Wihan (WhereverPanda) presents a gallery of *almost* black and white Lego photos inspired by song lyrics. There’s a sense of mystery and intrigue in each shot brought on by skillful lighting and framing. See them all on Flickr.
Thanks for the tip Keith Goldman!
When it comes to Lego and photo lighting, no one has a better reputation than Alex Eylar. Having emerged from his Dark Ages in 2007, Alex has made an impression on the community through his diverse and often pop culture-referencing creations that are photographed with realistic and atmospheric lighting. It is my pleasure to interview the man behind the camera about his take on our favorite hobby.
Nannan Zhang: Talk about what you like to build.
Alex Eylar: I tend to just build whatever I feel like, whatever inspiration hits, without really sticking to one theme or another. I admire the people who can stay in one theme and just put out hit after hit, but I’ve got a total LEGO-ADD that keeps me bouncing from theme to theme. I even had to title that one folder “The Unclassifiable” because the things just didn’t fit into one theme or another.
NZ: So it’s really just the spur of the moment?
AE: Oh, absolutely. I keep a Word Document on my desktop that has all sorts of random ideas in the shortest of shorthand. I get an idea, I jot it down, I build it or try to build it and fail miserably.
NZ: It’s interesting that you keep an actual list of ideas, how long is it?
AE: Generally about four or five projects long, but that includes things I’ve been thinking about for years and will probably never get to finish. Purgatory from Dante’s Inferno is a great example.
NZ: That list is actually much shorter than I expected, I know someone who has over 120 ideas on his list.
AE: Mind if I ask who?
NZ: I heard this from “Big Daddy” Nelson a few years ago. You’re on a building streak lately and cranking out some great models, what’s the occasion or inspiration?
AE: The occasion is free time thanks to summer and zero social life, and the inspirations are movies and internet. Big movie geek, so I’m always seeing things I want to build, and spend as much time online as I do and you’re bound to see things that pique your interest.
NZ: I’m guessing you liked Inception?
AE: Oh my yes. Best movie of the year so far, in my opinion.
NZ: And you built some MOCs based on that?
AE: I had to. Any movie with visuals as good as that has to be built. A tilted, spinning hallway; come on.
NZ: How long did it take you?
AE: Maybe three hours from start of the build to the last shot taken.
NZ: What about photography, was that a huge process?
AE: It can be; it depends on the project. If it’s something small like that, and only requires one shot, it won’t take that long, but if it’s enormous – “Containment” enormous – it’ll take its sweet time.
More of our interview with Alex after the jump: Continue reading
Star Wars Celebration V took place last weekend. The video below has an incredible time-lapse footage of the public assembling a 15-foot wide Lego mural along with a good coverage of LEGO’s presence at the event.
Via FBTB
HKLUG has posted a ton of excellent pictures from the 2010 Anime Festival on their Facebook page.
You should definitely take the time to check them out. The pictures posted here really caught me eye, but there are many, many more.
If any of our readers have information on the actual builders, please let us know so that we can give credit where credit is due. Thanks!
Alexander Alekseev just posted this farmer and I was stuck by the simplicity. This scene is just about perfect, so I’ll bow out and I’ll let it speak for itself.
Of the many patterns by Katie Walker (eilonwy77), her offset square patterns are my favorites because they create the illusion of boxes flying out of the page.
The color variations in this one below create the illusion of height. Very clever.
The viral ad for the Pilot Extra-Fine ball-pens features Lego minifigs with tatoos. Although the effects are made with Photoshop, it’s still interesting to look at all the designs.
Via ufunk, thanks for the tip Titolian!
David Pickett (fallentomato) presents his best brickfilms animation showing Lego bricks morphing into different objects. Each change from one object to another consists of many brick-built transition states that are shown for only a fraction of a second, and the results are well worth it. Check out more descriptions and behind-the-scenes info about the video on David’s website.
Marcos Bessa‘s Ancient Lady’s Museum is an astounding work of art and quality. The front of the museum accurately captures the Greek facade architectural look, where advanced techniques are used to create subtle offsets and detailed ornamentation. The dark blue also adds a tone of establishment to the building.
What amazes me the most is the extravagant interior of the museum, which features the best Lego circular staircase I have ever seen. This is the most difficult type of staircase to build in minifig scale. Not only does Marcos succeed with the form, he also adds ornate railings and a carpet pattern. This is the work of a truly skilled builder.
Alex Eylar (Profound Whatever) is building at a pace that we can’t keep up with (and I did not intentionally repeat Andrew). His latest is a depiction of the Escher masterpiece in the Classic Space theme. Since there’s no gravity in space, there’s some paradoxical realism to this work. It’s all too wonderful.
Just in time for Independence Day here in the United States, 21006 White House has been added to the LEGO Shop’s Architecture line.
Designer Adam Reed Tucker also has an exhibition at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC from July 3, 2010 through September 5, 2011.
