Spokesmodel OcyRox Signs with Brian Wonders

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 5th 2019/PRNewswire/ — Brian Wonders, the LA-based limited edition storybook collection, is excited to announce OcyRox as its Global Brand Ambassador.

In this debut video, the bilingual spokesmodel showcases the Brian Wonders Stickerbook in between sips of piña colada.

Click to play

“We are proud and fortunate to have landed the multi-talented OcyRox in this multi-million dollar deal-to-end-all-deals…”, says BW creator Victor Robert, he continues, “…negotiating with my niece was tough, but my fingers are crossed her influence will increase sales exponentially across U.S. cities and allow us to break into the coveted markets of her friends and family fan base."

PROMO CODE: OCYROX for free shipping

Asked for comment on the deal, OcyRox states simply, “Brian Wonders es lo mejor.” Photos from the shoot below.

Stickerbooks are currently selling at the Nomad Hotel LA Giftshop curated by Please Do Not Enter, and The Reckless Unicorn Boutique in Los Feliz. Stickerbooks are also available in the Brian Wonders Shop — promo code OCYROX for free shipping.

The Making of Luna... continued

This package arrived from my manufacturer a week or so ago -- Luna curled up like a cinnamon roll.  After months of tweaking her proportions and design, we have finalized her shape and I am ready to move on to the 2nd stage -- adding the polka dots and eyes.  

I'm using vinyl sticker sheets in multiple colors and cutting these into circles and shapes.  The plan is I'm going to stick these dots directly onto the sample, and then ship her back to the manufacturer where they'll scan/digitize the dots.  Once digitized, the file will be used to create the limited edition run. 

Here's me cutting shapes out of paper for the eyes... I played around with her eye placement for a couple of days finally settling on a long stretched out shape that covers a good deal of her head and makes her look like she is reaching speeds of 400 mph.

Finalized eye shape.  You can see I've begun placing circular shapes onto her body for dot reference.

Here's the end result!  Now onto the donut part of her body... More updates soon!  Please feel free to support my cause and purchase my newly released sticker books!  Perfect gifts for nieces and nephews.  Free shipping use code BASHEXPRESS at checkout!

BRIAN WONDERS NOW AT THE RECKLESS UNICORN

It's Twinklebolt!

AKA The Reckless Unicorn.  

I've loved this shop ever since I saw their awning and unicorn shingle go up in the heart of Los Feliz.  And I love it even more now that I got a chance to meet the owners, Annie and Derek.  There's a whole story behind their shop -- the story of Twinklebolt, the reckless unicorn.  It's a story as universal and unique as the gifts they curate.

I wanted to give a huge hug and shout out to them and thank them for being the first in boutique in LA to show me some love for carrying my Brian Wonders Storybook Stickerbooks.  I am hoping to do a cool signing party this summer, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, go check out their shop.  It's the perfect spot to find a cool gift for that special niece or nephew's birthday you've got coming up.  And after you shop it's an easy walk over to Little Dom's across the street for a celebratory mimosa. The Reckless Unicorn -- the sparkliest shop on Hillhurst -- can't miss it. 

Making-of the stickers

This swim cap lady emerged out of a dream.

She had on a glittery red swim cap like a headdress.  She opened her mouth and balloons wafted out.  I sketched her out without questioning the reasoning and this was the end result.  She ended up being my favorite of the new characters appearing in this stickerbook edition.

Here's a little before and after -- the sketch followed by acrylic/guache rendering.  

And here's the final illustration with some other scattered about. 

The final printed sticker!  I couldn't help create illustrations of tiny divers using her nose as a diving board.

How to use the Brian Wonders Stickerbook Storybook

Follow this step-by-step guide on how to use the Brian Wonders Stickerbook Storybook.   

Step 1

Flip!  Flip!  Flip!  

Step 2

Pause.  Imagine.

Step 3

Give in to the inspiration.

Step 4

A birthday cake on wheels --

Step 6

-- now rides a balloon roadway.  

Step 7

A hungry diver swans into the birthday cake.

What will you dream up?

$45

BRIAN WONDERS Mini Sticker Edition

Super excited to announce the

2nd printing of the Brian Wonders Storybook! 

This new edition will be a super compact version of the original storybook and will include a 4-page set of colorful new illustrated stickers.  I’ve been working on these for a while now and am excited to start sharing some of the work that went into this new batch and to finally start rolling these little guys out!  Pre-selling here.  These were supposed to release over the holidays, but I think it has been worth pushing their release… I can be a little obsessive about details and it took me a while to get those just right.

Q&A with Victor Robert the Illustrator Creator

This is the dust jacket proof, which will be French-folded onto the hardcover.

Q:  Victor, you already released a Brian Wonders Storybook, why are you releasing a second batch and doing it all over again?

VR:  Good question.  I couldn't help it.  With the First Edition Brian Wonders I printed a micro batch of 250 copies -- each storybook came individually signed, numbered with a custom-made slipcover, and for a bunch of reasons they went out to a very limited audience of family, friends, and collectors.  But I love these books so much that I really want to see them in more people's hands.  So I decided to run a 2nd printing, this time printing 1000 copies.  As an independent artist, I had to change a couple of things in order to make this 2nd run feasible.  This 2nd run of storybooks have been repackaged and streamlined and I hope they do reach a wider audience.

Actual sticker

Q:  Aside from the number of copies, did anything change from the First Edition to this Mini Sticker Edition? 

VR:  Yes -- as the name implies, this Mini Edition batch is super compact and smaller in size -- the original storybooks are 12" square, and these new ones are 7" square.  I also went through and made a few adjustments to the illustrations... couldn't help it... though most illustrations remained unchanged.  This new batch will also include a set of super cool stickers!

Brainstorming sticker ideas...

Q:  Oooh!  I love stickers.  Tell me about them.

VR:  These stickers are special -- they are spot illustrations that I designed to work into the pages the storybook… they are a little bit magical because once they are dropped into the illustrations, their edges magically disappear and they become part of the illustrated spreads.  I loved stickers as a kid and thought these would be a cool way of making the storybook interactive.  Each storybook includes 4 sheets of stickers, totaling over 50 stickers; they are non-permanent and can be reused.

Q:  Did you add words to this new edition?  Or is the storybook still a book without words like the original?

VR:  I love the idea of a storybook without words where kids can imagine, tell, or write their own stories, so I kept this edition without words as well.  Maybe in the future, I will release an edition that includes words here and there.

Q:  Are you having a launch party for this?  

VR:  Yes, but that’s in the works.  Probably a summer time thing.  At the moment the storybooks are pre-selling online here.  I’m about a month out from starting to ship.  

1 of many many color proofs working with my brilliant printer in MN.  

Brian Wonders World-Wide Launch

Brian Wonders Launched its debut collection last Wednesday, December 7th 2016. 

Big hug to Emmanuel Renoird and Nicolas Libert from Please Do Not Enter for hosting the event and trusting me to float a giant pink fish in the middle of their showroom.

For the launch, Pinky the Fish was suspended from the ceiling and lit up like a giant disco ball.  

Photos by Kent Seki

The star of the show, Pinky.

Pinky as he appears in the storybook spread.  Each storybook comes signed and numbered, available for purchase in the gift shop. 

The Brian Wonders Launch Collection of Illustrated Pillows features three characters from the storybook, brought to life in rich gorgeous color.  

DJ Omar Dijou brings the glitter in his mix.

The installation is textural and gliding your hand across its shimmering sequin skin is highly encouraged.  

Illustrated Pillows

Featuring characters and colors from the storybook including Pinky, available in the shop.  

Jonathan Guzman normally makes gowns for celebs but for this project he created the sequin skin for Pinky.  My partner in crime.  Check out my IG to see Pinky as a work in progress.  

Snapbacks from the Launch Collection feature Bash the Pirate Bear.  A gradation of grey caps stitched with 3D embroidery in contrasting pink and neon colors.  Edition of 100, number stitched on the inside.

Shop.

Luna Character Figures, available for spring/summer 2017.  Edition of 250.  Pre-order here.  

Giclee prints, mounted on a solid pine cradle.  Available in 24" x 12" or 40"x 20", 1.5" profile.  Shop.

Blowfish: How-To

For my launch I'm bringing the storybook world of Brian Wonders to life by creating a giant pink blowfish of course.  Here's a bit of a how-to for anyone who wants to create their own at home. 

Step 1 -- get your hands on a giant balloon.  This will be the main body of the fish.  Apparently an 8 foot balloon can lift up to 15 lbs. when filled with helium.   

Step 2 -- Get your hands on some sequins.  I headed to the Fashion District here downtown and found this cool shimmery fabric and thought it would be way too much disco, but then I decided that was a good idea.  Sequins are notoriously heavy as many of you know and the yardage required to cover this fish may force me to rethink the helium angle... she may be too heavy...  still, she needs to be suspended...  

Step 3:  Bring on talent.  This is Jonathan, he is a fashion designer and an expert pattern maker and normally he creates elaborate wedding gowns for celebs.  For this project, he's creating Pinky's sequin 'skin'.  I told him a good starting point would be to pretend he was creating a wedding gown except instead of a celebrity it would be for an 8 foot blowfish.

Step 4 -- Foam.  Lots of foam.  Here I'm using long strips of it to create top lip and figure out proportions and placement.  

Step 5 -- Schematics.  This should actually be closer to step 1.  Here's how I broke down the fish into basic shapes before cutting the shapes out of foam.  The tall long one represents the foam shape for the lips.  The rhomboid shapes are my guides for the fins.         

Step 6 -- Get a room.  It got a little tight in the studio so we shifted to an empty retail space on 5th Street.  You can see the foam has been sculpted into crude fins and we are laying out their position.  Jonathan will then take measurements and make a pattern of the whole thing once we finalize their placement.  

Step 7 -- Get some sleep or you'll find yourself doing the dance of the seven veils.  You can see Pinky in the background taking shape but much more work is still ahead.  More to come... In the meantime RSVP to my launch downtown don't miss Pinky's debut.