Review: Archetype:next Figma
By K. on April 10th, 2017
Last year I had the opportunity to purchase the brand new Archetype:next Figmas from Japan’s Good Smile Company, abbreviated hereon as GSC, and I’ve had quite a while to test them out. For those of you who are on the fence about these awesome - albeit pricey for some - figures, I’ve written this review to help you decide whether you need them (if you’re anything like me, you probably do).
(If nothing else, they’re a fun little novelty to have on your desk.)
Firstly, I saw these figures and wanted to buy them because I need a lot of help and inspiration when it comes to anatomical poses - although I’ve done a few years of life drawing and am somewhat competent at drawing the human figure, I still have difficulty getting ideas of what to draw in the first place. Sifting through hundreds of reference images to find the pose or lighting that’s just right for your image is a real drag, at least for me. It’s part of what causes artist’s block in my practice, and I felt like I needed a more immediate source of inspiration. That’s where these beauties come in. Figmas, a line of anime figures by GSC featuring hundreds of characters, are small (15cm or so tall) figures with articulated joints and replaceable head and hand parts. Generally for collection or display, their articulated limbs allow for many more fun combinations than a regular figure, and they are always made and painted to an exceptional level of quality (unless you buy a bootleg, so be careful of knockoffs). The format of the Figma figures make them perfect for posing - enter the ‘Archetype’ line.
These aren’t the first drawing pose Figmas that Good Smile Company have released. In 2012, GSC released the first Archetype Figmas, aptly named ‘He’ and ‘She’, to assist manga artists with pose referencing. Although useful in terms of their basic posing potential, the anatomy on these figures was hardly anything to praise - their large heads and cartoonish bodies are clearly aimed at the manga artist. Though useful for some, these figures leave great room for improvement in terms of being useful for any other drawing purpose. Even for manga artists, I feel that these figures fall short of being useful as primary anatomical reference - especially when it comes to the bizarrely proportioned hips and torso on the male figure. Take a look for yourself - compared to the old Archetype figures, GSC have done a fantastic job of updating the line to make the figures more anatomically accurate, and thus more practical in use.
Older Archetype Figmas
New Archetype:next Figmas
Anyway, let’s get to the real stuff - the figures themselves. I bought both the male and female figures in flesh tones; the figures are also available in grey and GSC exclusive orange. The packaging itself was surprisingly pared back for the Figma line; they do not come in a cardboard box with plastic insert, but in a plastic display box similar to lower-end action figures. Though somewhat visually disappointing, it made sense to me for GSC to choose more economical packaging, as there are no extra parts in addition to the figure and stand. The male figure has a far more pronounced tan than the female figure, which might be useful in some way that I haven’t discovered yet. Each Figma has articulated joints in the limbs, neck, and spine, which allow for a diverse range of motion. They are also connected to a stand by an articulated plastic rod, standard for Figmas, which allow you to pose them lying down, standing up, kneeling and even mid-air, good for fighting poses. I was very impressed with the range of articulation of these figures bar one small issue, being the fact that they are not designed to have their knees positioned above waist level, meaning no tuck-and-roll for these guys (but that’s what making your own reference shots is for, right?). I also feel that the female figure’s head/neck has less articulation than the male figure, although this could be my particular set rather than a widespread issue. Not too big of an issue, as you can always use imagination or other references to fill in any gaps.
As mentioned before, the figures' ease of use was the real attraction point for me. Whether you’re an artist who uses physical or digital media, it’s very convenient to be able to pick up and adjust your reference figure as you go, as well as allowing you the freedom to adjust and create your own light source using a desk lamp; often with saved reference it’s tedious to find a reference image that’s just right, and the Archetype Figmas provide a refreshingly simple alternative. Personally, I found the figures most useful when used in conjunction with visual image references, as opposed to using them on their own. Though they are no replacement for learning figure drawing and anatomy from life, the Archetype Figmas are a great resource for any artist who draws the human figure. I don’t use them as much as I thought I would, but it’s been very refreshing to be able to grab them, pose them into something random and just draw it, taking a lot of the tedious planning out of sketching.
In Summary…
Pros
+ Joints are easy to articulate in a wide range of motion
+ Proportions are, on the whole, anatomically correct
+ Easy to manipulate into different poses and lighting conditions
+ Great, durable build quality
+ Suitable for novice and professional artists
+ Most appropriate for comic/manga character artists
Cons
- Packaging is somewhat disappointing for the Figma line
- Price point may be excessive for some (I paid around $30~ AUD for each figure from a Japanese store, though many local shops resell for double)
- Need to be used in conjunction with other reference material to be most beneficial
- Not a perfect replacement for live, human reference - make sure you still learn your anatomy and figure drawing skills!