blizzard Interesting Facts About the Orc Statue in Irvine

[Staff 1,488]

The huge Orc statue at Blizzard's office campus in Irvine was created in 2007, but do you know how it came to be? Here are some interesting facts!

(Source)

When visitors pass through the gates of Blizzard's office campus in Irvine, they immediately gravitate toward the Orc statue! A dear hero in Blizzard’s heart, the statue is a popular spot for:

• Meeting people ("Let's meet at the Orc statue!")
• Posts on social media
• Symbolic events; passionate founder speeches often take place in front of the Orc
• Holiday community projects
• 1 trillion photos and selfies*

*Actually: only a billion

The Orc Statue

Statue created in 2007

Information

"Create a larger-than-life sculpture of a fearsome wolf-mounted orc warrior from Warcraft;" that was the challenge Blizzard presented to New Zealand-based Weta Workshop.

Blizzard worked closely with Weta artisans in New Zealand and China to turn the small prototype into a bronze behemoth.

After over a year of intense work, the 12 foot tall, 2 ton bronze orc warrior now stands watch in the courtyard of Blizzard Entertainment’s Irvine campus.

Creation

First Thing’s First: Modeling
A team in New Zealand scanned the original 12-inch tall statuette and created a virtual 3D model

Up Next: Details, Details, Details
The 3D model was then sent to a manufacturing center in China, where the artists sculpted, molded, cast, waxed, bronzed, welded, and buffed to turn the virtual presentation into a 12 foot tall statue.

Last, but Not Least: Delivery
The massive sculpture was transported from China to Irvine using a custom-built steel dolly and shipping container, and set into place with a crane.

Fun Facts:

• The sculpture was designed with a mechanical connection so it could be separated into two pieces to be transported.
• The sculpture is made of high-copper bronze, which is why the raw metal has a salmon pink color.
• The statue in Irvine is surrounded by a runed compass with Blizzard's eight core values at its points.
• Blizzard also awarded a version of this statue to World of Warcraft players who had been playing for ten years to celebrate the game's 10 year anniversary.

 

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

[Migol 433]

It's sad that the first thing I remember when I see that statue is the employee protesters covering the the core values when Blizzard was obviously doing bad by the Hong Kong HS player.   More pertinent now than ever with how the Hong Kong situation is going.