Q&A
Q: Is it hard to get licensor approval on concepts?
A: We have been in the industry of statue-making for over 10 years now and our team is experienced which is a great help in terms of concept approval. When we receive the first concept from the licensor, we know if any adjustments will need to be made regarding the size or pose, according to what is technically possible.
Q: How many concepts does PureArts go through before getting approved?
A: It depends on the project. As every project is different, every creation goes through a different process. It also depends on what the licensor is looking for and if we meet his expectation from the start, or if we have to work on the concept drawing a little bit more.
Q: Do you use in-game assets to make the statues or do you sculpt everything straight-up in ZBrush?
A: Most of the time we can work from the in-game low-poly character, and we can use some of the textures we have with it. This mostly allow us to make the posing and some surfacing. Beside that we have to sculpt everything using references from the game, the cinematic, and some real life references. For example, Devil Jin's wings are totally unusable from the game and we had to create those from scratch, looking at real life references such as eagle wings.
Q: Does PureArts plan on making additional Assassin's Creed statues?
A: We still want to keep our next statues secret, but we can tell you that we have been working closely with Ubisoft, the developer of Assassin's Creed, for years now. So most likely you will be seeing more statues from this series. Don't hesitate to let us know which character you'd like to see next by the way!
Q: Why are some pieces geographically restricted?
A: We would love to make our statues and figures available worldwide; however, all of our products are under license which means this is the licensor's rights to authorize whether or not a product can sell in certain countries. Unfortunately, we do not always get to sell the products worldwide. You can be sure that this is one of our priority goals in the near future and we are working hard currently to try and make them available everywhere!
Q: With resin pieces, do you try to make them as light as possible or resistant? Please give example with your statues
A: We are using both techniques actually. When we want a see-through aspect (for example on the Animus effect of our Animus collection or to give the burning effect on Yhorm's skin), we use light transparent resin. However, this is always a challenge, because even if it often looks very delicate and aesthetically pleasing, it is also very fragile. This is why we user much thicker and resistant resin on other parts of our statues to make sure it can hold and stand without breaking during the transport.
Q: Are you planing to do more Dark Souls statues?
A: Anything is possible, Bandai is one of our close partners and even if we can’t let you know in advance which statues, brands or characters will be released next, we are still working with them on future projects. Stay tuned on our socials and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter if you want to be the informed first of our next release!
Q: When choosing the statues that are going to be created, do you go according to popularity? For example, what made you decide on Altaïr, Bayek and Ezio for the Assassin's Creed statues?
A: When our artistic team chooses the next character, we obviously have to research on the video game, the characters and their history to know which one can be interesting to create as a statue. Accordingly, we also research the popularity of the character to make sure the fan base will be interested and excited by our next statue. When we look in the comments, we are always keeping an eye on what you guys would like to see next.
Q: Who had the magnificent idea of applying the Animus effect using lights to the Assassin's Creed statues and what inspire them to do so?
A: This is true teamwork! Our team is composed of very talented and skilled artists, so creation is always the result of everyone's brilliant ideas. As for the inspiration, they decided to create this Animus effect simply because it has never been done before! We immediately liked the challenge and decided to create the very first Animus representation.
Q: Any chance of a sixth scale Assassin's Creed range?
A: We can’t reveal that information at the moment. You will have to an eye out if you want to get more information regarding our next 1/6 articulated collections!
Q: Was there a Division 2 line in the works?
A: Yes, there is currently a Division 2 line in the works. However, due to the current situation with COVID-19, we have decided to postpone the release and announcement of this product line, seeing the background and environment of the video game.
Q: Based on the high level of work and detail put into the 3 statues, which diorama bases will the artists do or would like to see for other Assassin characters not included in this line?
A: Every character from the Assassin’s Creed has true potential for getting their own statue. Each character has their own particularities which make them perfect to reproduce as a statue.
Q: How do you come up with the poses for the statues? Iconic moments from the game? Something that fits the character?
A: The pose of the statues are always closely related to each character. Our artistic team always focuses on representing the characters the best way possible and also to be in line with the video game environment. We want to make sure the fans recognize both the ambiance of the game and the character. Usually, we represent them with their iconic pose, and we like to add a few symbols and items that are specific to the protagonist.