Rion Vernon is the creative genius behind the ever-so-swanky Pin-Up Toons. His sexy characters have been turning heads everywhere and we had a chance to speak with him about his art and what’s on the horizon.
Rion, Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. Let’s start with the Pin-Up Toons. How long has Pin-Up toons been around?
I’ve always drawn cartoon girlies, as it was a goal of mine to be able to sketch out cute girls at a moment’s notice. I used to try to draw like Patrick Nagel, ya know the guy who did all those high contrast pin-up images in the 80’s. The guy who’s legacy seems to be to inspire bad window dressing art for nail salons? Yeah, well I loved his stuff and did tons of drawings in that style during Jr. High School. I would always tend to draw cartoony stuff when left to my own devices, so that was kind of an inevitable direction for me. It wasn’t until about three years ago that the whole “Pin-Up Toons” thing really started to take a recognizable shape.
For such a wide variety of Pin-Up characters, the art seems really cohesive. Did you do them all at once, or did they develop over a period of time?
Yeah, I tend to bounce around a lot in terms of the fashion sense of my Pin-Up Toons. Really, it all comes down to the fact that I draw the girls that I find attractive…and well…I find a lot of girls attractive. The style of art really did take a while to develop. I pulled from so many sources for inspiration until it all melted into one look. I figured out the “formula” that works for me and I use it over and over again.
Where did you get your inspiration for them?
Stylistically I pulled from the old Tex Avery cartoons with “Red Hot Riding Hood”, the occasional SPUMCO girl, the old Disney Fred Moore girls and of course Jessica Rabbit. But the real inspiration comes from all the beautiful girls in the world…and there are a lot. Yeah…a lot.
So, you’ve worked with Stan Winston Studios, Dreamworks, Nickelodeon and Paramount? Was the bulk of all of that work doing character development, or did you have other roles?
Most of it was character design. I’ve done the occasional storyboard here and there. Early on, when I was like 19 I did these giant murals inside Stan Winston Studio. It was pretty hilarious, Stan gave me the gig and I had never painted before. I just said, “Sure, yeah I can do it.” And then figured it out while up on the scaffolding. Much-o thanks to the other guys there for the advice!!!
I loved the artwork in Toonsylvania. How were you involved with that show?
Unfortunately I was’t as involved as I would have liked. I was in there at the early stages and did some character design for them. There were about five other guys doing the same thing and the designs changed back and forth so much we thought the show would never get approved.
Your other website Creatures & Freaks (www.rionvernon.com) displays a wide variety of other characters and styles, many of them referring to Dreamworks. Will any of those characters be featured in any upcoming projects?
I have this awful karma, man. I have worked on and done so many cool designs for so many projects that consistently get cancelled! It sucks…that’s one of the main reasons that I am working on my own stuff right now. I got really tired of doing my best work for some one else to own and then shelve. Almost everything you see on that website, aside from the Jurassic Park stuff, will never see the light of day on any project. Kinda depressing…but hey, I have a huge portfolio now right? Right? (begins to cry)
I read somewhere that Tim Burton once approached Roman Dirge to do some sort of animated feature, but Roman turned him down. If given the opportunity, is there anyone in the industry that you would like to work with?
I think Terry Gilliam is the cat’s pajamas (and I don’t use that phrase everyday, let me tell you). Besides him, those guys at PIXAR know where it’s at and John Kricfalusi is pretty great…no matter the horror stories I have heard about him. Other than that I would like to work with the Olsen Twins…very closely…in 491 days.
You’ve mentioned your early fascination with Jessica Rabbit. There seems to be a surge in Anime/Toon fetishism these days. Would you say you have a toon fetish?
I’ve seen a lot of those links to cartoon porn pop up. It’s crazy! All that Anime stuff or “Fred and Wilma in hardcore action!” I mean I think we have a very specific generational tweak here. We all grew up watching cartoons and cartoons are drawn by adults who inevitably design attractive cartoon girls. I think there’s a point where puberty and cartoon boobies collide and POW, youÕve got a fetish! For me, I prefer the real girlies. I just happen to interpret them artistically in a cartoon fashion. ThatÕs how I respond to reality…itÕs so much harder for me to draw “realistically” than it is to just go for the exaggerated shapes. I did draw Alice in Wonderland naked once, though.
I’ve read in some other interviews that you were planning on possibly doing some merchandising of your work? (I would love to have a Pin-Up Toons Zippo!)
Funny you should mention that! Yes, it’s a sure thing now. I have just signed on to produce a line of Pin-Up Toons merchandise with a wonderful company called Headline Entertainment. We are in the beginning stages of getting all that stuff rolling and I am very excited. We have a ton of cool ideas lined up…so stay tooned and check back at my website for updates! Yes, if I get my way there WILL be Pin-Up Toons lighters!
Mac or PC? (yep I’m a geek)
PC all the way, baby!
What kind of advice could you offer to someone who is trying to break into the animation/toon industry?
Portfolio portfolio portfolio! And take any lame ass job you can get. I was the guy in high school who didn’t date and spent all his time in his room drawing pictures. So, by the time I had graduated high school I had this huge body of work already. I think that’s what got me in to my first gig…they could tell I had passion and I had honed my technique. It sucks at first, and if you’re looking to get into animation you are gonna get the crap jobs early on. Working in production ain’t fun. I say, learn flash animation…I have no idea how to do it and I wish I did. It’s so easy to put together clean looking stuff that way! Embrace the machine…oops, did I just say that?
You can see more of Rion’s work on his website at: www.pinuptoons.com
