Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Delight In Rachel Tan-Hwee's (RattanHwee) Colourful and Whimsical Art (L1-AA95)

While doing research on the long list of exhibitors at this year's Singapore Comic Convention (SGCC) 2024, Red Dot Diva was attracted to the delightful visual compositions by local artist Rachel Tan-Hwee aka Rattanhwee. Her colourful art pieces and craft work are like a breath of fresh air; they all carry a sense of cheerfulness and optimism. Her art style is also the reason why she was chosen to be the illustrator for a children's book series called Butternut by author, illustrator and award-winning filmmaker Jill Dana.

Rachel's current obsession is painting a series of Plein-air works featuring Japan titled "ケシキ (Keshiki; Sceneries)". She also does whimsical art between paintings for fun, and to placate her inner child as well. Curious to know more about Rachel's artistic journey, Red Dot Diva sat her down for a quick interview:

Red Dot Diva: When was the “aha” moment you knew that you wanted to become an artist as a profession?
Rachel: I started drawing as a kid and just never stopped. I guess I never really had an 'Aha' moment because it just felt like it was a natural progression.

Red Dot Diva: In most Asian cultures, people tend to want their children to join careers in more practical roles, e.g. doctors, jobs in business, IT. Did you receive a lot of parental support and encouragement when you knew you wanted to become an artist?
Rachel: I had supportive parents! (even though I know deep inside they would rather I be a doctor or lawyer haha. I mean which Asian parent wouldn't want a scholarly child?) I would definitely not have been able to pursue this line of work had it not been for their support. Studying and practicing art can be costly because of art materials needed, etc. so their investment, both financial and emotional, is something that I really appreciate.

Red Dot Diva: I noticed that you have ventured into diverse artistic forms to create your work, like animation, illustrations, graphic design, crafts, live sketches, etc... Is there an art form that you have yet to try but really want to?
Rachel: I'd love to do more large format traditional paintings and pottery! It's something that's been on my to-do list for a long time!

Red Dot Diva: How did you get to work with Jill Dana for the Butternut children’s book series, published by Marshall Cavendish? For the benefit of tose who are not familiar with the books, tell us a bit about Butternut. 
Rachel: Marshall Cavendish reached out to me and introduced me to Jill as well as Butternut! Butternut is about a little Butternut Squash learning about himself and navigating his new life in a Supermarket. It's full of puns (which I LOVE) and is full of heartwarming moments. The Butternut characters are something I hold close to my heart because they were developed at a tumultuous time in my life and represent a dream of mine to illustrate a children's picture book. I'm honoured to have been given the opportunity to fulfill this dream!

Red Dot Diva: What are the most fulfilling aspects of being an artist?
Rachel: I think art forms of all kinds are so important to the human soul. It gives us a language to express ourselves in a way that's not possible verbally or in writing. For my Keshiki series of paintings, I've had people come up to me to say that it reminds them of home or of their travels to those places. It's lovely that in this whole wide world we're all connected by invisible threads of experiences and memories.

Red Dot Diva: What do you think makes a successful booth experience at an event? Any practical tips for boothing newbies?
Rachel: I'd say it really depends on what you want to get out of an event. Are you just starting out and just want to get your name out there? Boothing helps! Want to make art your bread and butter? Boothing is an avenue for that too! My tip would be to visit events of all kinds before settling on one to booth at. Look at what the crowds gravitate to at each event! Is the demand more for indie artwork or character and fan art? Homework is SO IMPORTANT. Each booth application is an investment of your money and time, so you have to use your resources wisely!

Red Dot Diva: What can we expect from your booth at SGCC 2024?
Rachel: I've got new paintings that I'm excited to share with everyone! There are also going to be bundle deals (by popular demand) and STICKERS. LOTS OF NEW STICKERS.
Red Dot Diva: YAY, STICKERS! A superb reason to visit your booth at the show!

Do say hello to Rattanhwee and check out her imaginative works of art at SGCC 2024, Booth L1-AA95.

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Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Meet The Monster Bunnies By Raven Collectibles (L1-AA201)

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Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Merthewiz and Rhinomee Return With New Merchandise (L1-AA174)

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Artist Highlight - Marvel At Rudy Ao's Photo Realistic Artwork (L1-AA218, Fat Snake Comics)

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Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) - Interview With Comic Book Legend Joe Rubinstein

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If you enjoy Red Dot Diva's content, feel free to help her efforts going by showing your support through ko-fi. Thank you!

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Merthewiz and Rhinomee Return With New Merchandise (L1-AA174)

Some of the more memorable experiences that Red Dot Diva gets from attending Singapore Comic Convention (SGCC) are the new connections made with artists and creators exhibiting on the showfloor. At last year's SGCC, her friend Jessica Emmett was invited to share booth space with two other toy maker, and that was how Red Dot Diva got to meet the convention's most lovable duo Merthewiz and Rhinomee. They were so warm and welcoming, and made her laugh a lot when she visited their booth.

Young Merick Chong is the face behind the brand name, Merthewiz. Merick loves collecting designer toys, as well as toy and pop-culture vintage items, for example, a PokeDex from Pokemon, old Simpsons VCR tapes, and Batman Hot Wheels. Despite being relatively new to the designer toy industry, Merick's figurines are incredibly detailed and well made. Not to mention that his original character named Beefy Boi, which essentially is a very buff cow, is udderly amoosing. (Sorry, can't help it with the puns!)

Mr.Xianffy, a native Sarawakian and the creator of the adorable Rhinomee, is a production graphic designer, and has been working locally in this industry for 10 years. Hobby craft is a kind of therapy for him whenever he needs to take my mind off work. He enjoys experimenting with different types of materials to design and craft his art pieces. Currently, Mr.Xianffy depicts his favourite subject Rhinomee mostly in the form of a one-shot Instagram pictorial journal.

As they say in Red Dot Island - “good things must share!”, so here is a pre-SGCC 2024 interview for you to get to know the creators behind Merthewiz and Rhinomee:

Merthewiz and Rhinomee at SGCC 2023

Red Dot Diva: When I met the both of you at last year's SGCC, I could sense that you had a special kind of synergy and worked really well together. How did you two meet?
Merick: I met the lovely talented MrXianffy through mutual friends. These friends noticed that we are both creatives and then after speaking to each other, we gelled really well and thought of pursuing our toy making career together, like including each other on local and some oversea events.
Mr.Xianffy: We were linked up by our mutual church friends when they found out that we are toy makers. Since then, we have shared and exchange our resources in toy making, as well as sharing our trials and errors regarding boothing experiences to source our market.

Red Dot Diva: How and why did you embark on the toy designer journey?
Merick: I got into toy making by working under a skill share at an art gallery. It was where I discovered my passion for sculpting and collecting, and thought it would be nice to fuse the two interests together and sculpt something that I would personally collect.
Mr.Xianffy: Some time back, I encountered difficulties in making my graduation project. Then, I met Taiwanese animal sculptor Mr. Lu unexpectedly through Facebook. I gradually became interested in simulation sculptures due to his posts sharing about his works. While exploring different types of materials, I met two prototype designers from Taiwan Dreamworkers, who specialise in model prototyping and manufacturing. At the time, I only explored the craft through online sharing via Facebook. Later, I slowly started to practise based on theoretical knowledge acquired from the designers, and in 2017, I completed my first 1:1 common kingfisher model. Since then, I have been constantly trying to practise different themes and communicate with different creators on sculpture techniques. When I was at Singapore Toy Games and Comic Convention, I met a group of Malaysian toy designers such as Sean Studio, Littlegoodthing, Tekxtoy, and MY Toy Hoard. Thanks to the patience and encouragement from everyone in the group, I took the step to join the designer toy community, and started participating actively in exhibitions.

Red Dot Diva: I am curious about the ideas and story behind your main IP/ design. Tell me more about their origins.

Ox-idised Beefy Boi by Merthewiz

Merick: Why did I decide on the design of a buff cow? It was because I simply like cows (and their meat). I find them adorable, plus I also love to lift weights. Beefy Boi is not only my original character, but also somewhat of a motivation.

Mr.Xianffy: Rhinomee was inspired by the rhinoceros hornbill, a bird species native species to the island of Borneo. It is also the state bird of Sarawak, Malaysia. Rhinomee takes after a running joke. There are a lot of people who assume that the rhinoceros hornbill is a rhinoceros. So, birdwatchers have brought the hornbill around the world to explore different cultural and emotional stories. The rhinoceros hornbill is not just my hometown national bird, it is also a threatened bird species. I feel connected to this bird species, and decided to develop it as one of my main character design.

Red Dot Diva: Will Beefy Boi and Rhinomee go on an adventure together in the future?
Merick: 100% we are teasing some adventures as of right now, but in the future, I think people will see the physical form soon. And it probably wouldn’t be just one, but multiple adventures in different environments and contexts. For my personal adventures, Merthewiz might go for more overseas adventures in the future, and BEEFY BOI might make some friends in the process, making this his own Beefy-Universe.
Mr.Xianffy: Will my Rhinomee and Beefy Boi adventure together in future? I guess probably yes. We both try different styles, and hopefully, one day in future, we will be able to collaborate and present a unique visual experience for everyone.

Red Dot Diva: How long was it before you felt confident enough to show off your designs and toys in public, for sale?
Merick: It was about less than a year after much building and refining of the character. But selling them in the market was a different matter. I only felt confident that it could work as a marketable collectible after my participation at my first event, Pop Toy Show 2023.

Mr.Xianffy's Roly-Poly toys

Mr.Xianffy: I took a very long time with many, many baby steps. Due to my corporate workload, I was unable to commit fully, and could only indulge in some hobby work when I took breaks from the day job. It was 7 years of self-learning with considerable doses of self doubt. I lacked confidence and kept going around in circles. Then, when Covid-19 hit, I told myself I should be bold and launch my Roly-Poly toys. These were my toy creations before the creation of Rhinomee.
Red Dot Diva: I really admire your tenacity, Mr.Xianffy! To those fledging toy designers out there, don't give up!

Red Dot Diva: Do you think the designer toy market is too saturated?
Merick: Yes and No. It could seem saturated with the more experienced toy makers in Singapore as they have been networking and gaining experience longer. However, there are still new people who are dabbling and making their own figures and collectibles, and pushing it more and more publicly, which is very exciting for the designer toy market.
Mr.Xianffy: Hmm... I don't think so. People tend to compare our hard work with big brands, like blind-box toys, but I don’t think the designer toy market is saturated. Every artist has their own unique art sense that attracts a specific type of collector, and usually the interaction between the indie artist & the collector is a more personal relationship. This is unlike blindbox brands, or others huge toy manufacturers, where you can only interact with the artist during special occasions for that few minutes, or only on a TV screen.

Beefcake by Kayotoyco x Merthewiz

Red Dot Diva: What can designers do to make their toy stand out amongst all the competition?
Merick: They could start marketing more frequently and publicly either on social media, or at local and international events. Another suggestions is also to collaborate with other artists to build that connection with people in the designer toy scene. That also helps to increase the awareness of your brand in each other’s audience.
Mr.Xianffy: Unfortunately, I don’t have a 100% true and tried way. I am still learning along the way too, and making changes to my ideas and processes from time to time. It is not easy for sure. If the subject decide to go for is unique, there would be little or no reference for you to get a satisfying result quickly. It really also depends on timing, geography, people and the trends.

Red Dot Diva: What are some practical tips you can share to those who are thinking about launching their own designer toy products?
Merick: Start small, if it’s too intimidating. Some cost friendly alternatives could be with air-dry clay, or digital sculpting with some free websites. If you have an iPad, I highly recommend, Nomad Sculpt, as it’s a one time payment app, has a low barrier entry, is able to render to higher realism, and can export to 3D print ready files.
Mr.Xianffy: Begin by doing research on the subject you are passionate about. You can start from brainstorming to sketching, and sharing those on the social media platforms. Do remember to protect your copyright, no matter how small or worthless you think your pencil sketch is. It may not be suitable now, but you might never know if your old sketches may become popular one day!

Red Dot Diva: What are the things you learnt about the attendees' buying preferences from your booth experience at last year's SGCC?
Merick: I noticed that it would be better to have a range of different items at different prices, as people have different budgets. Another point would be to have more pop culture and game references for your products because the event is a comic con, so having those kind of items would interest a larger audience.
Mr.Xianffy: The metric changes every year due to the market's pursuit of trends, so I cater to a variety of merchandise for different age groups, at a comfortable price range.

Red Dot Diva: What can we expect from your booth at SGCC 2024?

Beefy Boi Titan by Merthewiz

Merick: Fun, friendly vibes and cool new characters in new forms and designs. There will also be supporting products in the form of artist trading cards with fun packaging.

Sneak peek at new merch by Rhinomee

Mr.Xianffy: Both of us have collaborated on trading cards. Besides that, both of us are also part of the Made in Singapore initiative at SGCC. So, Rhinomee will launch a new series of merchandise. There are limited hand crafted Rhinomee keychains as well as other exclusive items, like bottle caps and art prints. Come look for us at the show to find out more.
Red Dot Diva: You have piqued my interest! I'll definitely be visiting your booth, and we have to flex our biceps together again!
To find out what cool items Merthewiz and Rhinomee will be offering at their SGCC 2024 booth, please follow their social media accounts:

Merthewiz
Website: https://www.merthewiz.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merthewiz

Rhinomee
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhinomee
Xiaohongshu: https://www.xiaohongshu.com/user/profile/5f9326320000000001002d2a

Merthewiz x Rhinomee will be participating as part of Made In Singapore cluster at Booth L1-AA174.


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Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Meet The Monster Bunnies By Raven Collectibles (L1-AA201)

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Genforcer Is All Ready to Protecc You! (L1-AA180-181)

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Delight In Rachel Tan-Hwee's (RattanHwee) Colourful and Whimsical Art (L1-AA95)

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Artist Highlight - Marvel At Rudy Ao's Photo Realistic Artwork (L1-AA218, Fat Snake Comics)

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Meet Eric Chong, Avid Comic Collector And Owner Of Fat Snake Comics

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) - Interview With Comic Book Legend Joe Rubinstein

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If you enjoy Red Dot Diva's content, feel free to help her efforts going by showing your support through ko-fi. Thank you!

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Genforcer Is All Ready to Protecc You! ( L1-AA180-181)

Making its debut at Singapore Comic Convention (SGCC) 2024 is GENFORCER - a group of Red Dot Island-centric public safety superheroes embodied in the popular tokusatsu form. For those who are not familiar with tokusatsu, the Japanese word literally means special effects, and well-known tokusatsu entertainment include beloved franchises like Ultraman and Kamen Rider.

GENFORCER is the brainchild of local homegrown media production agency Playbox Studios, whose projects have included video segments for the National Day Parade show, and Singapore Film Society's (+65) Film Project. Red Dot Diva had the privilege to sit down with Playbox Studio's founder and CEO Basil Yeo to chat about GENFORCER, the spark that inspired its creation, and the new heroes' relevance in today's world.

Red Dot Diva: I was surprised to find out that Playbox Studios is launching a range of tokusatsu characters called GENFORCER at SGCC 2024. Please tell us the origin story of GENFORCER, and what inspired you to start on this project?
Basil: Genforcer is a trio of first responders - a police officer, paramedic and firefighter - who don advanced armour to combat high-tech crimes and disasters beyond conventional emergency response. As you can guess, they are inspired by tokusatsu and real-life first responders.

We have always loved tokusatsu, and working on an indie tokusatsu was some of the best moments in our lives where we felt creatively fulfilled. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed incredible commitment and dedication from our real-life first responders, and that was also the time when I completed Winspector, Solbrain and Exceedraft, three early 90's "Rescue Police" series from the now-defunct Metal Hero franchise. Thanks to Syafiq, I also watched Tokyo MER, a TBS drama that's on Disney+. And that's how we decided that our next project would be about first responders.

Red Dot Diva: Who is the designer of the GENFORCER suits? Any special points to note about the suit designs?
Basil: The concept artist who designed the Genforcer suits, or what we call the 'Unity Armour' is Danial Syafiq, or Dansya (pronounced as densha). (By the way, he is also not the same Syafiq mentioned earlier!). He came up with the initial draft for the current suits about over a year ago, after Syafiq and myself decided to ask him to give it a go, because we weren't too satisfied with what we had up till that point in time. And he did a fantastic job!
Red Dot Diva: They certainly look very, very eye-catching!
Basil: The suits are designed with local elements in mind - Husky's helmet design is based on the Singapore Police Force's Next Generation Fast Response Car, Collie's design combines elements from the Singapore Civil Defence Force's Fire Medical Vehicle and the current generation ambulance, while Beagle's colour scheme is based on the Singapore Civil Defence Force's new bunker gear. Collie also carries around an AI medical bot known as Handy.

The unique aspect of the suits is that they are built atop a base suit, which is expandable and modifiable, thus opening up opportunities for overseas iterations of Genforcer.

Red Dot Diva:When can we expect more to be revealed about GENFORCER on social media? (Impatient, lah!)
Basil: We're revealing the characters one by one in the lead up to SGCC. After that, we will also be posting one "G-Log" a week (we will try!). For at least six months now, we have been filming almost everything that we've been doing for project development and behind the scenes for the teasers and photoshoots, so there's a lot of archival footage that we're now pulling out to edit into vlogs.

One thing that we're going to try and do as much as we can (and within the realm of legal possibility) is build this IP in public, so anyone who is interested can see what goes on behind building an IP from scratch!

Red Dot Diva: What were the most challenging parts in bringing GENFORCER into reality?
Basil: It was most certainly trying to figure out the purpose of this project. Why does it even matter to anyone out there apart from our own selfish reasons of wanting to make something that we can call our own. The lack of purpose was so bad that I actually put off working on the project for a while to focus on building the company instead, Then one day, the main objective occurred to me, and I started to challenge the team to figure it out on their own. Well they did. Mostly, haha.

The reason why Genforcer matters is because of public and personal safety, and the need to constantly stay vigilant against potential threats that have become part and parcel of today's landscape. Positive, public safety education will play a big part in helping us be mentally and physically prepared should anything happen. It's quite similar to the Total Defence mantra, but this is something that comes from the ground up, and not top-down (from Government).

The next challenge was about finances. This project is currently financed entirely from revenue, sans loans and investment. Apart from financing Genforcer, we have overheads like rent and salaries to pay every month. So, this leads us to having to shift our priorities once in a while, which may affect the pace of development or production. But in this aspect, I think we've done really well in 2024.

Another challenge I can think of is managing our peak periods when it comes to our video production business. This year, during May to August, we produced a total of 40 videos across 3 projects. It was also the same period that we were developing our plans for SGCC and later on. Also at the same time, we hired two interns to help out with the shoots, which means we also had to spend time training them and ensuring that their progress was on track. In the end, the team pulled through. Which brings me to my last challenge - Building the right team.

Having the right team can make or break your project, and I am extremely fortunate to have this team. We have an amazing chemistry (they call it 'single brain cell') and there is a wonderful energy that permeates throughout our office everyday. I hope our audiences will be able to see that same passion and energy throughout everything that we do for Genforcer.
Red Dot Diva: That's very inspiring. I hope up and coming creators or business owners will find what you shared useful, and keep these tips in mind when they decide to embark on their own journey.

Red Dot Diva: Successful creator IPs are usually presented in various forms. So, are there plans for GENFORCER to be in a comic, or a Youtube shorts, etc?
Basil: Currently, our main priority is to build up our YouTube channel and social media with different types of content, including our "G-Logs". Most importantly, short form educational PSAs that address our mission of making the world a safer place. We also want to do a comic book in 2025, and we have already actually spoken to an artist, but we won't say who they are until things are signed.

This might also come as a surprise to many, but we will not be committing to doing a TV show at this time. Not a pilot, not even a trailer. The main objective is short form content on YouTube. However, if the right opportunity comes along...
Red Dot Diva: Hahaha. Like why not, right? But I do agree that in this day and age, web and social media content is the way to go for starters. You can see how many Korean webtoons and Japanese manga have gotten the live action treatment and been adapted as a TV series or animation show. It may take years to get there, but it still got there all the same!

Red Dot Diva: It is not easy to run a small business, especially in the creative industry. Do you have any practical tips to share with small business owners out there?
Basil: Set small, measurable targets that you can achieve along the way as you seek to fulfil your main objective. It is important to celebrate the small wins but don't over-celebrate. Also, to build it in public. Because people don't back businesses, they back people.

Red Dot Diva: What can we expect from the GENFORCERbooth at SGCC 2024?
Basil: We'll be having appearances from each of the Genforcer characters (and maybe one together), showcasing some conceptual work and prototype displays, as well as launching our merchandise line. Hopefully the reception is good enough that we could continue doing all of this!

Don't miss the opportunity to meet the kick-ass GENFORCER, and chat with the creators at SGCC 2024, Booth L1-AA180-181.


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Catch a peek of the 3GENFORCER callsigns - Husky, Collie and Beagle!

Say hello to HUSKY, who is all set to make the world a safer place!

Red Dot Diva thinks there is never too many female superheroes, so she is glad there is COLLIE to help save the day!

BEAGLE is ready to come to the rescue!

Find out more about GENFORCER on their social media:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/genforcer
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/genforcer/
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@genforcertv

The GENFORCER official website is also set for a launch date in a week's time. Remember to check out the site's link here: https://genforcer.tv/


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(Update: Francesco Manna, Michael Gaydos, OSHRed will no longer be attending as guests for SGCC 2024)

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Meet The Monster Bunnies By Raven Collectibles (L1-AA201)

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Merthewiz and Rhinomee Return With New Merchandise (L1-AA174)

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Delight In Rachel Tan-Hwee's (RattanHwee) Colourful and Whimsical Art (L1-AA95)

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Artist Highlight - Marvel At Rudy Ao's Photo Realistic Artwork (L1-AA218, Fat Snake Comics)

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----------------------------

If you enjoy Red Dot Diva's content, feel free to help her efforts going by showing your support through ko-fi. Thank you!

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Meet The Monster Bunnies By Raven Collectibles (L1-AA201)

It has become an annual tradition that Red Dot Diva puts a few interesting guests and exhibitors of Singapore Comic Convention (SGCC) in the spotlight before the show. There are usually new convention attendees who may not be knee-deep in pop-culture, so she hopes that a quick guide would make them curious enough to check out some of the booths on the show floor. In addition, the articles are a good way to keep the local geek community strong and connected.

This year, Red Dot Diva first interview "victim" is Sharavanan Sora of Raven Collectibles, a homegrown local toy design studio that focuses on high quality 3D sculpted toys and figurines. Sharavanan (or Shara for short) works in the the civil service. When he gets off work, he would indulge in one of his main hobbies, which is sculpting. The love for the craft has led him to a journey in toy design and the start of Raven Collectibles. Other than sculpting, Shara has a list of interests including drawing, playing video games, watching movies, enjoying numerous animated series, listening to music, animation, and spending time with his family.

Shara also confesses that he is addicted to comic books and boasts of a dedicated library for his collection, which number in the thousands. He shared that his comic book obsession probably started with watching Super-Friends in the 80's, but he only started buying comics from the 90's onwards when his cousins introduced him to a local comic book shop in Ginza Plaza.

Let's find out more about Shara, Raven Collectibles and their latest toy line called Monster Bunnies:

Red Dot Diva: What inspired the beginnings of Raven Collectibles? Tell me your origin story!
Shara: I have always been obsessed with toys. Because growing up, my parents will always promise to buy me a toy only on my birthday, but somehow mysteriously stay quiet when the birthday actually comes. So once I had adult money, I buy all the toys I want. And I really really loved these cute toy designs by "The Loyal Subjects". All my favourite pop culture characters in chibi form. Absolutely beautiful stuff. But, I found out they were blind box toys. Which I absolutely loathe. I hate that gimmick of making people buy many repeated toys before finally getting the ones they actually want. It's greedy and preys on people with unhealthy obsessions... like me. So I thought, "I'm just gonna make my own toys!". And I guess that was my villain origin story.

But, it is my beautiful wife who owns the business. She puts up with my childish obsessions. So, she is a huge part of any success we have.

The Raven Collectibles family!

Red Dot Diva: How did you get into 3D sculpting?
Shara: So after realising my villainous goals, I looked into 3D sculpting and 3D printing. I started by looking at YouTube tutorials on the basics. Truly, YouTube has a wealth of knowledge for absolutely anything you wish to learn. It is not just for movie trailers and nonsensical memes.

I've always loved sculpting but could never truly get into it because of clay drying too fast. If you needed a couple of days' break, you'd come back to a dried up project. But now the technology was here. I could come back to a 3D sculpt project years later and the clay was still malleable. And whatever I sculpted, I could easily print out because we have 3D printers now. And so began my learning journey in toy making.

Having the ability to take something from inside your mind and bringing it to physical reality is a very powerful, positive feeling. Absolutely addictive. In a good way. I'd recommend anybody to try it.

Red Dot Diva: Where do you get your inspirations from? Do you have a secret sketchbook of ideas to use for future projects?
Shara: My inspirations are mainly from the comic books. I started out my journey into 3D sculpting with Superheroes. In fact, all my sculpts before the "Monster Bunnies" were all Superheroes and Villains. Honestly, ever since I started sculpting, I haven't really touched any sketchbooks. Been neglecting my drawing skills. Ideas just float around my head until I have time to spare to start on each new project. I do have a list of things to sculpt on notes in my phone.

Red Dot Diva: Please share more about Monster Bunnies. How did they come about?
Shara: These first 4 Monster Bunnies, I just randomly sketched in class back in the day in NAFA. I studied there for a year. I can't remember if a friend requested a monster bunny or the idea just popped in my head. But I do remember the unique pose I visualised and just had to pour it on paper. Once that was out, I wanted to see other bunny monsters in the same pose. I had never done multiple different characters in the same pose before and it seemed like a fun thing to do. I loved what I saw and really wished I had a toy of one of these. Interestingly that was in 2004. Twenty years later, that wish has come true!

Red Dot Diva: They look frightfully adorable. Will there be a Monster Bunnies version but with Asian ghoulies?
Shara: That is SUCH and INTERESTING question! So weird that you asked with those specifics. You will have to come to SGCC 2024 for the exclusive "Monster Bunnies Wave 2" reveal to find out. I type this with a cheeky smile.
Red Dot Diva: Ooooooh. I can't wait!

Red Dot Diva: I understand that it's not easy to run a small business. Do you have any practical tips to share with aspiring creators out there?
Shara: Make full use of the internet to run your business. It is not cheap to run any business, so avoid fixed costs as much as you can. I'm mainly referring to renting a space. Because that will burn a hole in your capital too quickly. You do have to spend money to make money. But do it wisely. Always look at alternatives, and resist jumping in to any commitment. If there are any big decisions to be made, give yourself time to calm down from excitement before making it. If spending can be avoided, always avoid.
So many great ideas never get to flourish because we run out of fundings fast.

Red Dot Diva: You were also exhibiting at SGCC last year. What are the things you learnt about the attendees' buying preferences?
Shara: They are there to BUY!!! They want only to buy things. They do not want to take down your number to do business later. Haha. Last year my booth was set up just to advertise my services as a custom 3d sculptor. I had my work on display. And everybody who came up to my booth wanted to buy everything on the spot. Unfortunately, that would leave me with an empty booth for 2 days. So, lesson learnt. This year I'm selling 200 Monster bunnies. Get them while stocks last.

Red Dot Diva: What can we expect from your booth at SGCC 2024?
Shara: We have our first soft launch of our Monster Bunnies as SGCC exclusives. After that, we will be taking pre-orders at our Amazon.com shop (still setting up). We also have the very first official reveal of Wave 2 of the "Monster Bunnies". Look out for 4 NEW interesting monsters! They are deadly and ferocious! And oh so CUTE!!! If Wave 1 does well, maybe we can expect a Wave 2 release just in time for Halloween next year! Fingers crossed.
Red Dot Diva: That sounds awesome! I'll definitely come by to say hi, and budget permits, to BUY!

Raven Collectible's MONSTER BUNNIES can be found at SGCC 2024, Booth L1-AA201.

Follow Raven Collectibles on Instagram, Youtube, or Tiktok.

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(Update: Francesco Manna, Michael Gaydos, OSHRed will no longer be attending as guests for SGCC 2024)

Singapore Comic Con 2024 (SGCC) Booth Highlight - Genforcer Is All Ready to Protecc You! ( L1-AA180-181)

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FOMO ArtWeekend v3 2024 - Get Ready To Fill Up Your Festive Gift Bags At Taste Orchard (23 - 24 Nov 2024)!

The Organisation of Illustrators Council (OIC Singapore) is hosting another art market called FOMO ArtWeekend at Taste Orchard on 23 and 24 November 2024. This is the third FOMO ArtWeekend show since the organisation launched the event at *SCAPE in December 2022.

You may wonder - so what is the difference between the two events presented by OIC, namely   Illustration Arts Festival (IAF) and FOMO ArtWeekend? According to Red Dot Diva's source, FOMO shines the spotlight on emerging and younger illustrators based in Red Dot Island, while IAF is geared towards the industry level with regional and international illustrators being showcased plus talks and workshops listed as part of the event. So, if you want to get a feel of how local young artists and creators are vibing these days, FOMO is the place to be!

Eager shoppers and art lovers can expect to check out over 80 booth at this upcoming festive edition of FOMO ArtWeekend. This translates to more than 100 illustrators participating at the event, offering unique merchandise and gift ideas so you can get ready for the joyful year end festivities.

Some of the artists boothing at FOMO ArtWeekend include illustrator and ceramic artist byJolyn, whose cute characters get into silly but very accurate situations; tattoo artist @tiredbutwoke who puts Pokemon creatures on ink; live sketch artist @Shuiwong; veggie-focused art and merchandise by @heyvegemates, just to name a few. There is going to be a wide range of merchandise that you can buy at the art market - stickers, postcards, art prints, plush toys, keychains, tote bags, you name it they probably have it. It will make any shopper who loves cute things go wild. 

Do check out OIC's social media on Facebook and Instagram to see who are the other artists appearing at FOMO ArtWeekend. Then, dig out those pennies you have saved for the holiday season, and get ready to grab goodies for yourself or for your loved ones!


FOMO ARTWEEKEND V3 - THE FESTIVE EDITION
Date: 23 and 24 November 2024 (Saturday)
Times: 11 AM to 7 PM
Venue: TASTE Orchard, 160 Orchard Road (the former OG Orchard Point, for those who remember the retail store)
Admission: Free of charge

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