The Shug
From indie horror monster to action figure
A one-of-a-kind birthday present, turning the terrifying star of an independent horror film into his very own boxed collectible.
Bringing The Shug to tiny life
When Emily got in touch, she had a wonderfully unusual birthday present in mind for her husband, filmmaker Martin J Pickering.
Martin had spent years bringing his independent horror film The Shug to life, and Emily wanted to surprise him by turning its monstrous star into something that didn't yet exist: his very own Shug action figure.
Armed with stills from the film and behind-the-scenes photographs of the original creature costume, I set about recreating The Shug in miniature. The challenge was to capture that wonderfully unsettling face, huge mouth and hulking, matted silhouette, while turning him into a model that could actually be 3D printed and painted.
From screen to shelf
Once the model was printed, it was time to make him suitably horrible.
The Shug was painted by hand, building up the pale, fleshy tones of his face and the layers of dirty greys and blacks through the body to recreate the look of the creature on screen.
But somewhere along the way, the project had grown beyond simply making a figure.
If The Shug was going to have his own action figure, surely he needed his own action figure box too.
The finishing touch
This was the point where the whole thing really came together.
I worked with @harleygwendesigns, who created the custom display box using artwork from the film, complete with its own window, movie artwork, synopsis and the rather wonderful:
THE PUNISHMENT FOR EVIL IS EVIL
The finished packaging transformed my little monster into something that looked remarkably like a genuine piece of horror movie merchandise.
A huge thank you to @harleygwendesigns for doing such a fantastic job on the box and helping me finish The Shug properly.
Does it pass the toy-shop test?
There was really only one thing left to do.
I took The Shug to my local toy shop and quietly slipped him onto a shelf between Five Nights at Freddy's and Stranger Things merchandise.
And, frankly, he looked worryingly at home. 😂
The birthday reveal
The Shug was created as a complete one-off birthday present for Martin, and after weeks of keeping the whole thing secret, Emily finally got to give him his miniature monster.
“I was so lucky to find Cate from Tinyabsurdist on Instagram when I was looking for someone to bring a very special idea to life - an action figure of The Shug, the creature from my husband’s feature horror film, as a birthday present.
I sent Cate my ideas and she was immediately so enthusiastic about creating it. I also asked about having a custom box made, so it would feel even more like something you’d find in a real toy shop.
The finished piece was absolutely wonderful — even better than I could have imagined. My husband was over the moon when he received it! Cate’s passion, talent and attention to detail really shone through.
I’ve already recommended her to friends and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone. She has such an incredible talent for turning any weird and wonderful idea into something amazing.”
Emily Pickering
Got a monster of your own
The Shug started with an idea that didn't exist anywhere else. That's exactly the sort of project I love.
If you have a character, creature, pet, person or completely ridiculous idea you'd love to turn into something real, get in touch and tell me about it.
