Tag Archives: Mosaic

A festive Muppet mosaic made of LEGO

If you’re a 90’s kid like me, then The Muppet Christmas Carol was a likely staple of the holidays during your childhood. And builder Josh Parkinson has channeled all the energy of that 1992 classic into this beautiful wintertime LEGO mosaic of Kermit the Frog. I love the shifting shades of green, red, and brown on the main figure, creating pockets of shadow and depth using quarter tiles. And the feather pieces used in Kermit’s scarf are a great touch of texture. But the best part usage in the build has got to be the inventive lighting of the streetlamp, putting a 4×4 dish from the Starry Night set to work.

Be sure to check out the rest of Josh’s tributes to the Muppets and more in our archives.

LEGO Art 31209 The Amazing Spider-Man breaks the mold [Review]

LEGO Art started out three years ago with four portraits, where the most variation in physical depth was the height of a stud. LEGO 31206 The Rolling Stones broke out of the rectangular frame and added a bit of depth and 31208 The Great Wave took the depth a bit further, but with LEGO 31209 The Amazing Spider-Man, LEGO have boldly gone right out of the frame! The set also combines larger plates and slopes with varied size tiles to replicate the style and shading of a comic book. Let’s take a closer peek together at the set, which checks in at 2,099 pieces and is available now for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £169.99.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Read our hands-on review of LEGO Art 31209 The Amazing Spider-Man

A pair of all-star mosaics from a diehard LEGO and Seattle Mariners fan [Video]

After only 10 minutes of conversation with Owen Jones, it’s clear that he loves two things in this world: LEGO and Mariners baseball. So he certainly wasn’t going to let an opportunity to fuse his two passions pass him by. To commemorate Seattle hosting this year’s MLB All-Star Game, Owen worked up a beautiful mosaic of the official logo. Featuring a very Pacific Northwest silhouette, the insignia is clad in Mariners colors of turquoise and dark blue. It’s such a clean representation that it feels like an official LEGO set. But Owen, with all his baseball nostalgia, didn’t stop there…

Seattle Mariners 2023 All-Star Game Logo

There’s more to this story! Click for the builder interview!

Does this LEGO mosaic commemorate the Red Dawn, or portent a new one?

Our favorite annual LEGO castle contest, Summer Joust, is in full swing for 2023. And builder T-86(swe) has made a glorious submission to the silhouette category: the Dandelumian Crest. In an age when LEGO sets are also starting to stretch the 2-D boundaries of the standard mosaic, T-86 provides depth to their creation with a lattice of dark gray plates and tiles fit in-between the background studs. While it may not be a “legal” connection in all cases (legal with a tile and not with a plate, but that’s a discussion for another post), the maze-like grid provides an outstanding backdrop for the sword and twisting plant laid over top. The whole thing definitely gives off some heavy “Gordian Knot” vibes, and I love it!

Dandelumian crest

Winter is summoned

In this imaginative LEGO scene by Malin Kylinger, a group of mages have summoned a portal to the winter realm. The whole diorama is loaded with great builds, from the trees with their densely packed foliage, to the picnic of magical equipment beside the house. The whole build rewards closer scrutiny with lots of great details lurking.

The Enchanters of the Portal Have Answerd the Queens Summons

But the real standout is the magic circle at the center, a fantastic use of cheese-slope mosaic-making to craft a pattern that’s almost quilt-like, and at the center is a perfect use for the rare Belville crown element.

The Enchanters of the Portal Have Answerd the Queens Summons

LEGO announces new Art set featuring Magic Eye illusions [News]

No, your eyes aren’t fooling you! LEGO has just announced a new mosaic, the latest addition to their Art series. 31213 Magic Eye Illusions features four four different designs, each with a hidden picture concealed within. While we only have full-size pictures of one of the four designs from their press release, the box showcases purple, blue, and red versions as well. The hidden image will be revealed by gazing at the completed mosaic with your eyes unfocused (it’s most frequently achieved by holding the picture up to your nose at first and slowly pulling back). This marks the first time LEGO has employed bars and clips in a mosaic set, no doubt to generate the proper lines needed for the illusion. However, like other sets in the Art line, this one includes a specialized soundtrack in keeping with the Magic Eye theme. There’s no official word on the price at this time, but LEGO.com is still accepting pre-orders. Given that the size is a third larger than the standard square pictures, I estimate the set will be north of $100 USD. 31213 Magic Eye Illusions contains 3341 pieces and will be available through LEGO stores or their website on April 31st.

Click here to see what’s hidden inside

Magical LEGO Mario Mosaic

Interactive LEGO experiences aren’t the norm for the average set builder but public events can often feature large mosaics such as this. Builder Hans Demol designed this awesome Mario & Friends mosaic for LEGO fans to build as a group during an event. Each person would get a 16×16 plate to fill in and add to the picture, filling it in frame by frame until all 49 plates were done. LEGO has made bank on their Mosaic sets and it’s easy to emulate their method in stud or brick form. After all, you’re basically just working with pixel art, which is wildly popular on its own thanks to the Minecraft and classic gaming fanbase. As such, there are pixelating programs you can use to roughly design models like this but it’s also fun to try to freehand your own. It’s great to blend with regular models too. For example, I once used it to make a screen for drive-in theater!

LEGO mosaic: Mario & Friends

Speaking from personal experience, I can say pieces like this can be wildly popular with builders of all levels and ages. Little hands might struggle with 1×1 plates but bricks look the same from above and those are a lot easier for them to handle. Hans did an awesome job shaping and shading each character which means there are definitely going to be people searching for certain sections to complete. Those super colorful sections are super fun but can also be super confusing for little ones. It’d be awesome to see this completed in real life though!

The lug wrench marks the spot

Jan Woznica has engaged in a little bit of meta-LEGO building with this mosaic style recreation of a classic treasure map tile. All the major details are perfectly captured, from the compass to the latitude and longitude lines. I think mosaics of classic prints could spark a new MOC trend thanks to the near-endless possibilities…computer screens, instrument panels, license plates, wanted posters. What printed tile mosaic would you want hanging on your wall?

It’s a colorful world, even when it isn’t.

The world of LEGO mosaics continues to expand, and Dutch artist Ernesto Lemke is helping to lead the way. This LEGO Masters contestant (Dutch-Belgian edition) has developed a style he calls “Brickpainting”. In this recent work of a portrait of painter David Hockney, layers of brick serve as a foundation for more “paint” – various small elements applied at interesting angles to mimic the brush strokes of an oil-based work. I particularly like how he pulled off the rims on the glasses – always a tricky subject to translate into a more pixelized image.

Ernesto has shared a bit about his technique. I had to run this through Google Translate, but I think the gist comes across:

“…I had designed a simple (but not simple) working method for visitors: placing different colors of Lego blocks in order from dark to light. You can check whether it is correct via a black and white photo: if so, you will see an ascending ‘scale’ of different gray values. Each color has its own ‘tone’. The sublime use of ‘tones’ is one of the fascinating aspects of David Hockney’s work. The intensity of color is not only overwhelming but also convincing, even when using colors that seem illogical.”

It’s always cool to learn about new LEGO artists. Who have we missed featuring in our archives? Share your favorites in the comments!

The next generation of mosaic builders

There were a whole lot of amazing LEGO mosaic artworks at Brickworld Chicago in 2022, and one in particular that seemed extra special to me. Say hello to Carmen, a crowd favorite build by Lydia. Beyond being an adorable image of the family pet, what makes this art impressive is the age of the builder. She was nine. (Well, 11 now, but pandemic-related show delays are a thing.) It’s good to know that the future of the LEGO art world is already in capable hands.

Would you like to meow more?

Miles “Mosaic” Morales

The Brothers Brick contributor Chris Doyle has conspired with  Alyse Middleton  on another large-scale LEGO mosaic. Visiting the Spider-Verse, they created a mosaic tribute to Miles Morales.

If you’re like me (and I know I am), then you probably love the Into the Spider-Verse movie. Miles Morales quickly became my favorite take on the Spider-Man character, and I’d started (and abandoned) more than a few attempts to pay tribute to the character in LEGO form. Still, when I wanted to challenge myself and try a mosaic style that varied from the LEGO Art format I’d been working in, I decided Miles had to be the focus. Then I teamed up again with Alyse to make this new challenge a bit easier. Built on a 96×64 base of Technic brick, this images uses layers of plate and other elements to create an image in line with the animation style from the movie.

Doin’ the things a spider can

LEGO Art 31206: The Rolling Stones – You can’t always get what you want, but this might be what you need [Review]

LEGO is celebrating the 60th Anniversary of The Rolling Stones with a 3D rendition of their classic “Lips and Tongue” logo. LEGO Art 31206 The Rolling Stones is a 1998 piece set that will release in the UK on June 1st, followed by North America on August 1st, and will retail for US $149.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £129.99. It’s a big departure from the other Rock and Roll Icons we’ve seen in the Art theme…and there are surprises in store for the curious builder. Come along as we take an early look at this unusual entry into the world of wall art!

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click to read the full hands-on review