Tag Archives: Mosaic

“This Captain America mosaic is super, soldier.”

It makes sense that when LEGO launched their new Art theme, they’d start their Marvel offerings off with Iron Man, the hero who gave birth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At least, he birthed it from a movie release date perspective. But Steven Wayne Howard hasn’t forgotten that the real first Avenger was Captain America. This tribute to Steve Rogers was created by fusing the pieces from Iron Man and Sith mosaics (with a handful of extra 1×1 red plates thrown in). So, it should be no problem to recreate yourself if you have both of those sets on hand. And if you’re looking for a great spot to hang it, I suggest the wall on your left.

Captain America Mosaic

“I will not give up my favorite decoration.”

There’s been a sharp increase in the amount of mosaic builds we’ve seen since LEGO debuted their Art series last year. But The Middle Brick has taken the art of LEGO mosaic to a new dimension with The Bounty Hunter, a closeup shot of famed Star Wars fiend Boba Fett.

“The Bounty Hunter” Boba Fett LEGO mosaic mic by the middle Rick

This piece packs a significant amount of detail, and a subtle 3D effect, into its frame thanks to a unique layered approach. The first layer renders the background in standard tiles, while the second and third layers build up the main subject. The final result may not be as detailed as a man frozen in carbonite, but it’s close.

The Bounty Hunter Detail

This LEGO Star Wars mosaic is far from child’s play

LEGO’s foray into the art world, with its various mosaic sets, has inspired fans to create their own fantastic art. There’s even a Mosaic Maker which allows you to upload your own image and create a custom set. I’ve had friends order a few and they always turn out great. But I think builder Brent Waller invested a lot more thought into this textured mosaic of the Child from the Mandalorian. This absolute work of art was created as a gift for his son’s birthday and I have to say that this guy definitely deserves a Great Dad award. Measuring 1 meter wide by 60 centimeters high, this massive mosaic features tons of different pieces and colors masterfully placed and blended to render a close-up image of Grogu in his floating bassinet. But this portrait also has a secret: the Child and the Mandalorian are hidden within all that greebly goodness. Can you spot them? I’m not giving any hints so good luck!

The Child Mosaic

The mosaics in the LEGO Art sets make use of a pixel approach to create images of Darth Vader, the Hogwarts crest, or even Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe. While this technique is quite effective at rendering plenty of different images, the grid pattern is difficult to break and some sharp diagonal lines aren’t captured well. That’s my opinion as an artist, at least. But Brent Waller’s use of a plethora of pieces allowed him to create sharper lines and textured surfaces. These draw the eye in new ways, almost tricking it into seeing aspects of the cloth, or the shadows in the bassinet, that aren’t really there. A vast array of pieces and colors on such a large canvas also allowed for better resolution in the image. From a distance, this barely even looks like a LEGO creation.

The Child Mosaic

I’m sure Waller, Jr. was excited to see this once it was complete. It would be an amazing addition to any room but if I were him, I would put it right above my desk. I can’t imagine this will end up in the scrap pile any time soon though. This is nerd-family heirloom material so it will surely make its rounds in their home for years to come.

Glow-in-the-dark spookiness intensifies with this LEGO skull mosaic

The Brothers Brick contributor Chris Doyle returns yet again with more Mosaic Madness.

Just in time for Halloween, I’ve adapted artist Christopher Cooper‘s Voodoo Glow Skull image into LEGO form. And, yes, it glows in the dark. Keep reading to see it in action, and learn a bit about the build.

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Octopus time! An alternate build for LEGO 31203 World Map [Instructions]

The Brothers Brick contributor Chris Doyle is back with more mosaic madness! This time, he’s reworked the LEGO Art 31203 World Map into a vibrant octopus. He also shares the instructions necessary to build this version of the World Map yourself. You know. If you want to.

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There’s an art to this build.

This amazing stylized character build of Persona 5’s Ann Takamaki by Joseph Zawada pushes the limits of LEGO art in impressive ways. The offset round tiles in the hair highlights suggest an entirely new style of mosaic building, and the use of negative space in the mouth to create thin lines and shapes not possible with existing brick is an inspired move. I also have to note the creative part usage in the eyes; I’ve spotted everything from minifigure hands to flex tubing. Truly, this is a work of art.

Ann Takamaki

Check our our art tag for even more examples of great creative expression in the plastic brick medium.

Celebrate Bionicle’s 20th anniversary with a map of Mata Nui island made from pieces of the LEGO 31203 World Map [News]

Today LEGO fans come together to celebrate the LEGO Bionicle theme that ended its run in 2010. Since then, August 10th or 8/10 in American date notation format is bestowed by fans to be 810NICLE day. Builders and designers commemorate their much-beloved franchise with builds, art, and varied ways to revive their love for the theme. Joining the celebrations, LEGO designer Nicolas Vás used LEGO elements from the 31203 World Map and transformed it into a map of Mata Nui island, the locale for the early years of Bionicle adventures.

Map of Mata Nui island from Bionicle using pieces from LEGO Art 31203

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This amazing LEGO comic book cover shows both Spider-Man and Venom

When I was a kid I was a sucker for toys, t-shirts, candy or books with a lenticular printing. Lenticular printing is a technology in which lenticular lenses are used to produce printed images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles. Back in the 90’s it was everywhere! Okay Yaramanoglu used a whole lot of LEGO cheese slopes in their latest creation to achieve this effect.

From one side we can see everyone’s favorite neighborhood hero, Spider-Man. But shift it a bit and his nemesis Venom is pictured. This pairing of good vs evil makes a perfect subject to use the lenticular technique on. And best yet, the build is not made to look like a framed picture or a poster, but rather it’s built to look like an actual comic book, complete with binding, book cover, differently colored pages on the inside and a barcode on the cover.

Hidden Secret of the LEGO Art World Map revealed [Feature]

Lego Designer Fiorella Groves put up a challenge to the world when she shared that a secret easter egg was hidden in plain sight across her LEGO 31203 World Map creation. In less than 24 hours, it seems we have an answer with some clever sleuthing from the LEGO detectives within the TBB social media fan base.

Can you find the easter egg hidden in plain sight?

LEGO Designer Video featuring Fiorella Groves creator of the LEGO Art World Map [News]

The World Map is currently the largest LEGO set with a total number of 11,695 pieces. We hear from LEGO Designer Fiorella Groves that because it’s a LEGO-based map, you can simply customise it the way you like it.

Click to see the full video

Various interpretations of world maps built with LEGO bricks

The World Map mosaic released by the designers at LEGO was clearly a winner with the constant hits to our servers on our review of the set. Having said that there was quite a bit of chatter in the forums on the decision to go with a white continent while the oceans had topography details. What if it was reversed with a bit of creativity thrown in? Lysander’s Stud Studio took that very step and depicted the national flags of the country as best as possible and leaving the wide oceans a consistent blue.

LEGO World Map

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LEGO Art reveals 31203 World Map mosaic as biggest LEGO set of all time with 11,695 pieces [News]

With 11,695 pieces, the newest LEGO Art set 31203 World Map breaks the record once more with the highest piece count in a set in the company’s history, nudging out last year’s 10276 Colosseum by several thousand pieces. Like the Art sets released before, World Map consists mainly of 1×1 round tiles which create the continents and the oceans. The set is built on 40 interconnecting baseplates which can be arranged in 3 different ways to display different portions of the world in the center. However you arrange it, the set is 25.5 in. (65 cm) high and 40.5 in. (104 cm) wide. The World Map will be available from LEGO.com and LEGO Stores globally from June 1, 2021, priced at US $249.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99, and from other retailers globally starting August 1, 2021.

Be sure to also read our full, hands-on review of the LEGO Art 31203 World Map mosaic, and check out the full press release and images below.

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