Eric Nocella
Eric Nocella Diaz has been sculpting professionally for over 12 years. He has worked on high profile projects with major toy companies such as ToyBiz, Mcfarlane Toys, ToysRus, Hasbro, Kidrobot and Ka-Ching Brands. Some of the licensed projects he has worked on for those companies range from the Beatles Yellow Submarine toy line, E.T., Preschool Spiderman, Classic Avengers, LOTR, FLCL to the Video Game Award crowned monkey trophy for Spike TV. He is also a co-publisher, art director and editor of independent comicbooks through Xmoor Studios.
You probably own several figures that went through Eric. Maybe you’ve got some of Jared Deal’s Carnival Cartoons, Southpark toys, KaNO’s Moneygrips or a Huck Gee Skullhead? Eric’s most recent project is Argonaut Resins, where he creates low-run, high-quality resins of his own designs and in conjunction with other artist friends. He does most of the sculpting, casting and molding but the painting is completed by collaborating artists. These limited resin figures give the artists freedom to do whatever they want without being locked into 100-500+ pieces as in vinyl.
The Contest
We’re premiering custoMONDAY with the first Argonaut Resins figure: CellPhonesKill [tagged]. About CPK, Eric said: “The CPK was just a silly idea I had in my head after seeing the news one day. Every station had a story on how cellphones are killing us slowly and how the younger generation is at higher risk since they are exposed at such an early age. That made me wonder what a killer cell phone would look look like, and I came up with the CPK idea.” I’m a big fan of this figure, and I even took mine on a photo-shoot around my neighborhood last month.
How to Win
Now, thanks to Eric, you can stage your own CPK glamour shots. Eric has fashioned a red hot Picante CPK exclusively for ToyCyte’s custoMONDAY project. The figure is a one-off with a unique rear etching and will be signed by Eric. Want to win it? There are two ways to enter, but there can only be one winner, crowned by Eric (and a little help from ToyCyte staff should there need to be a tie-breaker).
- The Artistic Way: Download the CPK template (scroll down to the bottom) and spruce it up however you wish. Color outside the lines, add accessories…then email it back to me. Be sure to include your name. I will upload all entries.
- The Wordsmith Way: Create a brief bio of Picante (ie. who he is, where he comes from, why he’s got that name, how come he’s so angry, etc.) in the comments section below.
All entries must be received/posted by Sunday, November 2nd at 12PM PST. The lucky winner will be announced Monday 11/3 right before the next custoMONDAY giveaway. And don’t forget, for another opportunity to sink your teeth into an original E.N.D. art toy, Eric and Jared’s Vlad the vampire figure drops in a limited edition of 13 on Halloween.
Where to find Eric on the Internets:
- The E.N.D. portal contains sites for sculpture services, promotions, toys and publishing: http://www.goldmane.net
- The blog arm of Goldmane Entertainment: http://end-arthammer.blogspot.com
- “X” stands for Exceptional and “MOOR” — Look it up…http://www.xmoorstudios.com
- Eric’s work on deviantART: http://arthammer.deviantart.com
- Eric’s latest endeavor for low-run, high-quality resins: http://argonautsresin.blogspot.com
- GET MERCH HERE! http://argonautresins.bigcartel.com
Here’s What You’re Playing For…
Download the CPK template (below) and go to town on it for a chance to win CPK Picante (above).
Eric’s laboratory…
**********************CONTEST ENTRIES***********************
- James Anthony Huang of the Phillipines (received Saturday, 11/1 at 9:52PM PST)
- Voodoo Lou (received Sunday, 11/2 at 3:16PM PST, just past the deadline but highly fantastic anyway!)
October 28th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Picante bio:
Who he is: one red hot cell phone that will f**k you up if you let his battery run dry…
Come from: Leader of the CPS (cell phone shankers)… innovator of wireless ass-whoopin. Is fed up witht he way people were “using” his brothers and sisters as garbage::: Losing them when owners are drunk, throwing them at the wall when arguing with someone, etc etc.
Name originated: His wise-ass owner “accidentally” dropped him in some pico de gallo, so Picante “accidentally” shanked him
Angry because:
“Im so sick of all you mo-fo’s droppin me in the toilet when ur drunk…its payback time beyatches”
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:40 am
this custoMonday idea should be fun
November 3rd, 2008 at 3:52 pm
CONGRATS to Chris Drag whose bio made Eric and the rest of us laugh. You have won the Picante. However, Eric is gonna send the two artists a prize for their time too. “Everyone’s a winner on ToyCyte.”