On Friday, First 4 Figures launched the second 1/4 Statue in the Okami series when the long-awaited F4F Shiranui Exclusive Statue finally went up for order. But with F4F, the pre-order is only half the fun: the rest is the plethora of multimedia that accompanies each new statue PO! As usual, there was a brand new Making of Documentary just for Shiranui, full of bonus Q&A. Don’t have time to watch the whole video or just want a written reference for things you may have missed? I’ve got you covered…
[As a sidenote, I always like to advocate for actually watching the documentary itself whenever possible, as I can’t really capture the grandeur of the video in written words. In fact, I’ve even included timestamps next to the Q&A questions in this recap so that you can jump right into the video at a chosen point!
That said, if you just don’t have the time or want to watch a video (which you’ll note that I’ve included above for easy access!), read on for all the juicy bits…]
The Intro:
A new black backdrop appears to kick off the documentary! This makes sense because Shiranui is mostly white. Alex really pops on the new backdrop in his white shirt, while Chock subtly blends in in his dark shirt.
Shiranui is genderless in Japanese. Alex chooses to refer to Shiranui as female, as Amaterasu–who is female–is a reincarnation of Shiranui. There are different schools of thought that all have merit, but Alex will be referring to Shiranui as a female in this documentary.
Shiranui has been in the works since the first statue in the life was released, the Amaterasu statue. This is actually the third piece in the First 4 Figures Okami Series, as an Amaterasu Life-Size Bust has also been up for order since the original Amaterasu statue.
Alex draws attention to the new turntable, which is actually quite speedy. And the Q&A begins…
“Why Shiranui instead of other Okami characters?” (4:10 into the video) — from Anthony Lizarde
Shiranui is definitely supposed to be a companion piece to the original 1/4 Amaterasu. They were designed to be a pair, and it made sense to make them so they can be displayed together (although they also look great as standalone pieces). Alex would love to hear input on what else collectors want from the Okami statues line, such as other Celestial Brush Gods, Ninetails, etc.
Working on Amaterasu, it all made sense to tie the pair together by having Shiranui be the second 1/4 statue in the line.
“How did you decide on the pose?” (5:35 into the video) — from Brendan Rastello
The pose itself was decided by the F4F Official Collectors Club Facebook group. Alex offered a couple of pose choices in the club, and the members voted for the pose that was ultimately selected for the First 4 Figures Shiranui statue. Shiranui’s pose is regal and majestic, as opposed to an attack pose. There is some official artwork/concept art of Shiranui that also has this pose.
Originally, F4F worked with Capcom (the licensor) to get their input as well, and Alex picked the top two options put forward from Capcom for the poll in the club. There were also some impractical choices such as Shiranui jumping in the air that weren’t selected. One of the things First 4 Figures liked about the pose eventually chosen is that Amaterasu has a similar-sized base.
“Did you use anything you learned from the making of Amaterasu while developing Shiranui?” (8:21) Jessica Castick
F4F learned a ton of things from Amaterasu that made creating Shiranui quite straight-forward. The fur texture on the 1/4th scale Amaterasu almost became too detailed, which F4F toned down that detail to make more general-shaped and subtle to give it the cartoony, cel-shaded style of the game. F4F applied that same style of fur effect to Shiranui. The coloring of both statues also had to absolutely match up . Chock really loves the swirls on Shiranui, as they really pop out.
Okami is supposed to be like a painting with traditional Japanese style art and brushwork, which is why the swirls are styled the way they are on the character design for Shiranui (and her statue). Brushstroke swirling effects are one of the main differences between Shiranui and a regular white wolf. The black lines and the red lines between the grooves of the strokes really make the wings and legs pop out–you can really see the swirls throughout the piece.
In terms of the body shape, F4F looked at the body shape of Amaterasu and made it slightly thicker. Learned a lot about sculpting the muscle shape of Shiranui from having created Amaterasu previously. Shiranui’s three feet on the ground are like a triangle, with back legs spread apart and ground front foot in the middle to increase stability. F4F wanted the pose to look natural but also be stable as well–when sculpting in 3D, you don’t necessarily know how stable the statue will be until it reaches the physical stage (although having a 3D printer helps with this now).
This pose also lets you see the paw on the bottom of Shiranui’s foot, whereas you couldn’t see any on Amaterasu since all four of her feet were grounded. Even though you may not have Shiranui displayed at an angle where you can see the underside of the paw, it’s nice to know that the detail is there nonetheless.
Another thing F4F learned from making Amaterasu is having a butthole, which is also present on Shiranui. In addition, Amaterasu had a blackened ink tip at the end of her tail that could also be added to Shiranui if it’s what collectors want. Let Alex know in the Youtube comments and in the club if you want that detail on Shiranui as well!
Ishaku is riding atop Shiranui, and is the grandfather of Issun (Amaterasu’s companion). There are older and younger illustrations of Ishaku, but the statue depicts the younger version (with his little brush in hand and scrolls on his back). Final production piece of Ishaku will be PVC to prevent breakage–F4F learned from making Issun.
The Solar Reflector and flames are much larger and wider than on Amaterasu. The flame effects have a swirling effect going around and flaring out. The semi-transparent orange flames gradually transition into green with some yellows in the middle.
Base matches the original Amaterasu in terms of size, thickness, and the greenery and flowers to complement Amaterasu’s base–but the two are totally unique sculpts with different subtleties to them. Shiranui has 19 individual tentacles [They’re called “tentacles” in the video, but I’m gonna call them “tendrils” in this write-up from this point onwards].
Alex wanted to have the tendrils to be slightly wavy and not too sharp (taking potential breakage problems into consideration). The tendrils are ivory and very slightly translucent with some oranges, yellows, and light greys on them–not just a plain white. Ultimately the tendrils are supposed to be white, but F4F wanted the tendrils to look like they were reflecting some of the lighting conditions around them.
“Do you receive input from creators or Capcom offices?” (27:37 into the video) — from Austin Paul
Alex is very grateful to Capcom, who has been very proactive and involved throughout the development of all three F4F Okami statues to-date. A lot of the issues F4F had at the beginning of Amaterasu were not issues here because of the experience of creating Amaterasu. Capcom definitely comes back with comments and suggestions, and ultimately this helps F4F to create a better piece.
“How did you engineer the solar reflector, taking into consideration the problems Amaterasu’s had?” (28:49 into the video) — from James Bennington
The solar reflector on Amaterasu had to be attached via a very small peg. For Shiranui, there are physically two points of support instead of one in order to make the reflector more stable. In addition, Shiranui’s wings are taller than Amaterasu’s, leaving more surface area for First 4 Figures to utilize for the peg. Alex is very confident that the extra size for the slot and the dual connection points will result in the solar reflector not having any problems this time.
“What is Shiranui, a pupper or a doggo?” (31:50 into the video) from Alessio Bucci
Alex says she’s a Celestial Doggo because Shiranui has a mature elegance to her. Chibiterasu is in development and will be “all pupper”. Chocks has no comment.
Specs:
Shiranui is about 3 cans wide–but as an animal, it’s more about the width than the height with her. She’s 14″ (36 cm) high, 18″ (46 cm) wide, and 17″ (43 cm) deep. Weighs 5.9 kg (13 pounds). Will come in 24 pieces: 19 tendrils, 1 tail, 1 massive solid base, 1 body/head, 1 massive solar reflector with mirror, and 1 Ishaku figure.
The First 4 Figures Shiranui Exclusive Edition:
Amaterau was the first F4F statue with an in-built rechargeable battery with a button and LED plug. Shiranui, however, will include a rechargeable, removable battery that can be replaced and an LED indicator. Shiranui will have an “animated” flickering light mode in addition to the “always-on” style of lighting that the original Amaterasu 1/4 statue had.
“How much time went into designing the EX and how long did it take to get it just right?” (48:20 into the video) — from James Bennington
Didn’t have to think much about what the exclusive would be too much, since F4F wanted it to be in the same style as Amaterasu, but with the new animated LED lights as an option.
“Who will follow Shiranui in the Okami line?” (48:50 into the video) — from Austin Paul
Alex has been thinking about Chibiterasu, and that he would be a great addition to the resin line. F4F is very open to hearing feedback from the fans in the video comments and through the F4F OCC Facebook group. An Amaterasu PVC statue is also scheduled to be put up for order later in 2018.
…And that’s it for the latest documentary, which clocks in at a short 50 minutes and 20 seconds! Has the documentary helped sway you one way or the other on this piece, F4Fans?
The First 4 Figures Shiranui Exclusive statue is now available for order, with a $484.99 price-tag and an anticipated release date in Q2 2019. Payment plans of up to 12 months are available, and only a 10% deposit of $48 is due at the time of ordering. The Day One Edition of Shiranui will only be available to those who order by May 1st 2018, so make sure to get your order in on-time if you want the bonus Rewards points, holographic sticker and extra signed Alex Davis art card.