(by 9 people)
Does a teddy bear with huge blood stained claws and blood dipping from its mouth sound normal to you? How about giant monkeys from space wielding mallets and meat cleavers? Welcome to the gruesomely cute world of designer toys. It is a twisted world created by the warped and troubled minds of artists from around the world.
The Toys!
Munny design
Jeff Soto Munny design
Mori Chax Gloomy Bear
Thomas Han
Dalek Munny design
A common thread
- The artists that you will find listed here have more in common than just toy design. The similarities in content are no accident either. These are artists whose place in the modern art world is as sure as any other "highbrow" artist, if not more so. This is art that was bred from cartoons and nursed by video games, a true product of the times. Despite the innocence of its roots, however, this art has a very dark side. Do you want to know what happens when the cartoon world meets the harsh truths of the real world? Find out from the artists listed below.
The Artists and Designers
- Luke Chueh
- This guy is an awsome artist. He produces some of the most grim and disturbed images possible with such cuddly characters.
- Joe Ledbetter
- One of the best character designers around, his stuff sells unbelievably fast. Nice gallery on this site.
- Dalek
- An east coast graffitti artist turned internationally respected artist. This guy has quite a following for his space monkeys, not to mention his toy lines. If you like Takashi Murakami, then you'll like Dalek.
- Blaine Fontana
- A West Coast artist doing very nice work. His stuff is hard to describe but it's definately cool.
- Gary Baseman
- A prolific designer in the toy scene. This guy puts out some crazy designs that are instantly recognizable.
- David Horvath
- The creator of Ugly Dolls... Need I say more?
- Jeff Soto
- This guys art is awsome, I'm liking it more and more as I see his newest pieces. Check out the photos below!
- Thomas Han
- The art of Thomas Han. His work is very reminiscent of the LA graf artist Buffmonster. Very trippy stuff here.
- Greg 'Craola' Simkins
- An incredible artist who rethinks the pop culture worlds and characters that we think we know.
Books and Toys by Our Favorite Artists
Dunny Azteca Series: 1 Ramdonly Picked From Blind Box
Amazon Price: (as of 10/08/2008)
Trexi PLUS Series 2 - Blind Box
Amazon Price: (as of 10/08/2008)
Vinyl Will Kill: An Inside Look At The Designer Toy Pheomenon
A really nice book detailing the big names in the industry. Nice Pictures.
Amazon Price: (as of 10/08/2008)
Sonic Order Of Happiness
Full page images of some of Dalek's best paintings. Very nice.
Amazon Price: (as of 10/08/2008)
Pop Surrealism: The Rise Of Underground Art
A very good look at the full spectrum of underground artists.
Amazon Price: $39.15 (as of 10/08/2008)
Buy toys on Ebay!
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
The Dealers
- Kidrobot
- One of the best toy stores around for designer toys. Everything from mini figures to plushies and clothing too. These guys are the creators of Dunny, Munny, and Icebot toys. They are the heavy hitters of the U.S. toy world.
- Qeester
- The home of qee. The best gallery of past present and special edition qee, and a store too.
- My Plastic Heart
- A good designer toystore arranged by toy manufacturer.
- Urban Vinyl
- Nice store that doesn't jack up the prices on out dated toys.
- Munky King
- A really cool store with good site layout. They have all sorts of unusual stuff.
- Giant Robot
- This is the store for the magazine Giant Robot. They have a surprisingly extensive range of toys and other goodies to choose from.
- Vinyl Abuse
- It's a magazine! Featuring articles about the artists in the scene and upcoming toys... not a store though, sorry.
- Ebay
- A treasure trove of toys for the collectors out there, you just can't leave it out.
- Playlounge
- For those of you in the UK, this site has an odd layout but a ton of cool toys.
- ToyMonsterz
- A nice site with lots of stuff. You can even preorder the soon to be released toys!
- Freebento
- Another nice store that will have some things that are rarely imported into the US.
- Toy Tokyo
- One of the best designer toy stores in New York. Lot's of good stuff to choose from here.
Pictures of the Art
Jeff Soto piece
Dalek Graffiti Piece
Joe Ledbetter
Luke Chueh
Joe Ledbetter
Jeff Soto piece
Art Galleries
It's Always Better in Person
- Jonathan Levine Gallery NYC
- This is one of my favorite galleries in the city. Check out the pictures of their currrent exhibition below.
- Copro Nason Gallery
- Santa Monica Gallery that always brings in amazing artists.
- Gallery 1988
- Another California Gallery that puts on some amazing shows. Check them out for new prints and art for sale.
- Ox Op Galllery
- Minneapolis Gallery that pulls in the best of both coasts.
- Gallery Nucleus
- These guys are awsome. They bring in amazing artists and put out some awsome prints. Nice store here.
