Box Play

This stuff is terrific. You can read the entire interview with the creator by going HERE.

You make all of the box costumes, right? Include us in the process!

I design the Box Heroes in AutoCAD, which is a program I learned when I worked as a draftsman for an architect. I take detailed measurements of my “heroes” and use them to draw flat shapes that can be scored, cut out, folded up, and hot glued into 3-D parts. I use big sheets of e-flute (very thin) cardboard for this and then, depending on access, either cut them out on an automatic two-axis table, or by hand. Then I sketch out the rough character design on the fully mocked-up parts and paint them using interior latex paint in an eggshell finish (to reduce glare). After all of the color is blocked in with two or three coats, I take a finer brush and add black lines to all of it. That final black lining really is the most thrilling part of all, because that’s when the character really comes to life. A lot of people think we base our art on Legos or Minimates, but we don’t and never did. Sometimes we refer to comics, but often I paint them freehand from my own memory of the characters. I should add that probably two thirds of the suits are painted by the people who wear them, so I don’t have complete control over the results.