In the artists corner of Comic Con, one will discover some of the best gems out there. Haminal is one of those sparkling gems that involves spam and plush. The creator of Haminal, Crystal Chesney-Thompson was kind enough to tell us more about her adorable character.
Girls Entertianmetn Network: Can you tell us a little about yourself and what it is you do?
Crystal Chesney-Thompson: I am an artist, currently working at Rough Draft Studios and will be directing four episodes of the upcoming season of Futurama. I am an animator at heart, as I love bringing characters to life and I am very excited to direct on Futurama, as I am so familiar with those characters from working on 2 seasons of the show as well as the DVDs. I always loved animated films, like the Disney Classics and Warner Bros. Shorts.
I am also a part of the Girls Drawin’ Girls project, which is a group of female artists in the animation industry, who publish books of our own.
I was about 13 when I realized that people actually made a career out of creating these films and I immediately knew that was what I wanted to do for a living. In my off hours (besides drawing) I like to train in Martial arts and running ( I just did my first half marathon and I’m training for another)…
GEN: How did you come up with the character Haminal?
CCT: It was actually at a Martial arts training camp in New Hampshire, that I came up with Haminal. It is a
tradition, within this group, to roast canned ham over the fire once a year. We were all tired and acting silly and started joking about where the stuff could possibly come from.. obviously not a real pig. I started describing a little square animal that fit perfectly into the can and did a little drawing right there. Haminal’s design has not changed much at all from that first fireside sketch. I made T-shirts for my martial arts friends and when we started wearing them around, I realized I had something. People wanted to know where to get one, and if there were toys and books to go with it. I figured I had to take the next step and one idea snowballed into the next.. and the Haminal line will continue to grow.
GEN: Do you make one yourself first and then go to a company to produce them?
CCT: To produce the plush toys, I do sketches of the character from many angles and provide measurements to the company that produces a prototype. Then I take the prototype image into Photoshop and make my adjustments and revisions until my desired level of cuteness is achieved.
GEN: He is so soft and adorable. Do you plan on making any vinyl versions of the ham family?
CCT: I would LOVE to see the Haminal family as small vinyl toys. It is definitely something I would like to do in the long run, but I have plans for a few more plush characters and another book or two before I take the plunge into vinyl toys.
GEN: Have you had any vegan Haminal requests?
CCT: I never had a specific audience in mind for Haminal, I just created something I thought was cute and funny. Amazingly, it seems that Haminal crosses many boundaries . Meat eaters love that he is a cute meat product and I am pleased that vegetarians and vegans seem to appreciate Haminal as a cute little animal that makes a better pet than food. Children love that Haminal is cute, fuzzy and fun to smoosh into the can. Adults love the humorous aspect of this adorable plush and his slightly twisted world.
GEN: What can we expect to see in the future from Haminal?
CCT: I am working on a Tuna Fish plush to release at Comic Con next year and I am finishing the second book as we speak. I am also working on web content for haminal.com. I am not sure where the Haminal line is headed, but I intend to continue listening to my fans to find out what they would like to see next.
Obviously we only talked about her booth for Haminal at ComicCon but she is a very talented artist. We want to thank Chelsey for taking the time in answering our questions. Definitely go pick up one of these little pork cubes at her website. Haminal is affordable at $15 and comes in an informative nutritional package.
August 5th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Why does this make me hungry?
August 5th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Hahaha those Haminals are too cute!
August 6th, 2009 at 6:19 am
LOL - I love the vegan question! That thing is freakin’ adorable. WANT.
August 8th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
How did I miss these at the con? They are great!!