Reactor88, Totem Design Master and All Around Great Customizer

A while back I met Ryan Crippen (aka Reactor88,  previously rc44) on the Vinyl Toy Forum, where at the time he was a mod and of course an already advancing customizer.  I have since, watched his skills advance and grow. Even though now he does some seriously intricate designs, he somehow always pulls them off without a flaw.  And although his work is near perfect in my opinion already, he always seems to knock me off my feet with his next design! 

So anyway, I thought I'd take the time to give you all a glimpse into yet another of the great designers out there and their world.. Here's the interview with Ryan Crippin, A.K.A., RC44.

s4ndm4n:  Most people on my blog will know you only as a custom toy designer, but you're more than that.  Can you give your fans a little insight into what else you do as a designer?

Reactor88:  In college I focused on graphic design and illustration, and when I got out I fell head first into the internet world.  I'm currently a web designer/developer at a software company and I also do a little bit of freelance design and illustration on the side.  A few years back I was heavily involved in the 3D animation/motion graphics world, and I've also toyed around with sculpture a bit.  Basically I dabble in a little bit of everything.

s4ndm4n:  How and when did you get started as an artist?

Reactor88:  Following suit with most artists, it all started with drawing when I was a wee lad.  My father drew a lot as a child, as did my older brother.  I find it interesting that I'm the only one that stayed with it, as they were both very talented.  I drew anything and everything, but mostly "mechanical" stuff- cars, motorcycles, airplanes, spaceships, robots, etc- pretty much whatever I was into at the time.  I remember for a period I had gotten into reading my dad's old comic books, so I tried creating my own detective comic series.  I think I illustrated three issues, with fake ads inside and everything- crazy.   Everything between then and now is just a big blur.

s4ndm4n:  How did you get started with customizing toys?  Did you start out as a collector and then start customizing or was it actually the customizing that appealed to you from the beginning?

Reactor88:  My whole venture into the toy customizing/collecting world was very disjointed.  I had been familiar with the scene for a while, but only as a window-shopper.  I lived very close to Giant Robot in West LA, so I'd always go in there and look at all the books and crazy toys, but never bought anything.  Then after the Munny came out, I searched around and saw the Kidrobot forums and all the very creative things people were doing with Munnys.  I was also heavily into painting/building model kits when I was younger, so there was an extra crossover appeal with DIY toys for me.  So a few days later I went down and bought one- and it just sat there on my desk and collected dust.  About 5 months later, I was at Munky King checking out all their cool stuff, and as a surprise my girlfriend bought me a blind boxed LA Dunny.  After that I was hooked and started collecting, and a few months later I decided to finally break open the Munny I had purchased and got to work on it.  So technically I started collecting before I actually started customizing, but I would say the customizing is where the initial appeal was.

s4ndm4n:  I know you now have a huge list of people waiting for customs from you.  To me that's a sure sign of success.  How do you feel about where you are today as a customizer?  Did you ever expect this kind of response to your work?  What is it like to be as popular as you are?

Reactor88:  Oh man, I don't even want to talk about my list- ha.  I never expected to have this type of response to my work.  I'm ultra-critical of everything I do, and for me I'd keep working on/tweaking a piece forever if I didn't force myself to put it down and call it quits.  So to read all the kind words that people post about my work is a really nice feeling.  It does feel great to be in high demand, but at the same time it's stressful.  It's really hard balancing a full-time job, freelance work, and all the toy work that I do.  All I can say is I'm glad there are some very patient folks on my list.   I'm still very new to all this and have big plans for the future.  I'd love to get some of my designs produced on some platform toys, and eventually create my own resin figures.   I have so many ideas- I just wish I had more time..

s4ndm4n:   Tell us about your most popular design, the Totem.  I believe that you've said to me in the past that I was correct that these totems are designed with inspiration coming from the Pacific NW Indian Totems, am I correct?  Can you tell us what is so inspiring to you about them?

Reactor88:  I've been a big fan of totem poles, and on a larger note Pacific Northwestern Indian/Haida artwork for as long as I can remember.  I'm not really sure where or when I first was introduced to it- maybe on one of those elementary school field trips to a museum?  There's just something about the faces and animal renditions in those dramatic color schemes, and the way they use simple shapes and curves to illustrate those ideas that really fascinates me.  There's usually some sort of greater meaning or story behind each piece, and that just adds to the cool factor.  The more I learned about the vinyl toy scene the more I realized that "totem" art wasn't really being represented.  There were the Biskup Totem Pals and a small Qee with a Native design, but not much else that I could find.  At that point creating the first Totem Munny was a no brainer- and I haven't looked back since.

s4ndm4n:  The clean designs and craftsmanship in your work is mind-boggling.  Do you have a specific method for attaining such perfection?

Reactor88:  Like I mentioned earlier, I am really hard on myself to make sure each piece is the best it can be.  I'll re-paint things one, two, three times until I think it looks okay.  For me it just comes down to a lot of practice with my brushes and pens and taking as much time as possible on each piece.  I'm also pretty methodical when it comes to my entire custom toy design process.   I always sketch my ideas out on paper or on the computer.  Once I have something I like, I'll create some color studies- either digital or with markers, colored pencils, whatever.   Once that's all set, I feel I'm ready to begin the actual toy.  Sometimes the final design and color scheme will deviate from my original sketches and color studies, but for the most part it stays true to the original concept.   I think by laying everything out as clearly as possible ahead of time I can concentrate completely on the technique while I'm actually painting.   I personally think I'm still learning and have a long way to go- I guess never being satisfied is what keeps me on my toes.

s4ndm4n:  You seem to have a good head on your shoulders so I'm thinking you've got an answer to this:  What are your future goals in the creative field? I mean, both for your career goals and your customizing/freelancing goals?  Any plans to go 100% freelance ever?

Reactor88:  Hmm- this is a tough question.  I've had aspirations of combining all of my skills (graphic/web design, animation, illustration, traditional painting, toy customizing, etc.) into a 100% freelance career, but to be honest it's a little scary when I have a pretty comfy, decent paying (but not very creative) full-time web development job.  I was actually looking to move back into a more creative position this year and even toyed with the 100% freelance idea, but some circumstances changed (for the better) at my work.  I decided that I will stick that out for a bit, see how it plays out and just continue to burn the midnight oil, packing in all my freelance and painting/customizing in the evenings and on the weekends.

s4ndm4n:  Can you share any thoughts on what you'd want to do if you were to do your own resin toy?  What about vinyl production, what would you like to do with that?  I'd be very excited to see what you came up with! 

Reactor88:  I have a couple little characters in my sketchbook that I always thought would be fun to sculpt, so I guess those would be my first choice.  One is this funny little bat- he's basically all head, super big eyes (which is ironic since bats are blind), and then a tiny body and wings.  Then there's my Dawg.  Once again, he's a sort of bulldog with a huge head/jaw, and a tiny little body.  I was commissioned to do a painting of him and was told he'd make a cool toy by a few people, so he would probably be my first choice to try out.  I don't think I'm really interested in creating a vinyl toy, at least all by myself.  I wouldn't want to get into a situation where I'd need to find investors and make a few thousand toys, and then be pressured to sell them all just to break even.  I really just want to see some of my 2D creations come to life in 3D form, and then be able to share those with a few people that are interested as well.- so I think a very small run of resin figures is the way to go.

s4ndm4n:  What is your favorite medium, since you've worked with a number of them.. sculpting, painting or other?  Do you feel any of those mediums are better suited to you and your style of design?

Reactor88:  I think the majority of the inspiration for my designs just came from the lack of representation of the Pacific Northwestern Indian/Haida style in the custom toy world.  I also base a lot of my designs around my Spade-Skull logo.  Besides being cool (everyone loves skulls, right?), it really seemed like a no-brainer to repurpose it on toys.  As far as artists, it was cool to see guys like Shag, Biskup, Barr, etc. who I respected for their 2D work, working with this medium as well- that definitely made me think these were more than just "toys", but works of art that could be appreciated on a higher level.  I'm not really sure if that answered the question? :)

s4ndm4n:  If you could choose any artist  to be an mentored by who would it be? What contemporary artist and what classical (if any) would you choose? 

Reactor88:  For a contemporary mentor, I would probably choose Mark Ryden.  I would love to just pick his brain and sit there and watch him work, from the beginning when coming up with concepts and sketching, all the way to the final application of the sealing varnish on the painting.  His technique is on another level, and his subject matter is beyond comprehension- if I could absorb just a small bit of that I'd be a happy.  As far as a classical mentor- DaVinci all the way.  There was so much going on in his head, just to be able to talk to him and see how he worked would be incredible.

s4ndm4n:  in closing,  what would you tell the artist out there who looks up to you as a role model, for their success as a designer and artist? 

Reactor88:  Philosophically, I would say strive to be the best that you can be and never stop learning.  Experiment a lot and try to find what really speaks to you in terms of designing/creating art- it's amazing the feeling you get when you create something because you love it, and not just because it's paying the bills.  Now for some real world advice that most folks probably know, but just to remind everybody :)  Look at anything and everything- art is everywhere and anywhere.  I usually keep my digital camera on me and take reference photos.  I see neat stuff just running errands on the weekends, and will break it out and take a few pics.    Learn to market yourself- get yourself a website or blog to showcase your work, join some message-boards and organizations, print some business cards, t-shirts, stickers- go the whole nine yards.  With the advent of the internet, it crazy how easy it is to get a worldwide audience for your work.  Stay organized and never sacrifice quality for quantity.  I've overbooked myself with freelance work in the past, and know if I pull too many all nighters in a row the work inherently suffers.  Set a schedule and try really hard to keep your projects on track.  A big one- stay in constant communication with clients and live up to the promises you make.  And lastly, make sure you keep your idea/sketchbook at your bedside each night- I think most of my best ideas come to me either right as I'm falling asleep or wake me up in the middle of the night.  I know if I don't document them in a little sketch or some notes, by the time the morning comes the concept has vanished...

And with that, I wanna thank you, Ryan, on behalf of myself and all of your adoring fans (and waiting list members..lol) for giving us this short glimpse into your world! 

Check out more of Ryan's great art on his site:  Reactor88 and follow up by subscribing to his Reactor88 blog!