Portland Public Library

The art of LEGO design, creative ways to build amazing models, Jordan Schwartz

eng

illustrations

index present

non fiction

The art of LEGO design

861208675

Jordan Schwartz

creative ways to build amazing models

This book explores LEGO as an artistic medium. This wide-ranging collection of creative techniques will help you craft your own amazing models as you learn to see the world through the eyes of some of the greatest LEGO builders. Each concept is presented with a collection of impressive models to spark your imagination. Discover inventive techniques such as: creating lifelike creatures from unusual elements; designing sleek cars without showing a single stud; using light bricks or LEDs to add ambience to dioramas; crafting textures to create cobblestone roads and brick walls; building sturdy, detailed figures; and adding depth with forced perspective

Ch 1: Inspiration & preparation. The plastic perspective (Colors ; Shapes ; Size and scale) ; Reference and research ; Your work environment ; Fighting builder's block ; Essential elements (318 bars ; Travis bricks ; Pneumatic Ts ; Finger hinges ; Flexible hoses ; Minifigure hands ; 1x1 clips ; Cheese slopes ; Pistols ; Half pins) -- Ch 2: Minifigure & company. Anatomy of a Minifigure ; Skin tones ; Strike a pose ; The extended family (FABULAND figures ; Belville figures ; Technic figures) ; A Minifigure Rogues gallery -- Ch 3: Bricks, slopes, & studs. Bricks (Plates ; SNOT ; Expansive structures ; Scattering bricks) ; Slopes (Roofing ; Rockwork) ; Studs -- Ch 4: Patterns & motifs. Introducing cheese-slopes mosaics ; Measurements and shapes ; Arranging cheese slopes (Squares ; Other shapes ; More complicated mosaics ; Eliminating gaps) ; Planning a mosaic ; Framing a mosaic (Orientation ; Shape ; Special frames) ; Mosaic or frame first? ; Other helpful hints ; Katie Walker on Mosaics -- Ch 5: Texture. Fabric elements (Building with fabric elements ; Creating texture with fabric elements ; Sculpting with fabric elements) ; Rubber elements (Building with rubber tires ; Building with rubber bands) ; Creating texture with plastic elements -- Ch 6: Dynamic sculpting. Organic models (Bows, slopes, and wedges ; Flexible elements) ; Bruce Lowell on the Lowell Sphere ; Stylized models ; Tyler Clites on Creating a styleCh 7: Composition. Lighting (Hiding the battery box ; Unofficial lighting solutions) ; Silhouettes ; Perspective ; Color (Basic rules ; Mixing shades ; Advanced designs) -- Ch 8: Wildlife & foliage. Animals (Articulation ; Achieving realism ; Creating small animals ; Prefabricated creatures) ; Fantastical creatures ; Ken Ito on Dinosaurs and dragons ; Trees and foliage -- Ch 9: Large-scale figures. Scale ; Proportion ; Articulation ; Expression ; Iain Heath on Characters -- Ch 10: Cars, wagons, & watercraft. Automobiles (General advice ; Common pitfalls ; The garage) ; Adam Grabowski on Cars ; Wagons (Shaping the cabin ; Wheels and horses) ; Watercraft (Building the hull ; Final details) ; Tom Jacobs on Watercraft -- Ch 11: Buildings. A texture medley ; Historical buildings ; Luke Hutchinson on Medieval buildings ; Interiors (Lighting ; Modular buildings ; Viewing from the side ; Furniture and other details) ; Michael Jasper on Furniture -- Ch 12: Science fiction. Robots and mechs (Style ; Size ; Articulation) ; Brian Kescenovitz on Mechs ; Spacecraft (Small vessels) ; Peter Morris on Starfighters (Large vessels) ; Pierre E. Fieschi on Freighters ; A universe of possibilities ; Keith Goldman on Dioramas -- Ch 13: Final steps. Photography ; Postediting ; Sharing your work ; Critiques -- Closing thoughts

juvenile