Dave Sim is asking for feedback on the now proposed Cerebus statue (originally to be an action figure) by George Gatsis and Dan Grant.
George has generously provided cloud storage for the making of the Cerebus film and Dan has modeled several of the CGI characters featured in the film along with props such as Cerebus' vest. They have my fullest support - and even though I introduced the two of them to each other since they both live in Toronto:) this venture is not connected in any way with the film. And Sandeep's suggestion in the comments to have statues made of the many other supporting characters is a great one - if launched and done right I think it would be a huge success. Even people who have only the vaguest idea who they are, if at all, will want them as they are really "fun" looking characters - of course people will want them!
It bears pointing out that I also fully support the already "Dave Sim approved figurine" by Zeke Sabee. Zeke Sabee animated several sequences for the Cerebus film, but again this figurine was totally separate from the film.
Sabee btw said this when joining the project:
"I read the article about the project and I must admit that this is the craziest and also the greatest film project I have ever heard about. If you manage to finish this you will surely become a national hero or something. I'm glad to be a tiny part of this great work."
:) too kind!
Below is the "official sanctioned figurine" that was to be sold with a special edition of the IDW audio/visual High Society package. In the end it was just deemed too costly. And in case you are curious here's the cost breakdown at the time - and hey maybe someone will deem it worthy pursuing afterall...and perhaps the costs have gone down since then, too.
Complete cost breakdown:
Basically, there are three options in terms of location and pricing. Here are the best offers, so you can choose which ever one you find most suitable.
Option 1 UK
There are a number of companies around Bristol, and I have found a local company, who offer great service at a reasonable price. This is a friendly and reliable company.
You can check their web site: http://www.amalgam-models.co.uk/
Their pricing and timescale (1000 unit):
Mould making and poly resin casting: $7,700 (£4,700) ($7.7 per unit) --- 6 weeks
Hand painting: $34,500 (£21,000) ($34.5 per unit) --- 6 weeks
Total: $42,300 (£25,700) ($42.3 per unit) --- 12 weeks
Shipping not included.
Deposit: 50%
Option 2 California
It was a bit more difficult to find a company in California, but there is an amazing company in Burbank. I would be happy to work with them. It is run by a sculptor, called Ron Lee, a 67 year old sculptor, a skilled professional. He worked with Disney, Warner Bros, etc.
Their web site: http://www.ronlee.com/
They would produce high quality, first class figurines.
They could realise the whole production for a total of approx. $25,000 (1000 units $25 per unit) including master tool making, resin casting, hand painting, and shipping.
Deposit: 50%
They can complete the figurines from scratch to the finished product in 6-8 weeks.
They are located in Burbank, a 2 hours drive from San Diego, so you can visit their workshop and check their progress.
They are also able to pre-package the figurines and make them ready for distribution.
In addition, you can save some money on shipping the figurines because the company is based in California.
Option 3 My network of freelance model makers and painters
This is the cheapest and still the best in terms of quality, so I would recommend this option.
I have a network of highly skilled freelance professional mould makers and professional painters. I worked with them and they provide top class service. They work with world-famous companies and they have the facilities to carry out the production.
I have contacted the potential specialists and managed to find those who can start as soon as the project is confirmed. I will manage the whole production, so you don’t have to deal with them; I am your one-stop shop.
There is one thing to consider: it is the slowest process, as we have to move the items between locations. I think it will cause a delay of about 2 weeks.
Pricing and timescale:
Mould making: $2,000 (£1,200) ($2 per unit) --- 2 weeks
Poly resin casting: $5,750 (£3,500) ($5.75 per unit) --- 6 weeks
Hand painting: $9,000 (£5,500) ($9 per unit) --- 6-8 weeks
Total: $16,750 (£10,200) ($16,75 per unit) --- 6 weeks
Deposit: 25%
I will send a sample figurine so that you could check the design and quality, and I will send photos about the progress. You can control the whole process and suggest changes when necessary.
Artistic fee and royalty
I would accept a one-off payment for creating the figurine, so you don’t have to deal with paying royalty later. I am fond of this character and I like the idea of adding a figurine to this special edition.
For creating the figurine I would accept $3,000 (£1,800)
For this amount of money, you will get the original version of the figurine (10cm or 4 inches) to add to your product release. Because you will become the owner of the figurine’s copyright, you can release the figurines later again and sell more units if you want to.
Moreover, for this price you will also get a large version of the same figurine (15cm or 6 inches), so you can add these to an even more special edition or sell them individually as a limited series. These larger figurines would be limited to 30 pieces only, so these could sell for $1,200 each
The figurine was even done at Dave's suggestion, too, and Zeke put a lot of work into it.
Here's an earlier version he did.
I also fully support Cerebus film animator Sergey Belyaev's Cerebus figurine. He did this for fun with his friend's 3D printer. Model is 42 gram, 70 cubic centimeter model en 130 cubic centimeter "machine space"
12.5€ labor and material cost
shipping 8.7 € to USA
At the time Dave gave us a the go ahead for this as a kickstarter reward - pretty much giving us carte blanche to proceed with a Cerebus Film kickstarter however we wanted. Very nice - and he even offered signed movie posters as kickstarter rewards.
I didn't go ahead at the time and now that window is kinda closed as it would conflict with the Cerebus graphic novel restorations.
Anyway, I hope in one way or another the world will see lots and lots of statues, figurines and action figures of Cerebus and his supporting cast of wacky characters.
