Interview with South Korean head sculptor reveals the behind-the-scenes story in the design of movie character models

Hot Toys movie character models have always been known for their superb workmanship and high quality. With the popularity of the movie industry in recent years, they have been highly respected by players and movie enthusiasts from all walks of life, and have become collectibles that fans and players are competing to buy. Since 2003, Hot Toys has obtained movie rights to many Hollywood blockbusters and has successively launched a number of related collectible figures. These include: "Iron Man" series,"Avengers" series,"Pirates of the Caribbean" series,"Batman" and other series. Highly simulated character head carvings are the key to the success of its products and the soul of the 12-inch character model. The reporter had the honor to interview Clare Yoo, the beautiful head sculptor of Hot Toys, to reveal the behind-the-scenes work of the world-class puppet designer.

Conversation with Hot Toys South Korean head carver Clare Yoo Textured Record of

the Hulk Carved by Clare Yoo

Reporter: What skills do you need to have to be a qualified head carver?

Head carver Clare Yoo: Overall, to become a head carver, the most basic need is to study human body structure and art sculpture at the School of Art and Design. Because the skeleton structure and muscle tissue of the human body are basically the same as the puppet body, as head carvers, we will make head carvings and the puppet body according to the structural basis of the human body, and we will also focus on the facial expressions of the sculpture. Sometimes, when we are in daily life, such as shopping or taking a bus, we will unconsciously observe people's facial expressions, words and deeds, which will definitely help us make dolls.

Reporter: Which of the characters is the design you are most satisfied with?

Head carver Clare Yoo: I prefer Hulk myself. Before making the Hulk puppet, we need to collect a lot of data and study its muscle and skeleton structure in depth to show the realistic muscular feeling of the Hulk. In addition, the Hulk's styling in the movie is drawn according to the facial outline of actor Mark Ruffalo and then using 3D computer graphics technology (CG), so we can see the actor's detailed facial outline and expression.

Reporter: What difficulties will you encounter in the process of head carving design? Which design encounter the most difficulties and how do you overcome them?

Clare Yoo, head sculptor and Clare Yoo, team production plan

head sculptor: We spend most of our time carving head carvings of movie characters. Since most of them are Westerners, it will be relatively difficult for us as Asians to make Western head carvings. When carving hair, in order to highlight the layering of the hair texture, we will carve multiple hair components and combine them to create a more realistic effect under different lighting conditions. I will also refer to existing products, formulate a hair component composition based on the character setting, and then discuss it with our Korean and Hong Kong production teams, and finally summarize the most satisfactory plan. Anyway, Hot Toys is a team that values a great spirit of cooperation.

Reporter: What is the entire production process of the character head carving? Can you describe it briefly?

Head sculptor Clare Yoo: We all collect a large number of character images and related film materials first to make movie characters. Then we will discuss and study the shapes and accessories of the puppets in depth with our colleagues in Hong Kong, then consult the licensor, and finally select the most satisfactory character shape and facial surface before starting the work of head carving. Of course, the processes of different head carvers will be different.

The Hulk

Reporter: Compared with the early head carving designs, what technical improvements will the current design have?

Head carver Clare Yoo: In recent years, 3D imaging software has developed rapidly. There is no doubt that 3D imaging and printing technology can help designers make dolls. Therefore, many companies will also apply this technology to their products, which has become a general trend. However, the software and hardware of this technology are still under development. At this stage, it can only assist designers in making preliminary shapes of dolls. To create detailed contours, expressions, and muscle lines, etc., it still requires the sculptor's superb carving skills to reach the level of Hot Toys 'consistent high image authenticity and quality.

Reporter: What are the future design trends of head carvings? What are the challenges? What other aspects of head carving design need to be improved?

Head carver Clare Yoo: The future design trend of head carvings may be to improve the shape design of head carvings with the help of 3D imaging software. However, 3D imaging software is just an auxiliary tool. When we made head carvings based on 3D image design, we found that we still needed the skills of the head carver to achieve the highest degree of realism of the head carvings and the elements.

Reporter: How do you define whether the head carving design is similar, and how do you capture the charm of the characters?

Head sculptor Clare Yoo: In my case, I would first understand the character characteristics of the characters before starting to collect character pictures and movie image data. Because we use many pictures and image materials to compare them with the head carvings when making the head carvings, sometimes we may ignore the character characteristics of the characters. Because the charm of the characters is not only the similarity of the head carvings, but also very important to express the character characteristics of the characters.

Reporter: At this stage, which film and television star do you most want to challenge in making head carvings? Why did you choose him?

Head sculptor Clare Yoo: Personally, the one I want to make most is Robert De Niro in the American classic movie "Taxi Driver". He plays a newly retired American soldier in the movie. The movie tells the story of how he witnessed various evils under the night of New York, which inspired his inner sense of heroic justice and helped the weak, but he was easily forgotten in the real society. Therefore, I am very eager to make a puppet about him. Although Hot Toys gives the impression that they only produce rare figures of superheroes, such as Iron Man, Captain America, and Batman, sometimes we also release such non-mainstream character figures.

Editor: vian