Via Starwars.com:
STARWARS.COM SPEAKS TO FUNKO’S SENIOR PRODUCT DESIGNER ABOUT ROGUE ONE POP! VINYL AND REVEALS TWO NEW FIGURES COMING IN NOVEMBER’S SMUGGLER’S BOUNTY.
They look good next to your computer monitor. They look good on your bookshelf, guarding your Star Wars library. They look good in your collectibles display case. They’re simultaneously funny and cool and retro and modern. I can only be talking, of course, about Funko Pop! figures — the big-head, short-body, super-cute vinyl toy series that has become a favorite of geek culture. And Star Wars Pop!s are particularly popular among the galactic faithful (including those at Lucasfilm — take a walk around the offices, and there’s essentially a 100% chance that you’ll spot one every five feet), spanning the entire saga and faithfully capturing character and appearance. That’s why StarWars.com is thrilled to reveal two exclusive figures — Jyn Erso (in mountain gear) and Death Trooper — coming in the next Smuggler’s Bounty subscription box, which is Rogue One-themed and ships November 16. Marking this reveal, and in advance of the Rogue One Pop!s hitting stores on September 30, StarWars.com e-mailed with Funko’s senior product designer Reis O’Brien to talk about why the Pop! design is so effective, the creation of the Smuggler’s Bounty Rogue One figures, and evolving the look of the line.
StarWars.com: In one of our earlier e-mails, you said to me, “I also quickly established myself as ‘the Star Wars guy’ when I first started working here, which led to me leading the Force Awakens and now Rogue One projects. It was a deliberate and calculated move. I make no apologies about it.” That sounds very wise. Two questions: A) How exactly did you establish yourself as the Star Wars guy, and B) what entails leading these projects?
Reis O’Brien: Well, my borderline encyclopedic knowledge of Star Wars (the original trilogy, at least) certainly helped, but once I covered both of my hands from the wrists down in Star Wars tattoos, it was pretty unarguable. There’s nothing like having S-T-A-R W-A-R-S inked across your knuckles to really let people know you’re a fan.
With the Force Awakens and Rogue One projects, I started off by designing the Pop!s, which includes rendering the initial concept designs and translating them into the Pop! format, overseeing the progress on the sculpts, calling out the paint colors, checking the paint samples, and just basically following the progress of the project all the way through to the end. Many of the non-Pop! products, like the Wobblers, plush, etc., were concepted and executed by other Funko designers and sculptors, while I just sort of looked over their shoulders occasionally, making sure that everything was staying true to the Star Wars aesthetic.
We devoted a solid team of creative people to our recent Star Wars projects and I just did my best to get my eyeballs on everything throughout the various steps in the process. I’m sure I was totally annoying everyone.
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