Building Character: The Brick-Built Adventurers of Dungeons and Dragons
/How do you get brick-built characters to have so much… character? Take a peek behind the scenes of Dan Ko’s brave LEGO adventurers inspired by Dungeons & Dragons.
Read MoreHow do you get brick-built characters to have so much… character? Take a peek behind the scenes of Dan Ko’s brave LEGO adventurers inspired by Dungeons & Dragons.
Read MoreMeet Loke, a Swedish TFOL specializing in morbidly fun character builds. He tells us how he turned to food and household items—and how he comes up with the hilariously grim scenes he puts them in.
Read MoreMartin Redfern’s work seems simple at first glance until you look closely and see the hidden complexity of each quirky character. We chat with him about his broad portfolio of MOCs and what building LEGO means to him.
Read MoreToday we explore the amazing menagerie of brick-built LEGO creatures and characters from artist Ian Hou.
Read MoreWe take a closer look at an incredibly large LEGO Link from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, built by Sebastien Racicot and inspired by a single element. Can you guess which one?
Read MoreThis tribute to the venerable John Cleese by Swedish builder Rikard Stensby (aka stensbylego on Instagram) tickles my funny bone, something I really need these days.
Read MoreIt’s been a long time since I’ve seen The Mask, but after seeing this awesome build by Pistash I have to admit I’m thinking of screening it again. This was the role that Jim Carrey was born to play, and I can’t imagine the part with any other actor. Yes, he chews up the scenery, but that was sort of the point wasn’t it? And the over-the-top Tex Avery style cartoony visual effects by ILM were a treat.
We’re big into Disney at our house, and while we’re not the biggest fans of Fantasia, the iconic image of Mickey as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice has always been a favorite. This sculpture by builder alanboar captures not only the look of Mickey in this classic role, but also the whimsy and attitude.
I’m still waiting for the comet, radioactive, lightning strike or chemical bath that will grant me super powers, but when it happens I just hope I can find someone like Edna here to help with my costume creation. Builder city son brings one of my favorite Pixar characters to brick form, and I dig her.
Here’s a little secret: I don’t work out. Yes, yes, I know this formidable frame seems legitimately cut but I assure you, I’m quite doughy. Unlike this hard body by builder vitreolum, who clearly can do reps, whatever those are. The subtle details and clever building on this character are pretty amazing, look at the neck, where two simple angled 1x2’s suddenly become neck muscles, and the hair is wonderful.
The world’s obsession with this little guy continues, and the quality of the fan-built versions of him (her?) continues to grow. This version by builder L-DI-EGO is now my new favorite, with a scale that seems just about 1:1. I especially love the simulated subsurface scattering of the ears, brilliant.
I can’t recall the last time the collective nerd community and the internet in general went so nuts for a new character (baby Groot maybe?). It’s caught Disney and toy companies off guard, it’s a continual headache for Disney’s IP stormtroopers and the maker community has gone into a building frenzy. The AFOL community is also madly clicking bricks inspired by this adorable little guy, including this one by builder hachiroku24, my favorite so far.
Are keyboard guitars still a thing? I could google it I suppose, but I want to believe they are so I’ll just assume. Being a kid of the 80’s and the first generation of MTV I remember keytars very well. But since I haven’t seen a music video in ages (they still make them right?) I have no idea if these are still in any way popular. This pretty awesome alien by builder Djokson looks ready to rock out, and I’m ready to watch and listen.
I suppose this is technically a spoiler, but if you haven’t seen “baby Yoda” by now, just how comfortable is it under that rock? And yes, I know it’s not Yoda, he died before the events of The Mandalorian, but we’ve never been told his species, so everyone is just calling him or her (yeah, it could he a her) “baby Yoda”. Episode 4 comes out tomorrow, and while I’m excited for some feasting here today on Thanksgiving, I sorta wish it was Friday already. In the mean time I’ll just admire this pair of excellent figures by builder BaronSat.
One of the more entertaining aspects of LEGO conventions are “non sanctioned after hours events”, or drunk builds. These are the events where alcohol and building are mixed, and it’s always a train wreck. Recently, the folks at Try channel had these lovely ladies (and a few others) attempt some inebriated construction, it went about as well as you’d expect. But it’s good for a laugh, and inspired builder Chris Doyle to immortalize them in bricks. There’s even a mechanical aspect to it, click through to see it in action.
So much thought and detail goes into original creations by Eero Okkonen that your first instinct is to think “what’s this from?” The notion that it has just burst from his imagination into being seems somehow hard to grasp. But all great ideas start as just that, ideas. I could totally see this and other creations by Eero being developed into a graphic novel or series, and I’ll be able to look back and say “I was there when it began”.
One of my favorite Nintendo Gamecube games was Luigi’s Mansion. When Mario mysteriously disappears in a haunted house, Luigi comes to his rescue and does some serious ghost busting. Well, that was nearly 20 years ago, and recently Luigi’s Mansion 3 came out, and you can bet I’m going to get it, but I must be patient. You see, at our house we post Christmas wish lists on the fridge around Halloween if not earlier, and if you put anything on the list you can’t buy it for yourself (those are the rules). I’m pretty sure Santa will bring me a copy, but in the mean time I’ll just admire this awesome sculpture by builder and Twitch streamer BrickinNick.
Like just about all sports, I’m not into boxing. Watching two people beat each other senseless does nothing for me. But I truly appreciate a good character build, and getting anatomy right at this scale takes some skill. This guy looks like he has the power to flatten another guy, thanks to the building chops of vir-a-cocha.
Being October, and especially being a week away from Halloween, scary images are everywhere. Some are from classic stories, some are from books, some are from tradition but the really cool ones are from movies, like this creation from The Shining by builder timofey_tkachev. It’s an iconic moment, when Jack uses an axe as an alternative door knob (r in this case, a brick separator).
Right about now you’re wondering who this is, so was I. Normally about that same time I’m thinking about the research I’m about to dive into so I can share this with at least some knowledge. But I’ll spare you the google, this is an original creation by Eero Okkonen, no deep dive necessary. If you want to learn more though there’s a ton of pictures and description on Eero’s website, and it’s an absolute treasure trove let me tell you.
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