Love animals but hate going to zoos to appreciate their majesty? Then you might want to consider supporting miniaturist Fanni Sandor, because she makes the most amazing miniature animals! Sandor is a biologist with plenty of nature conservation projects under her belt. But these days, she spends her time creating cute-sized replicas of wildlife. The arrival of her children allowed her to delve back into her earliest passion, and here we have her today!
Sandor made her very first miniatures when she was just 6 years old. “I crazy-love miniature things, ever since my childhood,” she shared. Her passion for cute-sized replicas of animals had to take the backseat as life happened. But the things meant for us always find a way back in our lives.
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“In my twenties, I saw professional miniaturists; work for the first time through the internet. I was completely fascinated. I realized there are a lot of miniature lovers who live around the world, and some of them are making miniatures at an artistic level. That was the point when I wanted to be a professional miniaturist and I wanted to make art with my works.”
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Hungarian miniaturist Fanni Sandor creates incredibly accurate miniature animals
She may have had to set aside creating miniatures, but that didn’t mean that she completely abandoned her creative inclination. “I’m used to drawing, painting, and sculpting, so I had the basic skills which are needed for this artform,” Sandro explained. “I practiced a lot until I showed my first new generation of miniature work for an audience. In my work, my most important aim is to produce realistic and detailed representations.”
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To create her impressively accurate miniatures, Sandor first collects a lot of pictures of the species that she wants to sculpt. “The drawing is very important, because it’s much easier to sculpt if you do some study drawings of the subject,” she explained. Then, after coming up with a study sketch, Sandro goes on to make the sculpture. Creating these highly detailed miniatures requires plenty of time and tools, and the miniaturist was generous enough to discuss this part of her process. She explained that,
“For sculpting, I use paper embossing tools and pin ending tools. After baking, I add more details to the sculpture with my carving tools. The next step is painting. It’s very important for me that I paint the finished sculpture very detailed; however, the fur or feather coat will cover the paint. And the last step is furring or feathering. I attach the fibers or feathers to the body with a strong glue. The legs are made of wire.”
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Her miniature sculptures take some time to transform before becoming astoundingly life-like
With all the steps and methods involved in Sandro’s process, it’s not surprising that her creations take around 2 to 7 days to complete. After all, getting all the details right on a miniature figure will require plenty of work! Her works are so jaw-dropping that she’s got over 28,000 followers on Instagram. In addition to this feat, Sandro’s Etsy shop has also been rated as a favorite by 2,466 shoppers!
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The miniature sculptures are made in 1:12 scale
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With her skillfully creative hands, Sandro creates cute-sized replicas of various animals like ducks and owls
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Fanni Sandro earned an honorable title thanks to her cute-sized creations
“In 2014, when I thought my miniatures were good enough, I applied for IGMA Artisan title in the animal figures category, and I got it. It was a great honor. After two years of hard work, in 2016, I was awarded the IGMA fellow title and I was over the moon.”
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‘IGMA’ stands for the International Guild of Miniature Artisans, which was founded to promote fine miniatures as an artform. She definitely deserved her 2014 win! Her tiny figures look so real that you’d think she just invented a shrink ray and aimed it at her animal of choice! Sandro’s incredible attention to detail makes her every creation a piece worth treasuring for years and years. In fact, IGMA lauded her creative skills so much that they made her a Fellow in 2016. This is an especially big deal, because the title is only given to members whose works exemplify the epitome of excellence.
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Sandro’s miniature animal creations will absolutely make the perfect gift both to yourself and for your loved ones. We’ve got half the mind to try and get a sculpture of our spirit animal… But it seems that Sandro is on a break (or working on a new collection?), because her Etsy store is currently empty. We’ve got an eye out for further developments! Until then, we’ll just gladly scroll through her Instagram page. Which among her creations struck you the most?