Thursday, August 15, 2013

STGCC 2013: Introducing Local Sculpture-Meister HairyAsHell

Regular STGCC attendees for the last few years would have probably noticed a small booth in Artist Alley named HairyasHell which featured clay sculptures with amazing details and creativity.

The man and real name behind the moniker is Adeeb Md Mynul Islam, who works as an animator with video games company Ubisoft Singapore. He also has a teaching stint at MAGES Institute of Excellence, a private tertiary school for Animation, Game Design and Computing.

But when the night shadows appear, his Master Sculptor alter-ego HairyasHell emerges and he painstakingly churns out these impressive sculptures and creations.

(By the way, Red Dot Diva has investigated and found out that Adeeb's alter-ego label has little to do with a certain level of hirsuteness. So he claims. Hmmm..... )

At this year's STGCC, Adeeb is listed as a special guest as part of the WDA (Singapore Workforce Development Agency) booth, together with animators and artists - Stanley Lau (Artgerm), Javier Secaduras and Derrick Song. The team will be doing panels and demonstrations during the convention.

Red Dot Diva posed HairyasHell a few nosy questions, as he skillfully wields his sculpting implements:

Red Dot Diva: When did you find yourself interested in sculpting?
HairyasHell: I was interested in sculpting since I was young. I remember the first time I got playdough from my cousins who came over from U.K, I was fascinated by it and started creating Mortal Kombat characters. I only had enough to make only one complete character (MK3 subzero). Other than that, I used to take apart my Lego sets and customize them into my favorite anime robots back in the day. But even though I had an interest when I was young, I never really took it too seriously as I went to school for 3d animation which ended up being my major passion.

One day, over 3 years ago, during my day job as an animator, one of my fellow colleague showed me his Thor sculpture. It instantly triggered something in me. It made me wonder, "why didn't I ever teach myself to do something cool like that?" It lit a flame in me that made me pursue the knowledge of this beautiful art form and since then I am an animator by day and the sculptor HairyAsHell by night.

Red Dot Diva: How did you learn the skill or improve on the techniques?
HairyasHell: A couple of my colleagues were into sculpting and they helped me a lot (shout outs to Jai and Julian) when I started out. A lot of my learning came from researching online and watching other people's work. Also watching some of the most talented artists over at Stan Winston School (www.stanwinstonschool.com) help me grow significantly as an artist.

Miku in Wonderland
Red Dot Diva: What were the first pieces you sculpted and do you still keep them?
HairyasHell: Other than the lame looking Subzero sculpture I did as a little kid, the first piece that I did as HairyAsHell was a Ryu vs Sagat diorama from street fighter. I still have resin castings of that sculpture but it hasn't aged well.

Most of my work are for private collectors so they usually end up in someone else's display case. But I do keep my older personal work and sometimes wonder "I actually created that piece of sh!*???" But it's why I hope to challenge myself with every piece that I do in order to keep getting better.

Red Dot Diva: Who do you count as your artistic inspirations?
HairyasHell: There are so many talented people out there who inspire me. Sometimes a random sculpture done by someone whom I've never heard off gives me inspiration as well.

Off the top off my head, I'd say Simon Lee (www.bigbluetree.com) is one of my biggest inspirations. As an animator, I always strive to have movement in my work, and Simon's amazing designs screams dynamism which I strive to achieve.

The other inspiring artist, who was also my teacher at one point, was the famous Jordu Schell (www.schellstudio.com). His concepts and painting skills are something everyone in the industry looks up to.

Sneak peak! The Thunderous Lightning
Red Dot Diva: Give us some hints what you will be showcasing in this year's STGCC?
HairyasHell: Based on the teasers I've shown so far, I don't know if some people already guessed which characters he represents. The Thunderous Lightning is the 2nd character in the superhero X greek mythology series that my friend, Keatopia and I have designed. He is a sibling of The Unseen Darkness (TUD).

The sculpture is more epic than TUD and will be available in extremely limited quantities at STGCC and preorders to be taken for a limited run which will be available at the end of the year. Every single piece will be done by myself to ensure the highest artistic quality possible. I've had some terrible experiences with third parties with the production of TUD, so I'm not taking any chances this time round.

P.S If anyone is interested to see the behind the scenes making of The Thunderous Lightning from concept to the final painted sculpture, do drop by my panel at the WDA booth on the 1st of September!


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Find out more about HairyasHell:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/HairyAsHell/163615540371188

DeviantArt: http://hairyashell.deviantart.com


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