FOCUSED, INDUSTRY SPECIFIC CURRICULUM

As a self-taught sculptor, Martin Canale is a freelance artist whose portfolio includes work for Disney, Warner Bros. and Universal. He sculpts collectible figures, busts, dioramas and all things related to comics, anime, horror, sci-fi and fantasy.

I'm a self-learner modeller since 21. I started with drawings, copying from comic magazines such as Fierro, Zona 84, etc. I always loved character designs, so I based my creations in Chichoni, Altuna, Segrelles, Moebius, Gimenez and Bilal's works, amongst many others. But I reached to a point where drawings didn't allow me to do what I had in mind. That's when I started modelling with epoxy clay. The first pieces were based in designs of my own. This series of 8 figures was sold in a comic book store called Entelequia, between 1990/1991. At the same time I was doing these figures, and thanks to my friend Gustavo Melella, I got a job in FX for 2 years. In 1992 I decided to go on working by myself, modelling comic figures. This gave me the chance of showing my pieces to others. But, unfortunately, the local market was too small for making a living. In 1995 I made a contact with a toy company (Joc S.A.) and soon I started working as a freelancer for them, and at the same time I kept working on my figures. I also did many pieces for licences such as Disney and Warner Brothers. With time, the number of customers augmented, adding a new way of earning money: publicity (Agulla y Bacetti, Grey Argentina, Savaglio TVWA, Hermida y Asoc., etc). Nowadays, this is my principal source of income, although I keep going on with the collectable figures modelling, trying to make my own versions of comic classics. Also, I experimented with figures animation along Alejandro Fasce. Together, we made the models for "Fallas", a musical video for Todos tus Muertos, directed by Alejandra Crespo. Other works where I took part, amongst many others, include the models and the animation for Irish Coffee, a TV serie based in the comic of Trillo-Meglia, directed by Alberto Fasce. A cable control model of a beetle (Durito), with Alejandra Jorquera, Hernan Azcarate and Alejandro Fasce for the video "Dignidad Rebelde" of Javier Calamaro, directed by Diego Kaplan. Toward the end of 1996 was born Gore Group, a team of freelance artists from Argentina, created by myself. We've been in the Argentinian market working under licenses such as Disney, Warner Bros. and Universal, just to mention a few. A couple of years ago we had the chance to show our stuff to some important collectable companies in the USA, but God knows why we had to wait almost three years until Sideshow gave us a project to work on. In the meantime, we made a living sculpting collectable figures, busts, dioramas and everything related to comics, anime, horror, sci-fi and fantasy for others. Truth is we started working for USA companies not long ago, but we already had the opportunity to work with very important licenses.