Singapore Comic Con (SGCC) 2023 Artist Highlight - Wonder At Takahan Tan's Captivating Toy Photography

Stroll down the Artist Alley section of Singapore Comic Convention (SGCC), and you will spot talented artists, crafters, designers, comic book creators and toy photographers. This year, events planner and visual artist Takahan Tan, will be at the pop-culture convention showing off his toy photography. His photos - most of them consisting of Funko toys - have such a cinematic style and uses the Red Dot Island landscape to great effect. So, it is not surprising that his works have captured the attention of personalities such as directors David Ayer (Suicide Squad), David F Sandberg (Shazam), film set still photographer Clay Enos, production designer and art director Bill Brzeski, actor Ray Porter, and yes, even prominent producer-director Zack Sydner.

In this interview, Red Dot Diva chats with Takahan to learn more about his craft. She was also happy to know that he is a fellow DC Comics fan!

Diva's Reylo Fan Art Series: Cody Customises Amazing Adam Driver Character Funko Toys

For the next artist in the Reylo Fan Art Series, Red Dot Diva is shining the spotlight on Cody (aka leiaporgana on Twitter), a major Star Wars fan who also customises Funko Toys with an uncanny likeness to Adam Driver and the various characters he has played in his illuminating career.

Cody is from America but she has been living in the UK for the past 7+ years. She has just quit her PhD in Victorian medical history, and then the COVID-19 pandemic struck limiting her job options. While waiting for the situation to improve, Cody began doing freelance art and creating Funko customisations.

Red Dot Diva got to know about Cody's amazing craftwork after spotting a photo of a Ben Solo Funko on her Twitter feed. She had been looking for more “good boy sweater” Ben Solo fanart after watching STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.

(Minor RDD rant here. Seriously, Disney... how could you even miss out on the merchandising opportunities for Ben Solo? The redeemed Ben Solo character is so popular, and there is no merchandise available in the market!)

Besides Star Wars, Cody's other fandoms include The 100, and Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. When she is not holed up indoors creating something new, Cody likes collecting autographs, hiking, and rock climbing.

Adam Driver

Red Dot Diva is curious about the art of customising Funko toys, so she asked Cody a series of nosy questions!

What Does It Take to Customize A Matt the Radar Technician Action Figure? Red Dot Diva Asks Geek Bro Jedd Jong!

If one has any doubt about the talent of Adam Driver, the actor behind Kylo Ren, the emo-whiny baddie of international blockbuster "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", then you should watch one of the funniest Saturday Night Live (SNL) skits in recent times.

Adam Driver, an ex-marine who decided to express himself through the arts, hosted SNL's first episode of the year on 16 January together with musical guest Chris Stapleton. Not surprisingly, that night's show had a lot of Star Wars references, including this most enjoyable spoof of "Undercover Boss" that had everyone feeling a little bit more empathy for Kylo Ren.

Here's the SNL sketch on Youtube, showing Kylo Ren trying to find out what his minions think of him by going undercover as Matt the Radar Technician:

Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base
What do people say about Kylo Ren around Starkiller Base? He went on Undercover Boss and found out.
Posted by Saturday Night Live on Sunday, January 17, 2016

Not only did the skit fuel geeky conversations, memes and various fan art, socially awkward Matt the Radar Technician endeared himself with the Star Wars fandom, and even inspired toy customizers to make their own Matt the Radar Technician action figures!

So far, Red Dot Diva has seen five versions of these.

SDCC 2013: Where Da Parties At??

Not only does San Diego transform into geek nirvana during Comic-Con, her nightlife gets as vibrant, with a slew of party venues for the geek and famous.

After the endless waiting in lines, jostling around with thousands of people, and craning one's necks to have a glimpse of your favourite celeb, almost anyone would feel in need of a drink (or two), or to let loose at a party before repeating the same thing again the next day.

So where are Da Cool Parties at for this year's Comic-Con?

Check this list out:

STGCC 2011 - Diva Stalking The Toy Shops

At this year's STGCC, Red Dot Diva got her eyes massaged by the many sexy display booths at the exhibition hall. She was also seduced by the pretty good range of toys available at the exhibition hall.

To her surprise, there were actually a lot more enticing toys compared to last year's offerings.

She noticed that the toy shops were having rather brisk sales during the two days. One store selling Transformers toys had a crowd milling around the booth almost all the time!

Firstly, Red Dot Diva is not going to even mention those exclusive hot Hot Toys figurines again. If she had more ka-ch$ng ka-ch$ng, she would be the owner of three (or more) of them by now - all promptly carted home that same morning by an entourage of beefy minions.