Action hero makeover:
The newly created Polar Wong Siu-fu figure retains some of the comic character’s original features, including the star logo on his vest, his trademark jeans, and muscular build.
Action hero makeover:
The newly created Polar Wong Siu-fu figure retains some of the comic character’s original features, including the star logo on his vest, his trademark jeans, and muscular build.
Creative crossover:
Figure designer Winson Ma (left) introduces the loveable ape-like, rescue-team member figure to the character’s creator, comic artist Tony Wong.
Creative crossover:
Figure designer Winson Ma (left) introduces the loveable ape-like, rescue-team member figure to the character’s creator, comic artist Tony Wong.
Design update:
Comic artist Kam Siu-man (left) is full of praise for figure creator James Fong’s take on his classic comic character Buck-toothed Chun.
Design update:
Comic artist Kam Siu-man (left) is full of praise for figure creator James Fong’s take on his classic comic character Buck-toothed Chun.
Fresh interpretation:
Figure designer James Fong preserves Buck-toothed Chun’s iconic jutting teeth and hairstyle in his re-creation of her as an iron woman figure.
Fresh interpretation:
Figure designer James Fong preserves Buck-toothed Chun’s iconic jutting teeth and hairstyle in his re-creation of her as an iron woman figure.
Creative cooperation:
Twenty classic comic characters have undergone a 3D makeover in the Comics x Figures - Hong Kong Ani-Com Figure Show.
Creative cooperation:
Twenty classic comic characters have undergone a 3D makeover in the Comics x Figures - Hong Kong Ani-Com Figure Show.
Classic comic characters transformed
July 28, 2013
Twenty classic comic characters displayed at the Hong Kong Avenue of Comic Stars have undergone a 3D makeover after 20 well known local action figure designers were invited to take creative licence as part of the Comics x Figures - Hong Kong Ani-Com Figure Show.
Highly regarded figure designer Winson Ma’s loveable ape-like, rescue-team member figures are much sought after. He has been an avid comics book reader since childhood, and considers comics artist Tony Wong’s Dragon Tiger Gate a favourite.
Ma appreciates Wong’s style in drawing the character Wong Siu-fu’s muscles and eyes, and is familiar with the style of clothes he wears.
“I grew up with the character Wong Siu-fu and it left a deep impression on me. When I was asked to make a modern Wong Siu-fu figure, I was quite clear about how it would look.”
Attention to detail
For Ma, the biggest challenge was to show the character’s temperament. He chose to highlight Wong Siu-fu’s heroic image, stamped with his unique style.
He spent four weeks to create the figure, from the drawing table to making prototypes, and using special technology to make the figure’s clothes look worn. The newly created Polar Wong Siu-fu figure retains some original features, such as a star logo on his vest, a pair of old jeans, and a muscular body. He did, however, get a new ape-like face, a thick jacket, and some handy new rescue equipment.
Melding old and new
Wong Siu-fu’s creator Tony Wong has high praise for Ma’s re-interpretation of the action hero.
“I would like to give full marks for the figure’s style. Winson kept a lot of Wong Siu-fu’s original features. I like the hairstyle and eyebrows most. The hairstyle is simple, but awesome, and gives the figure an energetic look. The eyebrows are a Wong Siu-fu symbol. Winson keeps them, yet changes the whole appearance into an ape, making it unique, and quite different from previous Wong Siu-fu figures.”
Wong sees both comics and figures as creative expressions, and notes that comics fans will be able to recognise the made-over classic characters in the action figure format, and to distinguish original features from fresh updates.
“It’s amazing! Comics illustration is a creative industry. Figure design is a creative industry, also. Combining these two industries can stimulate creative ideas, which enhances and refreshes the enjoyment for both comic readers and figure collectors,” Wong said.
Cutting edge
Kam Siu-man’s comic character, Buck-toothed Chun, made her first appearance in newspapers in the 1970s and ‘80s. She is an old-fashioned lady with heavy makeup and a sharp wit, keen to criticise society’s ills.
“I loved to watch old Cantonese movies,” Kam said. “There were many rude female characters, so I designed Buck-toothed Chun based on them.”
Figure designer James Fong was tasked with transforming her. He chose to preserve the iconic jutting teeth and her hairstyle, but did away with her floral dress and female body, re-creating her as an iron woman.
Fong collects discarded household items and integrates them into his designs, as he did with the newly armored Buck-toothed Chun. The prototype’s hair is a composition of old metal door handles and Christmas tree ornaments, while her eyes are made of pot-lid handles.
Artist Kam is full of praise for the figure’s retro design.
“The design is simple but it can showcase all the key features of my character, who can be easily recognised. I give this figure 110 marks, 10 points more than 100%! I am really happy with this figure,” he said.
Spotlight on comics, animation
The Hong Kong Comics & Animation Federation organised the project, to encourage crossover cooperation between different creative sectors while promoting fresh comics and animation talent. A show of the 20 action figures, sponsored by Create Hong Kong, will debut in the Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong 2013 at the Convention & Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, before going on a roving display throughout the city.
Other Hong Kong Ani-com Summer 2013 programmes include The Greatest Animated Commercials from Hong Kong, which will showcase advertisements in Hong Kong from the last 50 years; and a mascot design competition that invites residents to design a comics mascot for the four supporting themes of the “Hong Kong: Our Home” Campaign.
Click
here for details.
