"Rules of Customizing"

I came up with this while I was working on my figure for the Custom Celebration, what "rules" do I try to follow when I'm customizing? Not set in stone rules, but rather things I've noticed myself doing over and over without realizing it. Here's what I've come up with so far:

1. Original Characters- Most of my work tends to be characters I've come up with myself. In fact, the only established character I have done so far has been a Lightfoot in the outfit he wore while going through the GI Joe corse with Budo and Repeator. I enjoy the concept of dreaming up a character, building and painting the figure, and coming up with a backstory for them.

2. No "Expensive" Parts- What I mean by that are any parts from hard to find or high dollar figures, especially army builders. Part of the collector in me doesn't want to sacrifice any parts for customizing that might be part to get again. What I do to get around that is to make castings of any part like that, like the Viper heads for my Strikeforce Viper team. So far it has worked pretty good, as about the only parts a can't cast are the arm, just too many parts.

3. Finish What You Start- Probably the hardest one for me. When I start a figure I'm full of enthusiasm, but about halfway through I start to second guess everything, which makes it harder to keep going. That happened a lot with the figures I took to the convnetion, which is why I started them in February, and even them I worked on them all the way up to the day I left for the convention.

4. Use only Broken Figures as Donors- Sort of a follow-up to #2, I just hate to use figures with no broken parts for my customs. Fortunately I have a large stockpile of parts for lot I have bought off eBay, which always seem to include several figures with broken thumbs or waists. I'm even hesitant to use figures like Mirage or Big Ben, which I have dozens of.

Well, that's what I came up with, does anyone else out there have rules they follow?

1. Original Characters- Most of my work tends to be characters I've come up with myself. In fact, the only established character I have done so far has been a Lightfoot in the outfit he wore while going through the GI Joe corse with Budo and Repeator. I enjoy the concept of dreaming up a character, building and painting the figure, and coming up with a backstory for them.

This is where I'm trending now. Creating my own original characters gives me more freedom and creativity than trying to re-create someone established (even with things like Shannara, I sometimes look to add my own spin, if possible).

2. No "Expensive" Parts- What I mean by that are any parts from hard to find or high dollar figures, especially army builders. Part of the collector in me doesn't want to sacrifice any parts for customizing that might be part to get again. What I do to get around that is to make castings of any part like that, like the Viper heads for my Strikeforce Viper team. So far it has worked pretty good, as about the only parts a can't cast are the arm, just too many parts.

Not being much of a collector means I pretty much ignore this one. One rule I did have for a long time was to set aside rare or hard -to-find parts for "that special custom", which led to me never using them! If I do use them, however, I try to put a bit more effort into the custom to make it a "worthy" sacrifice of said parts.

4. Use only Broken Figures as Donors- Sort of a follow-up to #2, I just hate to use figures with no broken parts for my customs. Fortunately I have a large stockpile of parts for lot I have bought off eBay, which always seem to include several figures with broken thumbs or waists. I'm even hesitant to use figures like Mirage or Big Ben, which I have dozens of.

This is how I largely started out when I got back into the hobby, but since then have built up so many whole figures (sometimes with many duplicates) that I no longer bother. In fact some of the fun for me is taking apart those whole figures; it gives me a personal sense of satisfaction I can't explain, but I think harkens back to rule #2 above about "special customs."


Most of my rules beyond that mirror the general rules of the hobby I posted a while back, but I think I can add some more:

1. Try to stick to my original vision for a character. Too often I'll get started, and then change a part or color scheme to match some idea I thought would look better--only to find out it doesn't, and necessitating more work. To that end I like to take it slow and "roll the idea around" in my head a bit before committing to a course. Not that I always manage to hold myself to this rule...

2. Never "settle". If I don't like how a custom looks, I won't say, "Well, that's tough, that's all there is" anymore. I might set it up as is but I will always be looking for a way to improve it, make it more like what I had in mind. Currently I've got several on the table that are being broken down and redone to improve upon the original idea and bring them more into line with what I wanted, but at the time didn't have the parts/skill to do.

3. Try to sand BEFORE I paint. I have a bad habit of slapping paint on to see how something looks--and then continuing to do so, only to have to go back and sand some part (say, a joint), and risk ruining the paint job. To that end I'm forcing myself to slow it down, test and fix areas that need to be sanded first, THEN move on to the painting.

Hmm, can't think of any others at the moment...those are pretty much the golden ones.

[pluv]

I think I've broken all of your rules.

For me it is a bit different.
1) Figure out what I want to do first. Sometimes putting random parts together can give me ideas but I need something more solid to really create something.

2) Always try something new. Striaght up repaints are really hard for me to do. I always want to try something different whether it is a new paint technique, an idea to make a part look different, or use one of the many great ideas from guys on the board. I want to push myself.

3) Have fun. If it feels like work then figure out why I'm doing it and how I can make it fun again. I've started a lot of customs only to set them aside until I'm interested in doing them again. I've also taken apart nearly completed customs because I wasn't into them anymore. Completing a custom for the sake of checking it off "To Do" list doesn't interest me at all.

I know I broke those rules, especially rule number 2. You don't want to know how many customs I made from all those '97 , '98 Joes and Cobras. If it was arctic white or nightforce black, it was sooo forfeit to my needs.

My best rule now is don't let the exemplary talent here make you stop due to fear. I get blown away all the time when I see the multitude of customs made by these guys and gals, and a touch daunted because I know I can never hit that level.
But then I remember, if I don't make the custom I want or need, I will never have it. This goes doubly if someone happens to beat me to a custom. I remember when Mercer whipped the freckles off me with one of the most kick ass Blade customs I had seen. I couldn't begin on mine because I knew it would suck in comparison. I should have made it anyway, because I could have really whipped up a sweet dio around it. But now, I know I can and will try, because it isn't a competition, but a great place for customs and one HELLUVA talent pool to draw from.

1) If making a custom of an existing character, use as few parts from existing figures of that character as possible: I've broken this one with both of my last customs (Regal Serpentor and Storm Shadow from the CCII challenge thread), but typically I like to avoid using parts from existing versions of a character, especially heads. And it takes a lot to make me do a direct repaint.

2) Make it unique, while staying true to the character: I like to give my customs my own personal touch, but I want to keep the essence of the character. For instance, with my Mindbender custom, I kept the whole mad-scientist feel without using a look that Hasbro has ever used for him.

3) Steal, but steal well: I'm all for taking other people's ideas, but only if they fit in with the feel of my other customs (if I'm doing a larger project), and I ALWAYS try to add enough of my own touches, so that the custom is not a direct rip-off.

4) Don't buy it if you can make it: Don't misunderstand me, I love the work of the GTG store, Alyosha, and our own head shrinkers. But whenever I use parts purchased from them (and I'm talking custom-sculpted things, not just direct repros), I feel like I'm cheating. Whenever possible, I like my customs to be 100% my own work. It's just a personal preference, and I have broken it a few times. It's also not one that I hold others to, as I've seen many folks do very unique and amazing things with custom cast parts.

5) I must like the custom: I'll admit, I'm a feedback whore. I love getting other people's opinions on my work. But after a long time, I've decided that what is most important is whether or not I like the custom. I'm the one who has to live with it on my shelf, after all. I find that I enjoy the process a lot more when I just worry about what I like instead of thinking about what other people will like once I post the pics.

6) Try to do something new with every custom: I'm always trying to grow as a customizer. I know I will never be an iwbeta, or Dark Horse, or Mundo, or Dark Wynter, or Spectre, or any of the rest of the upper-echelon customizers, but that doesn't stop me from trying to improve with every custom I make. So I always try to do something I haven't done before. The vehicle I made for my Crystal Ball custom was my first completed vehicle that wasn't just a repaint. The Storm Shadow I'm making now is the first custom I've done that has required me to pop one of the 25th figures open.

Those are mine.

My biggie:

NEVER USE THE COLLECTION FOR FODDER!

I broke this one so many times when I first started customizing 15 years ago, and now I have very few of my original childhood toys (that were in otherwise good-excellent condition). The worst part is that since the customs sucked, the figures ended up being beyond salvaging.

Nowadays, I spend a lot of time planning customs (methodically choosing parts, picking paint schemes, etc.), and if I can't find the perfect piece, I refuse to go into my collection and get it. It's either I use a duplicate, or I don't make the figure until I can find a suitable replacement, if ever. In any given year, I'll end up spending more on fodder than my actual display figures...

1. I too, tend to make my own characters, unless I feel that I have the best updated look for an already made character or that I've made a custom, and found that it looks very similar to an already existing character. – Just saves me from writing a back story


2. This one isn't truly a rule; it just seems to always happen. I almost always try to change the look of a figure so it’s very hard to tell the parts.


3. Like WLN said, never use from my personal collection. Even if the figure is broken, and the paint is almost none-existent. Too many childhood memories would vanish.


4. Almost every part will have a use someday, I'm not afraid to tear apart a custom, because I know - no matter what I do... no matter how much I mess up, the parts will be used eventually on another project.

I might have more, but that’s about it.

[The Spectre]

My personal "Rules Of Customizing" (in no particular order):

1) Always do something original. Do not jump on any bandwagons. In the Star Wars customizing community it has happened a few times, first was the Astromech craze of '95 and '96 in which nothing but custom R2 series droids were produced. The following year brought the beginning of a 4 year onslaught of Mandoloreans. For the last few years it's been Clones (although Mandos are beginning to make a comeback...). The biggest problem in limiting yourself to any one faction is that you will be constrained by the established aesthetics of that faction and not allowing for much growth as a creator or as a customizer. Also, the majority of the people doing these "fad customs" did nothing but their fad of choice and quickly burned out and left the hobby. If you are going to partake of any fad, be sure to still do more diverse work as well to avoid burnout.

2) Customize for your own enjoyment, do not worry about if anyone else will like it. As long as it makes you happy, go for it. Even though I love seeing feedback on my customs, ultimately I am doing them for myself.

3) NOTHING is too "rare" or "expensive" to be used as fodder. Anything and everything is fair game. I have used many a piece that has almost given collectors a coronary when they found out, but if it was something that I needed to use, it got used.

4) Look outside of regular toys for parts, some of the best parts are "found items". Parts form broken electronics, hardware bitz, you name it and I've used it.

5) Always keep learning and developing your personal customizing skills. I have been customizing since 1983 and I am still learning new techniques and tricks all of the time. Like any artform, it is a constant learning exercise.

6) Customizing is not a contest, there are no winners (unless you are actually in a customizing competition though ), just enjoy your hobby.

7) Do not be daunted by what others have done before you, even if the same character or concept has been done by someone else, put your own spin on it and really make it stand out.

8) Take your time and do not rush. I have seen alot of customs go south because they were rushed into completion

9) Do not "settle", work on the custom until you are actually happy with it.

10) Don't be afraid to "think big", no matter how ambitious a project looks, it can be done if you prepare and approach the project realistically.

11) Keep a good-sized "fodder bank". I have over 1000 3 3/4" figures (all different lines), several thousand accessories, and over 300 vehicles of all sizes and shapes (all amassed over the last 8 or 9 years) set aside just to be used in customs. Remember, the clearance aisle is your friend

12) Plan ahead. The pirate-based "Deep Sea Danger!" line I am currently working on was created and designed almost 2 years ago. As I work on them, I am planning out another large line for 2009 (the large line for 2008 was designed last year). My "Stargate"/"Star Wars" crossover from last fall was almost 10 years in the making (2 sequel lines were designed at the same time and are being prepped for next fall and fall 2009).

13) Every custom should have a "reason to exist" outside of just looking cool. I try to give just about everything I do a backstory. The only time I deviate from this is if I am making some random background Rebel pilots or troopers unless they play a larger part in my Universe. Sometimes the backstory takes on a life of it's own and actually makes me improve the figure's design as I am working on it (A'hks from "Through The 'Gate, Lies Adventure..." and Gurgles from "Deep Sea Danger!" come instantly to mind ).

14) Safety first! After accidentially severing the tip of my right middle finger last year while working on "Through The 'Gate, Lies Advenure...", I have redoubled my efforts to put my safety first and foremost while customizing. I still suffer the occasional X-acto cut (just got one Monday while carving out part of a "Deep Sea Danger!" droid that you will all get to see next week or the week after depending on how fast I recover from my surgeries), but not nearly as many, nor anywhere near as serious, as previous "accidents" have been.

15) This is probably the most important one- never limit your imagination! The imagination has an unlimited special effects budget, so go hog wild. I hate it when people tell me that there is no believable way Batman can exist in the Star Wars Universe, or that there is no way to link Stargate, the Lord Of The Rings, and G.I.Joe to Star Wars. No matter what Universe (or Universes) you work in, if you can imagine it, it can be done.

1. Original Characters! From time to time, I'll redo or tweak an existing character, even if it's something ranging from a head swap to a complete repaint. But the bulk of my customs are new characters. I rant quite frequently about Hasbro's failure to create new characters and creating customs is about the only way to get around it.

2. Update or improve an existing character. Some existing figures need something to make me happy. It might be as simple as painting a touch here or there or as complicated (for lack of a better word) as re-imagining a character's appearance. But if Hasbro's done a good job on figure, I leave it alone. I doubt if I'll ever make a custom of Keel Haul, one of the best RAH figures ever made.

3. Vehicles need drivers. Hasbro's put out a lot of vehicles that need drivers. No reason not to create the characters. Likewise, I also look to the Military Channel for ideas, too. I also talk to my friends and family members that are/were in the military. I've found that asking stupid civilian questions, like "hey, who would do this?" leads to the creation of characters.

4. 3 major colors scheme, plus one or two detail colors. This is an artistic design approach to creating figures and it's very unrealistic, but it works. In real life, a soldier/marine will have lots of the same color, like green, but it's not all the same green. This part of the webgear will be a bit darker than that part, or a sheath will be a flat green instead of a glossy green. When I paint a figure, I "dumb down" the colors to just one green to make it easier for the eye to tell that things go together. This is typically the approach Hasbro uses on figures, going back to '82 and it works well. Too many colors can ruin a figure quickly.

5. "Modify"! Any figure tweaked with a bit of dremel work or some plumber's epoxy makes it more unique than just assembling parts does. I don't do this on all my customs, but I've found it's hard to not do it now.

Yeah, I break every one of them rules routinely. Rules can go hang, the custom's needs must be met. If I need a figure of an established character, I make a figure of an established character. If he needs the left wrist piece from a $40 figure, he gets the left wrist piece from a $40 figure. If I need to let a figure sit for a few weeks before finishing him, he sits for a few weeks. And if I have to go buy a brand new fig for him, I buy a brand new fig for him. The custom's needs must be met, not some arbitrary set of rules made to satisfy nothing more than a need to follow some rules for their own sake.

Yeah, I break every one of them rules routinely. Rules can go hang, the custom's needs must be met. If I need a figure of an established character, I make a figure of an established character. If he needs the left wrist piece from a $40 figure, he gets the left wrist piece from a $40 figure. If I need to let a figure sit for a few weeks before finishing him, he sits for a few weeks. And if I have to go buy a brand new fig for him, I buy a brand new fig for him. The custom's needs must be met, not some arbitrary set of rules made to satisfy nothing more than a need to follow some rules for their own sake.

I don't think he means "These are the rules that must be followed!" I think he more means:

Not set in stone rules, but rather things I've noticed myself doing over and over without realizing it.

Not trying to be contrary, these are my basic rules:

1) Remain faithful to a version of a character. I don't care for customs that show, say, Iron Man with wings on his head. I don't remember ever seeing IM with wings on his head, so in my book, he shouldn't have 'em. A customizer may say that's his interpretation of the character, and that's fine, but I don't care for it. I'd rather mine look more like the original source.

2) Build a library of molds. I often find I can make a latex mold of a part on an existing character if I need a duplicate and cast it in resin to preserve the original figure.

3) Don't be limited by looking only at others' customs. Read a book or magazine. Watch a movie or TV show, especially some Discovery or National Geographic shows. There's gold in them there sources.

4) Make sure it's a subject you're really interested in. If things get tough, it helps to care about the final result. If you want to keep it when it's done, you're in pretty good shape.

5) Parts have to work. If you're doing a helicopter custom, the rotors have to spin. Doors must open on cars, and the figures have to fit in 'em. Sometimes the hardest part of a vehicle custom is simply engineering the parts so everything fits and works together. Working parts seem to add a touch of fun to the proceedings for me.

6) Don't worry about the "To Do" list. In a perfect world, I'll live to be about 140 so I can build everything on my lists. Sadly, even if I were to live that long, I wouldn't have space to store all the projects, and I'd just end up adding stuff to the list.

Spectre,

Putting batman in starwars is a cool idea, but you need a real challenge, put darkwing duck in star wars and I'll be impresed,


I only have one rule, have fun with it, if it starts to be a chore, find a new hobby.

[joemichaels70]

I only have one rule, have fun with it, if it starts to be a chore, find a new hobby.

Amen, brother.

It's great to see others peoples "Rules" are as diverse as their customs. The whole custom celebration go tme thinking about what I do and how different it is from other customizers. No wonder this is the best GI Joe site on the 'net!