Tja, ik zal niet ontkennen dat ik een echte fangirl ben van Too Natthapong’s werk en toys. Ik ben dan ook erg verheugd dat hij zijn medewerking heeft verleend voor dit interview. Vanaf het moment dat ik zijn characters Greenie & Elfie voor het eerst ontdekte, droomde ik ervan om dit allerschattigste duo op een dag in mijn vitrinekast te mogen zetten. Het duurde nog wel een tijdje voordat het zo ver was, want zijn toys zijn erg gewild onder verzamelaars en je moet er als de kippen bij zijn om er een te kunnen bemachtigen. Vooral olifantje Elfie is enorm populair; ik heb meerdere malen meegemaakt dat deze bij een nieuwe release binnen een minuut was uitverkocht. Mocht je nog niet eerder kennis gemaakt hebben met Too’s werk, dan schetst bovenstaande alvast een beeld van de groep enthousiaste fans die zijn werk al langer volgen. Lees verder om onder andere meer te weten te komen over het ontstaan van zijn characters en waar hij zijn inspiratie vandaan haalt.
1. Please introduce yourself and the kind of work you do. Hello, I’m Too Nathapong from Thailand. I am illustrator / character designer / animation director and toydesigner.
2. How did you become artist/toy designer? Since childhood I’ve been into all kinds of cartoons. After I graduated from University of Art in Thailand I’ve always had jobs related to cartoons. Like a comic artist, editor in chief of comic magazines, character designer, art director, animation director and now toy designer.
3. Who/what inspires you? Which artist, which character? My inspiration comes from many things like reading comic books, watching movies, listening to music and playing games. I love animations from Studio Ghibli. Fujio Fujiko’s work always inspire me, Tin Tin and Japanese Manga Urusei Yatsura (Lum).
4. What’s the story behind characters Greenie & Elfie? How did they came to life? Back in 2003 when I found out that I was going to be a father of a baby girl, I named her Greenie and that inspired me to design a cartoon character who has a kind heart and loves nature very much. I imagined her living in some fantasy forest. She can make everyone around her happy just to be near her. I also wanted her to have a true companion, that’s how Elfie came alive.
5. I have several Elfie toys in my collection in different themes, like a banana, hamburger, astronaut, wearing a raincoat and a traveller. How do you come up with these themes? Are these all collaborations with companies or just your imagination? 90% of concepts and ideas are mine. Sometimes themes like Halloween or Christmas ar requests from companies to match the festival event or from other artists who want to collaborate with me.
6. Can you describe a workday at your studio? What’s your routine? After I make breakfast for my family I usually start working in my home studio by going through the production process with other departments via email or Zoom, like reviewing prototypes or adjusting 3D models. In the afternoon I will start doing my routine work like drawing, sketching, desiging, creating whatever comes out of my head. In the evening I like to watch some movies or play games because inspiration often comes from movies or the games I play.
7. How long does it take before a toy is produced, from sketch to end result? It takes about 3 months to produce a toy from sketch to final product but it may take more than 6 months if copyright permission is needed when I have collaborations with others.
8. Are there any struggles you experience as an artist? If yes, would you like to share? As for the production process, I find it not too difficult to handle because most of them are minor problems but in terms of designing and creating process, it’s quite challenging for me to keep my motivation and inspiration as balanced as I can. Often when I have new ideas or while I’m creating art I think of how much my fans love my work. It encourages me to create better and better works in return for their love for me and my art.
9. Do you have a specific dream or goal you want to achieve with your art? My goal for 2021 is to complete Greenie & Elfie official Fan Book. I also want Greenie & Elfie to come alive in an animated movie or in games that provide players the most compelling stories.
10. What’s your favorite way to spend a day off? I love to stay home, watch movies, listening to music and playing games.
Thank you so much for this interview. I’m looking forward to the new projects coming up featuring Greenie & Elfie!
10 vragen aan…Too Natthapong
Tja, ik zal niet ontkennen dat ik een echte fangirl ben van Too Natthapong’s werk en toys. Ik ben dan ook erg verheugd dat hij zijn medewerking heeft verleend voor dit interview. Vanaf het moment dat ik zijn characters Greenie & Elfie voor het eerst ontdekte, droomde ik ervan om dit allerschattigste duo op een dag in mijn vitrinekast te mogen zetten. Het duurde nog wel een tijdje voordat het zo ver was, want zijn toys zijn erg gewild onder verzamelaars en je moet er als de kippen bij zijn om er een te kunnen bemachtigen. Vooral olifantje Elfie is enorm populair; ik heb meerdere malen meegemaakt dat deze bij een nieuwe release binnen een minuut was uitverkocht. Mocht je nog niet eerder kennis gemaakt hebben met Too’s werk, dan schetst bovenstaande alvast een beeld van de groep enthousiaste fans die zijn werk al langer volgen. Lees verder om onder andere meer te weten te komen over het ontstaan van zijn characters en waar hij zijn inspiratie vandaan haalt.
1. Please introduce yourself and the kind of work you do.
Hello, I’m Too Nathapong from Thailand. I am illustrator / character designer / animation director and toydesigner.
2. How did you become artist/toy designer?
Since childhood I’ve been into all kinds of cartoons. After I graduated from University of Art in Thailand I’ve always had jobs related to cartoons. Like a comic artist, editor in chief of comic magazines, character designer, art director, animation director and now toy designer.
3. Who/what inspires you? Which artist, which character?
My inspiration comes from many things like reading comic books, watching movies, listening to music and playing games. I love animations from Studio Ghibli. Fujio Fujiko’s work always inspire me, Tin Tin and Japanese Manga Urusei Yatsura (Lum).
4. What’s the story behind characters Greenie & Elfie? How did they came to life?
Back in 2003 when I found out that I was going to be a father of a baby girl, I named her Greenie and that inspired me to design a cartoon character who has a kind heart and loves nature very much. I imagined her living in some fantasy forest. She can make everyone around her happy just to be near her. I also wanted her to have a true companion, that’s how Elfie came alive.
5. I have several Elfie toys in my collection in different themes, like a banana, hamburger, astronaut, wearing a raincoat and a traveller. How do you come up with these themes? Are these all collaborations with companies or just your imagination?
90% of concepts and ideas are mine. Sometimes themes like Halloween or Christmas ar requests from companies to match the festival event or from other artists who want to collaborate with me.
6. Can you describe a workday at your studio? What’s your routine?
After I make breakfast for my family I usually start working in my home studio by going through the production process with other departments via email or Zoom, like reviewing prototypes or adjusting 3D models. In the afternoon I will start doing my routine work like drawing, sketching, desiging, creating whatever comes out of my head. In the evening I like to watch some movies or play games because inspiration often comes from movies or the games I play.
7. How long does it take before a toy is produced, from sketch to end result?
It takes about 3 months to produce a toy from sketch to final product but it may take more than 6 months if copyright permission is needed when I have collaborations with others.
8. Are there any struggles you experience as an artist? If yes, would you like to share?
As for the production process, I find it not too difficult to handle because most of them are minor problems but in terms of designing and creating process, it’s quite challenging for me to keep my motivation and inspiration as balanced as I can. Often when I have new ideas or while I’m creating art I think of how much my fans love my work. It encourages me to create better and better works in return for their love for me and my art.
9. Do you have a specific dream or goal you want to achieve with your art?
My goal for 2021 is to complete Greenie & Elfie official Fan Book. I also want Greenie & Elfie to come alive in an animated movie or in games that provide players the most compelling stories.
10. What’s your favorite way to spend a day off?
I love to stay home, watch movies, listening to music and playing games.
Thank you so much for this interview. I’m looking forward to the new projects coming up featuring Greenie & Elfie!
Volg Too Natthanpongs werk hier:
https://www.instagram.com/pakka7/
https://www.facebook.com/Greenie.Elfie/
…of bekijk voor nog meer vragen en antwoorden deze video 🙂