A Summary of Paper Toys for STGCC 2009
There is a slowly growing (pervasive) presence of papertoys in this years' Singapore Toy, Games & Comic Convention @ Suntec City (much moreso than 2008's STCC, I reckon) - with a small handful of exhibitors promoting their crafts & paper creations; from Eric Wiryanata of Thunder Panda (with Lemi and Nino), 84Cube's Cube Head, to Roomism's FiO, Boxy Bat and Love Bear - and of course TRE's own collabos with Jack Hankins aka Horrorwood and Sjors Trimbach, among others.
The concept of paper toys and collectibles is still very much a niche hobby in Singapore, and perhaps not necessarily be as wholeheartedly accepted; for it may bring to mind "arts & crafts" modules in local tertiary schools - thereby diminishing it's contextual value, IMHO. Perhaps in time, it will go beyond the mindset (if that be the case, I cannot pretend to know all the facts :p) and be embraced as a both a creative hobby, and eventual acceptable commercial / retail endeavor. CLICK THRU for some select pics of paper toys seen @ STGCC, as well as some words from the exhibitors/creators! :)
A variety of papercraft characters held court at the ROOMISM Booth [Roomism.net / Blog], chief of which was the 50cm tall (x 45cm wide) FiO monster bunny! FiO was for display and photo-op only - with winners (of their on-site Big Foot Memory Game) and some visitors invited to hold and snap to their fill, while little baby ones scampered around on the displays shelves (I shoulda tried to bug creator Nana Pong for one to bring home! *man-giggle*)
FiO is a cute, friendly monster. He is the one of the monster in Roomism's Big Foot Series and he is the hero of all. - And even tho STGCC might have ended - folks currently interested to try for the Big Foot Memory Game can do so by visiting Roomism at MAAD @ Red Dot museum - for a chance to win limited edition handmade Kelu keychains. On show was also a call for submissions for the FAB-FIBE SHOW 2009 - with specific paper-aspect represented by "Boxy Bat" (Designed by Singapore artist Soloist) and "Love Bear" (Designed by a Taiwan artist Yamahasam). Look for a separate post with more details.
TRE: How was STGCC for you, Nana? Is this Roomism's first SG-Con?NANA PONG: This is our 1st time in STGCC. It was a very good platform for independent artist to gain more exposure and honestly it was great to have this opportunity meeting up with independent artist from different countries.
TRE: How do you think ROOMISM did at STGCC? How was the customer response?
NANA PONG: The response is good, customers like our creations. Although sales was not as our expectation, the great thing is we gained feedback from our customer.
TRE: Feedback is key, IMHO. Anything positive or negative (about the event) you'd like to add?
NANA PONG: Rental is expensive.
TRE: Oops :p - Will you be coming back next year?
NANA PONG: Most probably we will joint next year.
Creator of Thunder Panda [Thunderpanda.com] & LEMI The Wanderer, Eric Wiryanata had partnered with Eightyfourcube Studio Gallery [www.eightyfourcube.com] for their debut at STGCC along Artist Alley. On show were a variety of product genres and disciplines - including tees, artwork, toy-custom, and of course papertoys. Unfortunately I didn't hang out with the dudes as much as I would like to (and still have a blank papercraft template to be completed - sorry Eric! :p)
TRE: How was STGCC for you? (Was it fruitful, enriching etc...?). How was your STGCC experience?
ERIC WIRYANATA: It was a very enriching and fruitful experience. I love very much to participating in this event. i gather a lot of new friends that really-really inspiring me. :)
TRE: How do you think Thunderpanda did at STGCC? How was the customer response to paper toys?
ERIC WIRYANATA: Thunderpanda did very well, but i think it's because it's my first convention, i still need more improvement. The customers response are very good, all the pattern i brought from Indonesia was sold out by Lemi fans. It's fun to know that Lemi actually have fans in Singapore.
TRE: Whoo-Hoo! Congrats on the sales, Eric! Anything positive or negative (about the event) you'd like to add?
ERIC WIRYANATA: the freebies, as i have to take care of the booth, i missed a lot of chance to get freebies. and to meet the VIPs. hehehe but everything there are fun, the committee are very nice and responsible. and maybe next year. the accommodation package give also an economic class. :)
TRE: Oh man, tell me about the freebies - I didn't go and get any too! LOL - Will you be coming back next year?
ERIC WIRYANATA: If i have the chance,,, surely i will.
[Above-left: 84Cube's lush CUBE HEAD papertoy sheet /
Above-Right: Blank Thunder Panda I've yet to complete!]
Spotted and snapped at the booth belonging to Indonesian artists Azisa Noor [www] & Is Yuniarto [www] were papercrafts of characters from Yuniarto's own self-published comic book ‘Knights of Apocalypse’ (done as promotional endorsements) - along with some recognizable iconic manga-characters. I did not have a chance to inquire further about the crafts' status, or if they were available for mass-consumption tho - but they look pretty darn spiffy, IMHO :)
(Lurvin' the traditional-looking craft with head-dress top-right!)
This trio of images were swiped from LittlePlasticMan's blog-post (higher-res pics via) - which show an "articulated" paper-craft figure as made by Johanes from SaltnPaper - done for Malaysian comic book illustrator Ming of 30 Days Artist's booth @ STGCC.
Brickboy-creator Sjors Trimbach [SjorsTrimbach.com] Thanks for the support!
