ABOUT
Gangster Bears are the second series of Blood Bears. Having spent time at toy conventions, looking at blind boxes, vinyl toys, and sofubi toys (and maybe growing my own collection). I started thinking about how I wanted my bears to look scarier, be more intimidating, thug-like, and most importantly have more personality. I also wanted to have a second series for an upcoming convention.
SKETCHES/INSPIRATION
I wanted my little Gangster Bear to be angry, have scars and marks, have bigger, broader shoulders, larger arms, maybe some tattoos, and some accessories. He was inspired by Russian gangsters, and gangsters in general. In earlier sketches, he had clothing like a crown/hat, jewelry, and a little tracksuit. Maybe down the line that still can happen. But the idea was he needed to look a little bit scarier and up to bad things from the get-go, more than his original cuter cousin, who had just a little drop of blood.
FIGURES
I started making little clay figures while trying to figure out what my little guy's personalities were and if they were going to have all the bells and whistles. Body shape, cuts/marks, eyes, clothing, jewelry, tattoos, and personalities. These were some of my favorite ones and I ended up using them in the CAD design.
CAD DESIGN
Once I figured out the body shape, I felt pretty good about my little guy. I then sent him off to be molded and cast.
BOX DESIGN
While my little Gangster Bears were being cast and made. I started working on the box. I wanted the box to have a city feel to it, specifically a New York City feel to it. This was inspired by a cafe in New York. I tried to make this box as unique as I could, so the person wasn't just getting a figure, but the box was also a piece of art.
PAINTING
Painting was fun. I had a couple of 3d prints that were my testers and then became my examples. I quickly became a fan of model paint for tabletop board games. For this series of my bears, I did not go with tattoos or clothing, but I kept the scars and battle injuries. In the future series, I will add the jewelry and tattoos, but this is my first series of Gangster Bears, and I decided to keep it simpler. Had a lot of intense eye contact while painting.
THANK YOU!
MORE TO COME!
