Tom Most feels like a very lucky man. His original sculpture has become part of the Star Wars extended universe. Most created the Mythosaur skull pendant seen in these screen grabs from "The Mandalorian." Most's pendant became a powerful symbol of the connection between Din Djarin and The Child.
Was it just luck that landed Most in the Star Wars universe?
Or was it years of experience combined with smart business planning?
Read on and learn.
Tom Most is a sculptor. He majored in traditional sculpture and got his degree from the University of Illinois. Like many graduates, he took a series of jobs early in his career. There was no Z Brush and 3D printing back in those days. Everything was done by hand.
Most honed the sculpture skills in his indie art-life tool kit. He worked in the toy industry. He was also a modeler for companies making pop culture collectibles. Each job gave him a chance to learn and grow. He picked up business skills as well as increasing his art portfolio. He saw the amount of waste that went on when entire budgets would be blown on tweaking small, expensive changes on a proposed item. Back when all those changes could only be done by hand. Most saw the value when new technology entered the sculpting fields. He answered an ad in the paper and got a job at a company using 3D printers for rapid prototyping.
Most encourages artists to embrace technology. He’s still a sculptor. His love of using art supplies and creating physical works hasn’t diminished with his fluency in using computers. The computers offer a way for him to make art once and then monetize it over different platforms. He learned this on his first digital project – his “Alien Queen” skulls. Once he created the file, making numerous changes was easy. Most uses his scanning skills on his old sculpts. His work experience at Branford and other jobs taught him having to scale by hand was expensive and time consuming. He appreciates what a game changer it is for the logistics of sculpting to have computer files vs making manual sculpt changes.
Art skills, computer experience and business acumen helped Most feel prepared to launch his own company, “Mostly Fantasy.” https://mostlyfantasy.com/
Here’s the description from his website:
“With over 25 years experience…Mostly Fantasy has been producing prototypes, sculpture, and art in various media for the toy, display, and collectible industries, as well as offering original model kits and figurines. Processes offered include sculpting, molding, and casting, as well as figure finishing/deco/painting. Consulting services also available.”
In addition to his company’s commercial work for others, Most enjoyed making personal art and items to sell. He opened an online store on Etsy because he found the platform user friendly to set up. He also started selling at conventions.
Most has a reverence for animals. “Nature is the best designer,” he says. His reference library includes skeleton specimens from real animals. He was also inspired by film creatures. An early success for him was his Alien Queen skulls, fully rendered in 360, and sold on his website and his convention booths. https://www.etsy.com/listing/278625036/queen-alien-skull-pendant-small-shipping?ref=shop_home_feat_2 (photo from Tom's Etsy listing)
This product production and merchandise sales experience would help him launch his next project beyond his expectations.
In 2015, Most wanted to find a Mythosaur skull collectible. This emblem started as a bit of obscure Star Wars fan trivia. Boba Fett had a Mythosaur skull on the shoulder of his armor. But the skull symbol on Fett’s armor had a crack in it, presumably due to battle damage Fett sustained.
There was cannon in the Star Wars universe that Mandalorians had a “bad ass” right-of-passage. In order to get into the guild, a Mandalorian had to single-handedly hunt and kill a Mythosaur and bring back its head. Trouble was, the Mandalorians were so good at this, they hunted the Mythosaurs to extinction. This led to the skull emblem being awarded as a symbol.
To Most, the crack in the skull on Fett’s armor seemed inconsistent with this Mandalorian mythos. He shopped around for a Mythosaur skull collectible or merchandise item, but could never find one he liked.
So, he decided to make his own.
Here is the original pewter finish (photo from SNB website shows the front face of the skull)
Making his own Mythosaur skull required deploying all the tools in his art-life tool kit. Most started with his collection of real animal skulls. Using parts of various skulls, as well as hands-on anatomy sculpting skills, he invented his own Mythosaur skull. He used his 3D printer and made his own molds for the fabrication process. He also made a distinctive creative choice. Real animal skulls aren’t symmetrical. Most made his Mythosaur a completed rendered, 360, symmetrical skull.
And he branded it with his “MostlyFantasy”name. (more on this vital inclusion later).
Most’s experience making his Alien Queen skulls helped him perfect his Mythosaur. To make the Queen skulls in formats that interested customers at conventions and online, he had to learn about different metalworking and manufacturing processes. He learned to make the skull in a variety of finishes. This allowed his design to appeal to different customers and have different price points. And he knew to make it with some heft when you held it.
So was it luck???… or decades years of hard work… that put Most at his table at Monsterpalooza con in Pasadena in 2018?
It was Friday – set-up day. Exhibitors are extremely busy on set-up day. It’s also a time, especially an hour or so before the show officially opens, that other exhibitors shop the show for their collector clients… and the occasional celebrity or guest makes the rounds.
Right at that frantic moment on Friday when the show had just opened to the public and the rush was about to begin, Most was finishing up his display. He saw a shadow and sensed a presence. Someone was looking at his Mythosaur display, with the skulls in two finishes: pewter and bronze. That someone was Jon Favreau.
At that moment, only Jon Favreau knew there was a Mandalorian series in development. He didn’t share why he was shopping exhibitor booths at the con, but he stopped and talked with Most. It was Most’s pewter-finished Mythosaur skull that caught Favreau’s eye.
Favreau appreciated that Most’s Mythosaur skull had some weight to it and that it was fully rendered in 360. Most discussed the two finishes with him. Favreau liked the pewter best. He bought out nearly all the Mythosaur stock Most brought to the convention. Then he walked away.
Later on, Most wondered if maybe he should have asked for a photo, but was glad he didn’t because the moment had been so fantastic. He went back to Illinois with a great story.
A week after that, Most got an online order at his Etsy store. Someone in Pasadena wanted pewter-finished Mythosaur skulls. 50 of them.
That online order connected Most with Favreau’s team.
They were able to reach him, because Most had branded his work.
Most couldn’t remember if he gave Favreau a card when he sold him the Mythosaur skulls. But on the back of each Mythosaur skull, in a natural crevice of the skull’s anatomy, Most had included his brand “Mostly Fantasy” in the roof of each Mythosaur’s mouth.
Between the Monsterpalooza convention and the online order from Pasadena, there had been a power meeting of Star Wars product licensees. Near the end of the meeting, the Mythosaur skull Most had made and Favreau had purchased from him was passed around the room. The word was out. This was the skull they wanted to use. Everyone in the room agreed it was great, but it wasn’t the work of their usual suppliers.
Each person was asked to examine it to see if they recognized the work. At last, it reached the hands of a colleague of Most’s. This colleague recognized Most’s “Mostly Fantasy” brand. He announced to the room that he not only knew the company that made it, he was friends with the artist. (photos below are mine, and show the fully rendered underside of the skull, along with Most's branding).
You never know whose hands your art may end up in.
Brand your work so it can always be ready to work for you.
Through his brand on his work, Most was able to start a connection with Favreau’s team. An agreement was reached to use his artwork. Most was eventually trusted with a trade secret: his skull pendant would be used on the show. He just didn’t know how. Or when. Like the rest of us, he was glued to the show when it debuted on Disney+.
Most’s skull pendant became a narrative high point of The Mandalorian in Season 1, episode 8 “Redemption.”
The skull is glimpsed briefly as Din Djarin passes it to Cara Dune. He fears he is dying. He explains the meaning of the pendant. It's a powerful symbol of connection to the Mandalorian clans. The pendant will convey his protection over The Child if she presents it to other Mandalorians. The skull re-appears, full screen, at the end of the episode when the Mandalorian realizes his skull pendant has returned to him, and he is happy to see it on The Child. -
Cinema has the ability to turn physical items into what one of my film school professors called “correlative objects.” From the sled in Citizen Kane to the ruby slippers in the Wizard of Oz to the Mythosaur skull pendant in The Mandalorian --- film stories imbue artifacts with deep layers of meaning for characters. They are movie magic you can hold in your hands. No wonder there is collector demand for screen used props – or replicas.
This You Tube video from Dec 2019 on the "Star Wars Explained" channel is a recap of "Redemption" --- it's full of spoilers and Star Wars universe backstory.
The day after “Redemption” started streaming, Most’s phone “blew up” with orders.
And of course, it was near the Christmas season. That brought complications for Most due to sources in his production line being closed for the holidays. He sold out of his stock instantly. His various production elements worked with him to supply more. He contacted each person who had placed an online order, and each one responded they were willing to wait. He filled all the orders ASAP.
Like many indie artists, Most is a one-man-band: creating, merchandising, selling, and doing order fulfilment. A rush of orders is always good news – but have a contingency plan in case it happens. Be transparent and upfront with your customers, and your suppliers. Consumer confidence is built on trust. Indie art-life depends on having a loyal customer base. In an online world full of copycats, indie artists can thrive when clients chose to support you with their purchases. And with their patience when you have fulfilment issues.
The onscreen skull pendant is slightly different from the skull Favreau bought. The onscreen skull has a shinier finish than the original pewter finish. Most now makes and sells a skull with a “nickel plated pewter” finish that resembles the onscreen skull.
A year later, the majority of Mythosaur skulls on the commercial market are the official licensed product. These licensed skulls are based on Most's molds, but have a variant that reflects a moment in the Mandalorian storyline, where Din Djarin rips the pendant from his neck.
While there is a licensed product, Most, whose artwork inspired this prop in the show, has found himself in a highly unusual situation. If you watch the Disney+ “Gallery” episode #8 about props for the Mandalorian, you’ll see a screenshot at the end that features Most’s skull. There’s no official credit linking Most to the prop or that moment, but for the artist and those who know the story, it’s a highlight. Most is off the radar of mainstream fans. He’s grateful for the association with the show, and that he can continue to sell his pendants that are results of his years of experience and artistic choices.
This indie art-life case study is a good news story with valuable lessons:
Luck favors the prepared. Be open to new skills and technology. Every tool in your tool kit only helps you be more successful. When you create art, you are investing your time and supplies -- be ready to monetize your artWORK different ways. Your in-person sales are marketing for your online store. Realize once you are online or at conventions, you may need to scale up your shipping and/or production procedures.
And it builds on lessons often repeated here on the blog:
Stay healthy! You can’t work if you aren’t well. Register your copyrights – your creative rights protections are greatest if you get in a regular habit of registering multiple images, prior to publication. Brand your work. Get your indie business life in order before you start selling at shows and online. Your local SBA (Small Business Administration) office probably offers free workshops on business basics. Attend convention panels on creative rights and small business practices.
Tom's Mythosar skull is available in three finishes. L to R. The original pewter finish (the one Favreau bought); the nickel plated pewter finish (Tom's version of the "shinier" screen used skull); black nickel plated.
You can see more photos on Tom's Mythosaur skull on the SNB website: https://stuartngbooks.com/mandalorian-mythosaur-skull-pendant-original-pewter.html
And on Tom's Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MostlyFantasy
Congrats to Tom on an amazing indie artist success story --- and thanks to him for sharing it with me via emails and a phone call so I can document it here on the blog.
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UPDATE 6.6.21
A Tom Most Mythosaur skull pendant is the perfect accessory for one of these..."The Child" Life-size collectible figure by Hot Toys http://www.hottoys.com.hk/productDetail.php?productID=793
This unboxing video from You Tube shows all the accessories that come with this figure.
But the pendant it comes with pales in comparison with the Most pendant options. A friend of mine stopped by the store recently to purchae a Most pendant for his Hot Toys Grogu. Here's the collectible holding its new Most pendant in the screen version nickel-plated finish.
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