Born in Spain during the late 1980s, Javier Jimenez grew up when the country was still reeling from years of fascist rule. Yet was also expanding economically, and opening up to the rest of the world diplomatically. Allowing a young Javier to become exposed to a wide variety of pop culture from his own, and other countries. Such as anime, manga, and computer games from Japan. Toys and comics from America; and tabletop roleplaying from England – to name but a few of his early passions.
A lifelong creator; it was in his 20s that Javier first decided to dedicate himself to art – After spending some unsatisfactory years studying at university. Going on to focus his time on drawing, sketching, character design, and dipping his toes into the online art community of the mid 2000s.
It wasn’t long after that Javier discovered the at the time still nascent world of designer toys. Something he realised he could devote himself to creatively – as it drew upon many of his interests and passions; and also potentially turn into a full time profession.
So he studied the scene; and got actively involved. Establishing his brand StickUp Monsters soon after – with the support and encouragement of his toy sensei; Mark Nagata of Max Toys Fame.
Today; Javier and StickUp Monsters are much loved members of the global designer toy community. Creating toys, art, and other objects. Collaborating with scene stalwarts, exhibiting at shows around the world, and with an ever increasing fanbase. Who adore the world Javier has created, the many toys / characters within it; his art and other releases.
Wanting to learn more about him, we sent Javier some questions to answer over email.
Explore his world, and get to know the man, below…
Getting Acquainted
Name and date of birth?
My name’s Javier Jimenez and I was born in the summer of 1988.
City, state, and country you currently call home?
I’m living in the countryside of Granada, in the south of Spain.
City, state, and country you are from?
I was born and raised in Granada and I’ve lived here my entire life.
Honestly there’s no place I’d rather be living in, and last year we got our own house in the country side (but pretty close to the city) with a big basement for my art shenanigans, and space for my toy collections, and I couldn’t feel happier.
In both soft vinyl toy and 2d forms.
To help us to get to know you – Please share a memory, or two, or more if you wish; from the stages of your life noted below:
* Your childhood:
I think it’s fair to say there were two constants through all my childhood and they were art (in the shape of comics, cartoons and videogames) and toys.
Most artists from the late 80s I know have similar influences so I guess it’s a generational thing, but I remember carrying my backpack with sketchbooks and pencils literally everywhere and drawing comics and monsters. I would carry action figures too, and later my Game Boy Pocket.
Toys like Mighty Max, Trash Bag Bunch, Biker Mice from Mars, Street Sharks, Marvel and DC action figures and later LEGO were just some of my favourites.
* Your teenage years:
During my teenage years I was really into Pokémon, anime and Warhammer.
I loved power metal music and remember spending countless hours listening to bands like Blind Guardian, Rhapsody, or Kamelot while painting my Warhammer armies.
At this age I really loved high fantasy and it was actually in those years when Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie adaptations came out and I remember they blew my mind.
I became a big fan of Japanese manga and anime too, and during the PS2 era I would play so many Japanese RPGs that really influenced me like the Persona saga or any of the Shin Megami Tensei games that were released for that console.
The amount of cool monster designs in those games (from the brilliant Kazuma Kaneko) was a huge inspiration as there were so many and so different from each other, most of them being Kaneko’z reinterpretations of creatures from different religions and cultures.
* Your 20s:
That’s when I started taking making my own art more seriously, and with the idea of turning it into a job.
It was a time where I was studying something unrelated to art at university, and honestly it did not make me happy or look forward to my future. I did not want to spend my life feeling miserable doing a job I did not want to do, but I didn’t know what else to do either.
Then I remembered my passion for drawing and telling stories and I started to draw more.
One day I came across some vinyl toys on the Internet and the urban aesthetic in them made me become obsessed. I researched and realized it was independent artists who were designing, and even painting them. Not big companies, but people like you and me.
I thought maybe I could be one of them, too.
Art toys happened to combine the thing I loved the most growing up anyway, so discovering them was an epiphany to me.
Long story short, I started pursuing that dream, designed my first toy and produced it in resin.
I met amazing artists like Mark Nagata who supported me and taught me lots of things I ignored about the toy scene.
Then I started traveling to shows around the world, because the scene in my country was non-existent.
Then I created new toys, made my brand StickUp Monsters and worked hard on expanding it with new characters, toys and stories.
Pictured with fellow artists Mark Nagata (left), Rika Shibazaki (2nd right), and David Horvath (very right).
* Your 30s so far:
Two important memories from my 30s are my wedding and honeymoon in Japan with my wife and lots of old friends, and definitely the moment we bought our house.
That was a game changer for me as having more space has allowed me to work way more comfortably and to keep collecting stuff I like!
Personal motto(s)?
“Create stuff you personally like and are excited about.”
During these years in the toy scene I’ve seen artists and brands trying to mimic what was popular at that moment only to disappear when the trend faded. So do what you like, be positive about it, give it your best; and people with similar interests will follow.
What role did toys play in your childhood?
… and any favourites you remember?
Oh man toys made me so happy. They boosted my imagination and I created all sorts of stories with them.
I loved ‘beat em up’ videogames as a kid (think Final Fight, Captain Commando, etc) and I would take my action figures, choose a main character and the enemies and play like it was a videogame where the hero had to advance beating minions till they reached the boss.
I would even name their special fighting moves, which I blame anime for.
I had Biker Mice from Mars, Ninja Turtles, Marvel and DC heroes, Street Sharks and many more.
But before action figures I enjoyed collecting small toys and playsets. I absolutely loved Mighty Max toys and a MicroMachines toy line called ZBots.
Creativity Questions
When and why did you first become interested in art, design, toy making, and everything creative?
… and any pivotal moments or influences?
I think I’ve replied to this question already when sharing memories from my 20s – But yeah it was actually in my early 20s that I realized drawing and creating stories was what made me happy.
Of course, I’ve been interested in art my whole life but in my 20s I started taking it seriously, getting into art communities like DeviantArt and then I had this epiphany when I found art toys and saw they combined everything I loved.
If you had to explain your creative endeavours to some recently crash-landed aliens…
What would you tell them?
Hell, sometimes it’s hard enough to explain humans…haha.
But I guess I’d tell them I make objects that represent creatures from my mind, give them some color; and sell them to people who cherish and collect them.
For those at home who may be unaware – Please tell us all about your brand Stick Up Monsters.
(Such as when and why it was formed, the people involved and their roles, plans for the future, etc.)
StickUp Monsters was born from my love for toys, cartoons, street culture, and folk stories from foreign cultures such as the Japanese. Of course I created the brand and universe out of my passion for telling stories too!
Every character in this universe has their own story and motivations and they are all interconnected somehow. Every time I design a new character or figure, I expand on the story by either adding new creatures or evolving or adding more to the existing ones.
The first character I created under this brand was Wananeko, a cat that was abandoned as a kitty and eventually became a yokai. Dorobanii, a jackalope burglar followed and became Wananeko’s friend and sidekick.
Others like Ghost Bat, Amabie or Nyarikabe-kun joined the universe later, and of course there’s more coming soon.
While I run the brand mostly by myself, it wouldn’t be fair not to mention some of the great sculptors that have given life to my designs: my wife Cristina Ravenna sculpted most of my early figures, including the first version of Wananeko that was made in resin, but I’ve worked with more amazing sculptors like Victor Marin, Dante Rockford, and Andrea Calleja.
Please share the process for producing your wonderful soft vinyl toys!
From design, to sculpt, production, packaging, and eventual release.
Well, everything starts with a spark I guess? It could be a myth I read about, or an animal I saw… or maybe just a word that I link to an image in my head. Or the lyrics in a song. Or a doodle I did without giving it too much though that suddenly starts to grow on me.
Sometimes I come up with the story before I even draw the character and it helps me in the process of designing it.
It definitely has to be something that I feel excited to make. Producing a toy is hard and it takes so much time, effort and money so if I am going to go through all of that, it needs to make me happy.
So with an idea in mind I start drawing until I like what I see. Then I need to adapt the character to a toy design, taking into account the limitations that the production process may have.
For example, for soft vinyl you’re not supposed to have super thin parts as they may get warped or even ripped when pulling the piece from the mold.
Once the toy design is ready, I work with a sculptor to get the 3D prototype done.
Then that prototype is sent to a factory and produced in vinyl.
I get the toys blank (unpainted) and paint them myself.
If anyone is interested in seeing the process, my YouTube channel has quite a few videos on it; and while I speak Spanish in these, there’s English subtitles for every video.
You can find me channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@MakingToys
How does the production for your resin toys differ compared with your soft vinyl?
It’s the same regarding the concept and design phase, but production is different and less restrictive regarding shapes.
What impact has fellow artist and toy maker Mark Nagata of Max Toys had on your artistic and personal life?
Mark is a legend in the toy scene, and such a nice guy too. Back when I was an aspiring toy artist and had no toys of my own produced, he believed in me and gave me feedback and insight on the toy scene.
He trusted me with the design of a poster for his Eyezon anniversary show, and we produced a resin figure with my reinterpretation of his character.
We’ve worked together countless times, both for toy productions and toy shows. I’ve learned so much from him and I’m happy I can call him a friend.
Based on an original illustration by Javier.
… and how did you two come to connect and collaborate in the first place?
Back in 2011 I was so obsessed with sofubi and art toys that I teamed up with a local comic convention to organize a toy show. I invited a bunch of artists and brands and Mark was one of them.
Mark not only joined the show and sent us a lot of Max Toy figures, but we also started talking regularly and he became very supportive of my art. We started working together regularly and to this day we still do!
We’ll actually be working on something new in 2025…
Who are some of your favourite artists, filmmakers, musicians, comic makers, and toy creators?
…and what is it about their works that inspire and move you?
I’d say one of my favorite creators of all times is Shigeru Mizuki, the creator of GeGeGe no Kitaro. He’s responsible for making Yokai relevant in the modern age again, and his life is such an inspiration.
Basically, he fought in Papua New Guinea during WWII, lost an arm to malaria, survived the war and back in Japan he had to endure through some of the toughest times the country has lived.
Still, his tremendous determination to draw comics led him to success, creating one of the most popular shows created Japan.
Whenever I feel like there’s something I can’t do, I think of how Shigeru Mizuki lived through extremely hard times and still made it.
As for toy artists, I’m not really in the loop these days because it’s hard to keep up… but I really love the work of artists like Sunguts, Pico Pico, Mirock Toy, and many others.
Music is really important to me and a big part of my work process. I am listening to music most of the time and I enjoy all kinds of music, from hip hop to rock, Spanish flamenco, folk and country music. It just fuels me and gives me energy to work.
I listen to artists like Kendrick Lamar, Colter Wall, or Israel Fernandez to mention just a few from different genres… but also oldies like Townes Van Zandt, Blaze Foley, or Leonard Cohen.
If people wanted to check out your stuff, work with you, or buy some of your wares – Where should they visit and how should they get in touch?
They can find me on IG (username @JavierJimenezXL) and also on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MakingToys
Everyone can get my toys and apparel from www.stickupmonsters.com (shipping worldwide!); and contact me via email if you’d like to discuss collabs, production or anything else: stickupmonsters@gmail.com
Any news, upcoming projects, or releases to share?
I’m currently preparing for a solo show in Sra. Gallery in Barcelona coming in April, as well as an event in Hong Kong later in July.
Of course, some new toys are in production… some 100% StickUp Monsters and some collabs with artists I love and admire.
As for new releases, I try to have new toys added to my shop once every month. I plan on having a release with many one of a kind pieces in late February, but I have no pics for those yet!
Odds & Ends
If you could live in any place, during any historical era – When and where would that be?
… and why would you choose that time and place?
With the world we live in becoming more and more hostile and unkind every day, I kinda wish I could live through the 90s again and again.
Might be rose tinted glasses though, as I was a kid back then and didn’t see the ugly in the world as I do now.
What are the top 3 items you own?
… and what is it about each of them that you so love?
Right now, I’d say my computer is top 1 as it’s one of my main work tools but it’s also powerful enough to run newer videogames so it’s both a tool and a toy, haha.
Second would be my Pokémon collection of Bandai finger puppets.
I just love how they keep releasing more with the first sets dating back to the late 90s, and they’ve kept the style but you can tell the sculpts have gotten better thanks to the more advanced production tools. I know how the molds for these toys are limited so looking at them and thinking of why things were sculpted the way they were is magical to me.
I know this is not one item but a full collection but I’m proud of this collection, haha.
Made by Japanese company Bandai over the years.
And for the third item I feel like I need to include one of the sofubi in my collection and I’m choosing my Kaiju Kitaro VS Robot set released by Max Toy in Japan. Ok it’s two figures, I cheated again, but you can’t have just one without the other.
I love their sculpts and that chapter/episode combined yokai and kaiju so magnificently.
In a fight between the following Spanish monsters: Muladona aka Donamula Vs. A gang of rowdy Duende(s) – Who would win?
…and why?
Oh boy the duendes would definitely win this one. There’s different types of them but some are evil bastards, while the poor muladona is just a lady who was cursed for having a non religious life style, and transformed into a donkey.
I drew the clash between them and included a trading card too. I produce trading cards to gift to orders from my shop, with a new one coming with each release.
This one will be the free card in the next release this month.
If you had to sum up your home-country, Spain, in one object – What would it be?
Why did you choose it?
… and how does it represent Spain to you?
I’m going to choose a guitar. I was going to say I’d rather choose a feeling and say “alegría” (joy, happiness) but let’s stick with objects and say guitar, because a guitar is “alegría” for me anyway.
Spaniards are, for the most part, open minded people and friends and family are so important to us. We’re optimistic people and even through hard times we try to keep our sense of humor. People here go out to eat and drink together all the time, and we try our best to enjoy life.
That’s why I’d say a guitar, something that can bring so much joy, could represent my country and it’s people.
Please describe your last dream in detail…
Oh, so actually last night I dreamed I was in Japan with a BIG group of friends. We were walking through a beach but somehow Mount Fuji was visible in the horizon and it was covered in snow.
We ended up in a bar drinking, eating and laughing.
A cross between a lion and a dog, believed to protect from people and things from evil.
What does God mean to you?
If I’m to be honest, I am not a very spiritual person but I do believe someone or something put us here. Maybe some kind of super energy, and for reasons unknown?
Would knowing the truth make things better… or worse?
Of everything you have done so far, what would you most like to be remembered for?
I’d love people to remember the stories and the toys I’ve created with joy.
I make toys because I love toys myself, but also because I know they make collectors happy (same as buying toys makes ME happy!), and whenever someone buys one of my toys, the fact that they bought something I made because they like it enough to spend their hard earned money on it makes me more happy than getting that money, if that makes sense.
Links
- Javier Jimenez – Instagram
- Javier Jimenez – twitter
- StickUp Monsters – Online Store (via BigCartel)
- StickUp Monsters – Online Store 2
- StickUp Monsters – Website
- StickUp Monsters – Facebook
- Making Toys (Javier’s toy Making Channel) – YouTube
- Making Toys – Facebook
