Tag Archives: Asian

A LEGO golden dragon “painting” that soars off the canvas

Builder Dad’s Bricks has a reputation for excellent Asian ink paintings made of LEGO. This latest addition to the gallery is a gorgeous golden dragon. But unlike a 2-D ink painting, the model springs to life, popping right off the canvas of plastic along with some surrounding clouds and crags. The colors here are so vivid – angular gold and tan scales standing in stark contrast to the wispy white feather parts coming off the beast. This is most pronounced around the dragon’s face, as its mane of whiskers accentuates the pair of 2×2 round tiles in pearl gold staring directly at you. It’s clear there’s ancient wisdom held within, but only shared with those worthy of such secrets.

[LEGO] Ink Painting - Dance of Dragon 《潛龍登峰》

An elegant tracery of lines and curves

Some LEGO builds inspire moments of quiet contemplation. This elegant inked fan by Dad’s Bricks evokes that feeling for me. The life-sized shaping is excellent, and the delicate line work created by rods and slightly curved tubing offsets the the bright red of the flowers. Take a closer look and you can spot 1×1 heart tiles in pink, creating a tiny clovers of brightness to contrast to the rich colors. The pen, stand, and brush are almost afterthoughts – but they blend seamlessly into the full image and add real-world context to this piece of art.

[LEGO] <桃園畫師 — 扇與梅> Ink painting - Fan and plum

Be sure to check our archives for even more artistic expressions in plastic.

Intimate, poetic Asian scene in LEGO

LEGO builder Qian Yj is no stranger to Asian buildings. Qian’s latest is smaller, poetic, and more intimate in scope and subject. There is some really good detailing work on display, especially on the second building. The brick-based figures add a good human element to the scene, and the color choices work well here. What’s your favorite detail?

Thoughts in the Still of the Night(Li Bai.Tang Dynasty.)

Have carrots, will travel

Sometimes something so different comes along that you can’t help but smile. Oliver Becker calls this “The Wandering Temple of the Last Flame” but I call it the coolest mode of transportation ever. Speed, performance, practicality, safety; all are unimportant when you’re riding in this much style. This viney bit and this other leafy bit make for excellent gold filigree while the sloping roof and red and black color scheme embodies an exotic Asian feel to the traveling temple.

The Wandering Temple Of The Last Flame

The pièce de ré·sis·tance, however, has to be the tortoise’s head which utilizes a Euripides Galidor torso. See, we all chuckled when the infamous Galidor sets came out but who is chuckling now? Still us, but for different reasons.

The Wandering Temple Of The Last Flame

It turns out, this is far from the first time Oliver has made us smile or even chuckle. Be sure to check out his previously featured Donald Duck roadster and fabled stork creations for more whimsy and wonder.

Two tapirs to tickle your fancy

Animals always makes my day just a little brighter. My case in point, Marco Gan has built this pair of endangered Malayan Tapirs (Tapirus indicus) and I am tickled pink…or tickled black and white as it were. The adult looks dashing with its striking black and white piebald pattern but the baby steals my heart away with its horizontal stripes. The artist palette in green make for excellent lily pads while a nearly hidden pushbroom and paddle heads adds neat textures to the jungle flora. Marco tells us that in the Malay language, the tapir is commonly referred to as cipan, tenuk or badak tampung. No matter what you call it, this duo just might be the best thing I’ve seen all day, and I’ve seen a guy in an inflated dinosaur costume bouncing on a pogo stick.

Malayan Tapir (Tapirus Indicus)