pop culture?<\/em><\/strong>
\nA lifelong one! My mom always tells the story that when I was two, I kept asking for a “lifesaver.” She told me I was too little for candy, though she quickly realized I was asking for a “lightsaber.” I’m covered in Batman<\/a> villain tattoos, I still have all my toys from when I was little, my home and work offices both look like toy stores and I’m currently wearing a Joker<\/a> T-shirt. I think that about sums it up.<\/p>\n

Which custom Pop! below is your favorite? What do you think Joker’s Wild Customs should cover next? Let us know in the comments below!<\/em><\/p>\n

Don’t forget to submit your fan creations to social@entertainmentearth.com for a chance to have your work featured here!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"