World of WarCrafts: Father sculpts son's character
by Lisa Poisso 
Oct 12th 2009 at 9:00AM
Dang -- I never got anything as cool as this for my birthday. When Wolfgar of EU Aggramar-H hit the teenage years recently, his dad decided it was time to whip up something special. We'd say he managed quite nicely, wouldn't you?
"My son is a huge WoW fan, and as he has turned the dreaded age of 13, I decided to do something unique for him," explains Wolfgar's dad, who goes by the not-so-fatherly in-game moniker Ripyernutzof. "I decided to go with as realistic an interpretation as possible of the subject matter while still keeping the flavour of the original toon. (I sometimes wish he'd chosen a gnome character as it'd take a lot less material to complete!)"
The Wolfgar sculpture measures about 6 inches square, sculpted from Super Sculpey over a wire and tin foil armature base. Ripyernutzof did all the sculpting and painting himself, including creating the Lightning Shock effect with a bent paperclip and fuse wire.
Sculpting is completely a recreational joy for Ripryernutzof. "I've kind of always been artistic but never really pursued it," he admits. "Haven't had any formal training, and I've been sculpting on and off for about 12 years after being less-than-impressed with some garage kits (unlicensed, limited-run, fan-created models of SF characters) that I saw back then. It's not a constant thing, and I don't always get the time to do the stuff I want to do -- but anything I sculpt is a labour of love, so I try to get the end result as impressive as possible."
Mission accomplished. (Oh, and happy belated birthday, Wolfgar!)
[Thanks, Purrh!]
World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including fan art, cooking, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by contacting our tips line (attention: World of WarCrafts) - not-for-profit work only, please.Filed under: Fan stuff, Virtual selves, Features, World of WarCrafts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Achtungg Oct 12th 2009 9:09AM
Wow...that is pretty impressive. It's amazing what a little love & passion inspires to create, especially when it's for others.
Mailia Oct 12th 2009 9:19AM
My parents just hug me.. :'
snowleopard233 Oct 12th 2009 9:27AM
Noobs!
Tell your parents to L2sculpt insanely detailed recreations of your video games characters for your coming of age birthday.
J/k :)
Mike Oct 12th 2009 9:19AM
Happy Birthday to him! Cant wait to see if they will ding 80 together.
Skonged Oct 12th 2009 9:19AM
Ahh that is so....creepy.
Skonged Oct 12th 2009 4:14PM
Vote me down..it's still creepy to me.
Tirrimas Oct 12th 2009 9:20AM
*speechless*
snowleopard233 Oct 12th 2009 9:22AM
Wow. I can't believe this guy isn't a professional because his work looks nothing short of that.
Luisette Oct 12th 2009 11:31AM
And with no formal training!
I would love to see what he could do if he really went at it; that's absolutely a stunning work of art.
ZMES_Matt Oct 12th 2009 3:38PM
Yeah, this is definetly professional quality.
It's not too surprising though that he had no formal training, there unfortunately aren't very many places that teach this or any other sort of hobby. Ironically, the reason there aren't places that teach this sort of stuff is because most people are too busy playing WoW (or their other game/show of choice). If you're lucky, you might at best find a weekend class to show you a couple techniques, but for the most part, this level of quality just comes from years of experience/hands-on learning. The 12 years he said he's been doing this though I think certainly shows; the level of detail is astonishing.
Nintendwarf Oct 12th 2009 9:22AM
Daddy can you build me a replica of my Dwarf Hunter?
Bubsa Oct 12th 2009 11:14AM
I'll be happy with a sculpture of my pet succubus, please!
PeeWee Oct 12th 2009 11:55AM
Bubsa. Inflatable, no less
SithLlenniuq Oct 12th 2009 9:26AM
is very impressed!
starphaser Oct 12th 2009 9:28AM
amazing! are you sure this guy isn't a professional?
Malkavos Oct 12th 2009 9:31AM
The eyes kind of weird me out, they're too real looking and I keep wondering where lil Timmy's mom went to. Oh, she's just on vacation? That's good OH MY GOD SHE'S INSIDE THE TAUREN! Happy Birthday, Timmy!
Dracula Jones Oct 12th 2009 9:45AM
Wow... he could charge a couple hundred bucks for custom orders and probably do very well. Much more detailed than Figure Prints. The paint job is incredible, too. The eyes are creepily lifelike, in a good way.
Aarkan Oct 12th 2009 10:08AM
He doesn't want to ruin his hobby by sculpting little Jack's gnome DK for pennies.
cribby Oct 12th 2009 9:46AM
What a great gift. Good job on knowing your kid well enough to create what he'd appreciate. Brilliant art, not so great toon name. Go Go Fairly sketchy parenting! J/K. ... kinda.
scuba frog Oct 12th 2009 9:48AM
FigurePrints... lol. This guy could have a new job if he wanted.