Who doesn’t love an old, clunky spaceship that can outrun the emperor’s own finely-tuned fleet? I enjoy seeing LEGO models of Han Solo’s Millenium Falcon, but there are few versions that I have enjoyed more than Chris Walley‘s micro-scale.
I asked Chris for three tips on how to build a beautiful micro-scale, and the last of his answers really surprised me.
Have you ever wondered how some artists display such amazing creativity? Builder Birgitte Jonsgard took the time to share a few secrets and an interesting visual trick.
JD: Birgitte, how do you escape the “blah” to find creative inspiration?
Birgitte: Creativity is not the easiest topic to say something sensible about. It is such an abstract topic, but the theme is too interesting not to give it a try. Well, here we go…
Bad news: there is no formula for creating an awesome LEGO castle like this one. Although Igor Elshin (Sunder_59) built this model more by feel than by a set of rules, he was able to share a few pointers with me.
Looking over Kazum’dar Castle from a bird’s-eye view, I was impressed by the clean appearance of the model. So I asked Igor, “How do you keep from over-complicating your micro-scale builds?” Read his answers below.
Whether or not “stinky tofu” is one of your favorite foods, you will like the rich detail of this modular LEGO street scene.
Detail, color, minifigs, and food make this LEGO Ideas project worth checking out. See some of the modules below.
This playful caricature of “Hank” from Finding Dory is just one example of the creativity DOGOD Brick Design builds into his plastic sculptures.
DOGOD is the winner of Master Builders’ first contest with his Charlie Chaplain model shown below.
Cookie Monster and his cravings are instantly recognizable in this classic LEGO creation from Kos of KOSbrick.com.
Using imagination, memory, and patience, Kos assembles brilliant models like this one and “Walking Stick” from the Up movie shown below.
When I asked Kos how he creates such visually appealing builds, he gave me three stages of idea development.
Johan Alexanderson doesn’t limit his illustration skills to a piece of paper. A lover of comics, Johan adds dimension to cartoon classics by building them into LEGO bricks.
His models, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, have been featured in Amazing Brick Faces, available free here for a limited time.
A part time web developer and freelance illustrator, Johan plans to launch a comic book for children this year. His aptitude for comic drawing shows through in these iconic caricatures.
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At first glance, this LEGO Tyrannosaurus Rex appears to include every detail of the giant lizard. You see the wide-open jaw and the tiny hands.
However, the missing components may be even more impressive. This T-Rex has only two teeth, and he doesn’t have typical coloring. Builder Aurore & Aube shares how he is able to achieve accuracy and artistry without obsessing over unnecessary details.
Felix Jaensch has a knack for creating realistic animal faces from traditional LEGO bricks. This tiger was so popular that it sold out as a custom LEGO set on MOC Nation.
This tiger is one of three builds featured by Felix in the brand new ebook, Amazing Brick Faces available for free here for a limited time.
Taking 3 weeks just to develop a strategy for modeling the Hungarian Parliament in microscale, Tamás dazzles our eyes with his first architectural model.
Known as Bigboy99899 on Flickr, Tamás shares some of his challenges below and provides some stats about his model. Can you guess which feature he began his design with? Read more to find out.