Custom-Feature+Q&A: Brian Colin for Ganmetall Celsius Custom Show @ TAG

The winged creature roaming about in the wild snapped in the photo posted above is named "KUPPA". Kuppa is the name of artist Brian Colin's contribution to the upcoming Ganmetall Celsius Custom Show @ Toy Art Gallery launching July 10th [blogged]. CLICK THRU for more peeks, along with an rather insightful Q&A with Brian himself, about the custom's conception, process of his craft, and what's up in the near future.


TOYSREVIL: What exactly does "Kuppa" mean? Or rather, how did you come up with the name? And does "Kuppa" have a "story"?

BRIAN COLIN: The name Kuupa came about after he was already sculpted and painted up. I looked at him and he made me think of a prehistoric version of the flying Koopa Troopers in the old 8-bit Super Mario Brothers. As for his story:

The Kuupa is a small carnivorous creature that has characteristics of both reptiles and birds. They generally do not grow any longer than 9" with a wingspan rearely exceeding 12". Most Kuupas spend their lives co-habitating with a beast known as a reaper. Traditionally they will ride on the reaper's back and scavenge food from the kill of the larger animal. (More info on Reapers will come in a few months)


TOYSREVIL: Looking forward to finding out more about your Reapers, Brian! With your pieces, I feel you are not just creating a form for the sake of aesthetics, and not sculpting at "random". What inspired the concept of this particular custom piece?

BRIAN COLIN: I have attached the initial sketch of the Kuupa to show how my concept translated into the dimensional piece. It seems that most of my sculpted pieces are going in a direction that could resemble an evolution that might have occurred in a parallel dimension. I am trying to incorporate elements from real animals to give them a breath of life as well as have something slightly recognizable, even if only on a subconscious level. I also find shells similar to a tortoise's working their way into my current pieces.


BRIAN COLIN: The idea of both a home that is always with you and having armor that protects you are underlying concerns that I think about on a regular basis. Shelter and safety, especially now that I have a child, seems to be something that I want to provide to my creations.


TOYSREVIL: I appreciate the fact that you have incorporated your "real-world" concerns with your art / craft, which to me provides a deeper more enriching experience, IMHO. And did it turn out the way you had planned it to? Would you have done anything differently?

BRIAN COLIN: There are slight variations from the initial sketch, but I always know going into it that the final piece will not look exactly like the sketch. There are just some aspects of the sculpting that I can not take into consideration when doing a 2d drawing. I like how it turned out. The only thing I might do differently, if I were to resculpt it would be to add an additional set of smaller eyes to the front of it. I think it looks good seeing it from the side, but when you look at him straight on it is a little boring. I realized this too far into it to change it up.


TOYSREVIL: What's up next for you Brian? Do share with us what's going down in the near future with your work and art.

BRIAN COLIN: I've been having a slow go at the toy & art scene over the past 6 months or so, but I plan to finish out this year in full force. Things to look forward to in the near future:

I am going to be releasing one color versions of my 3 mini-figres with spot varnish on each of them in limited quantities as the year progresses.

Shady Characters – I am curating a show at Alcove Gallery in Atlanta on August 6 with Ben Walker, Matthew Ryan Sharp, Project Detonate, Tyler Coey, Toby Stanger, H.C. Warner and myself. For this show I will be debuting some of my largest sculpted pieces to date including the Reaper mentioned above.

DragonCon – September 3-6 in Atlanta. I will have a table there selling my wares. I will also have exclusive colorways of my mini-figures.

TOYSREVIL: Cheers for your time and trouble Brian, really appreciate it, and look forward to be seeing more of your creations and evolution of your craft!