Tag Archives: Ivan Martynov

The cards you were dealt

A jack and an ace. In blackjack, this is a winning hand. In the hands of Ivan Martynov? They’re something a bit more scary. The Jack of Clubs, here, is full of twisty organic shapes that lure the eye towards the center of this digitally-created image. There you find that the red highlights are actually a demonic figure (Jack, I presume) entwined into the larger club shape. Is Jack on some sort of throne? Are those wings? Is this a torture rack? Ivan doesn’t give us any firm answers. I have a feeling we wouldn’t like them anyway.

But that’s not the only card in this deck. You also get get the Ace of Diamonds. I’m even less sure what’s going on here. But suddenly I’m very glad that some of these parts don’t exist in our reality. Yet.

Ivan excels at creating nightmares out of digital LEGO. Don’t believe me? Go look at our archives.

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Nightmarish creature will stomp on you

In case you ever wondered what would result if a scorpion and a spider got freaky and produced something even freakier, wonder no more. This nightmarish creation by Ivan Martynov reveals the result. While the legs might look a bit spindly, make no mistake, this creature is not to be trifled with.

Spaceship or space slug?

As September comes to a close, I’m always amazed at what amazing new designs space builders can come up with. And while Ivan Martynov’s Larva Carrier is a digital model, it is still an impressive creation.

Spaceships offer so much for an inventive builder. The thought of an organic carrier type ship launching spacefaring larvae is equal parts wacky, creepy, and creative. The chosen colour scheme works great: dark tan and olive green seem totally grubby to me compared to the cleaner tan and gold of less organic parts of the ship. The giant worm on the bottom of the ship tie the concept together, but also makes me wonder if that’s some sort of queen space bug, and she lays eggs that hatch into the larvae that get launched?

The spawn of Cthulhu are adorable

The creature Cthulhu, from the mind of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, has been the inspiration for many modern horror stories, video games, and movies, like Hellboy, for example. Many LEGO builders have also taken inspiration from his works, like this render from Ivan Martynov. This model has some nice part usage which makes me wish LEGO made these parts in more colors, like the fingers of the beast, made from the hands of those early Homemaker figures with jointed arms. Another great choice is the one ring to rule them all, used to connect the wing joints. But of course, the most perfect part is the octopus used for Cthulhu’s monstrous head and the tiny octopi for his spawn. Don’t miss Ivan’s Yithian we featured yesterday, too!

You may feel a slight prick

Have you ever had the feeling that your mind and body has been taken over by time-traveling extraterrestrial beings for the purpose of one day inheriting the Earth? No? Wow, I don’t even know how to respond to that other than you people are a bunch of weirdos! A LEGO builder who surely knows the gentle mind-touch of a Yithian is Ivan Martynov, which definitely isn’t weird so don’t get that idea in your heads. To be clear, this is a computer render as evidenced by a few of these parts in non-production colors but to the likes of Ivan and me, this is instantly recognizable. He tells us that “there lies upon this world of man a mocking and incredible shadow out of time.” Indeed, Ivan. Indeed. Still not attuned to our wavelength? Then just let Ivan and I have our knowing nods. Remember, you people are the weirdos, not us.

But if you’re totally jibing with what we’re into, then you may want to submit your delicious minds and check out some of Ivan’s other creations.

The ultimate To-Go order

Getting your food delivered is usually a nice treat, but Ivan Martynov adds an element of danger to things. Rotor Shrimp may make you think twice about ordering that shrimp tempura. But if you do decide risk it, maybe you’ll get to see this LEGO beauty up close. I really like the segregation of colors in the dark tan and grey, and the triangular clip plates on the propeller pods create a really lovely shape. Meanwhile, the mix of round orange tiles and modified plates add just the right pop of color to keep this from being a drab build. You have to wonder, though, did this creature use those tiny legs to build this exo-suit? That seems like it would have taken a really long time.

This isn’t the first creature of Ivan’s we’ve featured. Check out our archives for more!

Odd Noises in Empty Rooms

Strange creatures have been infiltrating our LEGO posts here at The Brothers Brick lately and I couldn’t be more pleased. My case in point; this cleverly built sea serpent by Ivan Martynov. Call me weird but its many eyes and multiple shrimp-like appendages already tick boxes of things I’d totally be into. Add to this the fact that it was inspired by the ghosts of weirdo monster artist Trevor Henderson and you have yourselves one happy Brothers Brick writer. The depth indicator and other details around the border offer the illusion that this creature was captured on camera. Plugging the coordinates found in the lower-left into Google places this encounter at a precise location in the Atlantic north of Puerto Rico. I don’t know about you but I am smitten. We’ve been smitten by Ivan’s work a few times before.

The frog prince of wails

The story of the frog prince has been updated many times over the years. Maybe in this LEGO version by Ivan Marynov the prince has just realized that social distancing is going to make smooching a princess a lot more difficult. Whatever the case, this is certainly an expressive frog. A golden crown from the 2006 Knight’s Kingdom II theme is all that remains of this fellow’s past, and a bit of red cloth forms the interior of the gaping mouth. But for me it’s the eyes (yellow radar dishes surrounded by tires) that really get the horror of the moment across. I also like the Technic ball joints used for the toes. The tiny fly(ing) magic user is also full of fun part usage. From the blue wizard hat to the Parademon wings, this little fellow clearly wasn’t someone to mess with.

You know, sometimes existential angst is just darn cute.

Ivan’s other featured creations aren’t quite as adorable, but you should still check them out!

Alien brotherhood is a beautiful thing

If alien life does exist in the universe, it would likely come in forms that we can not even imagine, like this pair of critters taking a break outside their battle tank to stop and smell the methane flowers. This digital scene by Ivan Martynov makes about the best use of the hotdog part that I have seen in quite a while, to attach the crowbar-footed legs to the bulbous underside of this most unearthly “tank”.

Easy? YOU try squeezing out a polyp minion!

Roll call at The Brothers Brick Headquarters goes a little something like this: Alright ladies and gents, we have lots of great LEGO creations to cover today. We have a Star Wars one, who wants it? Ohh, I’ll take it! OK good, we have an elaborate castle, anyone? Yes, I’ll take it. OK, you got it. We have a Christmas one, very important this time of year, who wants it? Me! Alright, next we have…uh…giant mech caterpillar thingy oozing slime out its butt….OH! OH! Pick me! Pick me! For the love of God, PICK MEEEE! -Fine, Lino take it, you weirdo!

YES! (*ahem*) This digital model by Ivan Martynov checks all the boxes of things I’d totally be into: unconventional color scheme, nice parts usage, an organic shape…and it’s a mutant alien beast probably hellbent on interplanetary domination. What’s not to love, really? Here’s another time I was totally enthralled by our alien overlords.

The aliens that built the pyramids probably came in this SHIP

Conspiracy theorists claim that the pyramids of various ancient civilizations were all inspired by aliens coming from outer space. Ancient peoples were clearly not smart enough to figure out engineering, they claim, so they must have had help from elsewhere. Plus, there are strange figures engraved on them, and how do you explain the striking resemblance of one pile of cut stones to another? I mean, compare those Egyptian pyramids to the Babylonian ziggurats and the Mayan temples. Exactly the same. And don’t forget the most conclusive evidence of all, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Well, builder Ivan Martynov provides us with some insight to solving the mystery. He has made an entry into SHIPtember that is both a space ship and an ancient temple.

There are the stairs to reach the summit, a shrine at the top, and what appears to be a six-legged beetle (or is that an alien form, carved crudely?). Then there are thrusters, power cores and other bits of advanced technology. It all makes perfect sense. This ship touched down in several places on Earth, inspired worship and emulation, and then left to visit other worlds. Do you believe the conspiracy theorists yet? Maybe you should.