Creating the Durjoy collectible toy

Nazmul Hoque, Photo: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed

Liveaxis, a studio based in Bangladesh, specialises in toy-making, prototyping, brand concept development, make-up effects, custom digital jewelry, board game illustrations and collectible concept art among other areas. They recently launched a collectible toy, based on the comic series Durjoy, by Tauhidul Iqbal Sampad, published by Dhaka Comics. It is distributed as the first of its kind in Bangladesh, the Durjoy collectible toy is a highly detailed and expertly painted four-inch figure made of high quality polystone material.  Liveaxis will produce only 100 pieces of the toy, in a limited edition offer. They are selling it on a pre-order basis and have received a widely positive response so far. The product was launched at the Ekushey Boi Mela 2019, in the presence of Ahsan Habib. We caught up with Nazmul Hoque, the founder of Liveaxis and the creator of the Durjoy collectible toy, to find out more about the initiative.

Tell us a little about your background in toy-making.

I graduated in fine arts from Charukola Institute of Chittagong University. I consider myself a 3D character sculptor, and I enjoy working with new and different media to express my thoughts.

How did you conceive the idea for the Durjoy collectible toy?

We do not have factories or production companies in Bangladesh that have collectible memorabilia based on our comic heroes. As a result, we collect imported toys and action figures, which is one of the reasons why characters like Iron-Man from Marvel Comics and Batman from DC Comics have such a tremendous fan following in our country. These circumstances inspired me to develop a production pipeline with top-notch technology. After years of research, I, along with my team, launched a collectible toy based on a Bangladeshi comic hero for the first time. We chose Durjoy since the series has garnered immense popularity.

What is your take on the development of comic heroes in Bangladesh?

We have a strong and rich culture of comics. Just the other day at the Ekushey Boi Mela, I saw a young boy waiting for hours with his mother to get an autograph of Tauhidul Iqbal Sampad, the writer and artist of the Durjoy series. It spoke volumes about the love for Bangladeshi comics in the readers' hearts. Many people who were not previously aware of the series, discovered it after they came across the collectible toy, which is great.

What can you tell us about the upcoming action figures and collectible toys from Liveaxis?

Under the banner of Liveaxis, we have We R Makers, an online community where artists from different backgrounds share their own visions of a chosen theme, every month for collectible toys. The artists participate in monthly contests of character design challenges. Along with a cash prize, we give each winner a 3D toy of their own character. We will be working with those characters in the future.

There are also not many options in the line of educational toys for children, apart from Lego and a few others. We, at Liveaxis, aim to produce different interactive educational toys for them as well.