J. Miguel Aparicio
The artist
Art restorer, archaeologist, and sculptor of animals that most people will never see
Signatu Studio — animal replicas by J. Miguel Aparicio
Since childhood I have been passionate about nature, and about fauna in particular. It was something my family instilled in me from the beginning, and from a very young age I was drawing, painting and modelling — and spending long stretches of the year out in the field.
For many years I worked as an art restorer and archaeologist. During that time I became interested in the world of collectible animal figures, and eventually began making my own.
Every animal starts as a study
Before any clay is touched there is a morphological study of the species: skeletal proportions, musculature, an extensive collection of photographs, video and behavioural observation. For extinct fauna, the published palaeontological record takes the place of the living animal.
A scale drawing, usually at 1:20, keeps the shape and the real proportions from drifting during modelling.
In the collectors' press
The Miocene collection has been reviewed by Dinosaur Toy Blog, one of the reference publications for collectors of prehistoric animal figures.
