1. Can you please introduce yourself for those who don't know you
yet?
My name is Richard Force. I'm a sculptor based in Michigan, in the
Northern US. I was born on February 1, 1973.
2. Where your inspiration and your style come from?
My inspiration comes from many things. I've always been fascinated by
monsters, horror and sci-fi. But I've always been truly fascinated by
figures and sculpture in general, it seems. I remember just studying
small figures as a child. Still playing with toys and figures as
children do, but I remember always being intruiged by them. And I
remember also pressing figure into modeling clay, making an imprint,
like a mold. Just odd things like that.
3. How long have you been sculpting?
I first dabbled in sculpting in high school, but I've been seriously
sculpting for about 15 years or so.
4. What was your very first sculpture, and the first being produced?
My first sculpture was a Ninja Turtle back in high school art class. I
believe it was a Ninja Turtle! Something like that. My first produced
work was a garage kit sculpture of Lily Munster.
5. What is your background? (Design school? sculpture school? ...)
I did go to school for art and received my degree in Fine Art, but all
of my sculpting was self-taught.
6. What is your favourite comic book's character and non comic
book's character?
My favorite comic characters are Wolverine, Hulk and Batman. I like
many different ones, but those are my favorites and have been for many
years. My favorite "non-comic" ones are probably Dracula, Frankenstein,
Predator, etc. I'm still naming genre ones, obviously! I like so many
things, I could keep going on and on, but those are some favorites. I
love gothic horror, so vampires and werewolves, etc. are things I like
very much.
7. What are your favourite sculptor and favourite drawer?
It's difficult for me to choose a "favorite sculptor", but a few whose
work has astounded me would be- Bernini, Rodin, (Michaelangelo, of
course) St.Gaudens......Again- SO MANY! There are so many great artists
in the industry, whose work is always a shot in the arm- Mark Newman,
John Dennet, Tim Bruckner, Randy Bowen, Clayburn Moore......Takayuki
Takeya, Yuji Oniki, Akihiro Enku. (I'll stop now)
8. Can you tell us a few word concerning your collaboration with
Bowen Design..
Well, after admiring Randy's work for so long, it was a thrill to be
able to do some work for him. He was very approachable and cool about
everything. When talking on the phone, he simply presented some
different characters and asked me if I was interested in sculpting
them. That's how it began. Pretty straightforward.
9. Why were there differents bases for the brown Sasquatch bust ?
(cube base…)
Randy created the cube base at first, just using the simple forest
silhouette design to complement the piece, but subsequently changed it
because many fans were complaining on the forum. Funnily enough,
only a small number of "cube bases" were produced, making it the
more valuable version. A little ironic, to say the least. But Bowen
allows lots of input from the fans, which many companies don't. So,
that's a credit to him. Of course, a lot of that input is a bit
"overzealous" from time to time! The fans are indeed passionate.
10. Are you continuing to work with Randy Bowen together constantly
or just for one shot order?
Presently, I'm not doing any projects with him. I sculpted four busts
for him (Sasquatch, Attuma, Leader and Mandarin), but I have not done
anything else.
11. Which companies, other than Bowen Design and Diamond Select have
you ever worked with?
I have worked for Dynamic Forces, Upper Deck, KnuckleBonz, as well as
many garage kit companies.
12. Is your collaboration with Diamond Select gonna go on after the
Wolverine on skulls?
We'll see.
13. What are your different official (and maybe non-official)
working projects?
Well, in between some private commissions and a few licensed projects
for the prepaint business, I'm looking forward to producing some of my
own original designs. Dark fantasy related stuff. Full sized figures
and busts of creatures and so forth.
14. You sculpted "Zakk Wylde". Is it a unique demand made by the
guitarist, or is it a mass production sculpture?
The Guitar Hero pieces were done in asscociation with the artists
themselves, licensed through the artists (Wherever possible). Zakk had
the final approval of the sculpture and loved it, I am told. That's a
nice thing to hear.
15. Which statute are your proud of and don't?
Each piece is a different learning experience and offers a new
challenge or technique, so I don't really think about it in those terms
too much. For instance- I'm happy with all of the pieces I did for
Bowen, even though they aren't necessarily my favorite characters? I'd
say that one of my favorite pieces is a Dracula kit I did for myself a
few years ago, because it's subject matter I love. A total "labor of
love" piece. I'm working on some things right now (Personally and
professionally), about which I'm VERY excited.
16. Do you also draw? , If yes, what kind of universe do you enjoy?
Yes, I draw from time to time, though not as often as I should. I love
to draw and have been drawing since I was 3 or 4 years old (According
to my mother). I enjoy the same subject matter, whether I'm sculpting
or drawing. I'm just a genre fan, period. But I have done
portraits, still life studies and so forth in school. But if I'm
drawing for myself, it's werwolves, creatures that sort of thing.
17. Who are the characters you don't like sculpting and those you
like?
I don't know. Again- I love a challenge, so trying new things is great.
I enjoy subjects ranging from average people to outlandish fantasy
charactes, so the sky's the limit. I've always felt that if you're an
artist who can do everything from "Mickey Mouse to the Alien Queen",
then you're a credit to your trade.
18. What are yours different influences in term of sculpting?
All of the things I've mentioned already. :-) And LIFE.
19. What is your favourite artistique universe?
Good question. Well I'm also a musician, so when I think of
things like this, I'm imagining my own "sountrack" as well. When I'm
not creating visual art, I'm playing my guitar. And it's certainly a
mutual inspiration thing. There are so many things which affect me,
from the bleak industrial look of Bladerunner, to the lush and
grandiose landscapes of Lord of the Rings. So......Many things to
inspire me. But I seem to lean toward the gritty, "dark things". Hence,
my love of vampires, werewolves, etc.. I'd love to create my own world
of characters and designs. That would be the ultimate satisfaction for
me, I think.
20. Can you tell us a few words about Force Perspective Studio...?
Force Perspective Studio is the name of my company, which I use to
produce some garage kits and sculptures. I started it back in 1997 or
so. As I mentioned before, I look to branch out MUCH more in the near
future, producing some of my own prepaint figures, etc.. And hopefully
getting more into illustration, which I have been sorely neglecting for
a long time.
21. Are we going to have the pleasure to see you in France or in
Europe for a convention?
Perhaps someday! I would LOVE to be able to see France. And other parts
of Europe, of course.
22. Is there anything you'd like to say to the French fans out there?
I'd like to say thank you very much for your interest and
appreciating my work! As a creator of this type of work, it's always
fascinating to imagine how these little clay sculptures sort of take on
"lives of their own", once they've left the workbench. It's great to
see how people around the world enjoy the work. So I must say again-
Thank you VERY much. :-)
23. To conclude, can you tell us few words in French (without using
traducer!!) for French readers...?
"Plus c'est la même chose" has always been one of my favorite
French expressions. I find it interesting, because it seems to be true
in different facets of life, quite often. Plus it is in the lyrics of a
song by one of my favorite bands, RUSH. :-)
Thank you very much Rick for your attention for this interview.
