ARTHUR SCULPTURE!

The very first Arthur sculptures are debuting at San Diego Comic-Con this week! These aren’t just any mass-produced figurines stamped out on a machine, either: My friend -- and LA puppet and special effects artist -- Nikki Rice Malki hand-crafted these cute little duck butts, and only 200 of 'em will ever grace this world!

Nikki first sculpted Arthur on a computer, using 3-D software, refining the look and curves and feel of Arthur in the real world. Here's a turnaround of her amazing work, to show you what we were looking at:

Untitled from Sheldon Comics on Vimeo.

Using that digital file, Nikki made a 3-D print of it. For those not familiar, 3-D printing is a form of additive manufacturing, where a three dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of material. Slowly but surely, a little Arthur starts to rise up out of the machine. But! 3-D printing introduces tiny striations, like the rings of a tree trunk, and those need to be sanded down -- and the whole thing primed -- before Nikki could produce a master mold. Here's that sanded and primed Arthur:

Nikki then poured liquid silicone all around that Arthur to produce the master mould.

Et, voila!

Next, Nikki poured casting resin into the mould to make little Arthurs…one at a time.

Once broken free of the mould, the figure was sanded down, cleaned up, and perfected.

Nikki then skillfully painted each figure.

And out of the total run of 200, we'll have 35 little Arthurs at SDCC, signed and numbered by Nikki and myself. The rest will be available on the site for Christmas!