ALFRED PAREDES INTERVIEW – THE LAST HAND SCULPTOR AT SIDESHOW?

Today we’ll interview the last man standing. The last hand sculptor on Sideshow. It’s that really so? Let’s find out in the amazingly informative and incredibly profound exclusive interview with the great artist Alfred Paredes.

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1 – So you are the guy on Sideshow who still works only on clay, no computers. How does it feel? Do you feel some pressure to migrate to the new medium or Sideshow’s guys are cool about your choice? Or is there a bit of hyperbole in this affirmation? Please explain us.

Alfred's solo work. You can see and inform yourself better at:
http://apsculpturestudio.com/

Alfred Paredes (AP): I am one of the last in-house traditional sculptors. We have another very talented artist here (Walter O’Neal) who still works on some sculpting stuff traditionally, and he also spends a lot of his time doing designs for our 1:6 scale figures and statues (which he does both traditionally and digitally). It does make me feel like a bit of a dinosaur being one of the last ones here. But I also feel like an ambassador for my tradition of hand sculpted sculpture. I don’t really feel any pressure to migrate over to digital, but it’s definitely something that I want to do (at least partially). I believe that there will always be a place for traditional sculpture in our industry, so I’m not looking to go digital to save my job, but I do see the advantages to the software. I just feel that for certain sculptures, traditional sculpting is still the better solution.

2 – Did you ever tried the 3D software? What keeps you away from them? I believe it’s a quite daunting changing and that work direct on clay seems more real, more like sculpting like it was since Michelangelo. There are centuries of History one connects when sculpting in clay, the tactile feel that the computer can’t replicate. In one word, why do you stick with hand sculpting?

(AP): I have sculpted with ZBrush, but it’s been a while since I last picked it up. The only thing that keeps me from getting back to it is that I’m really busy, sculpting on a bunch of projects, so I don’t have a lot of down time for digital. But I don’t see digital as too different from traditional sculpting. It’s just different tools and materials. I’ve sculpted in clay, wax, plaster, sand, pumpkin, etc. and each material is different and requires different tools. Digital is really no different. My ability to sculpt form translates to whatever medium I’m working in. Yes, there’s no tactile feel, but that’s just one of the challenges of the medium.

I don’t know that I can sum up why I stick with hand sculpting in just one word, so I’ll just say “for the love of it”.

Long hair exclusive head sculpt and base by Alfred Paredes 

3 – Is it true that the majority of 3D printed statues need hand retouching? Are you doing a lot of this as work right now or are you working in one of your amazing creations?

(AP): Yes. Most digital prints still need some amount of hand work. Some more than others. I think as the printers get better and the artist using the digital software get better about how they’re using it, we’ll need to do less and less work on the prints. My main job here at Sideshow is still “the fix it guy”. I work on about 70% of the projects we do, either in a small part or in a major way. That part of my job takes up most of my time, so I don’t have a lot of extra time for working on full figure sculpts. That being said, I did finish one a few months back and I’m in the beginning design phases of another right now. So you’ll be seeing more and more of my sculpting projects for Sideshow as time goes by. [Note of the Editor: cool!]

Artist's solo work.

4 – I’ve heard that there are others that knows the 3D software but didn’t abandon hand sculpting altogether. I was told that Malavestros where done by hand not 3D modelling (at least the statue, not sure about the enchanted papyrus). Is this accurate? Because I thought it to be the best figure in all SDCC (second place being a tie between TMNT and Rocket & Groot). Did you have some work of yours at the show? [Note of the Editor: me being an @$$hole]

(AP): Yeah, there’s still guys out there working who have not abandoned traditional sculpting. To use your example, Malavestros was sculpted traditionally by Mark Newman (the scroll was sculpted digitally by Nathan Mansfield, the base was done traditionally by Mat Brouillard, and I did the initial design clay maquette). But Mark also sculpted the Groot figure digitally. Mark is one of those guys who is incredibly talented and his skills have translated over well to digital sculpting. I don’t think Mark will give up traditional sculpture to go full digital, but by having the ability to do both, he ensures that he can get work no matter what.

Down at SDCC there were quite a few things I worked on. The Life sized Death figure (I sculpted the Mask, chest, arm and leg armor), I did the face on Cleopsis, the mask and base work on the smaller death figure. Engineering work and various fixes and retextures, portrait corrections and other stuff on more than half of the other works we had at the show. When it comes to my regular duties here, if you can see that I worked on it, then I didn’t do my job. My repairs and retextures, fixes and additions should be seamless to the original sculpt. So that’s why it’s hard to see what I’ve worked on.

5 – Do you have any major influence(s) to your work? If so, who?

(AP): Not surprisingly, my influences are almost all traditional sculptors. Bernini, Daniel Chester French, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Rodin, Frederick Hart, Richard MacDonald, Javier Marin, Simon Lee, Jordu Schell, the list goes on and on...

Joker by Alfred Paredes (solo work)

6 – Tell us a little about your trajectory. How did you become a sculptor and how you ended up at Sideshow Collectibles?

The belt that change it all.

(AP): That’s a long story. Sideshow did a profile that walks through most of it, so feel free to watch that. But I’ll give you the shortest version I can.

I discovered sculpting in college, where I had gone to become an illustrator. I fell in love with sculpting and didn’t turn back. After I left college, I had a job working on some big sculpting projects but then the work stopped. Being the days of the early internet, there wasn’t a lot of information or contacts for people. You really had to know someone to get into a place. I ran out of work and ran out of money and had to go back to doing construction. I ended up doing construction for 10 years and not really sculpting all that much in that time. My body and will were pretty broken after all those years and I wasn’t happy. I decided to quit and go back to sculpting. It was a tough decision and I knew it was going to require a lot of work to get better (I had 10 years of lost growth to make up for). So I buckled down and started working my ass off. It took a lot of hustling and pounding the pavement to get my name out there and start to get noticed, but eventually it paid off. My goal from the time I stopped doing construction was to be good enough to work at Sideshow. I kept that goal in my sights as I worked on improving my abilities and moved from job to job sculpting on a bunch of various things. When I got the chance to do a little work for Sideshow, I jumped at the opportunity. My first official job was a Batman utility belt. But I sculpted the hell out of that belt and I got more work. As I delivered each piece (on time or before) there was always more stuff for me to do, so I was asked if I wanted to come in and work in house as a freelancer. I jumped at that opportunity as well, and after a short while, I was offered a permanent job here. It’s been a real dream come true, but it’s come with a lot of hard work and sacrifice. I’m proud of my accomplishments, but I’m not done.

Sandtrooper statues' Womp Rat and base by Alfred Paredes

7 – Could you define in one phrase how is to work on Sideshow?

(AP): It’s like being paid to play and be a nerd for all the stuff I’ve always loved.

8 – Do you like mixed media works (a strong point of sideshow is sew and cloths)? How do you both teams come to an agreement about the mixed media work? Do you like the mixed media overall results?

(AP): I really like it when we can make pieces that are mixed media. It brings a new level of artistry, texture and character to our pieces.  When we’re working on a mixed media piece, all the teams work closely from the beginning to get a complete understanding of what each department needs for production. It’s not a simple solution most of the time, but the end results are totally worth it. I have a huge respect for what our Cut and Sew team is capable of. They’re not just making scale clothing, they’re engineering fabric in a way that it looks believable when the figure is finished.

9 – I don’t know if I’m taking it wrong but Sideshow is working a lot now with that translucent resin nowadays. Why take this step? I personally don’t like the effect apart, again, Malavestros papyrus that looks outstanding (it was the first time I really enjoyed the use of translucent resin, acrylic, I don’t even know what it is). It will been a common place now the use of said material in next Sideshow creations? If so, you’re very close to lose a client. Deadpool translucent carnival of objects was horrid (but fans loved I don’t know why… maybe I’m the one becoming old school, after all!Lol!)

Another solo work from Alfred

(AP): Whenever we use a material, whether it’s new or something we’ve done before, it’s always done with purpose. We’re trying to tell a story with our pieces. And we’re also creating a mood. Sometimes this calls for a material like the translucent resins. There’s a lot that our paint department can do, but they can’t make something back lit or show light the way that translucent materials can. I’m sorry you’re not a fan of it, but we’re trying to create something that will really stand out and be different, but also paints a great picture. We’re fans of these characters, just as much as our collectors, so we’re not doing these things without a lot of care and consideration being given to the choices we make.

10 – Is there a character you really want to sculpt but wasn’t able up until now? Who or what?

(AP): I’m a HUGE Harley Quinn fan and I’d love to be able to sculpt her some day. But I know there’s plenty of her out there already, so I don’t know that I’ll get my shot. But aside from super heroes and villains, I’d really like to sculpt a Bigfoot.

11 – What would astonish you the most: to see a ghost or to see an alien?

(AP): I guess seeing a ghost as I don’t believe they exist. An alien (even though I don’t believe there’s credible evidence of there ever being an interaction with people), is something more tangible and I can get behind that. Don’t get me wrong, I’d still be shocked as hell to see one. I’m sure there’s life on other planets (not necessarily capable of space travel), but ghosts just seem like a thing that people use to explain what they don’t understand or what they’re afraid of.

Beautiful solo work from Alfred Paredes

12 – Three bands and three movies.

(AP): Bands: Tool, Guns N Roses, Muse

Movies: (that’s tougher to do) Star Wars, Raiders of the lost Ark, Alien (but also Big Trouble in little China, The Burbs, and Young Frankenstein). Plus 20 more… I can’t just pick three.

Batman by Alfred Paredes http://apsculpturestudio.com/

13 – What advices would you do to a person who wants to become a professional sculptor and enters the market?

(AP): Practice, practice, practice. Learn anatomy, learn engineering for production, learn ZBrush. Ask a lot of questions. Be willing to start by cleaning floors and then work your way up. If it’s something you really love, don’t give up, but also be realistic with your abilities. Look at what’s being made and ask yourself if you’re really good enough to do work in this industry. If you are not willing to sacrifice everything in your life to work in this industry, then it’s not for you. You will have to work harder and longer than anyone around you. You won’t have much of a social life, if any. You won’t be seeing movies when they come out because you’ll be in your studio. You won’t be sleeping much because you’ll probably still be working a day job and having to sculpt at night. But if you can do those things, then someday you’ll get to where you want to be. So be careful what you ask for.

Every little detail is important to Alfred as should be to all real sculptors.

14 – Leave a phrase, a quote or bombastic revelation to our readers.

(AP): "A sculptor is nine tenths mechanic and one tenth poet" - Daniel Chester French

* Again, if you want to see and inform yourself more about Alfred's solo work, follow his site: http://apsculpturestudio.com/

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