Hilde was added to SoulCalibur 6 this week, kicking off the game’s second season of DLC. Pure Arts, a statue and collectible maker who has created tie-in products for Dark Souls III, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint and Assassin’s Creed, piggybacked off that excitement last week and unveiled their Soul Charge collection of statues. This line will be made up of 1/8 scale, $80 statues of SoulCalibur 6’s fighters. The first two statues will be of Mitsurugi and Kilik, and they are expected to arrive in Spring 2020.
Following the announcement of Bandai Namco Entertainment and Pure Arts’ collaboration for Soul Charge, DualShockers contacted Pure Arts to learn more about this line of SoulCalibur 6 figures. We discussed the creative process behind their collectibles, why Kilik and Mitsurugi were chosen as the first Soul Charge figures, and how Pure Arts has grown over the past decade.
Tomas Franzese: How did the collaboration with Bandai Namco Entertainment for SoulCalibur 6 come about? I see you’ve done products based on Dark Souls before.
Pure Arts: Pure Arts and Bandai Namco have been working together for a few years now. Creating the Collector’s Edition for their most famous licenses such as Tekken, SoulCalibur or Dark Souls, we have always shared the same care towards every creation in order to meet the fan’s requirements as the first step of our work. We are very glad to also be able to work on licensing with Bandai Namco and provide fans more amazing products like the coming Soul Charge line.
TF: Why were Mitsurugi and Kilik chosen by Pure Arts and Bandai Namco as the first two characters for the Soul Charge line?
PA: It was not an easy choice but Mitsurugi and Kilik are the two iconic and main protagonists of the Soul Series. They are both easily recognizable as well, thanks to their individual fighting styles and weapons (which is a crucial factor in statue-making when choosing a specific character). Mitsurugi has always been part of the games ever since the launch of the Soul Series and Kilik only missed two. But more characters will follow!
TF: Can you walk through the process of how a statue like Mitsurugi evolves from inception until release?
PA: The process of making a statue starts with brainstorming in which both Bandai and Pure Arts teams gather every idea regarding the next concept. Then the next step is to draw the concept art in order to validate a first draft, which includes the pose, colors and overall look. This is followed by the making of a highly detailed 3D sculpt and printing of the first prototype samples. Finally, we hand paint the statue by using all kinds of high painting techniques. As soon as it’s approved by Bandai Namco, we can start the production process.
TF: Does Pure Arts create all their statues in-house, or do you work with external partners?
PA: Our team is highly experienced and includes skilled and very talented artists, 3D designers and sculptors. Every statue/collectible we make is designed by Pure Arts within our workshop, from concept idea until the shipping of the statue. We do 100% of the creation and production process in house.
TF: Does Pure Arts ever take creative liberties when crafting their statues? If so, how do you decide when to?
PA: It depends on the project and partners we are working with. We have been in the statue making industry for more than ten years and we have obtained licenses that grant us more creative liberties on the statues. Moreover, we have gained the trust of our partners and collaborators over the years. They know they can rely on our reputation and experience, and pay attention to our recommendations and advice.
TF: What are the biggest roadblocks Pure Arts runs into while creating statues based on video game characters?
PA: When making video game characters, the biggest challenge we come across is that we work with characters that belong to a license. That means we need to respect the character we are supposed to create as much as possible. We also need to find a balance between what we imagine the statue can be (in the 3D drawing for example) and what is possible to create and produce.
TF: How does the process of creating a statue differ between game publishers?
PA: There is no big difference in the creation process. The main difference is the licensor approval process and the input data they can provide or not. But in general, it’s quite smooth with all game publishers.
TF: Are there any other games or franchises Pure Arts would like to create statues for?
PA: They are plenty of games and franchises we would be proud to work with; however, more recently we plan on taking another road. Pure Arts has always been driven by art and creativity. Our next challenge is to tackle and support more independent artists in their creations to bring their project to life. We actually have a new project coming very soon with the artist Day Toner. We can’t say too much at the moment, but stay tuned because the release might be very soon!
TF: How has Pure Arts grown over the past decade? How do you think the market for high-end statues has changed over that time?
PA: In a decade, Pure Arts has seen its whole activity evolve. Originally based in China, Pure Arts opened a brand-new studio in Montréal, Canada at the beginning of 2019. The company became a leader in the industry and is now renown for high-quality statue and figurines making. The market has experienced a rise in terms of competition due to the high demand and technology improvement. However, Pure Arts still makes an impact and difference in always focusing on the quality and details to constantly amaze the viewer’s eyes.
If you are interested in Pure Arts, you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Cyber Monday deals are also running on their site right now. You can get $100 off statues over $400 with the code Cyber100 and free shipping if you are in North America. As for SoulCalibur 6, you can pick it up for PC, PS4 and Xbox One on Amazon.
The post SoulCalibur 6 Collaboration Interview — Pure Arts Explains the Process Behind the Soul Charge Line by Tomas Franzese appeared first on DualShockers.