Rainman Artwork project 2013 "Pulp Fiction"

[robbiethepainter]

Wow some of you guys are kind of being d***s. I understand that you aren't pleased with what you see but come on. You act as if you have already paid and he is trying to slip this past you. Have some respect for the artist. I'm not suggesting you have to like it or not to offer your criticism, but you can still have some manners. Just take it easy. This is some one's work here.

 

[MarfMaster]

Given Rainman's recent streak of delivering perfection, for him to stumble on Vincent...it stings.

 

[Gruff Old Bear]

Relax. Breathe. It's a process. Let him work.

 

[Ajkhunter]

Wow some of you guys are kind of being d***s. I understand that you aren't pleased with what you see but come on. You act as if you have already paid and he is trying to slip this past you. Have some respect for the artist. I'm not suggesting you have to like it or not to offer your criticism, but you can still have some manners. Just take it easy. This is some one's work here.

 

[karamazov80]

You act as if you have already paid and he is trying to slip this past you.

This mentality isn't really new. It's happened with Rainman pieces since I've started paying attention to his work. As I see it, some think of his work as a mass commission more than a piece of art where his creative stamp is really embraced. I understand it to some extent (after all, we want something that meets our expectations as much as something that is really a creative work of art by this guy), but also empathize with Rainman the artist and that's why I can understand him moving away from showing in-progress work and allowing for less input than he may have in the past. I'm not 100% happy about it or anything, but I can understand it.

But personally, as with the Ra's al Ghul sculpt and others, I don't see sculpts as rushed and half-assed just because it doesn't meet the expectations of customers. Instead, I see it as his artistic interpretation, which sometimes means collectors won't be as happy as they could be.

 

[robbiethepainter]

Trust me I want the final pieces to be the best they can be, and honestly, who doesn't. Its just the way some people communicate can really be nasty. The HT threads are bad but I hold my tongue because the producers of those figures I'm sure never go into them, but Rainman does come here. And I think a bit of restraint is in order for someone's work.
Also this is really tough stuff to make. We have seen time and time again that the best in the business often can be hit and miss.

 

[transhi100]

Also this is really tough stuff to make. We have seen time and time again that the best in the business often can be hit and miss.

Very true. But Rainman's been on a roll lately, masterpiece after masterpiece. It's disappointing that this appears to be a bit of a miss at this time. But who knows, something may happen and it may be yet another Rainman masterpiece.

 

[MarfMaster]

Very true. But Rainman's been on a roll lately, masterpiece after masterpiece. It's disappointing that this appears to be a bit of a miss at this time. But who knows, something may happen and it may be yet another Rainman masterpiece.

This is exactly how I feel. I haven't been interested in a Rainman figure since The Dude. I've been waiting and waiting for him to announce something that I could get excited about, so it's really disappointing that when he finally does, despite the roll that he's been on, the figure appears to be a miss (on several levels) imo. Like I said earlier, I'm still holding out hope, just wallowing in the meantime.

 

[Wake]

This is exactly how I feel. I haven't been interested in a Rainman figure since The Dude. I've been waiting and waiting for him to announce something that I could get excited about, so it's really disappointing that when he finally does, despite the roll that he's been on, the figure appears to be a miss (on several levels) imo. Like I said earlier, I'm still holding out hope, just wallowing in the meantime.

Just as I was about to dip into the abyss that is RAINMAN... lol :

 

[Bullet]

Just as I was about to dip into the abyss that is RAINMAN... lol :

It happens man they can't all be homeruns. On the plus side theres still time for this one to turn around

 

[karamazov80]

I feel similarly to the rest of you, because this is a really iconic film and performances. But like Robbie says, you can make your point and express yourself without being insulting and reflecting a level of entitlement IMO.

This same issue came up in the Iminime Ra's thread, and I feel about it now the way I felt about it then.

 

[PopCultKid]

Milkshake?

Yea but mine IS gonna have bourbon in it. And enough of it to cost a f__k of a lot more than $5


My big quam is this apparent rush. We've never seen (well I've only been paying attention as a lurker since Oct 2011) this tight of an overlap in releases. I mean this is literally riding Anton's coattails. I'm not trying to be disrespectful but I do feel like the quality is suffering because of this obvious rush. Really nothing is accurate. The sculpt, shoes and watch are all off. I'm not shooting down his work and he said himself on the last page of the art book that his "hands are not perfect", but we all know that he's capable of much better than this. This has nothing to do with artistic interpretation or expression.

We just saw Iminime take their time to get Bateman right, and the quality of the set is obvious. They took their time because Denny voiced the fact that he knows that AP is a very respected movie with a rabid fan base and it was important to make it as perfect as possible. Pulp Fiction is no different. No one want's to disrespect The Man, but were counting on him to deliver the DEFINITVE Pulp full fig set; something that doesn't exist in this hobby yet.

 

[Erik S]

Yea but mine IS gonna have bourbon in it. And enough of it to cost a f__k of a lot more than $5


My big quam is this apparent rush. We've never seen (well I've only been paying attention as a lurker since Oct 2011) this tight of an overlap in releases. I mean this is literally riding Anton's coattails. I'm not trying to be disrespectful but I do feel like the quality is suffering because of this obvious rush. Really nothing is accurate. The sculpt, shoes and watch are all off. I'm not shooting down his work and he said himself on the last page of the art book that his "hands are not perfect", but we all know that he's capable of much better than this. This has nothing to do with artistic interpretation or expression.

We just saw Iminime take their time to get Bateman right, and the quality of the set is obvious. They took their time because Denny voiced the fact that he knows that AP is a very respected movie with a rabid fan base and it was important to make it as perfect as possible. Pulp Fiction is no different. No one want's to disrespect The Man, but were counting on him to deliver the DEFINITVE Pulp full fig set; something that doesn't exist in this hobby yet.

Maybe there was not rush, there was allot of time between Anton and this one- months. Plus theres down time between figures. He may have been working on this for 3 or 4 months- we dont know
Overall I think it looks great. Like the Wolf said "its got character."

But I wish there was a front shot. That would say it all.

 

[karamazov80]

This has nothing to do with artistic interpretation or expression.

Do you know this for sure? Rainman has a certain style that comes through in certain sculpts. Total obsession with accuracy is something that drives guys like Trevor Grove and Adam Gu apparently, but I don't feel that is something Rainman is always going for. Go back to Brad Pitt, Blondie, Dexter, Ra's, Alfred, etc. and those aren't 100% perfect likenesses, but they are Rainman's hand crafted artwork and some appreciate them for that I think. I do think Rainman provides something he is happy with and wants to share with others.

It is possible that I am wrong about this, but I give Rainman the benefit of the doubt here.

 

[PopCultKid]

Do you know this for sure? Rainman has a certain style that comes through in certain sculpts. Total obsession with accuracy is something that drives guys like Trevor Grove and Adam Gu apparently, but I don't feel that is something Rainman is always going for. Go back to Brad Pitt, Blondie, Dexter, Ra's, Alfred, etc. and those aren't 100% perfect likenesses, but they are Rainman's hand crafted artwork and some appreciate them for that I think. I do think Rainman provides something he is happy with and wants to share with others.

That ends up being a whole new conversation. To me this art form is extremily different than all others. The whole idea behind 1/6 is greater attention to detail than figures of a smaller scale. Respectivley 1/4 meant to be the highest level of detail in this medium.

I agree with Trev, Adam and probably everyone who collects 1/6. Accuracy is what this game is about. Other art forms have all the room in the world for personal interpretation and expression. But this game is different. It's all about likeness; it looks like the actor or it doesn't. While nothing is perfect naturally everything is gauged on how close to perfect the likeness it is.

And as far as his style, I don't think that he's intentionally making sculpts to be stylized because again, people are looking for realism. I think it's more of the theory that every artist incorporates their own image (meaning self portrait) at some capacity in everything they sculpt, draw, paint. I have a feeling that this is part of the reason why people tend to think that he makes eyes look Asian.

 

[karamazov80]

If that were the case, I don't think Rainman would have achieved this level of success, considering his very earliest releases to the public on his website had likeness issues. Nor do I think you could explain the success of a Serang. If all folks cared about was likeness, I think Hot Toys would become like Hasbro, and start 3-D scanning heads. Or we would see 3-D sculptors being more successful than hand sculptors, since it is easier to tweak sculpts when the likeness is off. So, I just don't agree that this is a universal preference (I personally appreciate the artistic component of hand crafted sculpts, and collect in part because of it), and I don't think it defines Rainman's process. If he were attempting to get 100% likeness everytime, and didn't (he doesn't, I don't think anyone will argue), then there are 2 explanations: 1) he just isn't good enough at his craft to do it right; or 2) he's lazy and doesn't work hard enough (edit: I guess there's a 3rd explanation that he rushes things out because he is looking for a quick buck, but I would consider this similar to the #2 argument). Again, I give Rainman the benefit of the doubt and attribute it to his artistic preference.

 

[Commtech]

Why all the commotion?

You all know he's going to revise it. Every release is the same.





Oh, and I love how everyone's learned how to ignore odell.

 

[karamazov80]

But he said this one was already being cast.

 

[PopCultKid]

No, no, no Sam... come on. You know that that's the last thing that I'm implying. I would never call the guy lazy, lack luster or anything like that and you know that's not what I'm getting at.

But there is no way to pretend that realism and likeness isn't the trend that is completely driving this whole hobby. It has been ever since 1/6 figures stopped looking like HT's Colonial Marines and still shots of figures started looking like real people.

I'm all about the artistry of hand crafted figures too. The custom section is 85% of why I'm even on this board. But there is no doubt that realism and likeness drives the hand crafted market too. The whole craze was created by the big licensed companies and all of the customizers follow in their footsteps because that's what they are compared to by collectors.

In every thread (custom or not), the public rates every figure on its likeness and realism; and that determines if it gets the thumbs up or thumbs down. There is no way to deny that.

Serang is the exception. He is the only one (that I know of) who is doing stylized 1/6 figures. I always visit his threads and I love what he does but I think that the only two figs I'd care to own is Elias and Captain Miller. I appreciate his work to the fullest but something like Jimmy is completely different than any current 1/6 fig out there. It's an amazing piece for this kind of style, but to me it looks like a cartoon and that's not the type of sculpt that I collect.

And when it comes to Rainman there is no way to say that his entire body of work (1/6) isn’t a lineage. Yes he's been doing this forever but what he does with elfdoll is a completely different animal. His sculpting and painting has evolved and improved with every release since he started the 1/6 line of Ranman Artworks 3+ years ago. I think honing his skill in 1/6 has more to do with why his early releases look a certain way and why his more current releases look another way.

 

[Laney74]

The thing that needs to be played with on the sculpt is the eyes. They need to be more open. Apart from that it's a great piece of work.

The hair is a whole other issue that is more about artist / artistic preference and final choice.