We’re nearing double digits in our interviews by Keith Goldman. For our more sensitive readers, today’s interview does contain some fairly strong language. You’ve been warned. Take it away, Keith!

My next guest is a self described “SMOOTH, two-faced, lying bastard” whose models have been the definition of cool in the realm of sci-fi building for the better part of a decade.

I can’t think of a builder who’s been more often imitated than Soren Roberts, and as the cliché goes: never duplicated. Soren is the warrior of the wasteland, the ayatollah of Rock and Rolla!

I’m going to stop because he also has a severe allergy to flattery, daylight, and fools like me.

I sat down with Soren in his blacked-out ’71 cuda, as we prowled early morning downtown Denver Colorado looking for a guy he kept referring to as “That F’ing Girondist”. We talked about Studio Nue, why Snow Crash should never be made into a movie, and whether it is better to use a rusty spoon or a shoe-horn to remove your victim’s eye.

The Build

Keith Goldman: Talk to me about the concept of the “Third Artist” and how it applies to building science fiction models with LEGO.  What’s your best advice for somebody who already has a decent grasp of technique, but wants to strive for originality in sci-fi or any other creative genre?

Soren Roberts: The concept of the ‘third artist’ is pretty simple — the first artist makes something original. The second artist copies (or “draws inspiration from”, if you feel charitable) the first. The third artist repeats the work of the second because, hey, that’s what you do.

And in science fiction, especially TV and movie science fiction, you’re lucky if it’s just the work of the third artist — more often it’s the fifth or sixth.

The best advice I can give is to build a clip file of all your influences. Every image you see on the net or in a magazine — if you like it, save it. And it can be anything — I have all kind of pictures of industrial machinery and pressure vessels, but I also have abstract paintings and typography to draw on.

For a while I was drawing a lot of inspiration from early steam warships. And so on.

If you want originality, try to move as close as possible to direct, first-artist inspiration from your surroundings. 99% of science fiction is designed to look like other science fiction, but that one percent stands out and often has a huge, disproportionate influence. It’s really hard to design a future cityscape that doesn’t at least obliquely reference the L.A. skyline of Blade Runner, or worn spaceships that don’t reference Star Wars, because those images were so striking and became so fundamental to our concepts of future cities and spaceships.

KG: You have an art and design background, how does this inform your building?  Also, give me a basic concept or two that you think other builders without your background could practically use to make their building better.

SR: Probably not all that much, beyond the expanded vocabulary — I don’t have a lot of experience in three-dimensional media, so I’m winging it. It informs my color choices, but I’m subject to the same constraints of part availability as anyone else. You can’t really teach a critical eye, just set up the conditions for someone to learn it themselves.

Two of the biggest things I know are how to do the background on someone who inspires me and having a pretty solid process. Being able to dig up more work by someone, or find their inspirations, is tremendously valuable — it lets you pick their brain for ideas remotely. Having a process is just nice for a lot of reasons — speed, certainly, but also for exploring potential alternative designs. I tend to build a lot of details beforehand, and to build several versions of a section I’m stuck on, and pick the version I like. Keeping up the momentum of a build is important.

So, yeah. Do the research on your influences, and have a process that minimizes frustration.

More of Keith’s interview with Soren after the jump: Continue reading →