How can I help people paint their personal fantasy figures in an easy way?

Many sketches were made based on different type of drawings and at the end of that work the first generic model popped up.

The development then went through several steps and the next was to test and verify the figure by asking:

Can it be used for more than one type of fantasy figure?

The test result revealed the crucial moment for me:

Yes, the figure could be used for a lot of different expressions – from portrait to highly fantasy motives.

The figure was now ready for the next step:

Transforming from 2 dimensions to 3 dimensions.

This work became much more tedious and difficult than expected. It is a long story that tells about the work done in Tromsø and in Oslo area and the transportation between them.

The short form of that story:

The transformation started with making a piece of wooden material in Porsgrunn
This was transported to Vikersund for making the overall form (like two snowballs). I couldn’t find a maschine big enough in the North for that job.
The rough structure was then transported to Nesodden for detail carving. Good job.
The prototype was then transported to Tromsø ready for casting in plastic. Because of strong smell the job had to be done outdoor. My German Shepherd had to leave his enclosure while the work was going on.
I was just able to make one piece and had to admit that the production must be done differently.
The figure had to travel back to Oslo for industrial copying and production.
The first test caused several adjustments with repeated tests.
But finally: the Arctic Mascot figure was complete and ready for production.

Now I had an all white colored figure ready for the next step:

Making an instructive gallery of figures for the audience.

Once again: the figure had to travel to a new place to a professional artist that could paint the first original set for a gallery collection. It was a success.

The journey from the initial idea back in year 2000, all the way to a gallery open for everyone in 2024 has come to an end.

Enjoy the Arctic Mascot figure.

Kjell-Olav Nilsen