,

VINYLSMACK artist Jacob Morales Interview on Leaving Today Podcast

,
Leaving Today Podcast


Last week I had the pleasure of being on the Leaving Today Podcast (@leavingtodaypodcast on instagram). We covered the inspiration for the Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise Inspired Dioramas/MULTPLANES. We also went over current and future product releases, the inspiration for the art I do and my take on the various facets of the Disneyland Park. Make sure to follow them on instagram and Apple Podcast as well!

How to Assemble a Multiplanes Product

Here’s a quick short video on how to assemble the “Happy Haunts” Diorama. This diorama features a multilayered scene of Disneyland’s classic attraction, the Haunted Mansion. All other Multiplanes assemble this way as well. Enjoy and pick one up today!

My latest creation, the African Queen Jungle Cruise Inspired Boat!


The African Queen is finally alive after spending a few months developing it. Well actually, It was originally planned as a whole Jungle Cruise scene with the boat in the river. After spending a few weeks playing with different designs, it dawned on me that the real jewel of that ride isn't any of the scenes you experience but actually the ride vehicle itself. This propelled me to pause the scene design and put my focus on the boat itself.

Every time I visit Disneyland, I always stop into the shops to check out if there's any new "high end" merchandise for that attraction and I'm always left disappointed. I think they should have nice collectibles of every attraction vehicle.

Willy Wonka
Willy Wonka

These are the machines that float us into lands of excitement and wonder kind of like the scene in Willy Wonka where they go on the boat ride or the Wonka mobile. If the journey is the destination, then these attraction vehicles are the transformative and memorable catalysts that keep propelling us forward. Every time we ride into these attractions, we go with those close to us such as friends, lovers, and family. We’re all experiencing the same thing in a small enclosed vessel. Even with strangers, it’s fun and memorable.

So this is why I developed the African Queen, simply because I wanted one and now you can have one as well.

Now onto the next project!

-Jacob

African Queen Video Review by Jungle Crews Podcast

Jungle Cruise Boat

Kyle from the Tales from the Jungle Crews podcast reviews our African Queen Jungle Cruise inspired boats! You can follow him over at: https://www.instagram.com/junglecrewspodcast/ Also check out the podcast!

TFJC is the only podcast devoted to Disney's Jungle Cruise attraction & it's Skippers. The show has had over 2.5m downloads & over 150 Skippers.

They also sell merchandise at: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/the-skipper-store?ref_id=8267

The African Queen is now available for purchase. Click here!

Visit the Haunted Mansion...in miniature

This is the Disneyland Haunted Mansion inspired product that I developed this past November. It originally started as a large format multilayered framed piece a few years back and was a hit at the various conventions I took it to but as crowds would pass through the booth, most expressed how much they loved the framed piece but was out of their price range. Each Haunted Mansion had over 100 small intricately cut parts and even had a wireless LED system. These factors made it very costly and took a lot of time to build and thus out of the affordable range.


Fast forward to this past November, I reworked all of the art and scaled it down to about 1/6 the size of the original and designed it in a way that it still retained its 3D art style. I also added guests and brought in the horseless carriage; both supporting elements to the experience as you enter the queue. After several prototypes, I was also able to simplify the art to roughly 12 layers versus 100+. After implementing these changes, I was able to deliver a product that is affordable and still made without consuming so much time. I eventually debuted the product at DesignerCon this year at the Anaheim Convention Center. I was so hyped to be able to sell these across the street from Disneyland! I might not be able to go into the park and visit the Haunted Mansion as often as I’d like but for now, I now have a miniature one on my desk and so can you!

Haunted Mansion Prototype
Haunted Mansion Prototype 2
Assembling a Haunted Mansion
Painting+Haunted+Mansion+Rails.jpg
Haunted Mansion Carriage
Haunted Mansion Retail Package

Each MULTIPLANES measure roughly 5” x 7” x 2.75” and is packed with super intricate laser cut graphics. I love the immersive nature of this art form that I’m pursuing. It truly is the next best thing to actually being there in person. One day I imagine that I’ll get these outsourced but for the time being, I design, produce and assemble all of these by hand; even down to the hand painted rails. Happy Haunts are now available!

Haunted Mansion Diorama

Haunted Mansion Diorama

Disneyland Inspired - Haunted Mansion Multilayer Diorama
$40.00
Add To Cart

Our Series 2 MULTIPLANES, Wonderwalls," is now shipping!!!

This past weekend at our favorite annual Designercon convention we launched our all new lineup of MULTIPLANES called “Wonderwalls.” It features 5 new designs of subjects that we love. McFly, Pacific Electric Railroad, Griffith Observatory, Acoustic Guitars, and Happy Haunts are the new stars of this current line of MULTIPLANES! They all feature super intricately cut graphics that are distributed across 6 frames. They make a great gift for people that love dioramas and 3 dimensional art. They all measure about 5”x7”x3” and are perfect for displaying on a shelf, desk, or display cabinet.

Get one today!

MULTIPLANES Series 2 Preview | 1 of 5 | Happy Haunts


MULTIPLANES Series 2 makes it’s official debut at @designercon. It’s called “Wonderwalls”, and features some of the subjects I love the most!

Here’s a quick preview of “Happy Haunts,” a place that I’m sure needs no introduction. Well loved by most people that visit Disneyland, this is my favorite attraction only second to Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s packed full of small intricate details like attraction guests, painted embellishments, queue rails, and even a ghostly carriage driver! The Happy Haunts have materialized! This is 1 of 5 all new designs that will be available for purchase. This baby measures 5” x 7” with a depth of 2.75” and will look perfect on your shelf, desk, or display! Pick one up exclusively at @designerconNovember 16-18 at the Anaheim Convention Center. We’re in booth #630. See you there! 
#diorama #hauntedmansion #disneyland #happyhaunts #magickingdom #disney #foolishmortals #halloween #vinylsmack #multiplanes #dcon #designercon #grimgrinningghosts #nightmarebeforechristmas #spooky #wdw #3d

The Story of How MULTIPLANES Were Developed

MULTIPLANES-Title-and-Slogan.png
Papercraft-Time-Travel-Kit-3up---Low-Res.jpg

For the last couple of years, I’ve been developing a new product line called MULTIPLANES that I sell through VINYLSMACK; my side excursion. Originally most product I sold through VINYLSMACK were vinyl decals. I eventually started moving to paper made die-cut products like the set of Back to The Future Deloreans (pictured left). After exploring the possibility of mixing different materials on one product, I reached back to an old product idea I had created about 10 years ago that featured multilayer art that was spread across multiple frames just like they did with the early animation with the Multiplane cameras. My early attempts failed because I was using clear transparency sheets to layer the art. After a few layers, the art would get murky/cloudy and wasn’t clean so I eventually ditched the idea.

Yeti---Prototype-1-Print-2.jpg


Fast forward to 2016, I brought the idea back to life after I invested in a laser cutting machine. After the first proof of concept (shown above) and several prototypes, I was able to bring my original vision to life by creating three dimensional scenes out of paper, wood, acrylic, and full color printed elements (shown below).

Taken-Exploded3.gif

I also created a system where multiple frames quickly get inserted into a slotted base which makes setting up the product easy. It also let’s the user take part in “building” the product. Part of the fun is seeing a three dimensional scene come to life.

 

Series-1---World-of-Mystery-Icon-2.png

Series 1. For the first release of the product, I wanted to have 5 products to choose from that were all related in some way. I ended up choosing the Paranormal/Cryptozoology genre for Series 1. I love the genre and tales that come from them. I often listen to podcasts like Mysteryous Universe, Expanded Perspectives, and The Gralien Report which not only feature these type of stories but present them in an engaging way.  I love the creepy tales about the Men in Black, Yeti, and Kraken so I started off with those. I also brought in my brother to work on the UFO scene called “TAKEN.” I also created a fictional character called the Oddity which features a “freak show” type of character that sits in a traveling carriage that gets hauled by a flying bird. For that one, I just let my imagination run wild.

550B3848-2-2.jpg

The goal for every MULTIPLANE early in the development and going forward is for there to be this feeling like your looking into a scene that is unfolding. I wanted them to feel very alive and packed with motion, emotion, drama, intensity, and life. Every MULTIPLANE also has a central character or object that pulls viewer in visually. You really have to see one of them in person to appreciate the depth and level of detail that each one has. I also designed them to be perfect for keeping on your desk or a shelf so they don’t take up too much space.

MULTIPLANES Series 1, World of Mystery,” has been out for over a year now and I’m now starting to design a 2nd series that explores the lofty heights that transportation reached before the modern era. From electric trains that sprawled early Los Angeles, to taking command of the skies, Series 2 showcases mankind’s vision for the future of transportation.

Buy one today at: vinylsmack.com

The VINYLSMACK Haunted Mansion Framed Diorama

This is a short preview of the process of building our Haunted Mansion Model.

The next Multiplanes Gallery piece is finally complete. One year and several prototypes later, the final Haunted Mansion now lives!!! It was a labor of love designing this. When I use to go on the ride as a kid, I remember almost pissing my pants in the elevator area out of fear. My dad was the only one that made me feel safe enough to brave the entire thing. Anyways TMI. This bad boy is hand built by yours truly and features over 125 separate pieces and includes remote controlled LED lighting in a 16x20 frame. The Haunted Mansion is not currently available for sale online. We only sell the large gallery pieces at conventions. If you're interested in purchasing one and live somewhat local to Southern California, please shoot us an email.

Disneyland Inspired - Haunted Mansion Multilayer Diorama
Sold Out

Since the original writing of this post back in May, 2018, after much requests and feedback, we redesigned the Haunted Mansion as a smaller format product. It’s now available as a MULTIPLANES and is perfect for displaying on a shelf or desks! Check it out!



Mr. Rogers, The Patron Saint of Make Believe

Introducing "The Patron Saint of Make Believe." This one was a long labor of love and a VINYLSMACK ode to the man that sparked the imagination of generations. If Mr. Rogers was ever elevated to sainthood, I'm sure he'd be the Patron Saint of Make Believe. He was a creative genius in his own right; playing many parts bringing the puppets to life. Here's to King Friday the XIII! These 13"x19" fine art prints are now available in the shop.

CUSTOMER SERVICE: For shop policies, click HERE.