Eric Chew of Sapien Toy Studio for 10 THINGS THAT MAKE YOU TICK (on TOYSREVIL)
TOYSREVIL: Who are you? What do you do?
ERIC CHEW: Greetings, Eric here. I am currently a part time toy maker from SapienToyStudio and a full-time day dreamer. I love to imagine and think a lot; those are part of my inspiration of the toys I made. I am currently working on an illustration book.
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TOYSREVIL: How did you start? What made you continue?
ERIC CHEW: My dream has always been using my imaginary monsters (Kaiju) as characters for my illustration book. It is meant to help spread kindness, the importance of friendship, stepping out to help one another and anti-bullying for children. Being a shy kid back then, I had trouble making friends and it would be nice to not spent recess time alone. I hope my illustration book can help children being more friendly towards each other and every kid can be the little buddy of the shy kids.
Being able to make my imaginary monsters come to life is a bonus.
I happened to meet 2 awesome toy makers at BigBigCon back in late 2019. We spoke and I shared a little of my character backstory to them. After a brief discussion, they are more than willing to help bring my little monster come to life. Till today, I am still very grateful to them.
In 2019, I was also struggling with my then job and it took a huge toll to my health. I gained a lot of weight (over 20kg) and the immerse stress caused me to have other health issues too. With this new opportunity, I decided to quit my then job and jump into a career of my passion.
ERIC CHEW: SapienToyStudio motto has always been “A little wise imagination could help change the world into a better place”. With my original illustration book plan and motto, I hope I can continue my as long as I can until I can help spread kindness, even if it is a minor bit.
TOYSREVIL: How long has it been? How far and for how long do you want to go?
ERIC CHEW: My first imaginary monster, ‘Chewthulhu’ was born in November 2020 so I would say I am still on my 2nd year. I intend to go as far as I can until the day, I reach my goal to help spread kindness.
TOYSREVIL: Who has inspired you? Who inspired you? What inspires you?
ERIC CHEW: Hayao Miyazaki, HP Lovecraft, Junji Ito, Hiroto Ohkubo, Makoto Shinkai. Skottie young. JellyFish Eyes, where the wild things are. Totoro. Crayon Shin Chan. Kaiju(s) from Superhero time. My childhood loneliness.
TOYSREVIL: Movies? Anime? Comicbook? Name your poison!
ERIC CHEW: All of them are my poison and I cannot decide.
So much to watch and read but so little time. Lol.
I read a lot of manga since young. I will use my allowance to buy the latest volume or go to my friend’s place to read their collection. There came to be a point whereby we cannot afford to buy every single title that we like, and we must rent them at manga stores just to satisfy our curiosity. Even till today, I am still reading most of the popular titles like one piece; one punch man and solo levelling.
I do read a bit of marvel too. However, one title I continued from the start till today will be ‘The Amazing Spiderman’. I remember buying my first trade paperback comic “Spiderman - the other” in 2006. I eventually found absolute comics in Singapore and being to subscribe Spiderman singles there.
One of the best cartoons I ever watched will be Rick and Morty. They are so creative. Every episode is a wonder. I would love to be able to create a universe like Rick and Morty for my imaginary monsters. I even read their graphic novel too.
I chase all new anime whenever I have the time. I am always one or two seasons late. Like for now, I am still currently watching animes from summer 2022. The only good thing is that I don’t have to wait for the new episode to come. I can binge watch them.
TOYSREVIL: What do you collect? "TOYS" or others? Do they inform you of your ART?
ERIC CHEW: Sofubi. I have a lot Instinctoy. They are my favourite and I supported them way back from 2012. Coincidentally, I happened to know them because I was following your blog. Your blog about Instinctoy Vincent prompt me to take part in my very first toy lottery ever. I took a L though. Lol.
Today, I have a series of collection, Zimomo, BG bears, Itokin park, Coarse Toys, Jellilo. They all definitely inspire me.
TOYSREVIL: Choose 1 piece of toy art/work that you think people would recognise and remember you for? And why you think it does?
ERIC CHEW: The Chewthulhu ArcEnCiel V2. It was originally release as a one-off set together with Dawn. When it was first showcase in Shout Gallery, everyone was asking about it. Even at Coplay, customers were asking about it too but it wasn’t on sale yet that time. Till today, there are only 4 pieces made. One is at CoPlay. 1 of which is with the collector who owns the one-off set. Another one was a special customization order and the last one is with my wife. I think it is the rainbow clear that attracts the buyer.
ERIC CHEW: I only have one official character on sale as of now and that is the Chewthulhu. Apologies for that, 2021 was his official start and 2022 was supposed to be the expansion of his world but unfortunately, I lost one of my loved ones and it hit me harder than I thought it will be. I was never good with losing someone, especially my family members. Took me awhile to get back on.
ERIC CHEW: After which, I managed to survive a solo gallery show with the generosity of Shout Gallery Singapore. It was a little last minute; it was rushed and intense, but I enjoyed and learnt a lot from the whole process.
ERIC CHEW: I have since started the expansion of Chewthulhu world this year. MY second character ‘ELO’ will be releasing soon. I just received the test pulls. I am also working on my 3rd and 4th character which I hope to materialize them by this year.
TOYSREVIL: What is the favouritest work you have done to date? And why? Show and Share!
ERIC CHEW: For Chewthulhu, I have 2 favourite colourways as of now. The 1st year anniversary version which I name it chewthulhu as it was the original colourway that I always imagined he will be.
The other will be blue flame. It was challenging to paint, and it took me roughly 3 hours to complete just one piece. I only have one piece and it was sold immediately when I took it out to showcase at CoPlay. I didn’t even have the time to register the item with CoPlay yet.
TOYSREVIL: What do you do best? What is your greatest strength?
ERIC CHEW: Listening, planning, and learning will be what I do best. Having a high level of tolerance will definitely be both my strength and weakness.
I listened often as I don’t like to speculate or jump into conclusion. I listened to my toy maker as I don’t want to make the same mistake on my future characters. Designing and coming up with a backstory for a new character is always fun. Then it comes to the technical part is where things get complicated and frustrating. Certain parts could not be produced properly due to the complexity design. The solution is often either we redesign that part, or we separate the part into 2 parts. This means higher production cost.
What frustrate me the most is when a little redesigning can change the whole feel of the toy. This is when the high level of tolerance kicks in. Either I remain calm and think or accept the change of feel.
TOYSREVIL: What would you hope to be doing better in? What is your kryptonite?
ERIC CHEW: Drawing and painting. They are both my kryptonite and what I hope I will eventually be immune to. I hope that one day I could come out with my own style of art. Being able to do live drawing would be one of my goals.
TOYSREVIL: What is your process of creation? Walk us through your art! Is there a time limit?
ERIC CHEW: I love to imagine a lot and doodle all the time. Even though most of my doodles are not exactly presentable.
To my wife, I am a very "kpo" person. l am always alert when there is commotion. Of course, If someone needs help, the first aid always comes first. The thinking comes later. Sometimes I will think about what happened and then it will eventually become my source of imagination.
When creating, I love to come up with the shape or silhouette first. What is the story behind this character and lastly, the details that is going to be on the character.
ERIC CHEW: I am always stuck at the details. Many times, the process of adding details will alter the initial shape that I came out with. At this point of time, if I decide that I would like to keep the shape, I will have to rethink about the details and vice versa.
In the past, the shape of the monster is just it’s shape to me but, Lester from GaGatree taught me about the importance of silhouette. Now I always keep that in mind.
When I am stuck, I like to visit local toy stores, especially Ozzo Collection. I love talking to Mike about toys, his experience in toy shows or working with other toy artists and all other stories that he shares with me.
TOYSREVIL: What songs do you listen to, to juice up your creativity? What is the "Soundtrack To Your Art"? Or do you prefer to work in "silence"?
ERIC CHEW: Of Monsters and Men. Imagine Dragons. Sometimes I do listen to Horror and True Crime Podcast to get me going.
I seldom work in silence. Even when I am airbrushing my toys, I tend to listen to true crime podcast. This is why I can’t paint the same exact piece twice. LOL.
TOYSREVIL: What would you now say to the YOU that started all this?
ERIC CHEW: Everyone collects different toys, not everyone appreciates your work.
Don’t lose hope when someone leaves some mean comments.
Don’t give up. Don’t be afraid.
Don’t let too many people be involved in your design phase.
Everyone likes different style, there won’t be a toy that can live up to everyone expectations. Some like gore some like cute. Some like pop funko.
Save up more before you start this line.
Money management is very important. Be aware of who you work with.
