Hey Bucky, tell us a little about who you are and where you are from.

Hello, My name is Roy Vento but I go by the name Bucky Lastard.  I'm  
31, married with no children (yet).  I'm a graduate of the University  
of Texas Pan American with a bachelors in computer information systems.  
I work for a small multimedia firm in McAllen, Texas where I currently  
reside.

What was your first custom toy, and how did you get into customizing  
vinyl?

I was looking at a website for graphic artists when I found a link for  
Vinyl Pulse. When I started looking through it, I came across this  
crazy custom ham Labbit by Motorbot. I was totally blown away, I knew  
at that point I had to try my hand at customizing...shortly after I  
was hooked! My first custom was a Munny that was based on a gamblers  
misfortune called Hard Luck.

You have a rather unique artistic style that people seem to crave, was  
this something that came just came naturally to you?

Ha-ha, I'm not sure about crave but I can tell you a little bit about  
where I picked up some of my artistic style. My parents ran a  
silkscreen/vinyl sign business when I was growing up, so I was exposed  
to that whole scene when I was really really young. By the time I was  
12 I was screening t-shirts and applying vinyl designs on all sorts of  
automobiles. As I got older, I started to get really into the graphic  
side of things. While working at the shop after school, I began to  
teach myself Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw and any other graphic  
software I could get my hands on. We always had old, outdated  
equipment (LOL),  so in order to produce the best possible work we  
could, we had to prepare the artwork in a very specific manner.  Art  
that was simple, bold and minimalistic worked best with our homemade  
exposure units so I think that style has stayed with me throughout the  
years.

Is there anyone who really inspires you in the vinyl toy and art world?

Absolutely! There are a group of artists that always seem to be in a lot  
of the shows I participate in that always make me push myself; I  
always have to bring my A game cause they sure as hell will. Guys like  
Squidnik, Motorbot, Reactor 88, Brent Nolasco, Lou Pimentel, Monster  
Decay, Leecifer...way to many to name, I could go on all day! All  
great people, all amazing artists. I'm also a huge fan of old school  
animation so I'm really into stuff by Kano, Brandt Peters, Tristan  
Eaton, Brian (Candykiller) Taylor, Kathie Olivas, Mad, and Sket One.

Lastly, what can we look forward to in the future for Bucky Lastard?

Lots of great things I hope!  I've been invited to participate in a  
bunch of really amazing high profile shows coming up soon. I also have  
2 production pieces in the pipeline hopefully dropping soon. One of  
them is part of PI's new Trexi Digits line, and the other will be part  
of a blind boxed artist series which will be red hot! So stay tuned!

thank you all for the support!   -BL

To see more of Bucky’s work or commission him for a custom piece of your own:
http://buckylastardcustoms.blogspot.com