| 3D-rendering of the complete collection of Wormworld Saga Digital Action Figures.

The Wormworld Saga Digital Action Figures

n early 2021, I started a rather peculiar project. I put together a collection of virtual Wormworld Saga Action Figures, completely with accessories and presented in authentic packaging. The aesthetics of the project were heavily influenced by the classic Star Wars action figures, produced by Kenner, that I collected as a kid. I actually put as much energy into designing the cards for the packaging as I put into the figures themselves and the result was a collection that looks so authentic that I often have to explain that these action figures do not really exist. They are only a fantasy that satisfies a specific part of my soul. I enjoy looking at these action figures a great deal and with this article I want to shed some light on how they came to be and hopefully share some of my joy with you.

A Brief History of Reference Models

The action figures didn’t appear out of thin air. If you had the chance to read through my Making Of articles, you know that for many years I have used 3D models in the production of the Wormworld Saga. At first, I used only models for architectural elements. Any figures that appeared in those models were heavily simplified, mostly put together with cones and spheres. Later I transitioned to using boxy human silhouettes and during the production of Chapter 9 I used very roughly sculpted figures that weren't posable. The breakthrough happened during the production of Chapter 10. For the scene with the King and Princess Vena in the palace garden arcades, I created the first set of articulated reference figures that were of great help for planning the interaction between the characters. I could derive so much valuable information from the reference figures that I set a goal to create a set of reference figures for all my main characters.

The Wormworld Saga Digital Action Figures Collection

In 2021, a weird phenomenon appeared in the global digital art scene. Blockchain technology was used to tokenize digital artworks and sell them as unique items on new platforms that popped up everywhere. Non-fungible tokens or NFTs were the craze for a few months and people actually paid money to buy digital image or video files. It led me to an experiment in which I took one of my reference figures and created a virtual action figure from it. I offered the action figure or, more precisely, a turntable animation of the packaged action figure, as an NFT and it actually got sold. That kicked off a whole series of figures for which I first used the existing reference figures of my main characters and later created figures specifically for the purpose of completing my collection.

The NFT hype ended pretty swiftly and that was actually a good thing. It turned out that NFTs had a very questionable effect on energy consumption and a lot of grifts and scams developed within the NFT space. When I was working on my second batch of figures, the market had already collapsed. However, I was hooked on my virtual collection of action figures and I didn’t need the prospect of sales to spur me on. I wanted to complete a collection of at least 12 figures from the Wormworld Saga and that’s what I did.

Grand Finale Dioramas

I completed my collection by creating two decorative dioramas. The first one featured the Wanderer action figure, riding the Olynx and the second one was a recreation of Jonas’ unfortunate encounter with the Draconia from Chapter 3. I had so much fun designing these little scenes as they effectively transported me into my imaginary world. From this point on I really craved getting closer to my characters and the world they were living in. The collection of Wormworld Saga Digital Action Figures was completed but my overall process of recreating characters and other elements of the Wormworls Saga in 3D was kicked into high gear.

The Collection Keeps Growing

After the completion of the action figure project I set up a general workbench scene for all the Wormworld Saga reference models that I had created up to that point. To immerse myself even deeper in the fantasy of my own figure workshop, I created a background environment from a 360 degrees photo of my studio that surrounds the workbench scene. My first step, when I started the production of Chapter 11, was to create models of all main characters that were going to appear in that chapter. The same will be true for future chapters from now on.

I’m also eager to create figures of characters that have already appeared in the Wormworld Saga but won’t be needed for production purposes in the foreseeable future. My first step into that direction was the creation of figures of Theo and Laura from the 10th Anniversary Special Chapter. It would also be great to have figures of Egon, Granny and Wiggins the cat. And don’t get me started on virtual playsets! I’d love to recreate Jonas’ classroom, the kitchen in Grannie's house, THE ATTIC! Well, I guess in the end I’m still the 12-year-old who collects action figures of his favorite movie characters. And the collection can’t possibly be too big.