Taipei Movie Toy Expo: "Sacred Aeon" Taiwan Original Creators Sharing and IP Collaboration Launch — Witnessing the Charm and Effort of Taiwanese Originality

Text and photo editing: Snow Monkey

Yesterday (the 27th), at the Taipei Movie Toy Expo stage area, "Sacred Aeon" invited creators including figure sculptors, illustrators, novelists, original IP (Intellectual Property) teams, and brand development and IP collaboration partners to share their creative experience and insights, followed by live on-stage drawing by veteran comic artists Liao Wen-pin and Chen Chih-lung.

Group photo of the launch event participants

A lucky draw gave away prizes including the "Mahjong Battle Princess: Scarlet Flash" figure

In the figure-sculpting field, guests included Chiang Chia-ching (PKKING), sculptor of the "Nine Heavens Heng" series; veteran installation art builder Wang Cheng-wei; Lu Feng-shan, creator of lifelike dinosaurs and creatures; JS Star, creator of crayfish and other creature figures; Silver Falls Star Traveler, multi-project original figure creator; Future Fantasy Park, maker of original 12-inch figures blending sci-fi mechanics with street fashion; and Yu Chih-ming, whose mech models reflect contemporary issues.

Many of them did not start out in figure making. Lu Feng-shan came from a business background and turned professional after sculpting sparked his interest; Future Fantasy Park studied economics before turning his hobby into a career, and his original IP is now heading to Japan.

Future Fantasy Park: the "Future Zodiac" series

Creators including Chiang Chia-ching and Wang Cheng-wei noted that the skills of figure sculpting are inseparably tied to both 2D drawing and 3D form. Veteran comic artist Chen Chih-lung, sharing his teaching experience, pointed out that multimedia curricula likewise need to build up from 2D drawing before moving gradually into three-dimensional creation.

Beyond experience and technique, sculpting also demands extensive research before the hands get to work. Lu Feng-shan collected piles of dinosaur references and studied the dinosaurs of the film "Jurassic Park," while JS Star, as an "ecological artist," works from field observation and from collecting specimens and raising creatures — the exhibition included a head sculpt based on an actual prehensile-tailed skink.

In the illustration and fiction fields, the guests included veteran comic artists Liao Wen-pin and Chen Chih-lung, fantasy novelist Yefeiye and illustrator FUFU, and Wei Chang, an illustrator working in a realistic fantasy style.

Liao Wen-pin performed a hand-drawing of a character from his book "The Apostle." Hard as it is to imagine, an ordinary rag and a water spray, paired with the artist's brush, brought a vivid ink-wash character slowly to life on paper — showing the philosophy he conveys through his pen: "People are born exploring the world with their eyes; I see the world through my pen, and use it to tell the world my intent." A key character from "The Apostle" will also be made into a figure by "Sacred Aeon."

Liao Wen-pin's live drawing (see 0:46–1:20 in the video)

Chen Chih-lung also drew a character from "Chinese Paladin 2" live on stage. Now also teaching in Da-Yeh University's multimedia program, he spoke of wanting to bring industry experience into the curriculum to realize true "industry-academia integration," adding that Taiwanese students' technique is excellent, but their "storytelling ability" is comparatively lacking.

Chen Chih-lung's live drawing

Yefeiye and FUFU are brothers — Yefeiye writes the novels, FUFU handles the illustrations. Yefeiye said that what matters most in a novel is "the spirit of the work," and presenting it to readers without distortion is the goal he keeps striving toward.

FUFU used two works to explain how he loves conveying a story or theme to viewers through his paintings. The first, "Infinity," uses a sense of space to conjure different emotional imaginings:

The second, "Phantasm," depicts the characters Bloody Abyss and Lycoris, using symmetry to present a contrast of light and darkness. Director Chen of "Sacred Aeon" said that when he first saw "Phantasm," the image seemed to hold a magic that kept his eyes fixed for a full five minutes. After extended discussions, he was delighted to announce on the spot: "Phantasm" is confirmed for a three-dimensional figure release.

Exhibiting his complete works in Taiwan for the first time, fine-arts graduate Wei Chang caught this writer's eye with a text-free original image shown during the event. At first glance I was quite sure it must be bonus art for something like "Romance of the Three Kingdoms 13 Power-Up Kit" — but when the answer was revealed, it was actually the cover of a junior high Chinese literature textbook:

Wei Chang explained that the image was originally meant to echo the textbook's account of the Empty Fort Strategy from Luo Guanzhong's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (the chapter where Ma Su loses Jieting and Zhuge Liang repels Sima Yi with his zither). Believing a picture could spark students' interest in reading more stories of Zhuge Liang and the Three Kingdoms, he discussed it with Hanlin Publishing editor Chen Kuan-chieh and built the character around the familiar image of the "feather fan and silk kerchief," composing the Battle of Red Cliffs — hoping readers would gaze at the image and imagine the famous line about enemy ships turning to ash and smoke amid easy laughter, then go on to read the related stories and classical texts.

Bonus: the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (the second-semester textbook cover; the "Chinese 3" lettering was the artist's own composite test)

Interviewed by this site after the event, Wei Chang shared his creative insights, teaching experience, and outlook. For those hoping to work in illustration, he said the first step is to build fundamentals solidly — don't start by scheming how to get famous fast. As practice accumulates, the pursuit of technique should shift from concrete appearances toward intangibles like the flow of air and composition. Second is sensitivity to commercial demand: he doesn't deny that real-life financial pressure exists, and alongside commissions a stable day job may still be needed for support — but a keen sense of where commercial demand is heading helps enormously, both in taking commissions and in choosing the direction of your own technical growth.

Asked about the original heart of his creation, he echoed what many sculptors had said: "A good work needs little setup or explanation for people to sense the creator's ideas and its charm." His own work aims to convey fun and joy through various "easter eggs," so viewers find different pleasures every time they look — like rereading the same comic in a different mood and gaining new insight each time.

Twilight Dance — can you guess the special idea tucked inside? (Mysterious voice: the answer lies where you follow your desire)

He gave the example of an illustration he painted on a whim after his computer crashed. At first glance it may look like a female soldier in a future world bracing against an enemy attack — but look again and notice the "error" window at the bottom, and it feels strangely familiar to anyone whose computer has frozen. Through such touches, he hopes his paintings are never just a beautiful subject or scene: the image is the story, and viewers can keep unearthing details and delights, listening for the soul unique to each creation and its one-of-a-kind meaning.

Looking ahead, Wei Chang has two directions he wants to try. The first is drawing nourishment from mythology to stage duels between different characters — perhaps classic showdowns from the same story, perhaps a grand melee across time and space.

Wei Chang's earlier take on the "Valkyrja"

The second is absorbing the charm of characters through fan works and folding in his own ideas. Take Tornado from "One-Punch Man": in his hands, the "Terrible Tornado" becomes the "Gifting Tornado," and the wind she stirs at Christmas becomes a wind of cheer and good tidings — a completely different experience of the character.

He also quietly revealed his current interest in the characters of "Overwatch," hoping for the chance to dress them in a different look — especially alluring poses no one has imagined.

What did this writer just see — bring me a liter of eye drops!!

Since 2011, the original IP team "Retreat Λ" has built from post-apocalyptic fantasy themes, working across film, novels, games, animation, and figures to create truly captivating original IP. At the venue they set up the currently trendy VR games for visitors to try, and "Sacred Aeon" simultaneously announced it would join hands with "Retreat Λ" to release related figures.

"Retreat Λ" original character: Phantom Hunter — Yukinae

Host "Sacred Aeon," beyond unveiling the collaboration figure projects mentioned above, also announced several figure collaborations with famous Japanese IPs at the venue — including the classic tokusatsu series "Ultraman" (ウルトラマン), "The King of Fighters" (ザ・キング・オブ・ファイターズ), and "Fist of the North Star" (北斗の拳).

"Sacred Aeon" said this Taipei Movie Toy Expo marked their first exhibition in Taiwan, so they specially invited past collaborators and studios to exhibit together under the name "Sacred Domain Anime Alliance," hoping more people would come to know the strength and technical skill of Taiwanese original creation. They asked everyone to keep supporting the creators and "Sacred Aeon" — they will strive to release ever better work and show the world Taiwan's formidable soft power.

"Sacred Aeon's" latest figure, "Mahjong Battle Princess: Scarlet Flash"

Article reprinted from: Taipei Movie Toy Expo — "Sacred Aeon" Taiwan Original Creators Sharing and IP Collaboration Launch, Witnessing the Charm and Effort of Taiwanese Originality

"Sacred Aeon" official site, PKKing fan page, WeiChen Studio 維真工作室 fan page, Future Fantasy Park official site, Retreat Λ fan page, Silver Falls Star Traveler fan page, JS Star fan page, Yefeiye fan page, FuFu fan page