K.A. Kim has sculpted portraits for Blitzway, Hot Toys, Prime 1 Studio and Star Ace. One Sixth Society met the Korean artist at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019 to talk about favorite projects, influences and the work behind a likeness.
Her credits include Blitzway’s Ghostbusters figures, the Hot Toys DX13 Terminator 2 T-800, the battle-damaged RoboCop and Star Ace’s Hermione Granger. In the interview below, she explains how long a sculpt takes, names her favorite projects and shares advice for aspiring artists.
Why K.A. Kim’s sixth-scale sculpts stand out
K.A. Kim grew up surrounded by movies and animation, including Disney classics such as Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. At 15 she began exploring scale modeling as a painter, then turned her attention to sculpting at 16. Painting came first, but sculpting became a natural extension of the same creative drive.
Her family supported that talent from the beginning, encouraging her even when she faced creative blocks. She went on to become one of the industry’s most sought-after portrait sculptors. Her Prime 1 Studio Daenerys Targaryen was among the pieces displayed at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019, where we recorded this conversation.
K.A. Kim interview: questions and answers
What are three of your favorite films?
I’m very partial to La La Land, Titanic, as well as the Terminator. Very classic Hollywood movies to me, and I love them very much.
K.A. Kim
Which of your own sculpts are your favorites?
My favorite pieces are some of the quarter-scale figures that I have had the pleasure of sculpting, mainly Blitzway’s Marilyn Monroe, as well as Hot Toy’s Quarter Scale Christian Bale Batman. I’m the proudest of those and how they ended up coming out.
K.A. Kim
How long does it take to create a sculpt?
I would say about a month and a half to two months. The longer I spend on them, the better they come out as with anything else.
K.A. Kim
Which characters would you still like to sculpt?
I’d love to work on a Terminator again. I think Arnold Schwarzenegger has a very interesting facial structure that lends itself to scale representation. That said, I’d also love to work on a Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man sculpt, as well as a Heath Ledger Joker. Both characters have been covered by other artists many times, but I’d like to give them a shot and see what I come up with.
K.A. Kim
Which figures by other artists do you admire?
I’ve always been very partial to Blitzway’s Bruce Lee and Godfather quarter scale figures, I think they came out wonderfully.
K.A. Kim
What career would you have chosen if you were not a sculptor?
I really love travel. It’s what I enjoy doing anyway when I am not sculpting, so I think it would have been nice to be something like a travel photographer. But that being said, creating something has been so core to me since I was young, it is hard for me to picture myself not sculpting or painting. I’d probably wish I was sculpting while I was doing all of that travel.
K.A. Kim
Would you like to see more women collecting and creating scale figures?
I would love to see more women begin to collect scale collectibles. Same goes for women creating scale collectibles. Regardless of gender everyone who loves this hobby is a collector. Men or Women.
K.A. Kim
What advice do you have for aspiring sculptors and painters?
First and foremost, you have to do something that you love. That has always been the most important thing to me, and I firmly believe that if you love something it is easier to get very good at it. Next, you must not try to impress anyone but yourself. Push yourself, but go at your own pace and style, don’t allow others to influence your upbringing with negativity. Of course, while doing this you need to be trying your absolute best – give it 100 percent at all times. At the end of the day when you look at something and can say “that was me, I made that” it allows for a sense of accomplishment unlike any other.
K.A. Kim
Do you have any final words for One Sixth Society readers?
I really just wanted to say how much I appreciate the people who love and support my work, it means so much to me. I will continue to paint and sculpt as long as I possibly can, and I am looking forward to being able to share that with the people who supported me for a very long time.
K.A. Kim
Follow K.A. Kim’s work
At the time of this interview, K.A. Kim was working exclusively with Blitzway, with more projects on the way. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram for her latest sculptures, paintings, and project photos. You can also explore more Hot Toys news and collector coverage from One Sixth Society.
Special thanks to Blitzway founder Won Choi for helping organize this interview with K.A. Kim.
