I knew that I couldn't have been the only one to think 'Stargate' when LEGO Pharaoh's Quest came out. Outside of JasBrick's custom minifigures, however, I hadn't seen much done.
Eurobricks member Yatkuu has answered the call with this MOC depicting the villains transporting in. Great use of lighting and the build captures the action the 'transporter rings' quite well.You can see more of this MOC on Eurobricks.
I've started to see creations based on the recently released video game Dead Space 2.
The first comes to us from Mark (Legoagogo), who adds his signature lighting style to a cramped corridor environment.
The second creation come to us from Swoosh! Here we have custom renditions of both Isaac and a necromorph. So far it seems that the Kingdoms great helm is a popular stand in for the helmet design.
There's also a rumor that Hazel Fantasy may be considering a custom version of Isaac's armor. If that makes it to ABS, I'll be sure to let everyone know.
To see more from these fantastic creators, visit Legoagogo and Swoosh! on Flickr.
Thanks to some early review pics by KimT, I was prompted to visit LifeLites to see if they had more than the blue LED lightsaber blades...and they did!
LifeLites now has LED, minifig scale lightsabers in blue, green, orange, and red. Each are retailing at $8.00 USD. It would also seem that a review of these sabers will be on Eurobricks in the near future.
A lot to report this morning...First up Bricks Down Under is reporting that Target Canberra Centre has Series 3 Collectible Minifigures in stock. This is the first reported sighting of this of Series 3 in Oz. The site provides the standard dot 'cheat sheet', but with all the questions swirling around, I'll be interested to hear how accurate they turn out to be. See Bricks Down Under for more details.
Eurobricks is holding a Harry Potter Original Wizard Contest. It would appear that this contest takes a purist approach according to the rules, so start sorting through your collection. The prizes are a bit of a mystery, but entries must be in by February 1st. Check out the thread on Eurobricks for more details.
If you recall, Victor (eclipseGRAFX) had an amazing Star Wars MOC a few days ago with amazing lighting an digital effects. He provides a detailed behind the scenes tutorial on the CABG forums. You can see just how much work went into this creation and hopefully have it inspire your works of your own.
More coming later today, so stay tuned...
Cygnet Minister of Information Ugly Duck Command Center Minifig Nation
Over the weekend I registered for the Clone Army Builder's Guild forum as I've heard nothing but good things about the group. I was looking through the forum topics and found a link to the video tutorial above on how to make 'lightsaber effects' in GIMP, a free, open-source photo editing software that has similar functionality as Photoshop.
A quick use of the YouTube search and it appears that this video is the most viewed tutorial on the site for this topic (it doesn't mean it's the best, of course, but that's a story for another time). Nine minutes later and a little practice and you could be adding glowing lightsabers, eyes, or power cores to your minifig creations or vignettes.
The one place where this tutorial is wanting is in how to generate believable light effects from said blade. Although the end result looks quite good, it doesn't cast the light and shadows you would expect. If anyone knows a fix for this, please let us know.
Thanks to the folks at the CABG for pointing this out!
Another fantastic instance of how an already great vignette can be enhanced through digital techniques. The lighting is wonderful and the enhanced computer screen and hologram just put it over the top.
Victor (eclipseGRAFX) is really becoming a triple threat - he's a fantastic customizer, he can build great scenes that tell stories of their own, and he can dance the merengue like nobody's business...I may have made up that last one.
So I try not to make the same mistake twice...Brandon Bannerman (Catsy) has yet another amazing scene he's created this time from the files of the Space Police. It seems that rouge cop Nigel MacGruder is leading the Jovian Fleet to plunder the Sol precinct.
Fantastic use of lighting in this scene, and do I see a new use of the BrickArms Brodie!
It seems Nigel and his gang will go to any lengths to keep order in the gang. That one bloke shot so close to the two men on the floor it seems they spilled their punch...
I could say that I didn't post Brandon's amazing creation earlier in the week because I assumed he would be winning a certain contest this month and I wanted to wait until then...but I won't.
You may have seen Brandon Bannerman's (AKA Catsy) scene of three spec ops soldiers ready to bring a mountain down on an unsuspecting enemy on a little known site called The Brother's Brick. If not, then be amazed at the presentation, lighting, and just plain inventiveness that went into this piece. The image almost tells a story all on it's own.
You can see more, including some behind-the-scene set up shots, on Brandon's Flickr stream. There's a also a nifty narrative for this pic that can be found there as well.
...about lighting day 23 of his 2010 Advent calendar series, that is. I'm a big fan of lighting and presentation, and if you've ever seen Chris McVeigh's (AKA Powerpig) toy photography it doesn't disappoint.
Using a combination of shots and digital wizardry, Chris has used a 'masking' technique to blend elements together. The end result is a fantastically lit piece worthy of your yearly holiday cards. You can see the full description here.
If you've ever considered trying your hand at digital photo manipulation, but have been turned off by the high price of expensive software packages, may I recommend looking into GIMP. Although the name evokes images of the movie 'Pulp Fiction' (as in 'bring out the...'), GIMP is a free, open-source software package that allows you to perform many of the same techniques as Photoshop provides. A quick download and a library card (for a how-to book) can get you on your way. Check out the GIMP website when you get a chance.
Legofenris gives us a great holiday gift with this depiction of Brow's Place, the roughest bounty hunter bar in the quadrant. Great lighting and presentation really sets the mood and tells a story.
You can see more of legofenris' work on his Flickr page. I don't see a way to buy prints, but if someone knows how, let us know!
Nope. This is the new set built by Legoagogo. I don't know what it is (the water perhaps?), but when I saw the thumbnail image I thought it was a screen shot from a video game. Fantastic use of lighting and presentation!
This set up is more about the MOC and less focused on the figs...but who cares. It's awesome no matter how you look at it.
The picture above by Captain Ordo uses a clever technique to create the starry backdrop without using expensive software or fancy digital tricks. As you can see here on the good Captain's Flickr stream, the backdrop is simply a laptop screen showing the stars. This technique has also been used by others such as Shobrick in their presentations. The top down lighting is a flashlight shining through a hole at the top of the set. A fantastic example of how presentation can be enhanced through techniques that are readily available to most.
Approaches with lighting and presentation are exactly the thing we will be looking for in our monthly design challenges, which start in just a few days (the first challenge starts December 15th). Join us on Flickr and take part in the contest.
I have to say that Legoagogo is one of my two favorite 'finds' from last month. He's back with minifig and lighting goodness titled 'Bounty Hunter Gambit'. The lighting is both innovative and creative. Although I must admit it does make me think of a 70's era disco hall, it could easily be an alien gladiatorial arena. It even has The Emperor 'DJ-ing' up in the booth...
Earlier today Legoagogo marked The Duck as a contact on Flickr...and I'm glad he did! It would seem we have another expert in lighting among us. I'm still wondering how some of these lighting effects were achieved. Are the 'florescent tubes' on the ceiling actual lights, or a light shining through trans-clear 1x1 bricks lit from above? Regardless of the answer this is a phenomenal piece of work!
If you would like to see other innovative ways to light your minifig scenes, I highly recommend checking out Legoagogo's Flickr stream.
