Tag Archives: Mosaic

Look of a Warhol, texture of a Van Gogh

When LEGO launched their Art theme it included a tile-based mosaic take on the iconic Marilyn Monroe panel-art by Andy Warhol.  And that was pretty cool…back then. But now artist Michelle Krüger has placed her own unique spin on this classic image, adding texture that introduces an entirely new depth to things.

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Does this LEGO mosaic fill you with a sense of Euphoria?

When it comes to building huge real-world mosaics, Jonathan Farrell is among the pros. His latest offering is a picture perfect rendition of Rue from Euphoria, as portrayed by Zendaya. Jonathan found building her hair particularly tedious, and that slog almost led to him abandoning this mosaic altogether. But he pushed through, and now we can enjoy the results. Good thing he took pictures…as he’s since reclaimed all this brick to use in his next project!

If you’re curious about how the artist goes about creating (and demolishing) these images, check out our interview with LEGO mosaic artist Jonathan Farrell!

LEGO 41950 Lots of DOTS: Lettering – Just your type(face) [Review]

We’ve been taking a look at the new sets from the DOTS theme for Spring 2022, and found some serious ups and downs in the 41951 and 41952 Bulletin Board offerings. Now we turn our collective eyes towards a set designed to bring those two sets up a notch. LEGO 41950 Lots of DOTS: Lettering is available now for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 UK £17.99 | EUR €19.99. Making legible text out of LEGO is a bit of a challenge – will this new DOTS accessory pack help put the “fun” into “font”? (If so, how would you even pronounce that?)

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click to read the full hands-on review

Batman needs his Robin: Rebuilding LEGO Art 30125 into the Boy Wonder [Instructions]

We recently shared an early look at the LEGO Art 31205: Jim Lee Batman collectionone of the new additions to the LEGO Art theme. The set comes with three main images to choose from: Batman, the Joker, and Harley Quinn, all based on iconic Jim Lee art. There are also “ultimate builds” that feature a larger look at the Bat, and a showcasing a quiet moment between Batman and Catwoman. But we were left wondering…where’s Robin? Well,  The Brothers Brick contributor Chris Doyle decided to see if it was possible to build a Jim Lee-style Robin out of only the parts in the 31205 kit. Spoiler alert: Yes, you can. And we provide the instructions if you want to give it a try yourself!

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A mosaic that’s 487,080 pieces of Mmm-mmm good

Photo-realism is something that many builders strive for in their LEGO mosaics, but the limitations of the real-life scale of even the smallest LEGO tile makes pixelization and grain just a fact of life. While that’s (Usually!) the case for physical LEGO creations, this digital work by Jim James shows just how  far you can take things in the realm of pure imagination. But Jim has done more than build big (81,180 pieces in each label!) – he’s built clever – curling a flat mosaic into a tube to create a truly stunning rendition of the mundane world. Then, because why not, he went the extra mile and replicated the first can into a Warhol-eque display of truly grand scale. 81,180 x 6 = 487,080 elements!

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LEGO DOTS 41951 Message board and 41952 Big Message Board – Signs, signs, everywhere signs [Review]

Have you been waiting for a sign to buy more LEGO? If so, are several new DOTS offerings that let you create your own custom message boards. LEGO DOTS 41951 Message Board (US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99) and 41952 Big Message Board (US $39.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £34.99) will be available March 1st. While they seem like an interesting expansion to the DOTS theme, are they worth picking up? Come along as we see just what sort of message these sets are sending.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click to read the full hands-on review

LEGO Art 31204 Elvis Presley – Can’t help falling in love. [Review]

Elvis fans had a reason to sing when LEGO announced that the King of Rock ‘n Roll would be joining the Art theme in the spring of 2022. Featuring three iconic portrait options, LEGO Art 31204 – Elvis Presley will be available March 1st from the LEGO Shop Online for US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £104.99. Come along as we see just what this 3445 piece set has to offer. Will it be a trip to the Heartbreak Hotel or a case of Burning Love?

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click to read the full hands-on review

LEGO Art 31205 DC Jim Lee Batman Collection – Plenty of black and some very, very dark grey [Review]

When LEGO announced that they were expanding their LEGO Art line to include Jim Lee’s Batman art, there was a certain amount of “well, that was inevitable” to the news. Batman is one of the most iconic super heroes in the world, and it was only a matter of time before LEGO expanded from their minifigure-scaled movie tie-in sets and Technic offerings into the “adult collector” area. LEGO Art 31205 DC Jim Lee Batman Collection will be available starting March 1, for US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £104.99. The 4167 pieces in this set can be used to create the grim visage of the caped crusader, or can be rebuilt into a portrait of either the Joker or Harley Quinn. Come along as we take a close look at the set’s ups and downs, and see just how arty this Bat-Mosaic really is.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click to read the full hands-on review

Today’s the day to fall in love with Mosaics on Monday [Feature]

One of the great things about LEGO is that there are so many creative ways to build. Some people navigate towards spaceships or castles. Some gravitate towards trains or buildings. And some explore the more esoteric fringes of artistic creativity with sculpture. Or, in this case, mosaics.

Over on Instagram, there’s been a lot of great art showing up in the #MosaicsOnMonday tag. We recently had a chance to sit down (virtually) with the innovators behind this challenge, and learn a bit about where this tag came from, where it is, and where it’s headed.

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Classic Aerosmith album Just Push Play cover in LEGO

LEGO builder Adnan Lotia is a self-described Rumpelstiltskin who “converts music into LEGO.” Specifically, he takes classic album covers that we have spent hours zoning out to as our favorite songs play and somehow breathes new life into them as truly inspired 28 x 28 mosaics. Squint your eyes and they look like the real thing! Take this recreation of Aerosmith’s 2001 album “Just Push Play” featuring the fembot artwork of Hajime Sorayama (don’t image search him if you are at work). The dazzling chrome of the original is achieved with the most subtle combination of blues. Eagle-eyed viewers will note the edge of the dress features the brand new yellow 3 x 3 macaroni tile that I have only seen in 43202: The Madrigal House.

What I love so much about his work is that he could have just done a lazy pixel to 1×1 round-tile conversion like in the Beatles mosaics. Instead, he uses unique parts to do this amazing optical mixing trick that totally destroys my brain. Look closely at each mosaic and you will see they are full of tiny visual puns: the orange bars that somehow reproduce neon on a Dave Matthews Band cover, the 2×3 plant leaf that turns into Prince’s chest hair, the blur logo that looks like it has always been represented in LEGO tiles.

Why another mosaic? It’s a mystery (science theater).

The Brothers Brick contributor Chris Doyle is back with another large-scale LEGO mosaic. This time he leaves the superheroes behind to celebrate a recent highlight of live-performance pop culture.

I’m a big fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and have spent a lot of time recreating the robots and scenes from the show in LEGO. Last December I was lucky enough to be treated to VIP passes to the MST3k Time Bubble Live Show, and was really taken with the new host, Emily Marsh. So much so, that I wanted to immortalize her role with a big ol’ mosaic. Read on after the jump for more about the process, and just what that stuff along the bottom edge is…

Emily Marsh MST3k Mosaic - some context

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LEGO reveals 31204 Elvis Presley – “The King” as next Art mosaic for Spring 2022 [News]

Along with a slew of other sets, LEGO has taken the wraps off the next Art mosaic set for Spring 2022. Slated to be available March 1 along with the 31205 Jim Lee Batman Collection set, the new Elvis set marks the first time the King has graced a LEGO set. The set contains 3,445 pieces and includes instructions for three different portraits of the rock n’ roll legend. We expect it to retail for US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £104.99.

See more pictures of the new Elvis set below, and don’t miss the other new LEGO sets for Spring 2022:

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