So you have a pile of Bricks and want to create something...?
I’m not going to regale you with how to get your inspiration, nor with a formula for the perfect model, this is just a simple process I often use to get from bricks to something vaguely resembling art. It all begins with a thought, a dream, the glimpse of an idea. Perhaps the driving force of the inspiration is a mood, perhaps a visual image, perhaps an emotion you want to convey. Whatever the case, begin by focusing on that mental image. Then question how to legoize it... Should it be scaled? Caricatured? Can it be built almost exactly as seen?
Now for the excitement of a mental flyby! I try to glide through the important features in my mind at various speeds, more or less as a figure or convenient scale would see them. At this stage we’re still not looking at specific bricks and techniques so much as shapes and features. When a strong mental image has been formed, the details can be committed to paper. I am, arguably, the world’s worst sketcher. Not even the most sympathetic viewer has ever deemed that one of my finished models looked anything like the ‘drawing’. But I capture all the details in a sketch, even if only I can see them, and use it as a form of contract to keep myself from simplifying the mental image any further for future convenience.
Ah the build. My faviourite part! I lay out a rigorous footprint of my model and then use stacks of 2 x 2 red bricks to indicate the relative elevations of various features. I then begin with the element that will guide the eye through the model and build, connecting it to the various other features and joining the elevations as I pass them. Granted, some larger models require more specific planning due to their size and weight necessitating a frame. But in this case I generally build the frame around the relative elevation markers.
As you build you will probably find that you need to organize your building materials in some way to make the construction more efficient. Everyone has their own system, personally I sort by colour and then approximately six sub categories so that only the tub of bricks or two (or three) I actually need is on hand. I wouldn’t dare make any recommendations to anyone else, just make sure that you can see your model amongst your materials.
So you finish, and take a good look at your masterpiece. You may be proud, may be disappointed, you may kick it. This is where I can only council patience and practice. My first model that I posted online, still conjures up the mental image I had at the time- but only to me ; ) To be honest many of my creations now seem embarrassing. Including the last one I finished. I think the only answer is to keep building...
If you're looking for something more specific please make sure you check out 'Tip's & Tricks' in the Builder's Corner. I've also posted some great sources of inspiration and information on my links page. Of course you could always just stay and look around my Creations page. And down below is pinned my first ever model, if you need some encouragement that everyone begins badly ; )
Enjoy and God Bless,
|
 |
building@NTbricks.com