Tag Archives: Trees

A serene journey over the falls

LEGO builder Paul Vermeesch comes out of a year-long hiatus to deliver a beautiful scene inspired by the works of Aaron Becker. Becker illustrated three books known collectively as The Journey trilogy, filled with beautiful images but no words. The protagonist travels about a fantasy world armed with a piece of red chalk. With it, she creates various modes of transportation colored red which stand in stark contrast to the dream-like colors of the rest of the illustrations. Paul has captured the feeling of the books beautifully in LEGO, using a limited, earthy color palette and a single red canoe.

One of the things I love about this model is how open, airy and light the whole thing feels. Everything in the scene seems tall and spindly. The building is a fairly simple structure adorned with lovely architectural details including the green half dome at the top. The landscaping is a great combination of sideways building and interesting flora. The tall, thin mushrooms dot the landscape which features some really fantastic trees made from brown flex-tubes, 1×1 round bricks, and olive green leaves. I particularly like the detail of the flags strung up between them on the right.

I’ve seen a lot of treatments of waterfalls, but this one is a bit different. I love the choice to use smooth bricks for the water and the 1×2 clear plates as the foam. It’s a wonderful bit of contrast that adds to the illustrated quality of the piece. In keeping with Becker’s original style, the central focus is the red canoe. Aboard the boat, the sailor looks quite happy even as he’s reaching the edge of the falls. At least it’s not a long drop.

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A cabin in the woods

LEGO creations often make me want to experience what’s built but in the real world. Carter Witz’s Mountain Cabin really makes me want to get out into the wilderness and go hiking. Sure, you can’t really feel the temperature of what’s depicted in a photo, but the hue of the green grass and the orange leaves on the trees peg this as an autumn scene. The trees tell me there’s a slight breeze too. And for some reason, I think it’s an overcast day. If I slip and fall into the cold mountain runoff in that stream, I’ll have no problem warming up in the snug little cabin. Aside from all the wilderness feels I’m getting, I need to also take a moment to appreciate the quality of these birch trees. The technic pins take them to a whole new level, making it look like the bark is falling off along with the leaves.

A holiday home under a dome

Builder Malin Kylinger creates a lovely little getaway ensconced in a glass dome that evokes thoughts of Victorian mantlepiece decor and vacation getaways. We’ve featured Malin’s incredible creations in the past and they never fail to wow us.

I love a good microbuild and this one doesn’t need to be outrageous to capture our attention. Its simplicity makes me think fondly of being in the woods and the peacefulness that brings. A tiny cabin sits atop a nicely built mountain surrounded by some nice trees made from grass elements. The three-leaf element is used for the ground greenery and the pink flowers create a nice color contrast. I really like the small waterfall at the front of the house and the sand green and gold design that surrounds the bottom border. A lovely little getaway under a dome where the weather is always perfect.

Welcome the lunar new year with this festive LEGO tree

Vietnamese builder Khang Huynh is welcoming in the lunar new year with a beautiful LEGO bonsai apricot tree packed with new ideas. One of the best things about LEGO is that its elements can be repurposed nearly endlessly, limited only by your imagination. Here Khang has used several propeller pieces to sculpt the large, delicate petals of the yellow apricot blossoms that dot the tiny tree. Don’t stop looking there, though, take a close look for other wonderful reimaginings, such as ski poles, horns, and even a stud shooter.

A LEGO bonsai to admire

The art of bonsai, or tray planting, much like LEGO building can be a very meditative process. Hours and hours can go into the finished product, and meticulous study and practice can lead to a true masterpiece of patience and careful work.

In this wonderfully detailed tree by Know Your Pieces that combines both, there are some small details worth pointing out. I love the use of tiny cherries as small berries under some of the leaves. The twisted brown whip wrapped around the middle is also a nice choice. And the bowl and stand work very well together to provide the perfect display. Altogether, it’s just how a beautiful bonsai should be.

Have yourself a very classic Christmas

If Hallmark decides to get into the LEGO holiday card market, Aukbricks has created a warm and inviting scene that would be welcome in any mailbox. The hardwood floors, white molding, and candles on the wall offer us a nostalgic vision of an old world home. Meanwhile, the holiday decorations are color-coordinated in classy white and gold – right down to the gift boxes under the tree. According to the builder, this digital render utilizes existing LEGO elements and consists of nearly 4,500 pieces. Try packing all of that in a holiday card!

Happy little trees

You know about Bob Ross, right? If not, the short version is that he was an amazing painter, best known for his peaceful and calm teaching method. Quite often, he would fill his canvasses with “happy little trees,” conjuring entire forests with just a few elegant brush-strokes. Builder Emil Lidé (Full Plate) has a similar talent, creating trees with a flair and minimalist style that evokes nature with just a tiny selection of LEGO elements.

Not satisfied with just one tree, Emil has created seven distinct varieties for us to enjoy.

All seven are great, but there are a couple of standouts that I wanted to take a closer look at. (All seven are detailed in the builder’s Tree Techniques album on Flickr.)

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The amethyst bonsai

Purple treeze all in the ground. Don’t know if they’re growing up or down. Is it crystal or purple ice? Whatever it is, Duncan Lindbo built a tree that’s nice. Queue Jimi Hendrix guitar solo – Duncan’s magical-looking tree is constructed from transparent purple Bionicle elements, which are lit throughout to give it a sparkly, crystalline appearance. If something could be grown from a shard of the Dark Crystal I’d imagine this would be it!

If you’d like to see more of Duncan’s work in purple, be sure to check out his loathsome worm we featured back in September.

Finding peace with plant pieces

Nothing says peacefulness like a bonsai tree. And what better way to cultivate the perfect tree than to use LEGO to make it just the way you want it? From it’s beautiful base to the winding trunk, Brent Waller‘s bonsai is a picture of serenity. The shape is gorgeous, especially paired with the clean rockwork. The bridge and little fisherman are cute too!

Brent is also the creator of something completely different, but also 100% epic. He’s the fan designer of the LEGO Ideas set 21108 Ghostbusters Ecto 1. Additionally, you’ll need to zoom in on every detail of his incredible Wayne Manor and Batcave.

A serene forest scene and a mighty steam engine

This scene of a steam train traveling through a forest by Allan Corbeil does so many things skillfully. Everything is executed wonderfully, but the centerpiece of the little diorama is clearly the steam engine in the middle. The train is perfect. My favourite aspects are the cloud of steam spewing forth from its chimney and the ingenious use of a Clikits ring on the front. While I love the train, it’s dwarfed by the magnificent beauty of nature that’s been recreated here.

The variety of vegetation–from tall coniferous and deciduous trees to the dense and varied underbrush–coupled with the pond make the whole scene seem real. The forest is so well done that I can almost smell the trees and hear water trickling. Maybe I might hear that train roaring down the tracks too. Be sure to check out Allan’s other pictures to get the same feeling I have, as well as spot a couple Easter eggs he included as surprises.

Hang in there, little plant.

We love progress. Our cities, our monuments, even our parking lots are all built for the betterment of mankind. But no matter how far we progress, how tall we make our buildings or how shiny a monument may be, one fact will always remain true. Someday Mother Nature will reclaim what was once hers. Builder Emil Lidé illustrates this notion with this creation he calls “Breaking Through”. No stranger to building beautiful flora and fauna, he clearly has a deep respect for nature. We’ve highlighted his Yin and Yang Panda House before and while this piece is less extravagant, its message conveys strength and endurance. It is important to remember that the balance between mankind and nature is precarious. Every skyscraper began with a plan and every mighty oak began as a humble acorn. I have never rooted for a plant to win more than this little guy here.

Just the LEGO tree you were looking for

When it comes to fun landscape techniques, Emil Lidé has you covered. This tree made out of slopes is whimsical and creative. For me, it’s a little mesmerizing. It almost looks like it has been turned into 3D fractals!

But this is just a small sample of Emil’s handiwork. He’s not only an expert at building unique flora, he is gracious enough to create instructions on how to build them. His free instructions for both the trunk and canopy of this tree are on his personal website fullplatebuilds.com. You can also check out our article about one of his part experimentations, or another featuring multiple techniques in a single build.

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