Portrait #11: Dex

You want to know more about the universe of Designer toys ? How do they work and with what tools? What are their inspirations? We tell you everything! Today we are in the company of Dex!

When you started collecting art toys ?

I discovered the world of art toys In 2008 during my studies in industrial drawing at university. I lived in Mexico, there was a store in the city where they sold these figurines and at the time they were very expensive. But when I moved to the United States in 2012, this is where I really started my collection.

When Did You Started Collecting Art toys ?

I was on college studying industry design, around 2008, i cam across art toys Buy i wasn't able to buy any becuse I was living in Mexico and there was one only one place that sold them and they where way too. But it was was unit 2012 when i was living in the usa when i really started collecting.

What is the first art toy that you bought?

My very first art toy East: 3 ”Esqueletrino by tokidoki, I found it during my trip to Paris.

What’s the First Art toy You Bough?

It was 3 " Esqueletrino by tokidoki, And I Newly Bough it in Paris!

What is your top 3?

This is difficult to say, I'm going to limit myself with what I already have in my collection. But I have to love at least a hundred. Honestly, I cannot answer the question, but still ... I choose: Madame Mayhem, Tree Hugger Snowflake And 2012 Ooh Lala By Kronk, the three of them are in first place. Nathan swearvicious' Dievas, BUFFMONSTER's destroyer And Kronk's Bad Ass, are also second place. And maybe in third place maybe the Huck Gee's Akuma Bomb, McBess' Viandars And Kronk's Hot Date. As you see, I am a big fan of Kronk.

What’s Your Top 3?

This is a difficult question, because it's hard to choose. I try to limit myyself about what i have so it doesn't go out of control, but i have like to 100 favorites! I Honestly can't ANSWER that, but if i must, i think the Madame Mayhem, Tree Hugger Snowflake and 2012 Ooh Lala by Kronk Are a tie for number one.Nathan Jurevicious' Dievas, Buffmonster's Destroyer and Kronk's Bad Ass Are tied for second place; And for to the place Maybe the Huck Gee's Akuma Bomb, McBess' Les Viandares and Kronk's Hot Date. As you can see i'm a big Kronk fan.

Tell us a bit about your work, what are your tools? Your inspirations?

My work is very focused on the character. I try to give a personality to the room. I like to mix opposite concepts like: funny and terrifying, clever and adorable, or even sexy and dangerous. I also like to make fun of clichés and religions, which is why I tend to favor dark themes. Like for example, the eyes of the Sky Bunny, there is a mixture of the eyes of Illuminati and also those of an ugly snake. I also created devils that are aggressive. I like to have fun with the sensitivity of the world, because I find that our society is far too sensitive to several things in life these days.

As for the tools, I think that growing up in a developing country teaches you to be resourceful. Here in North America, we all have the tools we need but we are always looking for a better tool. For me, everything I need is my exacto, clay, and three different brushes. I really believe that when we have fewer resources we are more forced to be creative!

Mon inspiration vient de partout. Et bien sur, je m’inspire quand même des super héros, des dessins animés japonais que je regardais étant enfant, des films classiques de monstre et bien sur, des artistes d’aujourd’hui comme Mcbess et Kronk.

Tell us a little about your work, what are your tools ? your inspirations ?

My work is very character centered, where I try to give the piece a personality. I really like to mix opposite concepts on each piece, like fun and creepy, evil and cute, sexy and dangerous, etc. Also I love to make fun of cliches and religions, that's why I tend to favor dark themes like my eye in the sky dunny, that's a mix from illuminati, the eye of providence and an evil snake like eye. I also made a bunch of devil characters and aggressive/ killer one. But it's just to play whit peoples sensibilities. I just want to make a point of how silly it is in this day and age people being superstitious still.

As for tools, I think growing up in a developing country teaches you to be resourceful. Here and america everyone wants everything and they get as much tools as they can get. But I only use an art knife, clay, and 3 different brushes. I really believe that less is more and having limited resources really forces you to be creative.

My inspiration comes from everywhere. I'm the sum of all I've seen and all I do is put it together in a cute way. But I definitely draw from superheroes, japanese cartoons I used to watch when I was a kid, classic monster movies and of course, current artists like Mcbess and Kronk.

Quand as-tu commencer à travailler sur des Art toys ?

Une chose particulière dans ma personnalité, c'est que je ne peux pas aimer quelque chose sans vouloir en faire partie, donc je suis toujours entrain d'apprendre comment faire les choses. Aussi tot que j’ai commencé ma collection des Art toys, je me procurais déjà des figurines neutres pour débuter mes propres concepts. Mais c’est vraiment en automne 2013 que je suis devenu sérieux à ce sujet.

When did you start working on Art toys ?

One thing about my personality is that I can't like something without wanting to be part of it, so I'm always learning how to do things. It wasn't long after starting collecting toys I got some blanks and started customizing. But I think it was fall of 2013 when I became serious about it.

Quelle est ta première ou dernière création ?

Le tout premier personnage que j’ai créé est un tigre Ninja. Il porte de vrais vêtements que j’ai fait moi-même, inspiré d’un personnage similaire d'Huck Gee. Le dernier que j’ai fait est une bunny sexy girl qui porte la carcasse d’un ours qui est aussi basé sur Mishka dunny. Si vous voulez en savoir plus, ma création favorite est surtout 20’ Rocher bunny dont j’ai fabriqué son propre manteau de cuir et j’ai aussi dessiné une douzaine de tattoos partout sur son corps. J’aime bien travailler avec des figurines plus grandes, car j’aime bien le résultat final.

J’ai fait au moins une cinquantaine d' Art toys jusqu’à maintenant! Et mon rêve est de créer une compagnie qui produit des Art toys basé sur mes conceptions de personnages. En attendant, j’aime le fait que le monde aime et achète mes créations. Un jour peut-être, il y aura quelques créations dans votre magasin !

What’s your first or last creation on art toy ?

My first creation was a ninja tiger whit real clothes I made, inspired by a similar character by Huck Gee. The last one was a sexy dunny girl wearing a bear's carcass, based on the Mishka dunny. But if you want to know, my favorite piece was a 20" rocker dunny I made not long ago where I sewn a leather best for him and hand drawn dozens of tattoos all over his body. I loved to work on a big format and I was very happy with the results.

I have made more than 50 toys soy far and my only wish is for one day having a toy company making a production toy of my designs, but in the meantime i have to say it's very rewarding to have people like, buy and commission my creations, and that a reward on its ows. And Maybe One Day You'll Carry One of My Designs in your store!

Find Dexdexign on his Instagram / Stotorenvy / Blog

If you too want to be part of our interviews, send the answers to the three questions as well as one (or more) photos of your collection at this address: lucie@old.artoyz.com.

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