Well, Christmas and New Year (as well as a 'significant number' birthday) have been and gone and while it wasn't the most productive of festive periods, I do feel refreshed and have been really enjoying sculpting lately. I'm quite excited about some figures that are a bit different from the current Statuesque Miniatures line up.
For a while, I've had the urge to sculpt some fantasy figures but until now I hadn't been able to pin down quite what angle I was going to take. The sci-fi figures I do are fairly generic, though hopefully with a little twist or a nice pose to keep things interesting, and I find it easy to come up with ideas for that kind of figure. I guess I could do a similar thing for fantasy, making generic figures (most probably female and sexy...) in various styles of fantasy outfit, but to be honest I'm not really sufficiently interested in or knowledgeable of fantasy/historical armour and clothing to pull that off. Tre Manor of Red Box Games is for me the master of this type of figure and has created a brilliant range of figures. He's clearly know his stuff when it comes to the fantasy genre and I know I don't have the knowledge to do something similar. Plus, why would I try to compete when he's created such a comprehensive range?
No, I need to find my own way in the fantasy world. Part of my ugre to create some fantasy characters is a desire to sculpt some weirder and more unusual figures; scary monsters and gribbly creatures that are a world away from my sci-fi girls. Jody Siegel's amazing Imbrian Arts goblins and Dave King's rather joyful Bederken figures have captured my attention, as well as various 'old school' Citadel Miniatures blogs that showcase the charms of the often eccentric but always characterful nature of many older figures. I've also been pouring over artwork from the likes of John Bauer and Brian Froud, surely sources inspiration for many of the figures I've been admiring.
One thing that has been impressed on me is the story telling aspect of much of what I've mentioned above. While I do indeed have an elaborate, overarching story behind my sci-fi range (though it's all a bit shoehorned in...) it's not really necessary for me to convey that. Sexy girls with guns will be popular regardless of what history I have invented for them!
For my fantasy range, I really want a story to hang everything on from the beginning and I've had fun trying to create what is essentially a fairytale told through miniatures and various vague and cryptic passages of text. Through this, I hope the rather disparate range of figures I have planned will work together as a whole and allow the customer to invest some imagination in them beyond what the figure immediately portrays. The theme I have chosen to work around is the classic 'girl lost in a fantasy land' à la Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Labyrinth and much more. So, sure it's not original but there nothing wrong with an archetype!
Apologies for the lack of pretty picture but hopefully I'll have something to share soon. In the meantime, here's the first piece of the story puzzle:
Malinquent /mə'lɪŋkwənt/ (n.)
1. A malingering delinquent.
2. (The) Malinquents: A band of rogues formerly led by Malink the Ostrich Knight.
Hello Andrew,
ReplyDeleteby what your describing,you're already on the right track. Look forward to seeing what you come up with (and keep doing the girls(;
Cheers
Guy