Cuervo - Marina Sapiens
Marina Sabio creates small, hand-painted sculptures that exist somewhere between cute and uncanny—playful figures with a slightly eerie charm.
In her “Spookids” series, she reimagines monsters and dark folklore characters as gentle, almost childlike beings, transforming fear into something soft, curious, and unexpectedly endearing.
In this interview, Marina shares the ideas behind her work and how she brings these “dark but cute” creations to life.
Where It All Starts
What led you to start working with small-scale sculpture?
I went to cinema school and studied to be a screen-writer and cinema director. However, as I worked in the industry, direction felt unappealing and, instead, I started to lean towards stop motion animation projects. I loved the hand-crafted side of it and how primitive the technique is – just as old as cinema itself. It felt magical, a sort of revelation or finding out what you were meant to be doing. While working on those projects, I gradually fell in love with character design and sculpting. Finally, I decided to focus on becoming a sculptress, exploring my creativity and using my cinematic skills to document my work.
Do you remember an early piece that shaped your current direction?
I have made many that somehow felt like a turning point to me, but undoubtedly, the most important one was the first sculpture I made and sold, back in 2013: it was my own take on a Nosferatu, based on Murnau’s design. I enjoyed every part of the process and became aware that I could make anything. I knew that piece was the first of hundreds, maybe thousands.
How do characters or figures emere in your work?
To me, creativity is a wonderful thing to be constantly explored, to give yourself into completely, even if you don’t fully understand its origin or how it works. To be an artist is not only drawing and sculpting – it’s a way of life. Everything you see, you’re not seeing but observing, absorbing it. You’re constantly “catching ideas” as David Lynch used to say. They stick in your brain and come out eventually, mixed in different shapes and colors, sometimes in unexpected ways. My characters emerge from the books I read as a kid, the movies I watch, the exhibitions I go to, from my experiences and fears, from doubts, happy moments and relentless curiosity. Sometimes I don’t know why some characters emerge, but I know it is important to let them be once they pop up in your brain.
Could you share your favorite piece of work at this stage and then introduce it or them a little bit?
I am currently enjoying working on my Spookids series. This is a series of “dark but cute, chilling toys”. They’re all sitting, relaxing, as if they could be sharing spooky stories by the campfire. What I like about this series is that it features monsters from movies or classic characters from dark folklore, but they aren’t scary at all. Instead, they all look pretty naive, silly looking, even. Scientist Marie Curie said “Nothing in life is to feared- it is only to be understood”. The Spookids show the kindness in the monster, in a Mary Shelley- Frankenstein sort of way.
blacklagoon - Marina Sapiens
How would you describe your work to someone seeing it for the first time?
I think my art is meant to be kind, to put a smile on someone’s face. There’s enough bad and evil in the world and my art is meant to be a refuge. Even if my characters explore some of the darkness that fascinated me as a child, I think there’s much light in them.
Ludo - Marina Sapiens
Making It Real
How do you approach proportion and detail at a small scale?
Personally, I tend to make a sketch of my pieces before I start sculpting them. This allows me to define proportions and decide on the amount of detail I want to give them. It also allows me to foresee the possible difficulties the piece may present. I feel much more confident about starting a new sculpture if I defined a proper sketch first.
How do you choose materials for your sculptures?
Over the years, I have tried a variety of materials and I keep doing so regularly to keep things interesting. I think is it very important to try new things: clays, brushes, paints, resins and so on. Trying new materials allows experimentation, boosts creativity and helps you define your preferences. But I am also very loyal to certain materials because they fill perfectly a specific need for my work. For example, I cast in resin because my works are shipped internationally - resin allows me not to worry about fragility and the integrity of the piece. I also always sculpt with a certain kind of clay, since that specific one feels more natural to me and makes the process more enjoyable.
How did Artify make you feel as a creator?
I certainly felt honored and valued that they would like me to try their products and asked for an honest review. I feel they’re a professional company open to constructive criticism, which is something I appreciate. I really enjoyed working with Artify and I keep using their products on a daily basis.
Are there moments in the process that feel uncertain or surprising?
Always! But I personally think that is part of the magic of creating something. Encountering new obstacles and problem-solving on the go usually transform into growth and experience. I don’t usually feel frustrated by uncertainty or unexpected events – I tend to embrace them.
What technical challenges come with working at this scale?
I work at a scale I feel pretty comfortable with, and even change scales sometimes just for fun. But I would say, the main challenge is I don’t have a steady hand, which sometimes makes painting details more complicated. Having proper art supplies that fill those gaps feels crucial. The Artify 'Extreme Detail Brush Set' for miniature painting helped me a ton and made my work easier.
mermaid - Marina Sapiens
What Comes After
Are there materials or formats you want to explore next?
I am curious about most materials, formats and art forms. It is actually hard to choose, or rather, to find the time to try them all. This year, however, I want to draw even more, become better at it and share my sketches and illustrations with the world. I would also like to experiment with felted wool, a material I tried before and that felt rather cosy.
If limitations were removed, what would ou want to create?
I feel quite free and lucky, creatively speaking, making the things I choose to make without many limitations. However, I think nowadays, one of the biggest limitations is time, sadly. Time to experiment as an artist without constantly worrying about earning a living. If this limitation was removed, I would love to experiment with a ton of different materials, in order to keep learning and growing my skills.
What does "growth" mean to you an artist right now?
Seeing that my art has changed and evolved so much in a decade and not being sure where it will take me, that feels like growth. Making fewer old mistakes and instead, making a ton of new ones... also feels like growth. Being more assertive in decision making, more confident about the things I make. Feeling that I am still learning and that this feeling will probably never leave me... also feels like growth.
Do you see your sculptures existing beyond individul pieces, as a series or world?
Absolutely, I see them all together, as a whole, as a little universe issued from my imagination. They are all part me. Each piece talks about a certain time in my life, but they all conform the same being.
How do you hope your work will be viewed in the broaer art context?
I don’t have big aspirations. I think that every day I am able to keep doing what I love is a gift. I hope my art is viewed as an honest exploration, made with love and curiosity. I hope it somehow feels true and honest.
Momia - Marina Sapiens
Through her Spookids, Marina Sapiens invites us to see monsters in a different light—not as something to fear, but as something to understand.
By blending the eerie with the adorable, her work softens the unknown and turns it into something strangely comforting.
We look forward to seeing how her world of dark yet gentle characters continues to grow.
If you'd like to explore more of Marina's work, you can find her here:
Marina Sapiens's linktree
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