Orc Statue

The Orc Statue is the iconic sculpture found at Blizzard's headquarters in,. It was created in 2007. When visitors pass through the gates of the office campus, they immediately gravitate toward the Orc statue. A dear hero in Blizzard's heart, it 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, and 1 trillion photos and selfies (actually only a billion).

Information

 * "Create a larger-than-life sculpture of a fearsome wolf-mounted orc warrior from Warcraft" - Blizzard

The quote above was the challenge Blizzard presented to New Zealand-based. Blizzard worked closely with the artisans in and  to help turn the small prototype into a bronze behemoth. A year since intense work, the 12 foot tall, 2 ton bronze orc warrior stood watch of 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.

Trivia

 * 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.
 * The statue was designed by Nick Carpenter, Samwise Didier, and Glenn Rane, sculpted by Eden Small,, and Daniel Cockersell, and manufactured by who also made the armor and weapons for the Warcraft movie.