Designer Trysta Lilford works in games, web design, and illustration. She said that Commander Sporloff began as a high school doodle. In case you were unsure, Sporloff is indeed female. Trysta said the design was revisited and brought up to snuff much later.
The first version of her design included a headset and microphone. She has a backstory that fits into a larger universe where she's the commander of a small mercenary group that specializes in transporting dangerous beings to other worlds for work or rehabilitation. I want to know more about this…Trysta?
Although I'm sure the headset helps on her inter-planetary missions, this pared down design is the version I worked from for my sculpt. In a small, usually solid-colored medium where texture can be so important, I really enjoyed having a completely smooth figure to work with. Trysta's design note about the skull drooping like an octopus definitely affected the way I approached the sculpt. I made her head look more like a soft, fleshy mass than a hard skull.
Take notice that Commander Sporloff has a pretty non-traditional shape, especially at her base, for a mini figure. I wanted to allow for some sculptural freedom in this line of toys, and this is a perfect example. This figure will require a more complex molding process and will cost more to produce, so keeping this to a minimum, I plan to allow for one "deluxe" (for lack of better terminology) figure per set. Sporloff is it for Series 1.
And the ol' comparison shot. On the left we've got a S.L.U.G. Zombie and Zombie Pheydon from OTMFG, and on the right are M.U.S.C.L..E. and Gormiti figures.
Check out more of Trysta's design work at her Diviant Art page: http://trystentangled.deviantart.com/