The Orc statue at Blizzard headquarters

The first thing visitors do as they walk through the gates to Blizzard’s Irvine facility is head to the Orc statue. The statue, a monument that Blizzard cherishes with all its soul, is a popular meeting point, as well as the star of corporate events, social media posts, and countless photos and selfis!

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«Create a memorable sculpture of a fearsome orc warrior from Warcraft mounted on a wolf ». That was the challenge that Blizzard posed to New Zealander Weta Workshop. After more than a year of hard work, the 3.65 meter, 2 ton bronze orc warrior was ready to begin his watch on the grounds of Blizzard Entertainment’s Irvine offices.

Creation

First things first: modeling

A team in New Zealand examined the original 12-inch figurine and developed a virtual 3D model from it.

Next step: details, details and more details

The 3D model was shipped to a manufacturing facility in China, where artists sculpted, molded, cast, waxed, bronzed, welded, and polished to turn the virtual design into a 3.65-meter-tall real statue. .

Last but not least: transportation

The massive sculpture was transported from China to Irvine using a custom-built steel mobile platform and cargo container, and then installed using a crane.

Anecdotes:

• The sculpture was designed with a mechanical joint, so that it could be separated into two pieces for transport.
• The sculpture is made of bronze with a high copper content, so the raw metal has a salmon pink color.
• The statue, in Irvine, is surrounded by a compass with runes whose cardinal points can be read Blizzard’s eight core values.
• Additionally, on the occasion of the game’s 10th anniversary, Blizzard gave away a version of this statue to the players of World of Warcraft who had been playing for 10 years.

Orc and Wolf Statue Credits

• Designed by: Nick Carpenter, Sam Didier and Glenn Rane
• Sculpted by: Eden Small, Richard Taylor and Daniel Cockersell
• Manufactured by: WETA Limited

Source: BLIZZ

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