The last
part of this article should indeed be the first as everything begin by them:
the commissioners. I didn’t even know that this role existed in the customs
Market until this afternoon (August 9). Luckily, the first part of the
interviews pave the way to a commissioner, Wolfgang J and a new interview, as
well as a new part of the article was born. I don’t know very well what a
commissioner does and this interview is an attempt to clarify that.
Addendum (August 11): luckily enough, my
articles lead me yet to another commissioner (who chose to remain anonymous)
and now we have an interview with two viewpoints of commissioning and the Customs
Market. What is great, so I can present a broader perspective on the subject.
-x-x-x-
1 – So before the producer comes into scene
there are the commissioners, is that so?
Wolfgang Krenner (WK): I wouldn’t say there is a rule for
that as the people at certain factories work by themselves but some offer
people to commission statues to be made.
-/-
Commissioner 2 (C2): Well that's kind of a complicated
question. Producers can and do make
their own pieces, however someone that wishes to commission a piece can
approach a producer about doing so.
2 – What exactly a commissioner does?
(WK): My part - when I did my Deadpool commission -
was to bring the idea to life. Have someone to sketch the idea and a good
Sculptor/3D Sculptor to get it done.
 |
| Sketches of the Deadpool on throne in different parts of development. |
-/-
(C2): Another complicated question. For the most part the commissioner is the
idea person, they seek out the producer with an idea in mind. The commissioner also has to be the financial
backing unless some deal is worked out beforehand.
3 – Do you get a share of the profits of a
custom you helped to design? How much (percentage)?
(WK): Also depends on the factory. I insisted that
for myself I’m only interested in statues and I don’t need to make a profit
(especially when it’s a custom statue). I decided that with my share I want to
get kits to have them painted at Fat Monster Studios and support some of my
friends with statues for reviews and give my closest friend one for free as he
couldn’t afford it.
-/-
(C2): You do indeed get a share of the profits if
you so choose to produce several copies instead of having a one of a kind. The percentage is also negotiated between
both parties.
4 – From where commissioners get their ideas?
(WK): Reading comics, watching movies.
-/-
(C2): Ideas can come from anywhere from a particular
comic panel that they like to a random idea they think up. The beauty of customs is not being restricted
by what licensors deem appropriate for a pose or sculpt. You want a specific character in a specific
pose? Go for it.
5 – How do you know your ideas will sell?
(WK): I got a lot of feedback when I first posted
the idea of Deadpool on throne and Xionart was also like "let’s do
this"... so I had more than just "a good feeling" about it.
-/-
(C2): In short, you don't. It's a risk investing in a custom piece, you
could end up losing big time. You have
to judge what you think people will like or find interesting enough for them to
spend their hard earned money.
6 – If there’s an exchange between you and the
community in such early stage of development of a piece, how to guarantee your
idea is not stolen? Is that some code of honor in the customs Market?
(WK): Of course. The statue community on Facebook is
a vital part of the whole Custom Market. also I have to admit that I’m writing
with like 10 people at once all the time on Facebook and considering Deadpool I
talked to Alex Thomas from Radd Titan [Facebook
group] day and night about the parts that should be included and how to do
it. Also when you post it on Statue Collectors [Facebook group] you get a lot of input and good ideas.
-/-
(C2): You can put your idea up for critiques from
the community, ask for what should be added or changed. Most of the time you work in private,
communicating with the producer and artist until you feel you're far enough
along to being taking interest on the piece.
I'd like to think there's a friendly gentleman's agreement not to steal
ideas, but in reality anything is possible.
7 – What’s the most fun and the hardest part of
being a commissioner?
(WK): The most fun about it is to get in contact
with people who share the same passion for statues and get to know people
around the world. We are all united by the same hobby. The hardest part is probably
the waiting time until you see a prototype or a painted prototype! ;)
-/-
(C2): The most fun is hands down working with the
artist to fulfill the idea you have.
Seeing a piece take shape with your input as well as the artist is truly
something special. The hardest part is
definitely advertising your piece and dealing with customer service aspects.
8 – Is there projects that start without having
a commissioner involved?
(WK): Of course - a commissioner is not necessary to
do a good statue when you got a factory with good ideas themselves. ;)
-/-
(C2): See question 1.
9 – Does the commissioners serve like a seal of
quality for a given figure? Or the producers fit that role better? Or both?
(WK): Sure... you build up your reputation as a
creative member of the community but the quality is determined by the factory
and the products/paintjob you chose or the factory choses.
-/-
(C2): Not quite sure what you're asking here. I mean if you're new to the commissioning
world I can see where you might want to link up with a producer that is well
established so that you can have some credibility for your project.
10 – Could you hinted us what you’re cooking up
right now?
(WK): At the moment I’m working closely with David
Warboss from Fat Monster Studios on several projects like the custom painted Deadpool
with base which is ready to be shipped but we also focus on doing custom
paintjobs from several other commissions and soon my Captain Punisher will have
its appearance as a prototype. The origins of this project are from "War
Journal" which is a series which takes place in the time when Cap got
assassinated in civil war and someone was supposed to take his role - so Punisher
did it (but only for a short time as he decided he feels more comfortable
killing in a sleeveless shirt).
 |
| Cap Punisher, another creation of Wolfgang Krenner and collaborators. |
 |
| Daedpool custom painted is coming out. |
-/-
(C2): That'd spoil the fun.
11 – How the brainstorming for a new figure
happens?
(WK): Usually with some alcoholic beverage and Google…
:P
-/-
(C2): For me it isn't so much brainstorming as that
makes it sound like a process geared at pushing out products. If I feel strongly towards something and I think
others will appreciate it, I'll begin planning the piece.
12 – How much time on average from the first
idea to the finished sketch sent to be modelled?
(WK): Depends on the producer and how picky you are
about changes. I started the idea for Deadpool on throne with Alex Thomas and
Abdel in December 2014... so we officially released the info on February 2015
and till it was shipped and everything it took almost a year - but mostly
because we had a lot of changes and Romell Compra was so nice to not kick my
ass for all those changes :P
-/-
(C2): That can vary wildly. You can have an idea, but then where you go
from there depends on how you approach it.
You can hire a concept artist or go straight to approaching a sculptor
to begin work or any number of avenues.
All of which takes time, communication is crucial and shouldn't be
rushed.
13 – Commissioners are responsible for selling
and marketing the pieces to the community or this the job of the producers?
(WK): My regular job is in an advertising agency so I
do most of the visuals myself and, it’s hard to explain, but people just write
you to get more info on the product. Like I said it’s about creating a kickass
piece which will get the collectors to get in contact with you instead of
running around advertising it. ;)
-/-
(C2): It can be a bit of both, usually I've found
that it's the commissioners duty to market their custom.
14 – What’s the difference of a commissioner
and a producer after all?
(WK): Hard to tell - we better leave this out or it
gets confusing. ;)
-/-
(C2): Producers either serve as go betweens or
produce the pieces themselves.
Commissioners are individuals with ideas that they'd like to pursue via
a custom
15 – Do you have input on the overcome of the
piece once it’s passed to production?
(WK): I was able to fix some parts I didn’t like,
like transitions, but this depends on the factory.
-/-
(C2): Not sure what you mean here, if it's your
project you should have creative control.
Though once something is in production you really can't change much
without it costing you greatly as 3D printing can be exorbitantly expensive.
16 – How do you became commissioners? Tell us a
bit of your story.
(WK): My story about collecting is pretty funny as I
played World of Warcraft with friends for a long time and we were into
collecting figures for about 30-50$.. just for the fun of it. When I one day
saw the Arthas statue by Sideshow I knew I needed to have this for my gaming
room and shortly after I found a local guy selling it for a good price. So when
I got my first piece I was completely hooked and started spending my weekends
building Ikea Bestas [modular furnishings
very used to display statues] in my bedroom ;)
I’m just
grateful my girlfriend is very tolerant about my hobby as others might have
already freaked out with 30 + statues in 1 room! ;)
-/-
(C2): Just have had ideas that I thought others
would enjoy as well.
17 – Can one live solemnly of commissions or do
you have a second job to complement income?
(WN): For me it’s not about the income – let’s be
honest I invested a lot of time and money - more than I got out of it, but I
managed to make collectors happy and this is what counts for me. In total, I
made a few thousand with the kits but the money got mostly invested into Fat Monster
Studios to be able to get new airbrush and new material for printing. I want to
invest with them as they are in Europe and "just around the corner"
so I have influence in the projects and can assure quality.
-/-
(C2): (Too personal)
18 – What it takes to be a commissioner?
(WK): Creativity ;) we have so many creative people
in this industry I’m proud I could be a part of it with Deadpool.
-/-
(C2): Other than having an idea and approaching a
producer to see if they'd take your commission, it involves finding an artist
you'd like to sculpt your idea in either traditional sculpt or via an
electronic tool like Z-Brush or similar modeling software. You also have to have enough funding to begin
the preliminary work on your potential piece.
19 – What would astonish you the most: to see
an alien or to see a ghost?
(WK): as I don’t believe in ghosts until I’m one
myself I would love to see an alien - but I would prefer if it wasn’t like the
Alien from "ALIEN"! ;)
-/-
(C2): Ghost.
Statistically speaking, aliens should exist.
20 – Three favorite bands and three favorite
movies
(WK): That’s a hard one - I rarely can say I have a
real "favorite" and I kinda don’t have the time anymore. But I’ve
never changed my taste in music, I still listen to a lot of oldschool hiphop
which was always my favorite music. I could say my favorite artist is Chris Webby
and the movie I enjoyed the most in the last few years was Guardians of the Galaxy
- I also really enjoyed the soundtrack
-/-
(C2): Bands: The Heavy, RHCP, and The Bee Gees.
Films:
Goodfellas, Oldboy, and Shawshank Redemption.
21 – Any last phrase or quote or message you
would like to leave to our readers?
(WK): Oh damn, I hate to be inspirational - I always
feel like one of those posters you put on your wall in the office so you don’t
freak out completely. I’m just happy that this hobby brings together so many
people of different countries and nationalities
And last
but not least I want to shout out some special thanks to
Alex Thomas
and Radd Titan
Romell
Chompra
Bien Flores
Jay from
Halimaw
Azad
Karazhan
Carlos Rego
David
Warboos and the whole FAT MONSTER STUDIOS TEAM
Abdel from
XIONART
And of
course everyone who worked with me or is in regular contact with me who I
forgot due to the fact that it was a heavy hitting Friday. ;)
-/-
(C2): Recasts are cancer, support your local artists
by either buying legit licensed pieces or by buying customs from reputable
people.
-x-x-x-
Thank you
so much. You helped me to cover all the parts of the Customs Market. May you
enjoy great success in you commissions and in your lives overall.
Below the links of the other parts of this article:
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