Before the Toy Exists
The Human Process Behind Dave Fuse Imaginarium
When somebody sees a finished art toy, they usually see the result.
The character is standing there.
The colours are decided.
The photographs are taken.
The packaging is finished.
Everything looks as though that was how it was always supposed to be.
But that isn't how creating normally feels from my side of the table.
Before a DFI piece reaches a collector, there are usually many decisions that disappear along the way.
And sometimes those invisible decisions are the most important part of the work.
More Than 20 Years of Making Decisions
I have spent more than two decades working in design.
One thing those years taught me is that creativity isn't simply about having ideas.
Ideas are everywhere.
The harder part is deciding which ideas deserve to continue.
Should this line move?
Should that expression be stranger?
Should the colour be brighter?
Is the design becoming too complicated?
Does this still feel like the character?
Sometimes the difference between something that feels right and something that doesn't is incredibly small.
A few millimetres. A slightly different shade. Removing one element instead of adding another.
Those decisions accumulate.
And eventually they become the piece you see.
What You Don't See
By the time you see a finished DFI work, many other versions may already have disappeared.
A sketch may have been abandoned.
A colour combination may have looked good on screen but felt wrong when painted.
A character's proportions may have changed repeatedly.
A detail I originally loved may have been removed because it distracted from the rest of the piece.
Sometimes I make something, leave it overnight and look at it again the next morning.
And suddenly I know it isn't finished.
So I change it.
That part of creating rarely appears in a product photograph.
But it is where much of the work actually happens.
The Handmade Part Matters
Some DFI art toys involve another layer of decision-making after the physical object already exists.
Painting. Finishing. Adjusting details.
Looking at how colours interact on an actual three-dimensional surface rather than a screen.
For certain editions, I personally hand-finish individual pieces.
That means small variations can happen.
One brushstroke may not be identical to another.
A painted surface may have tiny differences from the piece beside it.
I don't necessarily see that as something that should be removed.
To me, it can be part of the object's history.
Evidence that someone's hands were involved.
As DFI grows, this is something I want to protect.
Technology can make many things faster.
Production can become more efficient.
But efficiency is not the same thing as meaning.
I still want someone looking at a DFI piece to feel that there was a person on the other side of it making choices.
Why I Want Collectors to See More of This
One reason I created Founding Season was because I realised collectors usually see very little of this process.
You see the launch.
I see everything that happened before it.
Founding Season gives me an opportunity to open that door a little wider.
That might mean sharing an early concept.
Showing a work in progress.
Explaining why I changed a direction.
Sharing different colour possibilities.
Sometimes it may even mean showing something that never gets produced.
I think that matters.
Because creativity isn't a straight line from idea to product.
It is a conversation between what you imagined and what actually works.
Not Everything Needs to Become a Product
This is another part of the process I want people to understand.
Not every drawing needs to become merchandise.
Not every prototype needs to become an edition.
Not every idea deserves to survive.
Sometimes saying no is part of creating.
And the longer I work as a designer and artist, the more important that becomes.
DFI shouldn't grow simply by producing more things.
I want it to grow by creating things that feel like they belong in this universe.
That means slowing down sometimes.
Changing my mind.
Letting an idea develop.
Or deciding that something simply isn't ready.
The Story Before the Object
When you collect art from an independent artist, you are not only collecting material.
You are collecting decisions.
Time. Mistakes. Revisions. Experience.
A particular moment in somebody's creative life.
That is one reason I believe provenance matters.
Knowing who made something.
Knowing when it was created.
Knowing what chapter it belonged to.
And sometimes knowing a little about what happened before the finished object existed.
During Founding Season, I hope to share more of that side of Dave Fuse Imaginarium.
Not only the things that worked perfectly.
But the thinking, experiments and imperfect steps that helped them get there.
Because long before a toy exists on a collector's shelf, its story has already begun.
DFI Founding Season runs from 16 September to 16 October 2026.
Open worldwide.
With gratitude,
Dave Liew
Founder & Artist, Dave Fuse Imaginarium
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