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Career path interview with Joseph Menna

3dtotal catches up with experienced character sculptor, Jospeh Menna to discuss his career path, experiences, inspiration and the challenges of working in the digital medium.

3dtotal catches up with experienced character sculptor, Jospeh Menna to discuss his career path, experiences, inspiration and the challenges of working in the digital medium.

Please Note: all images and characters are copyright by their respective owners and used by Joseph Menna for portfolio purposes only

3dtotal: Who are you and what do you do for a job?

Joseph: I am a professional sculptor working in the toy and collectible industry. I sculpt action figures and high end collectibles for a variety of clients including DC Collectibles (DC Comics), McFarlane Toys, Gentle Giant Ltd, and many others.

Joe created this image of Darth Maul for Gentle Giant Ltd

3dtotal: What were your childhood inspirations and what's your earliest artistic memory?

Joseph: My earliest artistic memory is the cover of DCs Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, number 29 by the immortal Jack Kirby. Jack Kirby and Neal Adams are the cornerstone of my imaginative foundation and I still look to them regularly for inspiration.

I also loved all things comics, sci-fi and fantasy-related; Star Wars and classic Trek, Doctor Who, classic sci-fi and fantasy paperback covers, Dungeons and Dragons, etc... my imagination swam in those kinds of waters continuously.

I was also a huge fan of mythology including ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Arthurian legend. Still love all of these things to this day and am grateful to be able to turn to them for escape and inspiration.

This is a drawing of Marvels Guardian that Joe drew at the age of 13

3dtotal: What training have you had (if any)?

Joseph: Ive had quite a bit of training. I earned my BFA in Sculpture at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia US; my MFA in Sculpture from the New York Academy of Art in lower Manhattan; and completed my post-graduate studies in Russia in the Stieglitz Academy of Art, formerly known as the Mukhina Institute.

I supplemented all of this with studio classes at places such as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Fleischer Art Memorial, the Philadelphia Sketch Club, the Art Students League, The Sculpture Center, and others. A lot of my schooling was with a bunch of brilliant Russian ex-pat artists living in NYC and I spent about 6 years with them during and after my formal U.S. training before deciding to finish my studies in Russia. One in particular, Leonid Lerman, was a profound influence on me and it was he who gave me the direct connections to study in Russia soon after communism fell in the mid-90s.

This is a cast drawing from the Russian Academy

3dtotal: Are there any particular schools or courses that you'd recommend?

Joseph: Id recommend the Bridgeview School of Art in New York City for studies in the U.S. If you can get yourself over to Russia, I think that the Repin Institute and the Stieglitz Academy in St. Petersburg are the greatest schools in the world.

I am a firm believer in working from the live model in tandem with studying form via drawing and sculpting copies from antique casts just like its been done for centuries but when I see the kind of work that I do and compare it to kids' work, who have done nothing else but push pixels, I realize that I need to keep an open mind (Im all digital, all of the time these days so I refer only to training, not ones medium of choice).

This is a life-sized figure study


3dtotal: What was your first job in the industry and how did you get it?

Joseph: I worked as a ghost sculptor in an east coast foundry making life-sized figures and monuments for the artist that owned the place. He worked like a film director, telling me and others what he wanted done and we made it happen for him in clay, plaster, wax, and ultimately bronze and aluminum depending on the gig. I just applied at the right time when there was a vacancy and got in. The work in my portfolio from my time in Russia got me the interview and acing a traditional sculpting test got me the job.

This was a personal work of Caesar from Joes foundry years


3dtotal: What can people expect from working in the industry?

Joseph: Honestly, the foundry industry SUCKS but toys and collectibles are awesome. Im a huge geek so being able to participate in the creation of homages to some of the greatest characters in modern mythic storytelling is an awesome experience. People like me get to make stuff that people want to spend their hard-earned money on, so I dont take any gig lightly.

Marvels Mephisto made for Bowen Designs

3dtotal: What are the key things that a great portfolio must have?

Joseph: A lot of people want to work in toys and collectibles these days and it takes more than being able to sculpt muscled-up dudes in tights in fixed poses or monsters... you really need to be able to sculpt a wide range of subjects to make it in this business and I think a lot of people trying to get in are missing that in their portfolios. Student work tends to look like student work, too. Only show your best. Fewer amazing pieces are better than a lot of okay pieces in a portfolio, in my opinion.

Arkham City's Solomon Grundy made for DC Collectibles

3dtotal: Where would you like to be in five years' time?

Joseph: Still enjoying my family and still being able to take care of them by making a living doing something that Ive loved since I was born.

Detail on the Injustice Gods Among Us premium statue

3dtotal: Looking back with the benefit of your experience, are there are things you wish you had done differently, in terms of your career?

Joseph: Not wasted as much time with self doubt and second guessing. I tend to over-think things. Paralysis by analysis its poison to an artist. I also wish I hadnt struggled so much with the decision to go digital early on despite having gotten involved with it over a decade ago! For many years I was one foot in, one foot out and my development with digital media has suffered as a result. Its only now that I feel that I can really fly a bit with this stuff but even so, I try to keep a constant beginners mind and keep learning. It gets harder as you get older in my experience.

Voldemort for Gentle Giant Ltd

3dtotal: If you could give one piece of advice to people looking to break into the industry, what would it be?

Joseph: Work your ass off and be honest with yourself about the results. Nothing will blind you more than your own indulgent self satisfaction. If you climb the mountain, look for a bigger one, always thinking your best work is still ahead of you.

Joe created this image of Darth Maul for Gentle Giant Ltd

Related links

Joseph Menna's Instagram site
The Bridgeview School of Art in New York City, United States
The Repin Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia
The Stieglitz Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia

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