Part of Your World… and that’s as it should be!

Women, people of color, and queer people are either not represented in minis or they are seen mainly through the male gaze. My mission is to flip that on its head. This isn’t always easy because I am not always a part of the demographic that I’m producing... It’s hard to create from a perspective that is not your own, so how do you do it?

That was the challenge. And I think I got it right this time.

Nice Catch!

It can be scary to make models outside of your experience, but it can be done.

Here’s how I did it, broken down into steps!

Begin to draw inspiration

I started googling images of mermen, looking specifically for those that we usually don’t see as minis. Eventually, I came across some gorgeous images from a Filipino TV soap opera about merfolk called Dyesebel. Once I saw the photos from Dyesebel I knew that I wanted to create a Filipino character.

There are so few representations of Filipino people or diversity in today's art world, and that really hits home for me. My daughter is part Filipina, so the idea of producing a miniature reflecting her heritage gave me more motivation to continue but it was important to me to get some opinions from my Filipino friends before I started.

Collect images… but don’t dive in yet. Check!

I collected images of Filipino models and actors that I could use as references along with pictures of Mermen in various poses. Then, before starting anything, I showed them to several of my Filipino friends. They were curious and encouraging. They also said it was really important that if I represent them, the Merman needed to have traditional Filipino features. They said that often actors and models are mixed. That was fine, but they were excited about the representation of traditional Filipino features, which are less commonly seen. In fact, there were so few images that represented traditional features that my friends helped me by sending pictures of themselves and family so my concept artist would have more accurate references.

Had I not checked in, the results might have been different, and not in a good way! In working with a community that I myself am not a part of, I didn’t just want a stamp of approval to do what I wanted. I wanted to have their honest opinions so I kept an open mind and was ready to listen. I had already built a relationship before I brought my concept to them. They trusted me enough to give me their honest opinion. I collaborated with them and they continued to be part of the process of co-creating with me. If people didn’t like the idea I was ok with scrapping it at any stage because it was important to me to represent them respectfully.

From Representing Filipinos to Representing Men

This process of inclusion can sound hard. And it can be. For me, every time I go through this exercise and push myself out of the confines of the genre, my art gets better.

I thought about what this miniature symbolizes within the series’ theme of Male Beauty and Male Emotion. That led me to think more about how male fantasy characters don’t experience joy unless they are dwarves, gnomes, or jolly, chubby characters. When you really think about it, men don’t get a full range of emotions when they stay in the traditional mini box. Anger and stoicism are pretty much all they get to see when they see themselves represented! This expanded my approach, and that will help every mini I create.

Nice Catch wasn’t stoic or angry… he was joyful! Joy is my experience of Filipino culture so once we got that wonderful expression of joy he came alive! He had become a person, instead of a model.

I showed the final draft to my Filipino friends and they loved it! We got it right!

More collaboration

The next step was the art. Representation matters not just on the models, but on who creates them. I reached out to Filipina artist Mocha_Minis, one of the friends I consulted and a fantastic miniature painter herself. I asked if she would do the studio art. She said yes and the results were stunning.

I told Mocha I would be writing a blog post about this and asked if she would contribute. Here’s what she wrote:

I’ve painted many miniatures since I started in 2014 and Nice Catch! Is definitely a first for me in many ways! While the muscular pinup-style physique was a fun challenge to paint, I found myself especially connected to the joyful energy of the piece. I was also surprised by how rewarding it was to paint a face I recognized- A Filipino face! (My mother’s side of the family is from the Philippines.)

The sculptor did an incredible job capturing the unique facial features that many folks of Filipino descent share: the wider, flatter nose, the expressive almond-shaped eyes, and even the “puffy” under eyes when we smile. (Something I always disliked about my own face but now somehow a little bit less after painting this guy!)

On a personal note, I experienced some big life changes that took me away from miniature painting this past year and a half. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could return to it. I had lost a lot of confidence in my skills after not being able to paint for so long. A big thanks to Shoshie for thinking of me when it came time to paint this figure. Not only did this project take me out of serious creative funk, Nice Catch! Was a true joy to paint and rekindled my passion for miniature painting.

Creating a process that made sense to me while making the model respectful could not have been done without collaboration.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to help represent a community in a way that has not been done before in the miniature hobby.