Tag Archives: Contests

A. Lemur explains it all, Episode 2: A call for art! [Feature]

The last time I rapped at y’all an interesting thing happened. Whether it be diverse representation in the Friends line, or the minifigures that come in LEGO Star Wars Microfighters sets, folks online sure have opinions about it. The consensus of said opinions on my last post, at least the ones that chose to share them anyway, was that they didn’t like me or the accompanying AI-generated image of me chitchatting and being as cool as a cucumber. As for not liking me, we did our own scientific research on the matter. We polled nearly a dozen people, and asked whether they’d prefer to encounter me in the forest or some rando dude from the internet. They unanimously chose me! However, I’m willing to acknowledge that our research may be biased because nearly a dozen people were all I could survey in the TBB hot tub last night. As for not liking the AI-generated image of me, the online randos might have had a good point, so we did something about that. Now you get this mugshot of me from 2015 that definitely isn’t AI-generated, so don’t get that idea in your heads. Or is it? Definitely not, maybe. What’s with the mugshot, you may ask? Well, as mentioned in my prior post, I was charged with the distribution of biohazard materials across property lines. (I swear they made up that rule just for me!)

As mugshots go, it’s not bad. I was living the YOLO lifestyle back then as evidenced by my sweet green fauxhawk, devil-may-care expression, and aviator sunglasses. In my defense, and if it’ll please the court, Your Honor, this mugshot was the only publishable image of me I had on my phone. The rest are -well- hilarious to be sure but nothing we can publish on The Brothers Brick. Which is why I’m appealing to y’all with…

A call for lemur art!

That’s right! We’d love to see your artistic chops and different styles and mediums. Please submit your original A. Lemur-related artwork using the form below. You may draw me in all kinds of predicaments and situations; why I could be riding a rollercoaster, driving a car, or even soaking in TBB’s headquarters hot tub when Andrew isn’t looking. With your imagination and artistic ability, there’s no telling what hijinks I could be up to! Extra kudos points go to you if you include something green and white in the composition. Kyle says it’s good branding!

What do I get in return?

I’ll come by occasionally to rap at y’all to explain some LEGO terms, maybe talk about events in your area or whatever floats my tail. When I do, and if we use your image to accompany it, I’ll credit you and even provide a link to your socials. With legions of readers worldwide, it could garner you some sweet likes and follows! We’ll even throw a bit of swag your way.

But what do you look like? How are you different from other lemurs?

What’s to stop me from just copy/pasting lemur images and raking in the sweet rewards? Good point! Besides the fact that I can talk, write, and be overall charming and likable, I look a little different from your normal lemur in the sense that I have a green and white striped tail. Andrew dared me to do it a long time ago and I just sort of kept it. I am older now, so I sometimes wear glasses; green, of course. You can depict me in a dyed green fauxhawk, like in my mugshot, but it’s not necessary. Otherwise, I look like your normal, walking’ talking’ smart-aleck lemur.

What are the rules?

Please submit your original art using the form below by September 7th, 2024. Any medium, any style is welcome whether it be digital art, collage, paint, markers, pencils, whatevs! All we ask is that it’s hosted on the internet somewhere for us to go have a gander. Also, please be over 13 years old. No entries from anyone 13 or under will be accepted. I hate to say it but -sigh- please no AI-generated art. As you may have witnessed, we have eggheads already who can do that and some folks didn’t like it. In this scenario, I get to rap at ya occasionally about cool LEGO stuff and whatnot, talented people get credit and attention for their sweet, sweet art, you don’t have to see mugshots or any of those hilarious unpublishable images from my phone, and we keep the naysayers off our backs. It’s a win/win for everybody!

Thanks for reading. Now let’s see what magic you can do!

Build your own reversible LEGO Castle Byers model from Stranger Things [Instructions]

Does your copy of 75810 The Upside Down look a little lonely displayed all on its own? To help celebrate the TBB Upside Down building contest, we’ve got step-by-step instructions to build a minifigure scale Castle Byers to keep it company. Created by yours truly, the creation features both Will Byers’ pleasant-looking forest abode and an upside-down version in the same style as the official set.

LEGO did release a tiny version of Castle Byers which we reviewed recently, but we think this one fits the theme a bit better. The instructions PDF can be downloaded here, along with the Bricklink Studio digital file. And if you have an itch to build more Hawkins locations and their corresponding upside-down versions, don’t forget to enter our TBB Upside Down building contest! There’s only a week left to enter, with the deadline on August 15th. Now’s your chance to swoop in and win a copy of 75810 The Upside Down, along with the LEGO store exclusive Castle Byers build.

The Art of Violence

No, it’s not the subtitle of the latest Jason Statham movie or a poorly translated version of Sun Tzu’s classic text, it is a building contest sponsored by the new-age musical duo Siercon and Coral. I will let Sean and Steph explain the concept:

This is a stylized ‘Violence’ Contest. This is all about art. This is NOT a contest in which we primarily want to see hacked limbs and excessive amounts of blood. A more artistic and graceful scene will score far higher than any simple depiction of slaughter.

However, make it meaningful, sober, deadly, and more importantly… artistic. Many Asian movies have done this exceedingly well. ‘Hero’ is one of these movies in our opinion. (Please use discretion if you intend to watch, as there are some questionable scenes). Artistically speaking, however, it is one of our favorite movies.

Here are three of the best early entries to inspire and motivate you, if the custom trophy provided by Sean and Steph isn’t enough motivation. For the rest of the boilerplate (details, restrictions and minutia) head over to the Art of Violence thread on the Lego Contest Network Flickr Group.

First up is “The Last Stand” by TBB favorite Mark of Falworth.
(LCC) The Last Stand.

The middle-man is Ru Corder and his “Fall like a thunderbolt“.

Fall Like a Thunderbolt

The triad is complete with .Bricko’s ode to Pat Benatar, “Love is a Battlefield“.

Love Is A Battlefield

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that the last entry had nothing to do with dancing pimps and working girls. My advice to you, constant reader, should you enter the fray, is to avoid the color red…it seems to be dominating the early entries. Good luck to everyone involved with the contest!

TBB Cover Photo “Contest”

How would you like to have your photo featured on either our Facebook or Twitter page for an entire month? We’ve created a Flickr group called TBB Cover Photos to give you that chance.

It’s simple: Just add a high-quality picture of your LEGO model to the group. Once each month, we’ll select two photos for our cover pages, one for Facebook and one for Twitter. You then get bragging rights for a whole month!

Tips for success & glory:

  • Landscape photos work better than portrait photos for cover photos. We’re most likely to pick photos that have lots of detail across a wide part of the picture.
  • Regular readers will be familiar with our high standards for presentation. As the “face” of TBB for a whole month, the photos you submit should be something we might blog — even if we haven’t yet.

Here are some examples of the aspect ratios to keep in mind:

Facebook cover specs  TBB Twitter Cover Diagram

Legalese: Please keep in mind that by joining and submitting a photo to the group, you are granting permission to The Brothers Brick, Facebook, and Twitter to use the photo (with full credit to you, of course).