Tag Archives: Mosaic

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

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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…

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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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LEGO Art 21226: Art Project – Create Together: Team Building you might actually enjoy [Review]

There’s a lot of excitement about LEGO Art mosaics right now, thanks in part to recent reveals of some cool upcoming DC Comics licensed LEGO art. But what if you’re more into creating your own LEO images? Well, LEGO has you covered there, too. LEGO Art 21226: Art Project – Create Together is available now from the LEGO Shop Online for US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £104.99. This 4138 piece set is designed to be shared between up to nine people, and includes designs for 36 different 1-panel designs, and a 9-panel Classic Spaceman “maxi-image”. Sounds fun, right? But is it? We bought a copy…come along and see what we found out!

Click to read the full hands-on review

The world according to LEGO

LEGO recently revealed 21332 The Globe that will go on sale next month, but according to Ralf Langer, it’s not really accurate to what LEGO world should look like. Where are the straight edges, the clean lines, the blocks? This cubic version Ralph designed is much better for our brickish hearts. The depth in the water and the tiled continents look gorgeous together, and as cool as the official set looks, it’s kind of making me want to redo it in this style already.

A portrait of the artist in plastic – Frida KahLego

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo created many amazing self portraits over her impressive career. Now, South African artist Michelle Krüger has taken a fun twist to those works, and created a LEGO mosaic version using a huge array of colorful elements. This complex construction uses layers of bricks, plates, tiles, and even plant elements to create color values that aren’t currently possible in single element 1×1 tile or plate mosaics. This style also adds a lot of really interesting textures to the real-world build, rewarding the viewer for leaning in and taking a close look at just how those at-a-distance shapes are achieved.

There’s a lot happening in the worlds of LEGO mosaics lately. Check out other LEGO mosaics here on TBB for more featured builds and artists!

Building Big, Building Bold – An interview with Jonathan Farrell [Feature]

There are a lot of different ways to approach building mosaics in LEGO, and each artist tends to make a claim on their own style. Sometimes that means “massive brick-built images”. In that theme, a clear standout is Jonathan Farrell. We had the opportunity to sit down (virtually) with Jonathan and talk about his methods, his favorite builds, and just what happens to a mosaic that fills a room once you’ve photographed it!

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It’s Mario Mosaic time!

John Kupitz has created this incredible build of everyone’s favourite plumber, Mario. A wide range of pieces are used in this model’s construction, from a baguette to a scorpion and even a rabbit in the M logo at the hat. On the right side of the face, a monkey is cleverly hidden and represents part of the hair, while there is a Mario printed piece, from the NES set, at the ear. The photo of this mosaic has been taken at just the right angle so that all the parts blend to form this stunning display.

TBB Cover Photo for January 2022: The king’s royal hangover

Why is the start of the new year in the middle of winter? It’s dark and cold out, everyone is tired. Even indoors can be dark and cold, just like this grand high-ceilinged throne room built by Andreas Lenander. After a night of celebrations within his keep, the noble king returns to his throne with a royal hangover to ponder the existential dilemma of ruling instead of partying. Or he may be wondering what’s taking his servant so long to fetch the breastplate stretcher…

We recently wrote about this grand royal hall, but we decided to use this immersive and atmospheric shot as the cover photo for our social media platforms. Despite my questionable interpretation of the scene (and one too many Bobby B references), the composition of this build and the photo speaks for itself as good storytelling. The king positioned on the white carpet draws the eye to the throne looming in the darkness, prompting the pondering of his situation. Does the darkness mean that his kingdom is in peril? Do the columns signify that the king is trapped in a risky position of power (and he’d rather be spending his life partying with peasant girls)? Ok, I’ll stop now.

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A LEGO mosaic tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther

The Brothers Brick contributor Chris Doyle adds to his Super Heroic mosaic collection with a tribute to Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther.

This image is based off of a publicity still, run through the LEGO Remix website a few times, modified to lower his hands, then hand color-corrected. This mosaic is 96 studs by 46 studs – 6,144 studs total in the image. (Plus a bunch more for the frame and Technic pins to hold everything safely together.) You can read more about the construction after the break!

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