"Koi Dragon" Custom Labbit Revealed!

So here it is, my "Koi Dragon" custom 5" labbit that I completed for my buddy in Cali, Linh. He showed it on the Kidrobot forums, but I'll post a few pics here (more pics on my Flickr):







There is meaning behind the work; I hope those who read this will become inspired.

The Meaning of the Koi Dragon Labbit

In Japanese folklore, the koi fish represents courage, strength of will or persistence in the face of difficulty. Legend has it that the koi fish travels up the Yellow River to the Dragon Gate, transforming into a dragon which represents power and ferocity. The koi dragon is the phase where the koi leaps from the river through the gate, overcoming all obstacles and the adversity of the strong river to fulfill its destiny into a full dragon.

The 'jade' pendant is the kanji symbol for courage - it's a reminder to always have courage when faced with hardship and persevere to the end. Jade has many meanings in Chinese culture, meaning to draw in spirituality, longevity, luck, confidence, love and protection.

The Chinese red envelope in the mouth is a 'hong pao' with the kanji symbol for double happiness. In the tradition of the Chinese lion dance, 'hong paos' with money are handed to the lions through the mouth to bring good luck, happiness and fortune.

The lotus blossoms are flowers that start off small at the bottom of a pond, in the mud and muck and slowly grows up towards the water surface. They continue moving towards the light and once it reaches the surface, the lotus will blossom into a beautiful flower - overcoming the dark to reach the light.

This Koi Dragon labbit is a representation of all these ideals, to always have courage to overcome all hardships and wishing you all the best in life!

Custom Completed Labbit Teaser!

Ok here is a quick teaser of the custom completed labbit I recently finished for a good buddy of mine. I will post non-blurred pics once he gives me the go ahead to show them. It has a complete back story and meaning(s) as well! Until then, try to figure out what it is!



As an added bonus, this was my first time using small Sculpey on it...!

Custom Sneak Peek!

Thought I'd give a quick blog update by showing a sneak peek of a custom labbit commission. Sorry for the crappy pic, I took it w/ my old cell phone! If you can make out what it says, you may be able to figure out the theme I'm going for! No peeks of the other side till it's done!



I hope they like it!

Most Important Project I Can Never Finish!

Of all the projects I involve myself in, there is always one project that ranks #1 in importance to me but I can never finish it, and that project is my own personal website. I have a URL that I purchased 4 years ago, and still have not put up anything! My URL is located at AW177.com, and if you go there, you'll notice the same page I've had up for years: AW177 Coming Soon.

Reason for not putting a page up? Indecisiveness, procrastination, laziness, etc. In one of my classes at NYU, my web design instructor said one of the hardest sites to do is your own portfolio site since you want it to be so perfect, you can never find the way to do it correct, so best is to let someone else take it over! I may have to do that one day!

I have one in the works and let's hope I can complete it by the end of this year. I want to finish off this one custom and start back working on it...check back to AW177.com in 2 months and let's hope something is up by then!

'Year of the Dragon' AW177 Messageboard Series 1 Custom Dunny

If you grab a few of the Messageboard Artist Series 1 dunnys and get mine, this is what you'll be getting:



It was made w/ gold spray paint and custom decals - there was some debate regarding whether or not decals are 'real' art or not. The reason why I used decals was to make mine as close to production dunnys as possible, and I didn't think doing it by hand/paint/etc. would duplicate that effect. Hence why I chose decals; the dragon is also clutching a pearl in his hand.

At any rate, I hope you like it and hope you appreciate all the effort I put into this custom set!

Kidrobot Forums Messageboard Artist Series 1 Release!

Finally! After 2 months of completing my 10 custom 'Year of the Dragon' 3" dunnys for the Kidrobot Forums Messageboard Artist Series 1, they are being released tomorrow, November 7 at 11:30am PST! To get more info on this awesome series which I was very proud to be a part of, please visit the official thread in the Kidrobot forums:

Messageboard Artist Series 1

More info can also be found at SpankyStokes.com:

SpankyStokes - Messageboard Artist Series 1



Hope you'll go purchase some! Hope for those who get my dunny, they'll like it!

AW177 - Introduction & Profile

Thought for those new to my blog and to myself, here is my artist bio (lifted from my Artsprojekt.com profile):

AW177

Born and raised in Queens, NYC, AW177 is a self taught artist/designer with a bright and vivid style influenced by his Chinese roots, Asian motifs and culture, graffiti and technical illustration. Educated and trained as an engineer to computer/software technician, but always keeping to art/design, he hopes to now bring his style to a multitude of products and to a wide variety of people.

The name AW177 is an amalgamation of initials of his real name along w/ numerals that hold a special meaning to him. The same can be said with his artwork - an amalgamation of different mediums, subjects and ideas that work together to form pieces of unique art that have special meanings.

AW177 started out designing and creating paraphernalia for small clients, to web site and logo design, to customizing art/vinyl toys, and to hopefully much more in the upcoming future!

Currently still living and working in Queens, NYC, AW177 lives with his beautiful (and supporting) wife, constantly striving to bring unique pieces of art and design to the world.

The Start to a New Beginning!

After contemplating for a while now about whether or not to begin a blog, I finally decided to take the plunge after some advice from a buddy of mine, John 'Spanky' Stokes: "...blogs are fun, and for you a great way to show and catalog your work!", which I can't agree enough with! I always wanted to catalog my work, look back and see how far I've grown and how far I've come (hopefully) as an artist/designer!

With that said, I am happy to start the beginning of my new blog site and hopefully the start to a new beginning in art/design as well. I hope you'll enjoy reading my blog - I'll try to update it as much as possible! Thanks all!