What do you get when you combine art talent, a love for custom figures and videogames: Erick Scarecrow. I was lucky enough to sit down and chat with Erick at the DKE Toys booth before his signing. He is one of the nicest people ever. Read and discover the coolness that is Scarecrow and imagine us laughing most of the time.
Girls Entertainment Network: Thank you so much for taking the time have a chat with me. First, can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?
Erick Scarecrow: My name is Erick Scarecrow, founder and President of ESC Toys Unlimited. What I basically do is produce and design collectibles that are vinyl, resin and plush. Not only do I do those for myself, I do them for other companies and designers.
GEN: Before we started recording we were talking about you doing figures for other companies. You stated that you will be doing the figure of Drake for Uncharted 2. Can you tell us a little about that?
ESC: Yeah, I was approached by Sam Thompson of Sony who is a collector as well. He asked me if I was interested in doing a figure for the main character Drake. I said for sure. For the initial figure I had sketched out a few different versions of a couple realistic types and then something that represented more of the vinyl genre. I did the vinyl one so last minute but I instinctively felt that I should include that sketch. Sure enough that is the one they chose. What has been really cool too is the reaction from the people who played the first one. They have been so positive and receptive.
GEN: They Love you.
ESC: Well ya but I’m a gamer too, so for me to translate a videogame character into a figure is great. Especially when the people are so receptive to it. It is awesome and I am just really happy to be involved with that.
GEN: This is kind of your first videogame figure you have done for a company, but many of your own figures are influenced by game characters. What are your favorite videogames?
ESC: As of right now I have been putting a lot of ours into Resident Evil 5.
GEN: Wait you haven’t beaten it yet?
ESC: I beat it. I have been playing a lot of the mercenaries. It is so bad-ass and Wesker with that magnum is awesome.
GEN: For sure. If there was a zombie infestation you would want Wesker on your side.
ESC: No, see I am Wesker. So you need to be on my side!
GEN: Okay well when a biochemical spill happens we are coming to you. So are you must be a Final Fantasy fan?
ESC: Oh yeah definitely. I recently played the one that just came out for the DS. I think it was number four. Oh my god I don’t remember. I have played so many of them. It is the one with the two kids and one is a bad-ass sorcerer. I don’t know.
GEN: Haha, there are a lot to keep track of. It’s all good. Now you hand paint all your figures right?
ESC: Yep. It is a process. Certain days I will paint just one color. Like Monday I paint the black, Tuesday the red and blue and Wednesday the white. I do it in layers. This way it is less stressful for me and I can work on different projects as well.
GEN: So you run ESC Toys. Do you guys only make your own figures or do you make other company’s or artist’s toys?
ESC: Yeah we have produced things for a lot of different people: Scott Olson, Curster, Super Juicy Chicken, Tall Tails, KANO, Carnival Figures by Jared Deal and a bunch others.
GEN: Other than Drake, do you have any other figures coming out?
ESC: This is the first year I have been releasing figures month to month. I have also been working on having more China and Japan exclusives. So the figures I release here, there are color variants available only over there which are really hard to get. I am happy because I am getting recognition over seas as well. The collectors over there are awesome.
GEN: Many of your figures are very limited. Do you plan on doing any larger editions?
ESC: I just did a figure that was mass produced called Medusa. But what I like about doing the limited hand
crafted figures is the connection to the collector. I know a lot of collectors and they appreciate the craftsmanship.
GEN: Has a company like Kidrobot come to you to do a mini series of your characters or would you be interested in that?
ESC: Yeah absolutely. I am gonna see if I can release a blind box series for NYCC next year. My first mini series I worked on was with a guy named FOOX and the series was called Organ Donors. But I have worked with Kidrobot on a documentary and they gave my 110% and when an opportunity like that comes along I will give them back 110%.
GEN: I have heard from other people that Kidrobot is a great company to work with.
ESC: Especially the Toy Baroness. She is really cool. I am just happy to be working with cool people.
GEN: It is nice to work with people who have that similar passion. I was talking to another colleague about how the toy world is so much more intimate. It isn’t like when you meet an actor because you only know them for who they play, not for who they really are. There is something different and special about it when you buy a figure. You feel as if you are close to the artist because many collectors are artists in their own right. You feel connected to the artist some how on a deeper level.
ESC: They are a special kind of crowd. People will see things differently than others and they are so receptive. Don’t get me wrong though, there are some people who want to turn it into a bitch-fest (favorite new word) but that happens in any industry. Which is fine but it is such a good thing to meet the collectors face to face. That is why I came to these things.
GEN: Well for me as I collector it is important for me to meet and get a better feel for who the artist is. For the most part everyone is really cool and very nice to their fans. There is that mutual respect that you don’t find in many industries. It is refreshing.
ESC: I can tell you now that I don’t have any type of ego. When I started doing this I started from nothing. I got fired in 2005 and the economy wasn’t what it is now but I mean I had nothing. To work up to this level I can’t be anything but thankful to meet everyone and be apart of this.
GEN: You put your sweat, blood and tears into this and most of us that collect don’t have a lot of money. So we work hard to get your hard work. It is a nice trade off. I just think it is awesome.
ESC: Yeah and when you can transition to a company like Sony because they see this as something they want to branch out to that is really cool. So don’t be surprised to see my characters in a videogame. I think it could be a good transition.
GEN: Oh we need a game of your art style. You talk to your people and I’ll talk to mine and we will make this happen. But really I want to thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it!
ESC: Thank you too. This was great.
You now understand why I enjoyed me interview time so much with Erick. A really talented yet grounded dude. Check out Erick’s website and the mini series Organ Donors by FOOX. We will be excited to see and hear more about Scarecrow’s future endeavors. Thanks again Erick. You Rock!!!
August 2nd, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Cool beans! His stuff looks awesome.
That is one of the cutest pictures ever at the end. Great job on the interview!
August 2nd, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Nick likes the Medusa figure as much as I do! And I am going to have to nab the Uncharted figure!! Great interview!
August 5th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Wait, he played the Final Fantasy with the two kids and the badass sorcerer? Doesn’t sound like any FF I know of.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Final Fantasy with kids and badass sorcerers? Not ringing any bells.
Good job, Ash!
August 5th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Nice read and photo. The game sounds like FF4. Twins Palom/Porom. As far as sorcerers he probably means Fusoya or Tellah. It isn’t hard to tell that he is a FF follower look at the first Papa Sama release. It screams Moogle.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:10 am
He did mean FF4. Also, the LV 9999 Papa Sama was based on his dog. A Maltese/poodle mix. But yes it is awesome he made it look like a moggle.