Choosing the one artist who has had the biggest impact on the past year is always somewhat of a challenge. It's especially a challenge when there are so many amazing artists working their magic in this realm. Narrowing it down to 3 was hard enough...but then selecting one was even more difficult.
David Horvath is most widely known as 'That Uglydoll Guy'. This past year has introduced us to a few more Uglys as well as 2 series of Little Uglies. We also got a glimpse of the Pounda vinyl figures from Critterbox and a Little Bony vinyl from SEG. Not to mention his Dunny, Trexi and Qee designs...
Joe Ledbetter appears to be the talk of the town over the last several months. He's not entirely new to the vinyl scene, as a number of his customs have been showcased in exhibitions. However, he has introduced his first original line of toys with Wheaty Wheat Studios, and the Fire Cat and Mr. Bunny vinyls are at the top of every collectors wish list.
Frank Kozik has been doing his own thing for years now. He is one of the kings of customs. We saw Bone Bunnies, Smorkin' Labbits (big and small), and a number of Kozik Dunnys over the past year. He's now working with Toy2R to release a line of Dr. Bomb figures...can't wait!
Winner: David Horvath
Boy...this was a tough category to choose a winner for. There are so many deserving artists out there. David has been working hard on plush designs as well as vinyl. Plus, he had enough time in 2005 to go get married.
