Avatar: The Last Airbender has no shortage of lovable characters. That said, none of the characters are cuter than Appa, Aang’s sky bison. (Our apologies to Momo). Appa is a loyal friend to Aang, Sokka, and Katara, often putting himself in danger to help them. Let’s not even discuss how much “Appa’s Lost Days” made us cry. But luckily we have happy Appa news to share today. John Marks made a life-size Appa. Life. Size. Appa. Look!
Marks told Nerdist he asked convention owners what attendees had been wanting more of, and Avatar: The Last Airbender came up several times. With the show’s dedicated, massive fanbase, it’s not surprising. When Marks saw the excitement, he knew he had to make Appa. Plus, he rightly pointed out, “He was so cute, how could I not?”
Appa is not a small creature. The life-size version looms above the ground and has a saddle where anyone can sit for photos. Marks shared that it took him around five months to complete the entire project. There’s Appa, a background, Momo, and more. The most challenging part of the build was making the frame to support the saddle since it had to be strong enough to support the weight of any riders, while also being hollow.
If you’re wondering: where, exactly, does one keep a life-size Appa? Well, Appa is going to be traveling from convention to convention this year. He’ll spend most of his time in a 24′ trailer. We love the idea of Appa taking an epic road trip, and who knows, maybe he’ll appear at a convention near you! If you want to see him, you can always let the convention know. In the meantime, you can follow Marks on TikTok to keep up with Appa.