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.
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| 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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