Statues of Blizzard
While many people know about the Orc, this is just one of our many statues, including two other permanent displays. As both employees and fans of these statues, we wanted to share their origin stories with you.
Fun Facts
- BlizzCon visitors have had a chance to see many of our statues when they visit the Anaheim Convention Center.
- A new trend is to also offer a smaller version of our large statues as a collectible!
Permanent Statues
Kerrigan, Queen of Blades
A bronze version of this Kerrigan statue, built in 2008, stands outside of the Blizzard offices in Versailles, France. She stands 14 feet tall—appropriately intimidating for the queen of the Zerg.
Statue created by Steve Wang
Sculptors: Steve Wang, Tully Summers, Casey Love, Russ Lukich and Anthony Pina
Moldshop supervisor: Johnnie Saiko Espiritu
Mold Maker: Brian Goehring
Mechanical/light FX dept: Guy Himber and Terry Sandin
Lab techs/fabrication/seaming dept: Andy Chavez, Ricky Luevano, Darnell Isom, Alex Sanchez, Roberto Molina, Heather O'Boyle and Ken Rizzo Hair: Diana Yoo
Costuming: Vanessa Mi Kyung Lee
Costume aging: Nick Carpenter
Painting dept: Steve Wang, Casey Love, Ricky Luevano, Darnell Isom and Andy Chavez
Base created by: Mike McGee and staff of Alex in Wonderland
Base Armature: Mike McGee, Patrick Chitty and Tony GrowLight Fixtures: Mike McGee, Patrick Chitty and Tony Grow
Base Sculpture: Ross Tallent and Mike McGee
i thi Base painted and weathered by: Ross Tallent and Mike McGee
Arthas, The Lich King
2016 marked the 25th anniversary of the founding of Blizzard Entertainment; and what better way to celebrate this epic milestone, than by casting one of the company’s most iconic characters in a 14 foot, 4,000 pound, truly one-of-a-kind statue. Located on the Calligraphy Greenway in Taichung, Taiwan, this bronze portrayal of the Lich King Arthas Menethil wasn’t created just to commemorate an anniversary, but also to recognize and celebrate the incredible Taiwanese gaming community..
We wanted to give the world the most iconic character in the Blizzard universe… it took an army comprising some of the most talented people in this industry to pull it off.
The Orc
After over a year of intense work, the 12 foot tall, 2 ton bronze orc warrior now stands watch in the courtyard of Blizzard Entertainment’s Irvine campus. Read our in-depth article for more.
Life-sized Statues
Sylvanas, The Banshee Queen
Though we’ve heard the rumor that actual vertebrae were used for her statue’s bow, we’re sorry to disappoint—they’re just excellent facsimiles of the real thing.
Steve Wang – co-founder Alliance Studio, Sculptor/Art Director
Eddie Yang – co-founder Alliance Studio
Mike Deak - Shop producer/coordinator
Cleve Gunderman - Construction Supervisor
Miyo Nakamura - Art Director/sculptor
Kevin Yan - Sculptor
Tristan Del Giudice - Sculptor
Albert Chen - Digital
Matt Rom - Digital
Xander Smith - Digital
Mauricio Ruiz - Digital
Julie Shah - Digital
Jason Wang - Digital
Erick De La Vega - Paint
Chris Zega - Paint
Thomas Floutz - Paint
David Genoshe - Shop
Yong Lee - Shop
Richard Arguijo - Shop
Kyle Marzigliano - Shop
Camille Smolucha - Shop/Eyes
Cindy Duong - Shop
Aina O’Kane - Fabrication/Wardrobe
Denise Baer - Hair
Brie Ford - Silicone Seaming
Alexis Iacono - Purchaser
Norma Preciado - Office
Colossal Tracer, Pharah, Genji.
Read more about assembling the giants and watch the video.
Steve Wang – co-founder Alliance Studio, Art Direction
Eddie Yang – co-founder Alliance Studio
Mike Deak - Shop producer/coordinator/Electronics
Cleve Gunderman - Construction Supervisor
Chad Waters - Project Coordinator
Albert Chen - Digital
Tim Min - Digital
Aimon Akhtar - Digital
Jon McPhalen - Electronic Programming
Tianna Atwood - Paint
Miyo Nakamura - Paint
Camille Smolucha - Paint
Amber Bleich - Shop
Cristina Himiob - Shop
Rodolfo Fajardo - Shop
David Genoshe - Shop
Louie Shirase - Shop
Yong Lee - Shop
Cameron Martin - Shop
Tristan Del Giudice - Shop
Nick Benson and the crew of e-gads! Las Vegas who created the oversized boxes.
Oversized Gorehowl
The structure of the axe was made by creating a custom steel support frame that was embedded into a series of CNC foam carved panels. The foam was then coated in a hard coat polyurea material. The final finish was created using a combination of airbrushed and hand-painted techniques. The finished creation stands 15 feet tall and weighs just over 450 pounds.
As excitement mounted for the launch of Warlords of Draenor, we unleashed an epic spectacle in New York City’s Times Square on November 11 & 12, 2014. To herald the arrival of the Iron Horde, we slashed one of the city's iconic Yellow Cabs in half with a giant version of Grommash Hellscream’s battle axe, Gorehowl. The display caused quite a commotion, garnering coverage across the world.
Gorehowl Axe fabricated by Atomic Props
Environmental Base fabricated by Rebel Scenery
Life Size Tracer Statue
For her chronal accelerator chest feature, a special multi-layered projection screen and animation were created to emulate a hologram effect. A great deal of research and prototyping using new materials led to the printing of numerous 3D models to house all the different size mirrors and lens configurations. This effort corrected the projector’s short-throw keystone effect and resulted in an animated holographic feature of the proper brightness and clarity.
Tracer was built using urethane resin, fiberglass, steel, leather, PETG, spandex, shock cords, electrical wiring, LED lighting, dental acrylic, and magnets. She stands about 6’6”, and weighs just over 200 pounds.
Steve Wang – co-founder Alliance Studio, Art Direction
Eddie Yang – co-founder Alliance Studio
Mike Deak - Shop producer/coordinator/Electronics
Cleve Gunderman - Construction Supervisor
Albert Chen - Digital
Tim Min - Digital
Jon McPhalen - Electronic Programming
Tianna Atwood - Paint
Miyo Nakamura - Paint
Camille Smolucha - Paint/Eyes
Vanessa Lee - Costume
Jason Wang - Chrono Accelerator Multi Plane Video Projection
Amber Bleich - Shop
Cristina Himiob - Shop
Rodolfo Fajardo - Shop
David Genoshe - Shop
Yong Lee - Shop
Cameron Martin - Shop
Grommash Hellscream
Statues are usually carved out of foam, but Grommash was fully sculpted from clay onto the base, making him the equivalent of two statues in size. His build team created him with fiberglass, silicone, aluminum, human and yak hair, clay, wood, plastics, resins, leather, paints, assorted electronics, and an industrial humidifier. Grommash stands 8’6” high and weighs 450 pounds.
- Glowing blood was created with layers of translucent resins and internally lit.
- Bubbles in the blood pools were handmade out of vacuform plastic spheres.
- Authentic deer sinew was used for thread to sew Grommash's leather clothing. The plates sewn on his tasset and all other armor parts were forged out of real metal.
Steve Wang – co-founder Alliance Studio, Sculptor/Art Director
Eddie Yang – co-founder Alliance Studio
Mike Deak - Shop producer/coordinator/Electronics
Cleve Gunderman - Construction Supervisor
Joey Orosco - Sculptor
Matt Rose - Sculptor
Brian Wade - Sculptor
Miyo Nakamura - Sculptor
Albert Chen - Digital
Casey Love - Paint
Thomas Floutz - Paint
Jon McPhalen - Electronic Programming
Denise Baer - Hair
Kazu Okada - Hair styling
Aina O’Kane - Fabrication/Wardrobe
Jurgen Heimann - Engineering
Christina Himiob -welding tech
Mike Pack - Eyes
Jason Wang - Shop
David Genoshe - Shop
Spif Zaya - Shop
Noreen Mason - Shop
Cameron Martin - Shop
Tianna Atwood - Shop
Laura Palazzolo - Shop
Rola Chen - Shop
Heidi Mistic - Shop
Tyrael, Archangel of Justice
Tyrael was crafted from fiberglass, silicon, silk, urethane, aluminum, chainmail, heatshrink, lexan, wood, chromoly steel, carbon fiber, kevlar, glass, paint, electronics and lights. He stands 14 feet tall and weighs about 700 pounds.
- Metal ornamentation on the base was made of aluminum plate and cut with water.
- Approximately 14,400 LEDs were used to light Tyrael's wings
- According to Steve Wang, Tyrael was by far the most complicated statue he’s created for Blizzard—and it was completed in six weeks.
- The costume’s embroidery was made of superfine high-grade gold silk.
- The lights in Tyrael’s wings are computer controlled to simulate random bursts of energy.
Statue created by Steve Wang
Sculptors: Steve Wang, Brian Wade, Otto Marlow, Dragan Radich
Moldshop Supervisor: Cleve Gunderman
Mold Makers: A.J. Venuto, David Booke, Tony Grow, Gary Pawlowski
Mechanical/light FX dept: Jon McPhaelen, Michael Deak
Lab techs: Heidi Mistic, Tianna Atwood, Jessie Fohrman, Aubriana Zurilgen, Mike Wang, Yong Lee
Costuming: Ina O'Kane, Desiree Soto-Vaughn
Painting dept: Erik De La Vega, Noreen Mason,
Base created by: Steve Wang and above crew
Jim Raynor
The Jim Raynor statue stands 8’6” tall and weighs about 400 pounds. Built using fiberglass, silicon, rubber hosing, steel, human hair, acrylic, paint, wood, plastics, steel armature, and bondo, this statue included a few steps that were out of the ordinary:
- In order to sculpt Jim’s face accurately, his head was projected onto the raw materials using in-game graphics.
- Jim’s hair is human hair, with each piece hand-punched and placed individually. His beard was also hand-punched, then shaved down to stubble.
- The lights on his back thrusters were programmed to change color from blue to red, to simulate the thrusters getting hot.
- Height - 8.5'
Weight - 400 pounds
Statue created by Steve Wang
Sculptors: Steve Wang
Moldshop supervisor: Allan Holt
Mold Makers: Noreen Mason, Heidi Mistic, Johnnie Saiko Espirito, Tony Grow, Laura Palazzolo, Robin Yannoukos, Jaime Siska
Mechanical/light FX dept: Jon McPhaelen
Lab techs: Heidi Mistic, Tianna Atwood, Jessie Fohrman, Aubriana Zurilgen, Mike Wang, Yong Lee
Hair: Gnoc Mai Teng
Painting dept: Noreen Mason, Steve Wang, Tony Grow
Base created by: Mike McGee and staff of Alex in Wonderland
Kerrigan, Queen of Blades
The original fiberglass Kerrigan statue was built in 2008, and was crafted with silicon, aluminum, acrylic, paint, wood, plastics, latex, and bondo. She stands 14 feet tall, and is exactly as imposing and terrifying as Kerrigan should be. She’s even accompanied by realistic creep effects.
Statue created by Steve Wang
Sculptors: Steve Wang, Tully Summers, Casey Love, Russ Lukich and Anthony Pina
Moldshop supervisor: Johnnie Saiko Espiritu
Mold Maker: Brian Goehring
Mechanical/light FX dept: Guy Himber and Terry Sandin
Lab techs/fabrication/seaming dept: Andy Chavez, Ricky Luevano, Darnell Isom, Alex Sanchez, Roberto Molina, Heather O'Boyle and Ken Rizzo Hair: Diana Yoo
Costuming: Vanessa Mi Kyung Lee
Costume aging: Nick Carpenter
Painting dept: Steve Wang, Casey Love, Ricky Luevano, Darnell Isom and Andy Chavez
Base created by: Mike McGee and staff of Alex in Wonderland
Base Armature: Mike McGee, Patrick Chitty and Tony GrowLight Fixtures: Mike McGee, Patrick Chitty and Tony Grow
Base Sculpture: Ross Tallent and Mike McGee
Base painted and weathered by: Ross Tallent and Mike McGee
Illidan, The Betrayer
Illidan is crafted from fiberglass, silicon, aluminum, acrylic, paint, wood, plastics, latex, bondo. He is a bit shorter than Kerrigan, but stands at 12 feet tall and weighs about 400 pounds. In order to simulate his fel effects, Illidan’s body was painted with UV paint and illuminated by black light. His wings are made of layers of translucent material, making them appear more natural and lifelike.
Sculptors: Steve Wang, Tully Summers, Casey Love, Russ Lukich & Anthony Pina
Moldshop supervisor: Johnnie Saiko Espiritu
Mold Maker: Brian Goehring
Mechanical/light FX dept: Guy Himber &Terry Sandin
Lab techs/fabrication/seaming dept: Andy Chavez, Ricky Luevano, Darnell Isom, Alex Sanchez, Roberto Molina, Heather O'Boyle & Ken Rizzo
Hair: Diana Yoo
Costuming: Vanessa Mi Kyung Lee
Costume aging: Nick Carpenter
Painting dept: Steve Wang, Casey Love, Ricky Luevano, Darnell Isom & Andy Chavez
Base created by: Mike McGee & staff of Alex in Wonderland
Base Armature: Mike McGee, Patrick Chitty and Tony GrowLight Fixtures: Mike McGee, Patrick Chitty and Tony Grow
Base Sculpture: Ross Tallent and Mike McGee
Base painted and weathered by: Ross Tallent and Mike McGee
Nova
November "Nova" Terra was built in statue form in 2005. Built with fiberglass, silicon, aluminum, acrylic, paint, wood, plastics, latex, and bondo, she was put together by Steve Wang’s epic team. Height: '9.5
Statue created by Steve Wang
Sculptors: Steve Wang, Don Lanning
Moldshop supervisor: Johnnie Saiko Espiritu
Mold Maker: Hill Vinot
Lighting: Terry Sandin
Hair: Diana Yoo
Painting dept: Steve Wang
Base created by: Wyatt Weed
Dwarf
The Dwarf, created in 2002, was Blizzard’s first statue. Standing 9 feet tall, the dwarf was our first step into the world of statues. He’s made of latex, foam, and wood, and he—like Jim Raynor—has hand-punched hair for both his eyebrows and beard. His gun was custom-built by a toy manufacturer.
Created by Schell Sculpture Studio for E3 2002
Designed by Sam "Samwise" Didier
Moving the Statues
Many of our statues take a trip to BlizzCon each year or make moves between Blizzard buildings, which requires the talents of a professional logistics company for each move. Somewhere between 4-8 movers carefully disassemble each statue to safely transport them in large trucks, and then reassemble them at the new location. A small crew from Alliance Studio assists with the set up and teardown, including finishing repairs in case any minor damage occurs during transport.
Azeroth Choppers
Legendary custom motorcycle designer Paul Jr. assembled two handpicked teams of bike experts to bring to life a pair of asphalt-kicking chopper designs inspired by World of Warcraft's two warring faction. Read more.
Alliance Chopper
ENGINE: S and S 113 Motor
TRANSMISSION: Baker RSD 6-Speed
PAINT: NUB Graphics
CHROME: Chrome Masters
WHEELS: PJD/Renegade
Materials used: Steel, Aluminum, Wood
Dimensions: ~ 11ft Long, rear wheel base 5ft wide
Weight: ~ 700 lbs
Created by Paul jr designs for the web series Azeroth Choppers
Dates of Construction: February 10th, 2014 – March 23, 2014
Original Design by: Paul Jr. Designs
Paul Jr Team Alliance: Joe Thompson, Brendon Thompson, Pete Spinning
Blizzard Team: Chris Metzen, Monte Krol, Terran Gregory
Horde Chopper
ENGINE: Crazy Horse V-Plus 100ci
TRANSMISSION: Baker RSD 6-Speed
PAINT: NUB Graphics
CHROME: Chrome Masters
WHEELS: PJD/Renegade
Materials used: Steel, Aluminum, Copper and leather
Dimensions: ~ 12ft Long, ~3’ wide at handlebars
Weight: ~ 700 lbs
Created by Paul jr designs for the web series Azeroth Choppers
Dates of Construction: February 10th, 2014 – March 23, 2014
Original Design by: Paul Jr. Designs Paul Jr
Team Horde: Dan Sterantino, Cody Conelly, Mel Stultz
Blizzard Team: Samwise Didier, Gary Platner and Jason Hutchins
Statue Interview: Brian Fay & Brianne Loftis
In our quest to learn more about Blizzard statues, we sat down for an interview with Brian Fay (Senior Sculptor) and Brianne Loftis (Creative Development Producer). They gave us more details about what goes into creating these masterpieces.
Grommash was modeled after a smaller statue I made here at Blizzard. Alliance Studio scanned the statue and built a steel armature [Ed. Note: a framework around which the sculpture is built] to work on top of. From there, they added a foam block out and started cutting out Grommash’s shape. Lastly, the sculptors added clay on top of the foam, which let them put in all the details that brought the sculpture to life.
I did an Arthas figure for the World of Warcraft action figure line, and that inspired the pose for the bronze Arthas. We supplied Alliance with a digital model as a guide to all the armor shape language, which also helped them create the steel armature. From there, they sculpted the entire statue from scratch, with every single detail painstakingly done by hand. It was awe-inspiring to watch. They cast the finished parts in wax, which is then molded in a special process as part of the lost-wax casting used to make bronze statues. Sculptors melt the wax out of the mold, leaving a void into which they cast molten bronze. After cooling, they chip off the molds, and cleanup and assembly begins.
Sylvanas was also created with a combination of digital and traditional sculpting. I worked off a digital model provided by Jason Huang on our cinematic team; we saved time by using the same model, but needed to adjust certain details for the life-size statue, which has a bigger palette to work with. The sculptors used real cloth, leather, silicone and hair to bring her to life. We especially wanted to make sure she had flowing hair, and Alliance found a way to pull it off flawlessly. It wasn’t an easy task. We started work on Tracer with a posed digital model that we 3D-printed and cleaned up. Then, we placed fabric and leather over the printed parts for a more realistic look—her leather jacket even has wear and tear! All those details are applied by hand at Alliance Studio with the Overwatch team giving feedback in person.
I’d also like to help build a life-size Treasure Goblin from Diablo standing atop his heap of treasure. This one’s a bit more realistic to produce, and it’d be extremely fun to see.
The Raynor statue has a circle around his head for fire clearance. The development team had to change their lobby to accommodate him.