Ah, yes, the Devil Pig! I made this little treasure for a friend who I saw as being in desperate need of a little demonic influence in they're life. You can say what you want about Tim Curry in Legend, or any of the more abstract, or interesting depictions of the Prince of Darkness, and I'm not saying any of those envisionings isn't totally awesome, but for some reason I have always fixated on the classic red-bodysuit-and-pitchfork version of the devil. Maybe it's just the cheesy overacting such a costume always brings out of the wearer (as if he's... Possessed?!) or just my own failure in my early twenties to successfully grow a van dyke, but whenever I have a conflict of what I want and what I should do, I like to think a tiny me in a white robe and a harp has to battle with a tiny me in a red body sock and wild gleam in his eye for superiority somewhere in my head.

     I made this little pig of a particularly big Beatles fan in my life, and while that person is enamored with my efforts to capture Lennon's likeness in porcine form, I will always maintain that this little bugger is creepy as all get out. Maybe I was just staring into his beady little eyes for too long, trying to get the details just right, but I just find it too surreal to see his face on a piggy body. Something about how the ears poke out of the hair. Still, I am proud of the glasses, and the profile view, you have to admit, makes him rather recognizable.

    Naruto Pig and Piggy Quint. I feel compelled to present these two together as they went to my little sister and her husband.

    Naruto was one of his fixations, so this was a natural fit. I worked hard to get all the details right, and think I did fairly well. I'm especially proud of the fuzzy collar: I wanted to maintain the 2-D, graphical vibe of the manga and anime art, which necessitated keeping sculptural details to a minimum, but I think, given the subject matter, the stylistic restriction paid off well. If I had it to do over, I would give a simpler style to the hair, something more closely resembling the source material, but he was rather happy with it, so maybe it was the right choice.

    My little sister has had an obsession for Jaws ever since she first saw it at what was probably too early an age. I wanted to pay homage to that, being a cinephile myself, but wanted a character recognizable, but not totally obvious. Amity's resident badass shark hunter seemed a good, distinctive visual. While Quint-pig's hat and righteous facial hair were fun to sculpt and paint, it was his clothes I enjoyed most on this one, in particular the tonal variation on his blue shirt. You're gonna need a bigger trough!