The Winner of Our Nerdvember 2024 Animated Contest Is…
/Merry Christmas from BrickNerd! As is tradition, we like to give away some presents and a shiny gold trophy for the holiday. Last month for Nerdvember, we challenged you to reimagine our mascot Nerdly through the lens of animation—and you delivered! We received nearly 40 fantastic entries that showcased creativity, technical skill, and plenty of nerdy spirit.
This year’s theme celebrated animation in all its forms. We asked you all to bring Nerdly to life, whether inspired by beloved cartoons, animated films, or kinetic sculptures. From Disney to Saturday morning cartoons to custom Brickfilms, you amazed us with your creativity and talent. There were so many fantastic animated interpretations of the theme. Each BrickNerd contributor had an equal vote, and the results were close.
Three key criteria were considered by the judges:
Concept - Is the idea clever, tell a story, and align with the animated theme?
Quality & Presentation - Is the creation well-executed and presented in a way that enhances its impact?
Nerdiness - Does the creation capture the essence of Nerdly with a balance of recognizable features that clearly convey the BrickNerd mascot (color, shape, studs, glasses, etc.)?
Honorable Mentions
We’ll start with our honorable mentions. Let’s celebrate a few standouts that caught our eye with their creative and nerdy approaches to the animation theme. Congratulations to these six builders who amazed us with their building skill and nerdiness! We loved the interpretations of Nerdly, from classic characters to imaginative takes on unique characters. Bravo!
Thank you to these builders and everyone who entered for sharing your amazing creations!
Third Place: filbrick - Illusion of Movement
At the end of the day, this is a contest and we had to choose some winners—as difficult as that was.
Our third-place prize of the LEGO Ideas 21352 Magic of Disney set OR a $100 LEGO spending spree goes to filbrick who created a dynamic yet static Nerdly “Illusion of Movement” that appeared to move in place! This entry captures a sense of motion through creative posing and clever part usage, giving the illusion that Nerdly is alive and in action, swooshing by the camera.
Second Place: Scott Wilhelm - EmotioNerd
Our second-place prize of LEGO sets 43227 Villain Icons and 40613 Palace of Agrabah OR a $150 LEGO spending spree goes to Scott Wilhelm for “EmotioNerd” inspired by Anger from Pixar’s Inside Out. Scott is no stranger to BrickNerd contests. This fiery rendition of Nerdly balances expressive design and nerdy detail—the angled glasses and studs popping off are fantastic details that convey animation in many different ways.
First Place: Okay Yaramanoglu - Animated BrickNerd Logo
Our first-place winner, claiming LEGO set 43242 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Cottage or a $200 LEGO spending spree, the coveted Golden Nerdly trophy, and a BrickNerd swag box, is Okay Yaramanoglu with his Pixar-inspired animated BrickNerd Logo! All of us at BrickNerd were blown away by this entry, not just because it was our full logo but by the 141 individually rendered frames and squash and stretch techniques that really brought Nerdly to life.
Okay shared the individual renders of the 16 Nerdly shapes used in the animation (we particularly love the raised eyebrow look) and how he brick-built the words in the two fonts used in our logo. The digital stop motion was a unique approach but one that impressed each and every BrickNerd contributor.
If his name is familiar, it is because this is Okay’s second Nerdvember win in a row—a feat never before achieved, so congratulations! It is clear we have a BrickNerd fan and budding legend in our midst—no pressure for next year, right!?
Congratulations to all our winners! We salute your nerdiness and will be in contact about your prizes soon!
BrickNerd Contributor Contest
But wait, there’s more! In addition to the public contest, some of our own BrickNerd contributors wanted to join in the fun. Congratulations to Michael J for his Marvin the Martian build. The color of the glasses and the helmet shape really make the character instantly recognizable as the classic Looney Tunes character and Nerdly at the same time.
Nerdvember 2024 Animated Gallery
Want to see all the amazing entries? Browse the full gallery of Nerdvember 2024 submissions below. From brick-built animation homages to digital motion masterpieces, the creativity on display was incredible. There are so many amazing Nerdly builds, we wish we could award more prizes!
We are grateful for each and every entry, and we LOVED that so many people—both kids and adults—had fun making Nerdly their own.
Looking Ahead to 2025
As we close out this year’s contest, we’re already excited about what’s in store for next year. Stay tuned for more nerdy challenges, look out for us reviving a classic contest, and keep building! Happy holidays from all of us at BrickNerd!
What do you think will be the theme of the next Nerdvember contest? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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