A behind-the-scenes look at how I built this custom 8-foot Iron Giant sculpture

—crafted from recycled air tanks and steel, inspired by my love for the animated classic.

Dean Furniture Artist standing beside his handcrafted 8-foot Iron Giant sculpture made from recycled steel and air tanks, featuring glowing blue eyes and articulated joints.

---

A Tribute to a Classic

Ever since The Iron Giant hit theaters while I was in high school, I’ve carried a deep love for that movie. Maybe it’s the giant robot, maybe it’s the retro 1950s styling, or maybe it’s the emotional weight that still hits hard even now in my 40s—but it’s always stayed close to my heart.

I’ve always had a thing for movies with massive machines. From Transformers to an old-school cult classic called Robot Jox, and more recently Pacific Rim—the first one, not the second one 😆—I’ve just always been drawn to the creative possibilities behind big, mechanical characters.

The Iron Giant is a 1999 American animated science fiction film directed by Brad Bird and produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation. It is loosely based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes (which was published in the United States as The Iron Giant), and was written by Tim McCanlies from a story treatment by Bird. The film stars the voices of Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, James Gammon, Cloris Leachman, John Mahoney, Eli Marienthal, Christopher McDonald, and M. Emmet Walsh. Set during the Cold War in 1957, the film centers on a young boy named Hogarth Hughes, who discovers and befriends a giant alien robot. With the help of a beatnik artist named Dean McCoppin, Hogarth attempts to prevent the U.S. military and Kent Mansley, a paranoid federal agent, from finding and destroying the Giant.

Why I Built This

Even though I spend most of my time designing and building custom industrial and steampunk furniture, sometimes you need to step away from routine. For me, creative resets come in the form of spontaneous, off-the-cuff builds. No plan, no measuring everything twice—just letting the spark take over.

I’d always wanted a life-size Iron Giant in my shop, but I wasn’t sure I had the skills to pull it off in a way that did the character justice. If you’ve ever tried to replicate something from an animated movie, you’ll know the proportions can be a nightmare. They change from scene to scene—hands double in size, heads shift, angles warp.

But this was one of those passion projects I had to do.

Starting with the Head

I knew the head would set the tone, so I started there. Since I don’t have the equipment to roll perfect curves or form large domes, I was always on the lookout for something ready-made. That’s when my wife spotted a small blue air tank at Habitat for Humanity. She picked it up and said, “This would make a good starting point for your Iron Giant head.”

She was right.

The tank sat on a shelf for a while, but once I finally committed, it all started falling into place. I began shaping the rest of the body based on the proportions of the head. I wasn’t chasing perfection—I just wanted people to look at it and say, “That’s the Iron Giant,” not, “Why is his arm 3 inches shorter?”

The Hardest Part: The Face

Getting the expression right was the hardest part. A tiny change in curve or placement can totally shift the emotion. If I messed up the jaw or sloped the brow too much, he’d look angry or goofy. I wanted him to look kind, even a little curious—just like in the movie.

Originally, I planned to make the jaw move. I designed it to open and close, but after testing it, I realized there wasn’t a way to do it without awkward gaps or friction. So I locked it into a slightly open position that gives him a subtle, contented smile.

Same challenge with the eyes. I tried blue LED puck lights at first, but they felt off—too clean, too “store bought.” So I swapped in sanded plexiglass for a fogged look and added blue LED strip lighting around the eyes, hidden inside the head. The light now glows inward toward the center, creating a softer, more lifelike feel.

Funny thing—depending on the angle, he actually looks like he's smiling or ready to throw down. Straight on? He’s got that calm, friendly Iron Giant vibe. Turn the head 90 degrees? He looks like he’s about to defend a city. Complete accident. Totally works.

Side-by-side photos of a custom 8-foot Iron Giant sculpture by Dean Furniture Artist—facing forward with a curious, friendly expression, and turned to the side with a strong, battle-ready stance. Built from recycled steel with glowing blue eyes and articulated joints.

Making It Poseable

I wanted the head to be posable, so I made sure it could tilt up/down and rotate left/right. The solution was simple: I welded two flat steel tabs inside the head, bolted them to a vertical pivot bar, and added a washer base that allows for horizontal rotation. That pivot bar runs up into the mohawk, which acts like a hidden anchor point. Sometimes, the simplest methods work best.