Erick Scarecrow is definitely a man to keep your eye on in today’s vinyl toy market. Without taking a breath from his recent profoundly successful release of his new Liberty vinyl toy at SDCC, in the past week he has not only announced the release of another plush toy series slated for June including a DIY version and a DIY artists’ show to kick it all off! I’ve just finished up an interview with the man himself and I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know him as I did.

Bio ———————————————————————————————–

My first question to you is, can you tell me a little about yourself?

ES: I am the founder of ESC-TOY LTD. I draw, write, and supervise my own and outside projects. I’m also in talks with several networks and a software developer/ publisher for another property called “Mash-Out!” I generally need 8 hours of sleep.

8 hours of sleep, as if that’s possible. LOL.

Okay besides the 8 hours of sleep, describe your typical day.

ES: My day starts with me thanking God! Then my assistant Tadone gets breakfast. We talk about TV shows, music, videogames, movies and toys then it goes down to business. Check my planner, confirm scheduled appointments, check emails and voicemails, review random post-its that are around my studio, go over designs and client projects, make sure shipments are on route or have been delivered, take time out to chat with fans in the forums, chill with my family, listen to some music, check out the vinyl and entertainment sites, check emails and voicemails, send Tadone to get lunch, make room for creative time, and then take some periodic time outs to breathe because I can’t believe I’m running Esc-Toy Ltd. LOL!

What does your office and/or studio look like? Obviously not full of cubes like I’m used to, LOL.

ES: My studio at times will look like a mad scientist’s lab. I’m constantly reviewing new merchandise, projects and big boxes are always coming in.

How did you end up in the designer toy scene?

ES: I ended up on the designer toy scene full time when I lost my job back in 2003 to an undisclosed toy company.

You are clearly a man that has done a lot to get where he is today. It makes me curious, what was your life like before toys, I mean, besides the loss of a job, there must have been things that have influenced you, that made you the type of person who can achieve what you have! Can you tell me what you think those influences were?

ES: I’ve done a few things but there’s so much more for me to do. I’m on a journey that I really look forward to. Again I really thank God for it. As far as influences, there are many. I would have to narrow them down to the main one and that’s the attitude to never quit. My pop used to always influence me not to give up. I’ve learned at a very young age that you have to go and fight for whatever you want. “If the dream is in your heart, the action is in your grasp”. I’m very aggressive. Whether it’s toys or to get a cartoon/game picked up. If I believe in it, I’ll push it hard.

You mentioned early on that you write, draw.. etc. What mediums do you work in for the most part?

ES: Wow. That’s pretty hard to single out because I’m so used to doing a lot but for the most part I have to say drawing and writing.

When you do most of your creating, designing and such, do you like working primarily with traditional tools then digitizing or do you jump into working right from Photoshop, Illustrator and the like?

ES: Most of my design is done the traditional way, pencil sketches, inking with tech pens or brushes. I do like working with the traditional tools because it’s much faster for me to capture or express an idea.

What kinds of things inspire you?

ES: Many things inspire me. Primarily nature and other cultures from around the world but I have to say commercial art in a mass really does it. Put video games, cartoons, comics, and toys and press blend.

You’ve probably been asked this a million times. I am sure there are many, but who are the artists that have influenced you the most in your lifetime?

ES: My inspiration is broken down into 2 categories. The first when I was younger I used to love watching cartoons. I was all over Tom & Jerry and Heckle and Jeckle. Anything that had a cartoon and colors I was there. One of the things that really help me develop my skills was tracing Sunday Newspaper cartoon strips. Then I got into comics. I spent a great deal of time studying artists such as Todd Mcfarlane, Rob Liefeld, Marc Silvestri, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Art Adams, John Romita Jr., Jae Lee and Steve Ditko. In the neighborhood I used live in, I used to see graffiti and that used to inspire me as well. Then as I became a teenager I was introduced to anime and that changed everything. I remember seeing Fist of the North Star on VHS and after it was done. I was staring at the TV and wanted to rewind the tape to see it again. LOL!

I don’t know about you, but I am always looking at other people’s work to gain inspiration, along with just the real world life going on. What do you do when you are looking for inspiration for that next great piece of art?

ES: For inspiration I do two things, I go over past artwork or go back to my memories of my childhood and forget about everything around me. From there I launch my brain into the next solar system! I can be staring at the clouds and be light years away. My daydreaming skills have paid off! I love it!

Specific projects / work ———————————————————————————————–


Since the Shiitake series is due out this coming June along with the greatly anticipated Shiitake Parade, I think people may be curious to hear some more about them. I’ve been interested in your upcoming Shiitake series for awhile. They seem to be popping up in blogs here and there. They are an interesting idea for a plush/clip-on toy, and I’m sure they are going to be very popular. What gave you the idea to use Shiitake Mushrooms for the design springboard?

ES: Thanks, last year I did a custom Munny for a gallery show. One of my Munny’s accessories was a mushroom. I wanted to do something different by giving character to the mushroom. For the duration of the show people asked me to just to buy the mushroom. I wanted to sell it as a set with the figure. As time went on I got even more inquiries from people that were just interested in buying the mushroom. So I knew I had something there but at the time I didn’t know what to do with it. After some thought I decided to develop my own line with it.

I know that the Shiitakes are coming very soon, and I’m excited to see the series. Is this your first plush series designed by you?

ES: Yes, the Shiitakes is my very first line of plush under the Erick Scarecrow / Esc-Toy banner. I’m very excited about the line as well.

How do you feel about the whole plush idea in comparison to Vinyl? Is it very different than a vinyl toy line?

ES: Well remember when I got into the toy scene I did plush for several years. Literally hundreds of them. Alot of those designs I did continue to sell around the world. Damn, even to places I haven’t even visited yet. I’ve always been very happy with plush. It’s much different than vinyl. All the way down to the demographics. I love having my work translated into both forms but plush has a special place in my heart.

Can you give me the names of the different types of Shiitakes that will be released initially and their description if there is one?

ES: Unfortunately, they escaped from me too soon before I could name them. Their experiment numbers are listed on their hangtags. They are very cunning. Hopefully after some Shiitakes sightings I can profile them on www.esctoy.com .

I find that the DIY plush is something I haven’t seen before, and it’s very intriguing. What made you think of creating a DIY of the Shiitakes?

ES: I never saw DIY plush either. One of the main reasons I did it was to share the creativity with other artists. I always find it interesting to see another artist’s take on existing work. Plus it’s fun to spread colorful fungus.
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Can we look forward to more plush designs from Erick Scarecrow in the near future?

ES: Yes, Mousey Micci landed on Earth a month ago and is still getting use to they way we do things over here. I’m trying to get him, her or it to go out in public by the summer. We’ll just have to wait and see…

I foresee you and your company really doing well this year, just looking at the few new sneak peeks at the stuff you are going to be putting out. Starting with the Liberty Vinyl, the places that I’ve been able to get a response on it have been pretty great. What gave you the idea to do a spin off of the Lady Liberty statue?

ES: I came up with the Liberty just as a graphic tee design back in 2000. I wanted to give Liberty my spin on it because I knew this would be something that a lot of people would be familiar with. She’s my symbol of artistic freedom and my mark on this scene. Thank you very much for the positive outlook on ESC and myself. There are a lot of big things coming.

What did the Liquis series start out as?

ES: The Liquis Series started out as a collection of graphic tee designs. It goes back as early as 1993. Since I was in high school I always wanted to do tees.

What is the Liquis series all about?

ES: The Liquis Series is a collection of urban art based on things that inspired me such as Hip-Hop, art, music, and etc.

Is the Liberty the only toy to be released so far based on that series?

ES: Yes the Liberty is the first toy to be released from the series. Still Depressed is slated for this year as well.

Are there others in the series that you’ve considered turning into vinyl?

ES: Yes there is, but it would spoil a lot if you knew what was coming.

What has been your favorite work that you’ve done?

ES: My favorite work that I have done is a project called “Mash-Out!” that involves an original story, game and over +60 characters that I developed from scratch. I put a lot of homework and hard work into it that dates back all the way to 1997.

I know that you can’t go into that too much at this point, but I’ll be honest, I’m absolutely intrigued with the few images I’ve seen and the (limited) information you’ve given me! I can’t wait to hear more and be able to hit you up for another interview on it!

ES: Definitely!!!!

Teasers ———————————————————————————————–

I’ve seen some of your customs in the past; Did you start out doing customs or jump right into producing toys from the beginning and happen to do customs along the way for kicks?

ES: The toy production part came first, and then I did some customs. I use to paint PVC toys in high school with an airbrush and acrylic. I thought it was a great idea just to repaint them. I had fun. Back then people were like “Wow. It’s pretty “but they didn’t buy them. For me that’s where it ended and then I got into tees. Last year I went back into toy customizing again. It felt good to bring out the “ye old airbrush” It’s something that’s familiar to me.

How many customs do you have at this point?

ES: I’ve done 6 customs. The “I’m Here” custom was the inspiration for the Shiitakes line. The 5 out of 6 custom toys I titled actually spell out a message.

You’ve mentioned before that the demand for your customs has risen. Are you considering selling your customs to interested people?

ES: As of now I’m holding off from selling them because I’ll want to do some more then display them in a private show. A Scarecrow Show….

What do you think is the biggest reason for the change in demand and the interest in your customs?

ES: The demand was there but it’s grown since the Liberty and Shiitakes’ preview. I’m happy because I see my audience is getting bigger, bigger and bigger.

Toy Industry ———————————————————————————————–

What is the toy manufacturing industry like? Can you take a moment to give us an idea what goes into running a production like yours

ES: Toy manufacturing is very interesting. I’ve been doing toys for 5 years now and I’ve learned a lot. I feel after a decade I could turnaround and answer that question with very colorful stories. But for now I can tell you what goes into my production. It’s a lot of back and forth. Communication is integral in overseas production. You have to be extremely clear and concise as you can be because the slightest oversight can mess up everything.

Is the miscommunication due at all to language barriers in today’s world? I’m sure many people tend to think that because of how large the global market has become that most of this has been overcome, but is that true?

ES: It’s not just the language; I feel it’s more of how an idea is expressed to another party. You have to be very clear and concise in a project.

Considering the overseas portion vs. domestic, what part of production is done domestically and how much is done overseas?

ES: Majority of the time, the designs are done domestically and the actual toy production is done overseas.

Do you think people understand the collectors, enthusiasts and especially the wanna-be toy moguls really understand the industry? That is, do they grasp the complexity of bringing a toy from an idea to production?

ES: As far as this industry, it’s hard to say. I’m still learning a lot and being that I come from a mass market setting a lot of people are telling me that designer toys are going to tank. But I believe it’s going to grow. As far as production, some of them do understand the complexity but then there are some that think it’s as simple as ordering a pizza pie. It’s a major misconception. There’s so much that goes into production. In fact go and hug your favorite toy maker because he or she has to deal with a lot.

I am with you – I see the industry growing. The collector’s market has been around for centuries and the designer toy industry is just its newest form.

Okay, say I’m a person who wants to get into the toy biz. What should I expect realistically?

ES: The reality of this business is sometimes there will be delays but don’t get discouraged. It’s the nature of this business and not too many folks in it or trying to get into it understand that. Toy production involves a big process that requires a lot of planning, communication, and one of my favorite words….patience.

Does someone who wants to get a toy produced need to think about getting themselves an industrial design degree, or is pure talent and artistic skill enough?

ES: For those interested in producing a toy, they can enroll at the Scarecrow School of Design. I’m kidding. Well there are different avenues that you can use to get into this industry. I don’t have an industrial design degree and I’m here. You really have to believe in what you’re doing and take the time to do your research. Patience and homework always help.

Outlook/Opinion ———————————————————————————————–

There are a lot of companies and individual creatives that you’ve worked with and are still working with some of which are on your page. So you’ve seen a lot of successful designers like yourself. Looking at this what do you think makes an artist stand out from the rest?

ES: I think what makes our clients stand out amongst each other is their undeniable individuality. Esc and myself are very happy to be working with them because they have so much to offer. They each have a unique perspective and direction they want to venture in. We’re glad to be apart of their dreams and goals for toy production. Plus I make some new friends and get some freebies.

In closing, I’d like to thank Erick for all of his insight into his work, the industry and of course for taking time out of what is obviously a very busy schedule.

Thank you Erick!

Interview by Sandman

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