Mar 25, 2008
Jesse Hernandez x Marka27 Exclusive Collabo Print
For the upcoming release of Marka27's MG-2 Mexico figure and art show, Jesse Hernandez has crossed with him on this ill exclusive print done in a gritty almost monotone color scheme. No word on exact print run but expect it to be small. This piece will be available at the opening which goes down on Thursday, April 3rd 2008 (7-11 PM).
Munky King
7308 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323.938.0091
Aug 22, 2007
Interview with Marka27
[Ed: We're happy to bring you Yevgeniy Shukhman's interview with Marka27, creator of the upcoming Minigods figures].
Hello Marka please introduce yourself and give us a little history about your nickname.
I'm known as "Marka27". Marka is the graff name i chose to write. It's Spanish for leaving a mark on a surface or brand. It also represents my Mexican roots. The 27 has a secret meaning only close friends know.
You are first and foremost a graffiti artist. How did you transition to graphic design?
That's an easy question, why does anyone do graphics design, "To Eat". On another note it can also work as a form of art or tool for me to get my message across. It wasn't a big deal making the transition graphic design and graffiti have a lot in common when it comes to color, balance, composition.
Do you still do graffiti?
Does J Dilla make dope beats?
Please tell us a little more about your fine art?
Lately I've been working on a series of paintings called "Audio Canvases" They are paintings that play music. I have a J Dilla painting that plays his instrumentals. They are made from a wood surface with real working speakers installed. I have also been working on installations with vintage speakers stacked on top of each other with musical icons painted on them like Afrika Bambbata, Billy Holiday, Celia Cruz etc.
I won't name names but recently another artist attempted to steal my concept. I know in the art world people freely so call "borrow" from each other but in the graff world you get no respect for "biting" a style or idea.
Jun 04, 2007
Marka27 - Minigods Knocking at the Door
The first of Marka27's minigods figures -- MG Brazil -- is in the home stretch. Here's a Vinyl Pulse exclusive look at production protos for four editions of MG Brazil -- Brazil (300 pieces), Midnight (300 pieces), Gold Grillz (100 pieces) and Platinum Grillz (100 pieces). These studio shots were taken by Shawn Mclaughlin. Each MG Brazil figure stands a towering 16" tall and features a working speaker embedded in the torso. The figure ships ready to play music complete with an included mini-jack cable and a 9-volt battery. Playing music from an iPod, CD Player or most other music devices is a simple matter of plugging the cable into MG Brazil and the music player. The pictured figures are production protos, the final production colors may vary slightly.
The unpainted proto shown at last year's SDCC turned heads with its strong indigenous urban vinyl crossover design and sheer size. The production editions are set to deliver a compelling combination -- awesome to look at and useful as a desktop speaker. Toy Tokyo will release the Gold Grillz MG Brazil as an SDDC exclusive. Marka27 will be at SDCC to sign figures and meet collectors. The other three colorways will be released shortly after SDCC (distribution: DKE Toys). Be sure to click through to the full gallery featuring each colorway. Props to Marka27 on his first original vinyl figure.
Jan 29, 2007
Proto Monday >> minigods by Marka27
News on Marka27's minigods has been pretty sparse. So for this Proto Monday, we're happy to bring you a first look at the wax cast of MG1 Brazil as well as pics of the critical speaker assembly. The MG1 Brazil minigod is nearing it's final stages and is set for an early summer release. Marka27 has teamed up with the legendary threezero to manufacture the minigods. "I am very pleased with the work the threezero team has done with the minigods. They have done a good job staying true to my design and have paid very close attention to details and quality."
The long-awaited figure comes with a full range speaker and has an integrated amplifier for increased speaker power -- all the better to bump your music! A lone 9 volt battery will power the speaker and amp. The figure will have a minijack connector (seen on the bottom left-hand side) providing compatability with any music device with a headphone jack such as an ipod, cd player, boombox, laptop or desktop. MG1 Brazil will be limited to 600 figures in the Brazil colorway and only 100 each for both the NY and LA editions. Bucking the trend of neverending colorway waves, once these are gone Marka will not produce any additional colorways of the figure.
Aug 09, 2006
minigods part 9
Great news -- the sculpt of the MG1 Brazil the first of marka27's three minigods, has been completed and will soon be shipped to China so that tooling can proceed. Once tooling is complete, the factory will produce prototype vinyl figures that will be used to test several audio speaker candidates for sound quality. The speaker will eventually be embedded in the 3" cavity in the lower belly area shown in the above pictures. David Reeves of NPT will be overseeing the production process with a target release date of late October. Check back in two weeks for the latest news on the minigods.
Jul 26, 2006
minigods part 8
marka27 and MG1 Brazil
The prototype for the MG1 Brazil minigod was unveiled for the first time over the weekend at the DKE Toys SDCC booth. This was the first time marka27 or anyone outside of NPT had seen a realized 3D version of the figure. I'm quite impressed with the sculpt -- it's very detailed and has a good sense of presence both in terms of appearance and stature (14" or so). People seemed to be quite pleased with the figure. They were much more impressed with the prototype than the drawings and 3D renderings. The leap from conceptual to tangible is a big one. For instance, the sketches and renderings really gave no indication of scale. Many remarked that it was a much larger figure than they had anticipated.
This initial prototype will be revised until marka27 is happy with it. In other development news, the next step in the quest for a speaker is to test various models enclosed in the prototype to test actual sound quality. Check back with us in two weeks (August 9th) for the latest pics + news on the development of the minigods.
Jul 12, 2006
minigods part 7
With SDCC a week away, work on the protoype of Marka27's first of three minigods figures, MG1 Brazil, is progressing smoothly. Here are the current in-progress pics of the sculpting work done by NPT's model master, Kevin Pouge. While the sculpt is still rough, the proportions are on point. On the speaker front, the search continues for a speaker that will knock out quality sound without driving the price sky high. Check back in two weeks (July 26th) for the latest dope on the minigods.
Jul 01, 2006
minigods part 6
Sculpting has begun on MG1 Brazil, the first of Marka27's upcoming 14" minigods vinyl figures featuring working speakers. Kevin, model master for Near Point Toys, has focused on completing the head and face at this point. Even at this intermediate stage, the facial details are shaping up nicely -- MG1 has an appropriately fierce stare. Fingers crossed, we will have another update on the sculpting progress this coming Wednesday (July 5th).
Jun 14, 2006
minigods part 5
This week, we have a nice 3d color render of MG1 "Brazil Colorway", the first of marka27's upcoming minigods figure line. Want to see this one up close and personal? The prototype will be shown at the DKE Toys booth at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con (July 19th - 23rd). While the final figure should stand about 14" tall, the prototype will be slightly larger in anticipation of the normal vinyl shrinkage factor.
Check back two weeks from now (6.28.06) for the latest on the development of the minigods.
May 31, 2006
minigods part 4
For this week's look at the minigods, we have another look at the MG1 Brazil minigod figure both in sketch form and a skinned 3d-render. We also will catch you up on the latest info on the development process.
Marka27 and Near Point Toys are deep in the process of "searching for the perfect beat" -- the best speaker that can be driven by a computer/ipod. On the figure side, Kevin the model master for Near Point is working on the sculpt. Hopefully we'll have good pictures of these early stages shortly. Finally, there's great news for those who have written Marka wondering about minigods distribution. Dov Kelemer from D.K.E Toys will be distributing the minigods and will also feature a prototype from NPT of the MG1 Brazil minigod at San Diego Comic-Con in July.
Be sure to drop by two weeks from Today (June 14th) for our next look at the minigods created by Victor "Marka" Quiñonez.
May 17, 2006
minigods part 3
Today we have a wireframe model of the MG1 Brazil Version which is the first of three minigods vinyl figures from Victor "Marka" Quiñonez. Each Giver of Divine Sound comes with an embedded working 3-inch speaker to listen to whatever music moves you, articulated head and arms and a wide base for the stability we crave and deserve. Beyond being an accurate representation of the final 14" figure's shape, the wireframe presented here showcases the inspired design which blends indigenous cues with imaginiative use of speaker imagery (especially the neck collar). The minigods: Givers of Divine Sound are shaping up to one of the standout toys for 2006. Check back in two weeks (May 31st) for our next glimpse at the minigods.
May 03, 2006
minigods part 2
This is our second of a recurring series of articles detailing the creation of Victor "Marka" Quiñonez's minigods vinyl figures.
This week we have some early sketches of one of the figures and the man himself gives us an overview of the design concept and an update on the process:
"The minigods are in the sculpting stage at the moment. It has been a challenge to make the proportions of the head and body flow with the 3-inch speaker located on the belly of all the figures. We are trying to keep the figure between 13 and 14 inches. We are also currently testing several speakers to find one with good quality sound that can be powered by an ipod or small electronic devise that will make the figure portable. No batteries or plug is our goal so the minigods can travel with you at anytime ready to play. Each minigod will represent a different region according to their colorway starting with Mexico, Brazil, and Japan. The 3D files are nearing completion and final adjustments are being made for the sculptor to use as a reference to assure accuracy in the final outcome of the designs. David Reeves at NPT as been a great help with advice and guidance throughout this project and will be heading up the work on the prototype."
We're really excited about the minigods which have a fresh and original look. Marka's ready to put his stamp on the designer toy game with his personal take on blending music and designer vinyl. So having seen more of one of the designs, what's your take on the minigods line? Be sure to check back here in two weeks time for our next look at Marka's minigods (05.16.06).
Apr 19, 2006
Mini-Gods: Givers of Divine Sound from Marka27
We're really excited to introduce the upcoming Mini-Gods
figures created by Victor "Marka" Quiñonez and to announce that we'll be bringing you a recurring series
of articles about the toys' development on every other Wednesday until
the anticipated August '06 release date. We have a lot of good stuff
in store for you including 3d renders, in-progress shots of the sculpt,
and more. What are Mini-Gods? Well...
Mini-Gods are the “Givers Of Divine Sound”. Since the beginning of time, many civilizations and cultures from various backgrounds throughout the world have used MUSIC as a means of ritual, celebration, healing, and even to declare battle for war. Mini-Gods are a direct representation of ancient and modern pop/street culture fused into one.
The creator of Mini-Gods, Victor “Marka” Quiñonez, wanted to bring something new to the table with soul, substance, and a reflection of oneself. Mini-Gods are inspired by Aztec, Mayan, African, Asian, South & Central American ancient art and culture.The main purpose of a Mini-God is to bring joy and peace of mind through visual and audio expression. Make Room For the New gods in town!