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Opportunity LOL's Spotlight Interview: Artist Walter "Chauskoskis" Jacott
Published: August 11th, 2011
If you don't know already, Walter "Chauskoskis" Jacott is one of the best toy customizers and original toy sculptors in the world. This Mexican artist has been shocking toy fans, creators, companies, and customizers with his skill and beautiful and innovative pieces. He has been submitting a lot of work to group shows and often on the internet you will hear "Yeah, it was a great show. Did you see that piece by Chauskoskis?" His Flickr is pretty much a breakdown of the greatest customs and original sculpts to hit the toy world from 2009 until now (2011). Are you ready for even more Chauskoskis? This artist is quitting his day job and going hard with his love and pursuit of creating custom + original toys and if you collect epic art, you'll soon have a chance to actually buy some of his creations - which have been pretty much impossible for people to get so far. Walter was extremely generous in agreeing to do this interview and has over delivered in a huge way, giving readers a great look into his life, work, and future. Enjoy! Given the volume of amazing art toys you create, you must be putting in an inspiring amount of work. Could you describe a day in the life of Walter "Chauskoskis" Jacott? Chauskoskis: "I honestly don't believe I'm doing that much work, I mean there are guys such as JPK, Squink, Motorbot, etc. who produce dozens and dozens of pieces on a regular basis. The reason for that is exactly what you ask: I work as graphic designer full time, I have a girlfriend, 2 dogs, and since last year I've been taking care of a 16 years old nephew who lives with me. Therefore, the "Chauskoskis" workable time is very small. Some nights I work from 8 pm to 3 am, and sometimes when I have shows I have nights like that 3 times a week. Then I have the weekends, and I really try to advance myself on those 2 days. Since I have other obligations I just have 1 full day a week to do my stuff, maybe work while I'm in bed, watching tv, and even sand figures when I shower! LOL! So while it's been very stressful, I'm on the way of go full time as Chauskoskis. I'm really excited about it! i think I am doing great so far just working a few hours from time to time, so hopefully you will hear from me more often! ;)"
Every item in your store is sold out. How many items do you create for release to the general public vs sold in galleries vs commissions? What's an average person's chance at snagging one of your pieces? Chauskoskis: "Haha yeah, people say I'm such a tease! LOL! Actually I put up the store to sell the Skelanimals Qees, then I started to put some of the figures that I have returned from shows with as well (Not all of them, some I am definitely going to keep). The store is a great exercise for me, I do not enjoy selling my pieces. I really get attached to all of them so if my intention is to become a pro I need to learn to let go of my work... but I'm not happy that I don't own the pieces I sold through my store. For instance, Batracio Malacara was made for a show that never took place, so I kept it for months. It's one hell of a good piece! I love it, but I decided that it was time to push myself and let it go. Same instances with the rest, it's crushing to let 'em go. Haha, I'm going to weep now!
While most of the pieces are for shows, others are made for my own pleasure and fun, (that is what it's all about, right?) I have a few commissions that I can count with the fingers on one hand. I do have a loooong list of people waiting for a piece (or pieces), and an even longer list of guys that I've been rejecting simply because I can't take commissions. With regards to the commissions that I have already accepted, I really don't know when I will have the time to work on them. You can't imagine the waiting list and mail I still receive for pieces of all kinds. I've had to reject custom Jaws, Paws, Munnys, Nosferatus, etc. requests because I don't have the time. it kinda sucks and I feel bad for my fans. So you can see, the chance to grab one of my pieces is very very low. Your best bet is to snag pieces from shows, however if a piece is returned to me there's a chance I won't let it go! :) Although, I will make one or two commissions once in a while… But I'm working hard to bring my game to production pieces, so more fans can snatch one of my designs."
Wow at the "VOODOO Bear" Custom Teddy Trooper for Art Whino's G40 Art Summit! The bear's helmet is really great. It reminds me a bit of the Batracio Malacara piece you did. Do you like creating custom toys with hats/depth? Does it increase the difficulty by a lot? Chauskoskis: "Thanks! It's not much harder to make hats or helmets, it's just a bit more work. I think the Voodoo Bear was great I must say! LOL! in hand it's really spectacular looking and feels so nice! When you work with existing toys, it all depends on the toy. I'm not looking for a certain type of characteristic, whether it be a helmet or hat, I just do it. Now that you mention it, I'm not a big fan of helmets and that stuff because then how the hell do you display it? I mean, i love the face of the lil man underneath the Voodoo Bear, but you cant show it! if you display it without the hat then you won't see how cool it looks with the helmet on. So that works well with playable toys, not with sculpts, art toys, or customs. IMHO though, they can look rad for sure!"
You created a series of "Birro the Clown" custom Dunnys for Most Wanted 2. How did you like working within that series? Where do you see the Most Wanted series going? Chauskoskis: "It was a super nice experience! For me it was a great lesson, I never ever in my life enjoy repeating anything. Whether it be a drawing, design of a toy, or even a sculpt, I hate to do the same thing twice. For this series I made 15, and I'm making a bunch more to trade with some of the artists on the series. It was fun to do it and learn the way to work in some sort of line of production: sculpt all, sand all, then prime them all, etc. While it was fun, I hated it! Hahaha, maybe it's because I was working with a complex design. For instance, if I sculpted the smile or the eyebrows in a different position and it looks weird, then I would have to redo it a few times to make all of them look almost the same. On top of that, I try to give each one the quality of the best of the bunch. None of those where made in a hurry, I promise! Most Wanted is definitely growing. i hope it becomes a collective of great artists doing more then creating another Dunny series. It's not that Dunnys aren't cool anymore, it's just that there are too many good artists in the group that can bring more to the table than custom toys. Kudos to the guys in front of MW: Manny, Igor, Tim, and Jared!"
You participated in Fplus's "When Worlds Collide" show. You created a set of 15 chess pieces called "The Queen is Missing." Has the custom Queen been created? When should we expect the reveal? Chauskoskis: "It was a great show, beautiful works all around! It was a pleasure to be with these guys! It was more fun to make almost all of the pieces from scratch and not customize toys (Just the Pawns were customs Dunnys). The Queen is still missing! I need to fix that, right? "
You've customized a very wide range of toys - from Dunnys and Munnys to Jouwes and Greasebats. What is your favorite medium to work on and why? Chauskoskis: "True! Though the Greasebat isn't a custom but rather an original sculpt based on Jeff Lamms work. I really equally enjoy making OG work and customs. Taking something that might be very different to what you normally do and turn it into something very yours is super fun. Customs are like a nice creativity exercise for me, so I really enjoy creating them. I love original works and I must confess it's way faster to sculpt a piece from zero than take a toy and change it (even if it's just to paint). Also, I need to get back on the canvas and brushes, I'm getting rusty in those areas. ;)"
You're working on a series of Paw Dunnys that are a tribute to the PAW character. You've said elsewhere that there's a debate about it. Could you explain what's going on? Chauskoskis: "Long history, I made a custom Dunny based on the Paw. It wasn't a commission but more as a "for fun" project. People went crazy with it, so I started to receive mail asking for one in case I make more than one. Then people started a waiting list on the KR boards, and the fever grew and grew. At first I believe I made maybe 10 of these and that's it (silly me). The list is now around 130+ people and counting. Even when I said, "that's it, I will close the list on 30!" fans keep joining saying, "just in case someone drops out!" LOL At that point I knew things were out of hand. I mean I can make it happen, I can create a mold and cast like crazy, but I have this ethical dilemma. It's a character from other artists! Even though it's a 70% new sculpt and I redesigned and adapted the figures, it's still others work (that's how I see it). I decided to ask Coarse their opinion on this to see if they would allow it or not. At the same time I asked on Twitter about how the rest of the artists, bloggers, and fans see it. I was amazed by the larger group saying, "Just do it! its a homage, it's yours, theres no problem, etc." Meanwhile, a small group was saying, "don't do it" or "ask first." Some big names took part in the debate so it was very very interesting. In the end I will do what my guts says, so I asked Coarse. If they say they're not very comfortable about it, then I wont do it. We'll just have to see. Really if I want to do it, it's not because of the money. It's so cool to see that many people in love with the figure, especially since many Coarse fans cant afford pieces or simply can't get their hands on one because they're so limited. I'm really looking just to please the fans. I'm not the Paw-Dunny guy, I make my own stuff and I've been making my name on the scene to be well respected. Not only because of my work but because I do have my own ethics and believe in what I do, so we'll see what happens... Kudos to Coarse BTW!"
Do you collect custom toys? Who are your top five toy customizers? Chauskoskis: "I collect a few, not as much as I want (like everybody I guess!) My top five? I'm not a big fan of the customizer word. There are artists that create OG stuff but also when they customize a toy perform it is magic. Damn thats hard as hell! Too many great guys out there, like: Southern Drawl, K. Gosselin, Grimsheep, Ramon Pla, Chris Ryniak, Rotobox, Lou Pimentel, Reactor88, Dok A, Cris Rose, Frank Mysterio, Yoste, Mancini, MAp-MAp, Scott Tolleson, J*ryu, Gary Ham, Niark1, Muffin man ... uff... I can go forever... not five, excuse me :P"
What should the Opportunity LOL readers be on the lookout for in 2011 and 2012? Chauskoskis: "I can't tell you much but I'm working on a few sculpts for some artists (one of those is a figure for Gary Ham!) I'm also planning some original toys in mediums ranging from resin, to wood, to vinyl, etc. Karuzo is definitely coming in DIY very soon, and while there's some additional exciting news I must keep it a secret! In order to do that I will cut down a little on the custom shows as I need to get my original works out there. Next month I'm quitting my job as designer, so I'll have lots of time to have fun and try to be creative. Hopefully people dig my stuff... in any case, I will have a blast making a bunch more of my ugly boys!"
Thank you so much to Chauskoskis for providing such fantastic answers! For more Chauskoskis, hit up his Website | Store | Facebook | Flickr | @Chauskoskis on Twitter Previous Posts on Chauskoskis:
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