Amin Abbas Dubai

Japanese sculptor Akihito created sculptures and worked as a Special Effects Makeup Artist for popular movies such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Deadpool 2 and Alice in Wonderland.

Speaking to Arab News Japan, Akihito said he moved to the United States in 2002 and felt it was the one place where he could “shine” despite his lack of knowledge in the English language.

“Creating art is my way of being myself. My goal is to create pieces that can surprise, captivate, and excite the hearts of even the most uninterested people,” he said.

Akihito explained he developed his interest in sculpting at the age of 22. “I became serious about sculpting when I moved to the US, because there were many talented sculptors around me in the entertainment business,” he said.

The Japanese sculptor won the first prize for Avant-Garde category in the annual competition event at the 1999 International Make-up Artist Trade Show, California USA. He won three successive victories for Special Effects Make-up Artists Championship Japan.

“The first big movie in the US I worked on was the movie HULK in 2002, which is the first CGI movie for the HULK. I sculpted the starfish they used in the beginning scene. My favorite and most memorable work was ALIEN vs PREDATOR because I designed and sculpted the ¼ size Queen Alien for it,” he added.

Akihito said his work was not without challenges as he faced some during his projects.

“When I was working on the Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant movie, the director was really picky, and it took four other sculptors and myself three months to get an approval from him. Back then, it wasn’t fun, but now I look back at it as a good memory,” he told Arab News Japan.

Akihito also looks to Japanese anime and manga for inspiration, citing Dragon Ball, Rokudenashi Blues & specially Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken) as some of his favorite series.

He said it was because he “learned Karate for almost 9 years, at the same time that the manga was very popular during my generation. I was interested in drawing my own macho characters.”

Regarding his upcoming projects, Akihito said: “I don’t have any jobs for movies now because of the coronavirus situation. But I am creating a small, ½ size ‘Nephila (Spider lady)’ and 1/3size version of ‘Statue of Peace.’ I hope to exhibit them at some exhibition soon. Also, a new bust size predator is coming soon from Cool props. I don’t have any promises about that & I hope you can see my work soon.”