Tag Archives: Mosaic

LEGO astronaut beholds space oddities

When astronauts in orbit turn away from the pale blue dot of home to gaze upon the vastness of space, there’s not a lot of color for the naked eye to see. But travel far enough or use the right lenses or tune to the right spectrums, and space is full of brilliant displays, perhaps like the one captured here in LEGO by Katja (Palixa and the Bricks). Is the astronaut witnessing the birth of stars in a molecular cloud? Or is is it some new form of life here to make first contact? Katja is a creator who builds in every manner of style, from modulars to mosaics. I love how this Astronaut scene blends mosaics with her talent for expressive characters.

The Astronaut echoes a build that Katja shared last year of a similarly stylized diver. It’s great to see her returning to past successes, like she did recently with more vacationing fruit to join last year’s bumper crop.

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SNOT Mosaics are nothing to sneeze at

Mosaics are an amazing entry point into LEGO creativity, but the sky’s the limit for how you can create beautiful patterns with bricks. Every week, dozens of new designs are shared as part of #MosaicsOnMonday. A few weeks back, I was struck by this design from the event’s co-host Dana (virginia_bricks) which uses SNOT bricks to add more depth and negative space.

Dana credits Onibabalego for leading her to the technique, and no wonder. The French builder has pioneered mesmerizing mosaics from SNOT bricks and unconventional pieces. Her kaleidoscopic builds are truly inspiring.

There’s a joy and a magic in finding surprising ways that LEGO elements can jigsaw together into tight patterns. What I love about onibabalego’s mosaics is how they incorporate gaps of negative space into the design. And the colors!

Home is where the DOTS live

LEGO may have phased out the DOTS line of mosaic-focused kits, but Justyna Zakrocka keeps the spirit alive with her innovative 32×32 tile-focused tableaus. Returning after a long hiatus, her latest scene is an exercise in elegance with a window frame that uses subtle depth to bring the scene to life. Justyna breaks up the usual 1×1 dot style with long tiles for a clean look. A few vintage elements from Scala perfectly complement minifig-scale accessories to find lifelike proportions. The builder’s square designs are always a delight, but I especially love this delicious sushi boat tableau.

The next LEGO geographic mosaic set revealed: 42025 Map of Greenland [April Fool’s!]

LEGO has offered a sneak peak of their upcoming mosaic set: 42025 Map of Greenland. Following the success of the 31203 World Map mosaic set from 2021, LEGO seeks to launch other geographic map mosaic sets starting with the sovereign nation of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. The Map of Greenland set consists of 5422 pieces and measures 53 cm long 74cm high (20.86in x 29.13 in) and will be available from LEGO.com and LEGO Stores globally from June 1, 2025, priced at US $149.99 | CAN $249.99 | UK £129.99. There is no word yet as to when this set will be available globally at other retailers but The LEGO Group anticipates that this set will be of particular interest in the American market segment.

Joy is an infinite spectrum

Being diagnosed with autism as an adult isn’t easy. Maybe, like me, you grew up with a very narrow understanding of what autism meant based on a few harmful stereotypes. Maybe you learn strategies to cope and “mask,” but you can never escape those moments that leave you feeling broken or alien. Thankfully neurodiversity has largely moved from taboo topic to a source of community, empathy, and self acceptance. Understanding that autism is a spectrum and not a box is key, and it’s why the infinite spectrum has become a symbol for Autism awareness and a reminder that with infinite diversity comes infinite potential. It’s what inspired LEGO builder Margit to create this work titled “Autistic Joy.” As Margit says: “I want them to be proud of who they are, joyfully autistic. I love my brain and myself. It’s taken decades to get to this point, and I’m celebrating with this flora and fauna 3D mosaic. I hope you like it.”

Margit recreates the the rainbow spectrum using LEGO bricks, drawing on elements that give her joy to express this hopeful message. Like last year’s Milky Way set or the art of Jiwoo Seon, Margit’s mosaic is full of texture and uses clever connections to draw in a wide range of disparate elements that only reveal themselves up close. Seeing a crab holding up an apple certainly brings me joy!

Considering how neurospicy the LEGO community is, it’s great to see the LEGO Group continue to recognize and support with efforts in schools and the recent Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program.

Taking down the big baddie, brick by brick

What makes for a great RPG boss fight? There’s the boss, preferably huge. You’ll need a party of heroes, their skills honed on the bones of lesser foes. And of course an epic arena with room to maneuver and priceless artifacts to smash. Dan O’Conner doesn’t disappoint with this Boss Fight Arena in LEGO, a scene packed with masterful technique. First, let’s take a moment to appreciate the SNOT mosaics built from hundreds of cheese slopes and other angular elements. The glowing trans blue pentagram under the caster is amazing! Speaking of caster, the brick-built battle effects are quite effective, from the magic shields to the slice of air from the Gith warrior in the background. The heroes seem to have this battle under control. Of course, a truly memorable boss battle will go through at least three phases, so the worst is likely yet to come.

Trick-or-Treating for tiles!

After countless Halloween seasons in the LEGO hobby, I’ve seen pumpkins of every size, shape, and variety. So I certainly take notice when a new bit of “gourd-making tech” hits the scene. Fellow SortLUG member Deborah Higdon has nailed an excellent pumpkin shape in her seasonal mosaic, utilizing curved tiles to create the lobes of the fall fruit. A pair of spooky creatures and some winding vines add to the 3-D elements of the creation. All that’s left is to wish you all a happy Halloween from The Brothers Brick!

No such thing as an ugly duckling

If you need a little extra cuteness in your day, look no further than this LEGO art piece by Bert Van Raemdonck! I’d argue the strength of this build is all the subtle details. From the single stud for the cygnet’s nostril, the two tiny feathery tufts on its head, to the adorable little nub tail, all these things add up to be greater than the sum of their LEGO parts! Special mention needs to be given to the cygnet’s eye, as Bert has found the perfect piece for the job; a bicorne hat! Finally let’s talk colors. Bert has used light aqua for the swanling’s highlights, while on its other side the colors transition through gray and tan into yellow and bright light orange. With that, its time to wrap this up. I hope this cygnet signals a certain upswing in your day!

A rose that’s as pretty as a picture

If you need some LEGO to hang on your wall, look no further than this build by Ethen T! First I want to shout out how Ethen has found the perfect frame to match the dimensions of LEGO bricks. the 1×2 plates and jumpers tile the frame perfectly and give a textured background for the star of the show. Speaking of texture, here’s a lot of 1×1 corner tiles in this build! In addition to the tiles, Ethen has used plenty of organic LEGO pieces to add interest to the build. There’s plenty of flowers of three different types sprinkled throughout the petals and the stem. Considering this is a rose, Ethen has also fittingly added heart tiles to the mix as well. Now for the all important question: would you rather step on a LEGO brick or the thorn of a rose?

Pensive Paul Atreides contemplates the future of the Dune-iverse in this LEGO mosaic

Using only seven colors of LEGO 1×1 round plate, mosaic master Ethen T captures the very essence of Timothée Chalamet’s turn as Muad’Dib. With filt-plug equipped and the background of Arrakis displayed in orange and yellow, this singular image goes a long way toward conveying the emotion of Dune: Part Two. And the way that Ethen manages to create the collar of the stillsuit using only grayscale is impressive at this scale and in this medium.

LEGO lettering: a blessing and a cursive

LEGO builder Kristel Whitaker is an absolute rebel! She’s not going to let something like a grid of studs keep her from crafting a spot-on remake of the LEGO Scala logo. With so many curved tiles, modified plates, and stud offsets, Kristel is able to trace out S-C-A-L-A in only two layers of red. It certainly pulled its weight for the Scala Murder Mystery Mansion at Brickworld Chicago a few weekends ago.

Stunning LEGO mosaic is over 5 feet tall!

Jiwoo Seon is back with an astounding piece of LEGO artwork. Jiwoo has expanded on a previously developed technique to create this beautifully vibrant flowery dress. The star piece of this work is the 1×6 curved arch in a wide variety of colors that makes up the majority of the dress, but if you take the time to look closely you will see a huge variety of unique parts used to add texture and interest. You will see a lot of these parts in the highly detailed dripping ink effect below the dress!

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