From wrestlers to monsters to cartoon characters to Buffy to, yes, even a certain friendly neighborhood webhead, Kat Sapene has painted it all. After working 2 years as head painter for SOTA Toys she struck out on her own as a freelancer. She was kind enough to take some time out of her very busy schedule to answer some questions.
–How did you get your start in painting—not professionally, but just painting in general?
I’ve always loved making stuff. When I was little I was always making something. From elaborate mud pies to watercolor painting to birthday cakes. Both my parents are creative. I used to watch my dad paint landscapes in his spare time. Then I’d get in trouble for mixing the paints on his palette when he wasn’t home. But, I only really got into painting when I started working in toys.
–What was your first professional piece and how did you acquire that job?
All of my first projects were done for a small prototyping studio in Hoboken, NJ called Fun Haus. They aren’t around anymore, but I worked for them for the first 4 years of my career. I got in touch with them through my boss at the animation studio I was working at. She was friends with one of the owners and he was looking for someone to paint part time. I worked both jobs for 2 years until I got tired of having no weekends and finally chose not to return to animation for the next season. I can’t draw for poop anyway. š
My first paid job was to paint a Slimer (from Ghost-busters) shaped like a ball. I think it was going to be a ball that squirted water. I don’t know if that ever happened, but the piece I painted sat at Fun Haus’ showroom forever. But the first thing I painted that actually got produced was the second wave of Beatles Yellow Submarine toys for McFarlane. I painted about 1/2 of the figures.
–Do you have a favorite piece that you painted—not in terms of character or property, but a piece that made you sit back and say "Geez, I did great on that".
After 7 years of painting, I have a handful of pieces that I’m proud of. I’m not sure I’d say "I did great on that", but I do look at those pieces and feel a sense of accomplishment. One that comes to mind is a junkyard play set that I did for MGA. They said "go all out" and I did… and it will never be produced. Another piece is "Rocker Biker Girl" for Electric Tiki. It’s from a painting by Martin Emond. The sculptor did a great job bringing her to life and well…. She’s just really f***ing cool. And then there’s a bunch of the creatures for SOTA’s Now Playing line. These were some of the first monsters I’d ever painted. Movie FX people could probably do better, but these were a real challenge for me to paint and I’m rather happy with the results.
–Do you have a favorite part of painting? I’m talking about a technique, or a part of a piece, or just in general.
Not necessarily. I just love painting. Challenging pieces are always a plus, but even something straight forward and simple is interesting. I’ll do it all.
–Least favorite? Same as above.
Crap reference, or when someone doesn’t know what they want but they just know it’s not what I’ve done. That happened early on. Now I ask more questions.
–Walk me through a typical day in the studio. How many hours a day do you spend painting? Talking on the phone with companies? Just day-to-day things.
Well, I’ve started getting to work an hour earlier. So my day starts at around 8am. I usually start by getting the coffee maker going and then I’ll check email and the internet for about half and hour to and hour depending on what’s going on and how tight my deadlines are. Then I get all excited because I’ll remember I made coffee, and if I’m lucky, I actually remembered to turn the coffee maker on so I’ll have a cup of rocket fuel to start the day.
If I’m starting a project, I’ll look through my reference and then spend an hour on the computer getting more reference and printing it out. Then I start mixing colors. At first, I just mix the main colors and their shadow and highlight colors. This could take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple hours. It depends on the piece, the complexity of the colors, and on how much I have to interpret the reference. Then I get started painting. If I have to drop a project off with a client, I try and do that before 2pm to avoid traffic. Other than that, I just spend the day painting. "Normally" I leave work at 7pm, but if it’s near Toy Fair or SDCC… I leave anywhere from 10pm to 3am. If it’s real bad, it could be an all-nighter.
–Do you have a certain brand of paint that is your favorite? Brush? Airbrush?
I use Cartoon Colour Cel-vinyl. That’s just what I was given to start with. I have tried other types of paints and they just aren’t as good as cel-vinyl. It’s very opaque and fairly flexible. And you can mix a great variety of colors. It works for me, but I know it’s not great for customs because of paint rub. I also use Citadel metallics, and different brands of inks/ concentrated watercolors. I prime with Citadel primer (usually white) and then finish a piece with Krylon Matte Finish or dull cote.
I have a large collection of brushes, mostly because I never throw away a brush. I think I threw one away a few months ago for the first time ever. The handle snapped in my hand and then as I was using what was left, the ferrule fell off the stick. That’s the only time a brush is unusable. Because you can always flip it over and use it as a stir stick. š
I like liner brushes, but I can’t say I have a favorite brand. Not too cheap, but not too pricey. But as far as my airbrush goes… Iwata all the way. I have a Custom Micron, an HP-C and an Eclipse. All good for different types of painting.
–How do you feel when a final factory piece doesn’t come out like you envisioned it? I know that factory paint can’t compare to a hand painted piece, but has there ever been a time where you look at it in a store and think "What in the hell?"
Um, it happens. I just don’t expect the same quality from a factory piece as I do from a prototype. Every single paint application adds to the cost in production. So if a figure is costing too much to produce, paint apps get cut. It’s the way it works. I’ve learned not to get too attached to most pieces. But it still stings a bit when I see the actual piece I worked on at a show and it’s covered in hot glue with paint chipped off and really just looking miserable. I’ve learned to take many pictures. It eases the hurt.
–Speaking of factories, what is the process there? Do you make a list of every single color for them to follow? If so, do you list the techniques used also? Or do they just get a painted piece and try to match it up to the best of their ability?
Different companies have their own processes and levels of trust with their factories. Some companies want color call outs. This is where you break down how you painted a piece section by section listing PMS* colors and processes (airbrush, dry brush, wash….). I tend to supply color swatches with these also. Or you have the people who say "Make it look cool and the factory will figure it out". Generally, you want to keep the paint job clean and simple. Base color, wash or airbrushed shadows, maybe a dry brush. So the colors you choose are very important.
[* Editor’s note: PMS is Pantone Matching System, a widely accepted professional system of standardized colors used in many fields.]
–How often does a company come back to you and say "change this, this, and this"? Is this a standard procedure or is there usually a little room for artistic freedom? Has there ever been a time when you thought something would never get approved?
Revisions happen and are just part of the process. I generally don’t get revisions. It happened more when I wasn’t the one talking directly with the client. Revisions usually happen when the piece involves a likeness or if you have bad reference.
There have been a couple times when I thought something wouldn’t get approved. Once was a likeness and a couple of times it was because there were no reference and the person wasn’t sure what they wanted.
"Artistic freedom" is relative. I mean, I’m hired to make a piece of resin look like something specific, of someone else’s choosing. So it’s not like I can choose to paint Mickey Mouse with a black eye and a bloody nose. Though I’ve been tempted. But I do get to choose the processes and colors (sometimes) that I use to make resin look like a pair of jeans or a rock. And that’s really where you learn a lot about color and where I have fun.
–What would be your dream piece to paint? A certain person, a certain property, anything. Or have you already painted it?
More monsters. I still have a lot I’d like lot to learn about painting monsters.
–Do you feel that sculptors get more "glory" in this business?
First off, let me say that sculptors deserve all the "glory" they get and more. There is a lot that goes into sculpting that isn’t seen in production and that can’t be explained without seeing a sculptor at work.
But to answer your question, yes… painters are an overlooked part of the process. And I think it goes back to your earlier question about how a piece comes out in production. Production is just never going to look as good as the original. So you do your best to make a piece easily reproducible so that it kinda looks like what you painted.
But painters are important in the toy making process in many ways. First off, we make a piece look good so that it gets the fans excited. We are the last step in development, so we either make or break deadlines. We can hide or accentuate flaws in a sculpt. We make resin look like materials it’s not. And in general we’re just really cool people. š Hahaha….. until you get on our bad sides. Or maybe that’s just me.
So be kind to your painters!!!
And don’t forget to check out my website www.waktoys.com/Painting.html so you can see all the cool stuff I’ve painted.
–Thank you very much for stopping by.
Thanks for talking with me.
Kat can also be found on Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/kat_sapene
For a lot more of her painted pieces, check out her website at http://www.waktoys.com/Painting.html
