Playful Gorilla!
Tell us about you and your work
Hi! My name is Alexis Rivera also known by my artist name Playful Gorilla! I'm a Puerto Rican born Philly raised professional artist trying to live the dream. I’m a Toy Designer, Illustrator, Multimedia specialist and all around working artist. As far as I can remember I was doodling on everything I could. WIth no formal training and after dropping out of college I knew I wanted to pursue an art career. What that meant at the time - I really wasn't sure. So I went down to Miami to study animation and after graduating I did odd jobs here and there animating background elements, photoshop work, flash animations, basically any odd job I could find to make a living. . I spent the better part of 6 years learning new skill sets and software - but never truly reaching a goal of animating for a big studio.
Traveling the country working at different creative corporate jobs in different industries - I ended up starting a family. I no longer could spend the 18+ hrs a day sometimes sitting in front of a computer - because the birth of my son was the most amazing thing to ever happen. So I leaned into my 9-5 with a little chip on my shoulder - of putting my animation dream on hold.
This was the beginning of what I'm doing today. Sitting at the least creative job I’ve had, a new dad, but creatively bored out of my mind - it bugged me that I had this skill set I was under utilizing when it came to 3d artwork. One day I was invited to a Maya Users Meeting group in New York. Maya is the 3d program I use to animate. In that meeting Blue Sky animation studios presented a behind the scenes look at Rio, their latest (at the time) animated film. I was thrown back into my love for what I was doing - I knew I wanted to be a part of it somehow.
What changed my trajectory was the presentation that followed. An animator named Steve Talkowski presented how he mass produced his own toy. He called it a designer toy and my jaw dropped. Here’s a guy who was animating full time in Maya, who also recently became a Dad, who struggled with work/life balance - it was my exact story! He then began to tell about how he found the love for 3d printing and walked us through his steps on how he went from a sketch to an actual figure produced overseas. I was hooked! He taught me that I can do everything I do for animation - designing, sculpting, coloring, texturing, rigging but instead of animating you can go the opposite direction and bring these characters into the real world. That night I came home to my wife and told her what I was going to pursue.Playful Gorilla was born that night.
The idea was I was going to be a toy designer! My soul had set its eyes on a new dream. It was a perfect fit to what I could do skill wise. So while working 9 to 5 and freelancing - I studied the ins and outs of toy production. I spent 2 years just attending cons and learning the players. I taught myself traditional sculpting skills. Unfortunately, I realized real fast that it was expensive, so I had to take the scenic route but I was well on my way to reach that goal.I engaged in illustration work to build an audience while I planned my ideas and roll outs.
Fast forward 8 years and today I’m super happy to say, I’ve earned my Toy Designer title! After hundreds of conventions and gallery shows - after countless corporate opportunities - countless custom toys and small in house production runs, I currently have quite a few credits under my belt. I have designed for indie brands like Tenacious Toys, collaborated with some of the bigger names in this industry like Quiccs, to giant corporations like Cirque Du Soleil and my latest achievement, Disney. As an old school animator this was a dream within a dream to design for my all time favorite studio.You can find my Disney dog toys across the country in Canada and, I still can't believe this, in my beautiful island of Puerto Rico! I thrive in this Designer Toy community every day. I’ve helped others bring to life their ideas and now am onto my next goal and dream of creating my own world with my own characters called The PrimeAPE Chronicles. It represents the culmination of all that I have learned into something tangible I can leave behind for my kids. A legacy of sorts - that shows that if you truly work hard at chasing your dreams - these dreams will come true.
What inspires you?
Wow - so much. I’m a kid at heart. My two boys are my biggest inspiration. I always ask myself - will they think this is cool? I feel that maintaining a young heart to see life through their eyes keeps you fresh. I'm inspired by those artists before me. The comic artists I grew up on like Jack Kirby, Frank Miller and McFarlane. The newer comic creators that bring our heritage front and center like Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez. The filmmakers that created the visual soundtrack of our lives. The recording artists like Big Pun, the street artists, the painters and muralists! Art is everywhere around us and I like to soak it all in! Inspiration can come from damn near anywhere as long as you have an open heart to let it in.
What does community mean to you?
Community is life. Crossing paths with others that have similar tastes but bring new perspectives is invigorating. Being able to build something a lot of others are fully invested in is the reason, in my opinion, we are here. You can inspire others by your actions. You can be helped when the universe kicks you around. A community is of utmost importance. I've been on every side of this coin and let me tell you - without the continued support of this toy community - i simply wouldn't be here. I’ve lost and I have won. I’ve been beaten down and raised up. I’ve been through so much and I keep thinking back, without a community - we are nothing.
Favorite song
Music plays an integral role in my creative process. Whether I need to reach deep in my feelings or get pumped and hyped for an all nighter - you will hear music playing loud! I honestly can listen to anything - I know people say that - but my track list has it all. But if any one knows me they know, my go to Reggaeton. Give me the classics, Don Omar or Tego, give me the new bangers, Bad Bunny, Farukko or Balvin - there's literally a track for everything you can be going through.
Favorite Place
If I could live anywhere - it would be by a beach. I still have fond memories of visiting Vieques as a kid - and if I remember right, Playa Grande. Even that young I thought it was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen. It seemed so far away and remote. My heart definitely skips a beat when I think of going back to the island. But as I previously mentioned - I’m a kid at heart. My favorite place of all time is Disney World. I’m a Disneyphile - I’ve been watching as long as I can remember. I traced Mickey as a kid, I religiously watched all the movies growing up. As an adult I’ve studied the Nine Old Men and now designed toys for them. The parks hit different for me. I’ve experienced the Parks as a kid, a teenager, A college student, an adult and now as a parent. The park, the lore, all of it has such deep seeded memories that have shaped who I am. From childhood road trip memories, to being the roommate of my best friend who’s dad was an Imagineer. Being physically there makes you feel like a kid all over. I know it sounds corny - but it's a place that represents so many happy parts of my life.
To find out more about this Toy journey I am on you can follow me online across the board or catch me live on Friday nights on my IG page as I host BoozinBuddies$ with my buddy Fett Up Toys..
