A slash illustrator, game art designer, digital artist, and also a passionate toy enthusiast, Taiwanese local comic artist Cao Shen has previously ventured into toy sculpt design multiple times. This time, finally, in the capacity of a "toy designer," he collaborated with the toy design team Infinity Toy to produce his first personal soft vinyl monster, "The Fly Demon."
In fact, as early as the end of last year, The Fly Demon made its debut at TTF as an 8cm commemorative figure. Even though the design concept had not yet been revealed at the time, Cao Shen, who loves creating monsters, mechanical bodies, and character portrayals, had already presented the combination of "human" and "fly" with a high degree of compatibility through various details, even without color.
△Small Commemorative Figure
The composition of this monster is rare, but not unprecedented. From the mystery short story "The Fly Man" released in 1937 by the father of Japanese science fiction, Unno Juza, to David Cronenberg's 1986 sci-fi horror film "The Fly," its status, like the well-known werewolves and vampires, is a classic among monsters.
△Still from The Fly movie
This time, Cao Shen's Fly Demon also innovates upon the past fly-man image, increasing the proportion of human flesh, with putrid flesh coloring adhering to the insect exoskeleton and mouthparts. The fly's transparent wings and compound eyes are rendered using the inherent translucency of the soft vinyl itself. The underside of the compound eyes is even painted with silver to give it a reflective quality. These abundant details enhance the realism of the sci-fi monster, as if restoring a truly existing creature, intending to draw people into the monster collecting hobby. Toy enthusiasts who are interested should not miss it.
△Translucent Wings
△Reflective effect from transparent compound eyes and base color