There are so many talented artists currently creating, designing, and producing designer toys that it's difficult to whittle them down to only five. So we're looking at five artists that made a big impact in 2009.

#5 - Matt Doughty (Onell Design)
Some folks might not know who the man behind Onell Design and the Glyos figures is. Doughty spearheads the company that released a ton of new products in 2009. And if you've ever seen his creations using the Glyos figure parts - you'll wonder how he did it.

#4 - Bwana Spoons (Grass Hut)
Not only did Bwana release original figures and paintings, but he teamed up with David Horvath to customize vinyl Uglydolls. I was so impressed that I had to go ahead and sign up for Bwana's SARS subscription club.

#3 - Erick Scarecrow (ESC-Toy)
2009 saw the man (pictured on the left) behind ESC-Toy not only release vinyl figures...but he focused a lot of his time producing a number of small run, handmade resin figures. And I think this handmade stuff have been the most impressive ESC-Toy products to date.

#2 - Andrew Bell (Dead Zebra)
Bell (pictured to the right of Scarecrow) released possibly the most sought after vinyl toy of 2009. The creater of O-No Sushi not only released his own figure, but his designs were included in the BIC Buddy and Dunny lines. There was the Kidreaper, prints, customs...

**WINNER** #1 - David Lanham (Strangekiss)
David had a big year, releasing his Bill the Yeti figure. Ollie the Twitterific Bird sort of fell on the edge of 2010...and we're looking forward to the release of Fetch (Pete and Barnaby) and Maxswell. He also designed skins for Infectious, original prints and levels for one of the most popular iPhone games (Ramp Champ) of the year.