SF - The new 12-inch Batgirl statue you've created for Diamond Select Toys looks incredible. What would you say was the most challenging aspect of tackling this sculpture?
CSM - Thanks! Sculpting live action characters isn’t normally my favorite thing to work on. You have three levels of approval to go through is the main reason. Let’s take Batgirl. First, there’s the employer, in this case DST. After that, you have Warner Brothers. Both levels of input are usually helpful. Warner’s actually uses tracing paper over photos of my work, which is a great way to make suggestions. Finally, you have the actor, which on this project was Yvonne Craig. That can be the x-factor. Will the actor see themselves differently than you did? It becomes a very personal thing to them and that can lead to input I find can take the portrait further away from what it should be, not closer. It’s a part of the process, but sometimes you end up trying to sculpt something that follows the actor’s input, but also is still close enough to the character that collectors will be happy to add it to their collections.
All that being said, Yvonne Craig, Julie Newmar and Adam West are great subjects and I loved the show, so working on these has been a lot of fun. I had met Julie Newmar at a show recently and talked to her a little about the project. When she got the photos from Warner’s, she approved the piece without added adjustments, which was nice.
SF - The new 12-inch Batgirl statue you've created for Diamond Select Toys looks incredible. What would you say was the most challenging aspect of tackling this sculpture?
CSM - Thanks! Sculpting live action characters isn’t normally my favorite thing to work on. You have three levels of approval to go through is the main reason. Let’s take Batgirl. First, there’s the employer, in this case DST. After that, you have Warner Brothers. Both levels of input are usually helpful. Warner’s actually uses tracing paper over photos of my work, which is a great way to make suggestions. Finally, you have the actor, which on this project was Yvonne Craig. That can be the x-factor. Will the actor see themselves differently than you did? It becomes a very personal thing to them and that can lead to input I find can take the portrait further away from what it should be, not closer. It’s a part of the process, but sometimes you end up trying to sculpt something that follows the actor’s input, but also is still close enough to the character that collectors will be happy to add it to their collections.
All that being said, Yvonne Craig, Julie Newmar and Adam West are great subjects and I loved the show, so working on these has been a lot of fun. I had met Julie Newmar at a show recently and talked to her a little about the project. When she got the photos from Warner’s, she approved the piece without added adjustments, which was nice.
SF - The new 12-inch Batgirl statue you've created for Diamond Select Toys looks incredible. What would you say was the most challenging aspect of tackling this sculpture?
CSM - Thanks! Sculpting live action characters isn’t normally my favorite thing to work on. You have three levels of approval to go through is the main reason. Let’s take Batgirl. First, there’s the employer, in this case DST. After that, you have Warner Brothers. Both levels of input are usually helpful. Warner’s actually uses tracing paper over photos of my work, which is a great way to make suggestions. Finally, you have the actor, which on this project was Yvonne Craig. That can be the x-factor. Will the actor see themselves differently than you did? It becomes a very personal thing to them and that can lead to input I find can take the portrait further away from what it should be, not closer. It’s a part of the process, but sometimes you end up trying to sculpt something that follows the actor’s input, but also is still close enough to the character that collectors will be happy to add it to their collections.
All that being said, Yvonne Craig, Julie Newmar and Adam West are great subjects and I loved the show, so working on these has been a lot of fun. I had met Julie Newmar at a show recently and talked to her a little about the project. When she got the photos from Warner’s, she approved the piece without added adjustments, which was nice.
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