🕵️‍♂️ ARTIST INTERVIEW – SPY X FAMILY – THE FORGER FAMILY! 🥔

Today, we have the pleasure of interviewing two remarkable artists, Daniel Kamarudin and Ezequiel Politano, who played pivotal roles in the creation of the Figurama Collectors Spy X Family Elite Figumiz line. Let's dive into their insights and experiences as they discuss the challenges and creativity involved in bringing this fantastic anime/manga series to life through collectible statues. 

Question 1: Please introduce yourselves. Tell us who you are, your role, and what that entails.

Daniel: I am Daniel Kamarudin, the designer of the Spy x Family set of statues. I was in charge of maintaining the consistent look of the statues across the characters, ensuring a unique design to offer something fresh to the market, and making certain that our design adhered to the licensor's guidelines. Additionally, I was involved in supervising the 3D aspect of production. 

Ezequiel: My name is Ezequiel Politano. I'm 33 years old and hail from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I've been a sculptor and team leader at Figurama Collectors for nearly three years. 

Question 2: Working on a series like Spy x Family must be a lot of fun. But let's start with the important part… Who is your favourite character from the series and why? 

Daniel: Anya, for the memes. 

Ezequiel: Without a doubt, my favourite character is Anya. She reminds me a lot of Arale Norimaki's character, and they share striking similarities in some aspects. The nostalgia for the '90s makes me choose her without a doubt. 

Question 3: Completing a statue line as a series in one go presents its own set of challenges. How does it compare to the process of working on statues like Devilman vs. Amon and Serine, which were completed years apart? Does it make the process smoother? 

Daniel: I would say it’s a little easier in terms of keeping things consistent since you can see each of the statues develop simultaneously. However, it was definitely challenging this time around with each character getting approved at different times, which required making changes while maintaining consistency. 

Ezequiel: I wouldn't say it's a smoother process, but since it is a continuous line of characters from the same series, we must ensure there's a connecting thread among them. This way, when the three figures are displayed together, they create a perfect combo on our collectors' shelves. 

Question 4: Given the well-established style of this Anime/Manga, does it limit your ability to incorporate your own artistic signature into the line? 

Daniel: It definitely does. Each character's pose needs to be carefully considered to match their personality and the anime's overall vibe. In the case of Spy x Family, the licensors were quite particular about how things looked. 

Ezequiel: This point is crucial. At Figurama Collectors, we have a distinctive artistic and artisanal style. While we must respect the character's parameters and proportions, it doesn't limit us artistically. Our artisanal style in each work of art is where we can truly express ourselves and grow as artists. 

Question 5: Expanding on the previous question, when working on anime/manga characters, the proportions of the body can differ significantly from regular human characters. Does this create additional challenges for you as an artist? 

Daniel: For Spy x Family, I wouldn’t say this was a hindrance. The anime features well-animated characters with idealized body shapes, so the art style didn't pose a significant challenge in this particular license. The primary challenge, as with most licenses, lies in translating the 'flat' drawing style of Spy x Family to 3D, and I think Ezequiel, the 3D artist for the Spy x Family project, did a fantastic job with it. 

Ezequiel: As a sculptor, having a strong foundation in anatomical and realistic knowledge is vital. This knowledge serves as a basis for creating anime figures, even though proportions may vary depending on the mangaka or animator. It all starts with a solid understanding of anatomy and movement. 

Question 6: Can you provide any hints about the possibility of seeing more characters from this line in the future, or is that information top secret? 

Daniel: Yes! There’s [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED]... [REDACTED] 

Ezequiel: As it is in the Spy Family series, everything is top secret. XD