RunRedRun’s Hatbox Ghost Process

Hey! Since this blog is all about process – and since I just got back from Disneyworld and I still have “Small World” running through my brain – I thought I’d share this fun process post my needle-felting friend RunRedRun put up. It’s a step-by-step process on how she put together her Haunted Mansion/Hatbox Ghost felted sculpture and diorama. If you like Disney, ghosts, or needle-felting, you’ll enjoy looking at her process.

Untold Tales of Bigfoot 3D Figure by Blokko: How It’s Made!

I’m happy to present the very first, official Untold Tales of Bigfoot 3D Figure by Blokko! Months in the making, custom designed by me and the folks at Blokko, and beautifully sculpted by Blokko co-founder Prad Lal, Bigfoot’s one of the first figures ever released by Blokko. And since this is my process blog, I thought it’d be fun to show (and tell) you how this figure was made.

HOW DID THEY DO THAT?

Way back in January, I got a call from Blokko co-founder Rahul Thayyalamkandy. He wanted to tell me about Blokko, an innovative new company that designs 3D printed figures based on engaging stories and comics. At Blokko, you can read stories, learn about the creators, and buy toys based on those stories. Rahul wanted to create a 3D figure of my Bigfoot character. It seemed like a fun idea, so we started the ball rolling.

The first step was providing a turnaround view of Bigfoot so Prad would have a basic design to work with.

Prad then blocked in this first, red sculpt (below) before pulling in the turnaround drawing. This base sculpt gets the ball rolling and gets some rudimentary features into the figure.

After that, Prad used the turnaround drawing to get the proportions closer, evolving the early mesh, each step looking a little more like our furry friend. Prad sent me some screen shots of the process.

But Prad’s a meticulous artist. He didn’t just rely on my model sheet. Both he and Rahul are fans of Untold Tales of Bigfoot and, as such, Prad pored through pages and pages of my comic, working with me via emails, tweaking the design, fine-tuning it, and making sure it reflected not just one static image of Bigfoot, but his attitude and personality as well. You can see the progression of the sculpt below, including changes to color, the design of the base, and the evolution of the shoulder area and body mass.

ONCE IT’S SCULPTED, THEN WHAT?

The next step was the test prints. It’s not just about aesthetics at this point in the process. Stress-testing and breakage are important things to consider. Since we weren’t sure how the sculpture would stand up to everyday wear, Blokko tested two different versions of Bigfoot: one with the waving arm attached at the hip and one free floating.The test prints withstood the drop tests and looked good — but not quite perfect. And these Blokko guys are perfectionists. Prad thought the fur texture could be more obvious, and the color still wasn’t right. We had to wait a few more weeks while the testing and tweaking were repeated and perfected. You can see the alternate colors and alternate arm position below (along with Jason Brubaker’s Victuals figure from his graphic novel reMIND).

With figures like these, there is no after-sculpt painting or assembly. The figure is created through a process called polyjet printing (a lot like regular inkjet printing). The object is built layer by layer, using a composite of gypsum and, I assume, magic, depositing colors and a binding agent from multiple tiny nozzles at the same time. Once this part is done, the object is cleaned with air jets and dipped in a solution to give it strength and bring out the colors. One more coat of cyanoacrylate to resist against weathering and it’s ready to be shipped!

And here he is! Some friends lent me their figures so I could shoot a single-shot turnaround pic. Now there’s a whole herd of Bigfoot in my studio. Bigfoot’s personality leaps right off the page and into this figure. All those months of working and waiting and painstaking tweaking have paid off.

How Do I Get One?

Anyone who’d like to have this friendly Bigfoot for their desk, bookshelf or workstation, just head on over to the Blokko Bigfoot Page and pick him up for $48 + shipping (which, in my case, was only 5 bucks). The figure stands 12.5 cm (about 4.9 inches) and is the very first collectible toy based on Untold Tales of Bigfoot. For size comparison, here he is making friends with the Dark Knight.

Discount Code?!

Yup, there’s a discount code for loyal fans. Right now, for a limited time, you can get 10% off with the code FORSCOUT. Plus, if you help spread the word via social media, you can get an additional 5% off when you share on Twitter and another 5% off when you share on Facebook. And that’s all taken right off the top, so you have the potential to get 20% off of your total! Just stop by the Untold Tales of Bigfoot page at Blokko and give Bigfoot a home.

Edit: I just uploaded a short (2-minute) unboxing video of me opening this toy up. It’s not gonna win any Oscars, but if you wanna see it, it’s here.