Joe Allard on Legends in 3D The Crow, Fantastic Four, and more!
Posted by DSTJessie on May 3rd 2022
Legends in 3D fans get a behind the scenes look into toy designer Joe Allard’s artistry, from The Crow, Fantastic Four, Godzilla and more!
With over 20 years of experience as an independent artist and designer, Allard has worked with a number of popular collectible brands and comic companies to bring you amazing artwork! We’ve joined Allard to get an in depth picture of his Diamond Select Toys designs, so read on to learn more!
What is your art training background?
Allard: I’ve been drawing since childhood so much of what I know was self-taught. Reading and studying comic books and cartoons and endless hours playing with toys were all unintentional lessons for what I would later call my career. I took several art classes growing up and through high school. I majored in art and film in college and continued my learning there. I also learned a lot on the job. I was hired for several jobs early on with little knowledge of the actual process and was fortunate enough to continue learning through most of my career from talented peers and mentors. It’s a good idea to surround yourself with people more talented than yourself and pay attention!
How did you get involved in toy design?
Allard: I originally wanted to be a comic book penciller. During college I was working in the shipping department at Malibu Comics trying to get my foot in the door and was fortunate to land a job as a digital colorist after they were purchased by Marvel. To expand on the previous question, I actually had no Photoshop experience. I had a good portfolio with some color illustrations showing my knowledge of color design, and learned the digital skills on the job. I did that for a few years, and once Marvel decided to close the doors to Malibu completely, I started looking for alternative careers where I could apply the Photoshop skills I learned coloring comics as well as my passion for illustration and comic books. Since everyone else was looking into the animation industry, I decided to look elsewhere. I was fortunate to land a job at a local company called Applause that made gifts and collectibles for everything from Star Wars to Sesame Street. Once again, I had no experience designing products, but my portfolio showcased that I had a grasp on three dimensional illustration with various character turnarounds and was offered the job by a creative director who saw my potential. I immediately fell in love with the process. Similar to a comic book penciller, I was still able to draw my favorite comic book and movie characters all day, Plus seeing my drawings become three-dimensional products was just super cool. I had been a big toy kid, playing with everything from Star Wars to G.I. Joe to Masters of the Universe, so I felt I’d found my home and decided this was the industry for me. Ever since then, the toy and collectibles industries have been my passion and focus.
How do you approach Legends in 3D designs?
Allard: I approach the L3D busts much like any other design project. It starts with research. Even though I’m familiar with and usually a big fan of the L3D characters, I still like to do research and immerse myself in the character for a while before I actually start to design anything. I’ll see what the latest storylines are in the comics or movies, or refresh my memory on classic stuff if that is the subject matter. With the busts in particular, I need to uncover something very personal or meaningful to the characters specifically for the bases. Unlike most other busts where the bases are standard generic shapes, the L3D’s each have a unique base that is something personal or directly related to the character. For the bust itself, I like to get to the core of who the character is. Since I only have the head and shoulders to express that character’s personality, it can be quite a challenge. If there is a face, you want some personality and an expression to show up, not just a vacant stare. I don’t like busts that just look directly forward, that’s boring and stiff to me. If you notice on most of the L3D’s, the character is looking left, right, up or down. Rarely forward unless the character really calls for it. If the character is masked, as in many cases, it’s about the body language of the head and shoulders. Is his head tilted down for some intensity, or to the side to seem a bit inquisitive? It’s all very subtle but very important with such a small canvas to work on. With the masked and helmeted characters especially, I want to show that there is a living person under that armor or mask, not just the helmet itself on display. It needs to feel alive in some way and have some energy to it.
The bases for all of the L3Ds are so great. Does the concept usually jump out at you or do you play around with different ideas?
Allard: Thank you! It depends on the characters. Sometimes the idea comes right away. For example, with the Green Goblin, which was put up for pre order recently, his pumpkin bomb came to mind right away. It’s one of his most used and iconic items. It was either that or his glider, but I liked the idea of the pumpkin bomb with some gas streaming out of the eyes and mouth as that seemed very sinister, like it could explode at any moment. On the flip side, for someone like The Thing, the base was tough. Thing does not really have any immediately identifiable objects or weapons that make you think of him. Other than his blue speedos, he really has nothing! I struggled with him quite a bit. I chose to go with a base that was inspired by the Fantasticar. He was often shown as the pilot of the car so I figured it worked well enough. Plus, the material of shiny metals, blue and white, gave it the Fantastic Four feeling I was looking for.
Your two Godzilla L3Ds so far have really captured the differences between the 1962 and 1964 movie suits. Are you a big Godzilla fan?
Allard: I love me some Godzilla! I watched the movies as a kid and my love of the big guy continued into adulthood. I’ve been fortunate to design a few Godzilla statues as well for DST and I’m really grateful for that opportunity. When it came to the first 1964 bust, it seemed obvious to have a big splash of water as the base since that’s how he always appears. Plus, I love me some translucent resin! It’s just so cool-looking, so I utilize that whenever I can. When we came to the 1962 bust, he’s found in the iceberg so it seemed fitting to have that as the base, and kind of continued the water theme from the first one. Since it was from King Kong vs Godzilla, I wanted to work Kong into the base somehow, so I designed a big Kong print into the back of the base for a bit of an easter egg for fans to find.
Rocco Tartamella’s sculpt of The Thing L3D came out almost lifelike. What artists did you look at while designing that piece?
Allard: Rocco Rocked on this one! (Puns intended.) For Thing we were going for a classic look - so I went right to King Kirby and John Byrne for inspiration. It’s kind of a mashup of their styles, with some realism thrown in as that is part of the L3D look. Rocco took what I did and added even more realism to the sculpt, which worked really well. I think it’s a nice balance of classic look with realistic lifelike details.
Which has been your favorite L3D design you’ve done so far?
Allard: That is an impossible question! I’ve done so many and love so many of them. One of my favorites I just finished recently and has yet to be announced. One of my favorite characters of all time. I can’t wait for this one to go up for pre-order. I don’t know if I can give a hint, but if adventure had a name… this would be it. I’m a huge Star Wars fan, so many of those are up there, including Yoda, Vader and Boba Fett. Beyond Star Wars, If I had to pick just one that’s come out already, I’d say The Crow is top of the list. One of my favorite films and the first time I was honored to work on the license. I spent a good deal of time on that base adding in some fun easter eggs from the film for fans to find. I’m really proud of that one.
You do non-L3D designs for DST as well, including Gallery Dioramas for Godzilla, Invader Zim and Sonic the Hedgehog. What full-figure design you’ve done for DST are you most proud of?
Allard: Another tough question! I think of the ones you mention Invader Zim jumps out as a favorite. I loved the cartoon but never had the opportunity to work on anything for the license. It was a ton of fun re-watching the cartoon for ideas. All of his gizmos are a big part of the show and I wanted to showcase those. There is a scene in a few shows where he rises up on a hovering disc and moves though his lab, and I thought that would be tons of fun. I had to include some of the robot tentacles that are so prevalent in the show. And what would Zim be without Gir, so I thought it’d be funny to have him obviously sitting in his dog suit and just sipping a slurpee. That one was fun to work on.
Is it almost more difficult to do an L3D design than a full-figure design, since so much is imagined?
Allard: Yes and no. For the L3D’s, It’s definitely tough to capture the character’s personality and some emotion in the bust with so little to work with, and as we discussed, sometimes coming up with a base that feels right for the character can be difficult. But the full figures are a bit more work as far as the actual illustration since you are drawing the full body, often in an exaggerated action pose, that also has to be manufacturable for a reasonable cost. However, you have more of a canvas to work with on the full body pieces, so getting the character’s personality to come across is easier than with the busts, for sure. So they both present different challenges. Honestly that’s what I love about doing both types of projects, they each present their own challenge and make me think differently for each piece. Keeps me on my toes!
The Thing Legends in 3D Bust and Godzilla (1962) Legends in 3D Bust are estimated to be released this Summer 2022. Stay tuned for more releases designed by Allard and thanks to Joe Allard for giving us the scoop behind his design process! To see more of his extraordinary content, follow him on socials below!