Interview with Alban Ficat

On the occasion of the release of the third and ultimate figurine model Kavinsky, we spoke with Alban Ficat (@alban_ficat ) To discuss his job, his projects and of course Kavinsky.

The perfect opportunity to remind you thatAlban will be at the Paris store (83 rue Saint-Honoré 75001 Paris) This Saturday 18/03 Saturday of 3 p.m. To 6 p.m. To exchange with you and sign your figurines

Can you tell us what is the job of sculptor?

The description may be very different depending on the person to whom this question is asked. But with regard to my situation as a collection figurines sculptor, my job is in the fact of selling to a company, a prototype cut into several pieces, like a model kit, so that it can be produced in series.

How does we become a sculptor, are there any training for this?

There are classic sculpture and modeling training, but there is not really any training specifically dedicated to the sculpture of collection figurines. In any case not in traditional modeling. But in the field of digital, one must be able to find without too much difficulty training in sculpture and chara-design On software like Zbrush for example. Before the covid, we had set up with the Rhinoceros training center in Paris, figurines creation courses. But the health crisis and my schedule made their prosecution impossible. I regret it because I had taken a lot of pleasure in directing them.

Corto Maltese, Smurfs, Hellboy, Lupine The Third or more recently Dr Doom, we can say that you touch all kinds of comics. Does the way to consider figurine varies depending on the trait of the original author?

The method always remains the same, and the creative process too. What changes on the other hand, yes, is the "style". I always spend a lot of time before sculpting a character to immerse myself in the universe of his original creator. It interests me a lot to know how he changed his style and his character over time. Once I have studied the evolution of this style, I choose the period that I like the most, I spot the graphic tics, and I try to sculpt as close as possible to the line of this period.

If you could adapt a license without any legal/financial constraint, what would you choose?

It is difficult for me to envisage this question from this angle because I have always wanted to sculpt characters in accordance with their creator or have right. Maybe I could answer that when I started this job I had two dreams, sculpt Hellboy and Sherlock Holmes (that of Miyazaki). But now that I have managed to sculpt the two, I will have to reflect something else! Gu gu ganmo, I would love. The joyful wacky of crazy crazy college too! Or the characters of Over The Garden Wall!

What is your relationship to the figurine? Are you a collector yourself?

I was it. Of action figures and 80's toys especially! I am also crazy about everything related to Universal Monsters and Tsuburaya Productions. But since I live in Paris, the lack of space has made me seriously see my ambitions as a decreased collector!

You have an atypical project in progress called Sigurd, can you tell us more about it?

This is my most epic project to date! I am often asked if I want to sculpt a character that I would have created. Starting from this question I once left their boxes all the drawings that I had been able to have for 20 years, I selected some which served me to invent a story, and I tackled 'writing. I drew new illustrations, and so I also sculpted Sigurd, the main character. The result is a tale of 60 pages, 60 illustrations, and a film on the creation of the figurine. I am really very proud of it because this dear little sigurd has accompanied me since I was a teenager, and I finally found the right way to make it exist. I created an Instagram account entirely dedicated to the project and on which you can follow all the progress, I will go out I hope very soon.

To come back to what interests us today, namely the Dead Cruiser figurine, how did you experience the project?

This project is above all a real story of friendship! Between Kavinsky and me first, then with Michael (co-founder and CEO of Artoyz) then. It's been a long time since we said to ourselves with Kavinsky that we wanted to make a figurine. He is a collector and we really love the same things. It was on the occasion of an appointment with Michael about the manufacture of the Sigurd figurine, that we came to talk about Kavinsky. Michael and Kavinsky are neighbors, Michael wanted to make a figurine with him for a long time, but it was chance that has finally gathered us all! I am very happy to have done this project because we did it with friends, but for technicality too, because it is the first time that my sculptures has been manufactured in vinyl. Being a toy collector The experience is fantastic.

Is this the first time that you adapt the universe of a musical artist? And if so is the optics change a lot compared to a drawn work?

This is the first time yes. What has changed compared to this project is that the public knows the character of Dead Cruiser in several forms. By that I mean that there is not only one, we had to make a synthesis of the character to offer both something new because the new album was released, but also faithful to what the people have in mind. We had the help of Alex Garner who offered a great design, and Kavinsky then directed the project. He followed sculpture step by step and really involved 300%, he has a very precise idea of what he wants.

Were there any particular technical constraints on this project (design Difficult to sculpt, size constraint, etc.)?

I really discovered on this project the manufacturing in vinyl. I was surprised enough to see that in the end, there were not really any particular constraints compared to resin production, in terms of my part in any case. There are even fewer, because they are less fragile pieces.

You have to keep only one figurine (other than the Dead Cruiser) of your prolific career, which one?

Arf, this is a very difficult question ... I think I would choose the one I am sculpting, and which is not yet finished. This is the one that is the most difficult to abandon, because the pleasure of seeing the birth of something that did not exist before is always an exciting feeling, and the curiosity of seeing it is really always immense. No I laugh, that of Sigurd of course!