Joy and Tom Studios

Last updated
Joy and Tom Studios
IndustryStatues and Collectibles
Founded1983
FounderJoy and Tom Snyder
Headquarters
ServicesSculpting, Design, Molding, Painting
Website http://www.joyandtomstudios.com/

Joy and Tom Studios, Inc. produces hand sculpted prototypes for the pre-painted statues and collectibles industry. The company, located in Sanford, Florida, was founded in 1983 by Joy and Tom Snyder. Their portfolio of work consists of many statues, busts, and portraits based on licensed properties from companies such as Disney, Warner Brothers, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and others. [1] In addition to their work in the collectibles industry, they have produced many sculpted and painted likenesses that have appeared on the stop-motion animated program Robot Chicken on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. [2]

Contents

History

Joy and Tom Snyder met while attending art school at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida where they both majored in fine art. [1] After graduating from art school in 1983, they married on June 4 of the same year and later formed Joy and Tom Studios, where they would provide artistic services in a number of different fields, including family portraiture and graphic design. [3] In the early 1990s they were approached about sculpting their first resin garage kit which marked the beginning of long, diverse sculpting careers for the artists.

Services

Joy and Tom Studios' sculpted works range in scale from 6" action figures to life size statues. [1] They work in several forms of sculpting media, including Super-Sculpey, Apoxy-Sculpt, Castilene, wax, fiberglass, and Styrofoam. [4] Their prototyping work also includes molding, build-up, and paint-mastering services. [3]

Statues and Collectibles

During the mid-to-late 1990s, Joy and Tom continued to do freelance sculpting work in the garage kit industry through their studio. These projects eventually led to their company obtaining sculpting work on prototypes for licensed statues and collectibles from several notable companies that produce licensed collectibles. [1]

Below is a partial list of some of Joy and Tom Studios' clients:

* Walt Disney Co. * Warner Brothers
* Universal Studios * Cartoon Network
* F.A.O. Schwartz * Dynamic Forces
* Bowen Designs * ReelArt Studios
* Tonner Doll Company * Art Asylum
* Diamond Select Toys * Plastic Earth
* Monogram International* Amok Time
* Sci-Fi Metropolis* Executive Replicas
* Go Hero

Licensed Work

Since beginning to work in the collectibles industry, Joy and Tom Studios have had their services utilized for a number of projects involving notable licenses from comics, television, and film. For many projects, Joy and Tom work directly with the owner of the license throughout the sculpting process to assure that the finished product meets their exact specifications. [5] Below is a partial list of some of the many licenses Joy and Tom Studios have worked with: [5]

* Disney * Warner Brothers
* DC Comics * Marvel Comics
* Star Wars * Star Trek
* Pirates of the Caribbean * Harry Potter
* Battlestar Galactica * Lost in Space
* Romero's Dead series * The Golden Compass
* Tarzan * Zorro
* Red Sonja * Lone Ranger
* Buck Rogers * Prince Valiant
* The Phantom * Grendel
* Sheena * Jungle Girl

2D Translation

Many of the collectibles that Joy and Tom Studios sculpt involve translating the work of notable comic book artists and illustrators into 3-dimensional statues. In many instances the original artist provides art direction as the statues are being made and is responsible for giving their final approval upon completion of the project. [6]

Below is a partial list of some of the many 2D artists whose work has been translated into statues and busts by Joy and Tom Studios: [5]

* Alex Ross * Michael Turner
* Frank Frazetta * George Pérez
* Matt Wagner * Frank Cho
* Joseph Michael Linsner * John Cassaday
* J. Scott Campbell * Hal Foster
* John Romita, Sr. * John Romita, Jr.
* Larry Elmore * J. Allen St. John
* William Stout * Gil Elvgren
* John Byrne

Likeness Sculpting

Much of the sculpting done by Joy and Tom Studios that is not based on comic book properties involves sculpting likenesses of notable actors, musicians, and public figures. The company has sculpted approximately 1,000 different portraits of famous individuals including more than 300 different likenesses that have appeared on the stop-motion animated program Robot Chicken. [1]

Of the many likenesses sculpted by Joy and Tom Studios, some of the notable public figures their work has been based on are listed below: [7]

* George W. Bush * Nicolas Cage * Ray Charles
* Chevy Chase * George Clooney * Stephen Colbert
* Gary Coleman * Sean Connery * Daniel Craig
* Tom Cruise * Matt Damon * Robert Downey Jr.
* Clint Eastwood * Harrison Ford * Mel Gibson
* Seth Green * Mark Hamill * Anthony Hopkins
* Samuel L. Jackson * Elton John * Boris Karloff
* George Lucas * Marilyn Monroe * Eddie Murphy
* Bill Murray * Leonard Nimoy * Bill O' Reilly
* Bettie Page * Sean Penn * Brad Pitt
* Elvis Presley * Vincent Price * Prince
* Christopher Reeve * William Shatner * Kevin Spacey
* Britney Spears * Sylvester Stallone * Patrick Stewart
* Ben Stiller * Mr. T * John Travolta
* Vince Vaughn * Adam West * Owen Wilson

Lifesize Sculpture

In addition to collectibles, Joy and Tom Studios has also done sculpting work on many life-size statues. From 1995-96 Joy and Tom worked full-time at Walt Disney World, designing and sculpting various life-size statues and props of Disney characters for display in the theme parks and stores, including a life-size Goofy statue sitting on a bench on permanent display just inside the front gate of the Magic Kingdom. Following their tenure at Disney, Joy and Tom continued to work for Disney on a freelance basis through their company. [3]

In addition to their projects for Disney, other notable life-sized projects include Droid Starfighters from the Star Wars films that were displayed in F.A.O. Schwartz in New York City, a replica of the Batboat from the film Batman Forever used in a water-based stunt show at Six Flags over Texas, and the Emperor's throne for the set of the Mortal Kombat TV series. [3]

Awards and recognition

The sculpted works of Joy and Tom Studios have been honored by inclusion in the Spectrum Annual publication [8] and the company has been recognized multiple times for their work by Wizard Magazine [9] and ToyFare Magazine on various "Top 5 Statue and Busts" lists [10] including the "Statue of the Year" award from ToyFare in 2005 for their Ultimate Spider-Man vs. Dr. Octopus for Dynamic Forces. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action figure</span> Character toy figurine made commonly of plastic

An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed toward boys and adult collectors. The term was coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys.

<i>Robot Chicken</i> American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series

Robot Chicken is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, most prominently Green, also provide many of the voices. Senreich, Goldstein, and Root were formerly writers for the popular action figure hobbyist magazine ToyFare. Robot Chicken has won two Annie Awards and six Emmy Awards.

McFarlane Toys is an American company founded by comic book creator Todd McFarlane which makes highly detailed model action figures of characters from films, comics, popular music, video games and various sporting genres. The company, a subsidiary of Todd McFarlane Productions, is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Wood</span> Australian comic book artist and illustrator

Ashley Wood is Australian comic book artist and award-winning illustrator known for his cover art, concept design and his work as an art director. Wood initially worked in both the UK and international comic book industries, working on characters such as the British character Judge Dredd, before breaking into the US market, where he worked for such companies as Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Wood later worked for Image, creating graphic novels and cover art for the various Spawn properties of Todd McFarlane, and projects with IDW Publishing.

<i>ToyFare</i> Magazine

ToyFare was a monthly magazine published by Wizard Entertainment that focused on collectible action figures, busts, statues, and maquettes. It previewed new and upcoming lines and figures each month, as well as providing a price guide for toy lines, both new and old. ToyFare was also known for its satirical humor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SOTA Toys</span> American toy company

SOTA Toys, or State Of The Art Toys, is a developer, manufacturer, and wholesaler of collectibles based on licensed properties from companies such as Capcom and Universal. Formed in 2000 by Jerry Macaluso, they have created and manufactured numerous licensed products based on the characters from popular films, TV shows, hit video games, and literary works, as well as legendary musicians and pop stars. Aside from being a developer and manufacturer, SOTA Toys also serves as fabricator and prototyper for the motion picture, toys/collectibles, and video game industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryant Baker</span> British-born American sculptor

Percy Bryant Baker better known as Bryant Baker, was a British-born American sculptor. He sculpted a number of busts of famous Americans. In 1910, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom commissioned him to create a bust of King Edward VII.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC Direct</span> American Toy Company

DC Direct was a division of WarnerMedia that sold collectibles based on DC Comics characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butter sculpture</span> Sculptural technique

Butter sculptures are three-dimensional works of art created with butter, a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. The works often depict animals, people, buildings and other objects. They are best known as attractions at state fairs in the United States as lifesize cows and people, but can also be found on banquet tables and even small decorative butter pats. Butter carving was an ancient craft in Tibet, Babylon, Roman Britain and elsewhere. The earliest documented butter sculptures date from Europe in 1536, where they were used on banquet tables. The earliest pieces in the modern sense as public art date from ca. 1870s America, created by Caroline Shawk Brooks, a farm woman from Helena, Arkansas. The heyday of butter sculpturing was about 1890-1930, but butter sculptures are still a popular attraction at agricultural fairs, banquet tables and as decorative butter patties.

Art toys, also called designer toys, are toys and collectibles created by artists and designers that are either self-produced or made by small, independent toy companies, typically in very limited editions. Artists use a variety of materials, such as ABS plastic, vinyl, wood, metal, latex, plush, and resin. Creators often have backgrounds in graphic design, illustration, or fine art, but many accomplished toy artists are self-taught. The first art toys appeared in the 1990s in Hong Kong and Japan. By the early 2000s, the majority of art toys were based upon characters created by popular Lowbrow artists, linking the two movements.

Founded in 1992, Bowen Designs was a company dealing in the creation and sale of entertainment-based collectible statues. Most Bowen products released thus far are based on Marvel Comics characters, but products based on independent comics and movies have also been created.

Rubén Procopio is an American animation and comic book artist, animator and sculptor. Long affiliated with Walt Disney Feature Animation as an animator and sculptor, Rubén is credited with restoring the maquette process to feature animation film production in the early 1980s. He is the founder of Masked Avenger Studios, whose clients include Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Studios, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Electric Tiki and DC Comics. He is known for his versatile sculpting and illustration style in both cartoony and realistic characters, with an emphasis on Disney characters, superheroes, and the masked heroes of yesteryear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Root</span> American actor and television producer

Tom Root is an American writer, producer, director and voice actor for Robot Chicken.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zenos Frudakis</span> American artist

Zenos Frudakis, known as Frudakis, is an American sculptor whose diverse body of work includes monuments, memorials, portrait busts and statues of living and historic individuals, military subjects, sports figures and animal sculpture. Over the past four decades he has sculpted monumental works and over 100 figurative sculptures included within public and private collections throughout the United States and internationally. Frudakis currently lives and works near Philadelphia, and is best known for his sculpture Freedom, which shows a series of figures breaking free from a wall and is installed in downtown Philadelphia. Other notable works are at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, the National Academy of Design, and the Lotos Club of New York City, the Imperial War Museum in England, the Utsukushi ga-hara Open Air Museum in Japan, and the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Kuntz</span> American artist

Thomas Kuntz is an American multi-media artist notable for his contemporary automata. He has devoted a lifetime to acquiring the skills of a designer, sculptor, mechanic, automatist, animator, model-maker, painter and conceptualist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Select Toys</span> American Toy Company

Diamond Select Toys was founded in 1999 by sister company Diamond Comics Distributors to create collectibles for adult collectors, and has since licensed a variety of pop culture properties, including Marvel Comics, Star Wars, Star Trek, Transformers, Ghostbusters, Halo, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Indiana Jones, Battlestar Galactica, 24, The Muppets and Back to the Future. While they have made collectibles in numerous product categories, including action figures, plush, banks, busts, statues and prop replicas, many of their licensed properties are released in the form of Minimates mini-figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sideshow Collectibles</span>

Sideshow Collectibles is an American specialty manufacturer of movie, film, television and collectible action figures, statues, and high end pieces. Sideshow's licenses include Star Wars, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, The Lord of the Rings, Disney, Harry Potter, Masters of the Universe, Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z, Street Fighter, Game of Thrones, and Star Trek.

Mark Newman is an American sculptor and illustrator. He graduated with honors from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA in 1986 with a degree in Illustration. He started his company, Mark Newman Sculpture Inc. in 1997 and has done work for Bowen Designs, Department 56, Hallmark, Sideshow Collectibles, Premium Collectibels Studio, Spirit Halloween Stores, Lenox, Inc. Terry Smith Creations and Toy Genius among others. He was the lead sculptor for Thomas Blackshears 'Ebony Visions' line of figurines for 18 years. Newman created special effects for film. He designed and sculpted character design maquettes of 'Hogsqueal' and 'Thimbletack' for Tippett Studio for the film The Spiderwick Chronicles and character design maquettes for video game companies such as DreamWorks and Electronic Arts and Sony. He has also created bronze statues for Stanford University and 2 bronze fireplace facades for George Lucas and Skywalker Ranch. Mark has been assisting Andrew Cawrse of Anatomy Tools in his level 2 anatomy sculpting workshops in Las Vegas since 2010.

<i>Partners</i> (statue) 1993 copper statue by Blaine Gibson

Partners is a 1993 copper statue by Blaine Gibson depicting Walt Disney holding the hand of the most popular character he created, Mickey Mouse. The statue is 6 feet 5 inches (196 cm), 7 inches (18 cm) taller than Disney himself. It is the central point of attention as guests enter some of the Disney parks. Gibson took a year to create the piece. He used a 1960 bust of Disney as his model for Disney's half. To sculpt Disney and Mickey's joined hands, he consulted the 1940 film Fantasia, where Mickey shook hands with conductor Leopold Stokowski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Williamson</span>

Stuart Williamson is a sculptor, teacher of sculpture and poet from North East England. He is a Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors, a Member of the Society of Portrait Sculptors (UK), a Member of the National Sculpture Society (USA), and a Founding Member of the Portrait Sculptures Society of America. He is also a Member of the Salmagundi Club in Manhattan and was featured in their American Masters show in 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Raving Toy Maniac, Michael Turner's Red Sonja Statue, 2006
  2. StarWars.com: Inside Robot Chicken: Star Wars, 2007
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kit Builders Magazine, Issue 26, Page 56, 1998
  4. ToyFare: The Toy Magazine, Issue 120, Page 12, August 2007
  5. 1 2 3 ToyFare: The Toy Magazine, Issue 140, Page 24, April 2009
  6. RTM News, Matt Wagner's Grendel 25th Anniversary Statue, 2007
  7. ToyFare: The Toy Magazine, Issue 113, Page 76, January 2007
  8. Spectrum 7: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art, Page 94, 2000
  9. Wizard Magazine, Issue 213, Page 22, July 2009
  10. ToyFare: The Toy Magazine, Issue 152, Page 9, April 2010