Vacation Update:

Hello readers of MosaicBricks!

Just a little update: I will be out of town on vacation for the week.

So there may be a few posts throughout the week, but don't expect them. I'll be back, posting again on Aug. 8th (Sun.).

Thanks!
~Casey~

It's-a Me! Mario!

Brickshelf user, deafgotham, makes everyone's favorite plumber!



Not to mention, he/she also made a neat little stand for the mosaic.

Four Score and Seven Years Ago...

Mocpages user, Douglas Hill, brought forth on the internet, a new mosaic of our 16 president, conceived in his head, dedicated to the proposition that all MOCers are created equal.



Hahahaha, just being silly up there! =P

The most interesting part of it is what it says on his Mocpages' page for it:

This piece uses another new palette I've been working on. The palette uses transparent red, yellow, blue, green, orange, and black over top of all of the readily available opaque colors for a possible total of about 180 colors. Some I don't include though due to cost [in the case of dark purple and pink] and there are many colors that are too close to each other to bother using so I choose one. Anyway, in this pieces there is a lot of transparent green although you see it as a lighter shade of black.

Which is incredible!

For more of Doug's fantastic mosaics visit his website, here.

Interview: Ben Caulkins (Jetfire35)

Today we have our very first interview. Over a few days I was able to talk back and forth with TFOL, Ben Caulkins, a.k.a. "Jetfire35". We talked about him, his Halo Master Chief mosaic, and his experience in Brickworld. Let's get started...

Who are you?

"My name is Ben Caulkins, I'm fifteen, and I'm from New York (no the city)."

How long have you been playing/into Lego?

"I think I came out of the womb building Lego. I've been building for as long as I can remember, and longer than that. I remember in kindergarden when everyone was playing with wooden blocks, I was sitting quietly on the floor building Lego. But it wasn't until I was eleven that I started building seriously."

How and when did you find the online Lego community?

"Since I was ten I had known of the online community, but not all of it. I regularly checked Brickshelf for new products coming soon, and Mocpages and Flickr for peoples' Mocs. I was very inspired by the builders Kevin Fedde (Crimson Wolf), Red IV, and Keith Goldman, who really got me started into building. But it wasn't until I met Arthur Gugick and he said I should join the online community that I started posting my Mocs on Mocpages when I was thirteen.

What themes do you like to build in?

What I like to build the most are things from movies. It could be a robot or a spaceship. But I prefer to do the robots like Optimus Prime, or the Terminator, or the AMP suit from Avatar. But recently I've been doing some more creative stuff in the space theme, one of the Mocs I've done in that theme even receiving an award nomination at Brickworld (for those who were there it was big and speckled with orange). And even more recently I've been building in the Halo theme, which I find a good thing to work with when there are no new movies with robots in them.

Now on to your mosaic,

When did you get the idea to build the Master Chief Mosaic?

"As I became more involved in Halo, I wanted to do something for the Master Chief. I didn't really want to do something 3-d, so I though I'd try my hand at mosaics, but for me using colors was out of the question, so I settled on black and white."




Did you use any online or computer programs to help design the mosaic, if any?

"To design it, I first found a good picture of the Chief, pixelated it, and turned it black and white. I then used LDD to design a model of the chief as close to the picture as I could. When I was done, I slapped a halo logo on it as well as my internet alias to take up space, and then sent the order in to shop at home."

How large is the mosaic?

"It's 64x80 tiles, so that's 5,120 tiles, although there are a few missing because the TLG sent me some pieces in the wrong color so I left those spots blank. So it's dimensions are approx. 20x25 inches."

The mosaic is made mostly of 1x1 tiles, especially orange ones, how did you go about acquiring so many?

"Actually, it's made of entirely 1x1 tiles, which I did to give it a consistency all the way through. I acquired the parts through the online pick a brick store, which I learned is a lot cheaper than shopping from LDD because of the instructions that come with LDD. Also, I learned that Lego is not entirely reliable, as I have already said I didn't get exactly what I asked for, but it worked out for the most part."

Is the mosaic still in tact? Or was it scrapped for parts?

"Well, I disassembled it for the trip back from Brickworld, and have yet to put it back together, although I plan to at some point. It has proven to be a very popular Moc, and I plan to keep it around for future exhibitions."

Now on to Brickworld...

I understand that you brought this mosaic to Brickworld. What was your overall, general experience of Brickworld?

"My experience of Brickworld was overwhelming. I had never attended a Lego event aside from a very small festival around where I live where I met Arthur Gugick, and that's meant more for little kids anyway. But at Brickworld, it was the first time I had been surrounded by people who shared my love of the brick. My eyes were opened up to a much larger community where everyone is accepting of everyone else no matter if they like G.I. Joe's or are obsessed with Star Wars, and I am proud to have been a part of it. Also, I was able to see some of the most impressive Lego Mocs I had ever seen."

Did you attend any of Mosaic workshops?

"No, I did not attend any of the mosaic workshops. Although I had thought about it, but I thought that there wouldn't be anything I didn't already know. Apparently I was wrong, but luckily my table buddy was the teacher of that workshop and he offered me some tips."


Will you be attending next year?

"I will absolutely be attending Brickworld next year, and will hopefully be able to stay for the closing ceremonies next time. But I wouldn't miss it for the world."

And lastly,

What is the future hold for Ben Caulkins? Any more mosaics?

"In my foreseeable future, I'm thinking of doing a layout of models that tells the story of the film 2001: a space Odyssey, and I've already finished one of it's iconic ships, a midi-scale Discovery One. Also, if I go through with the display, I would like to include a mosaic depicting the stargate sequence. Further in the future I look forward to building another Vic Viper which I've already made some Bricklink orders for. The last thing I've planned out is a model of one of the drones from Iron Man 2. But mosaics are a tricky thing, and a bit pricey, but whenever I can, I'll try to squeeze them in."

To see Ben's fantastic MOCs, visit his Flickr photostream, here or visit his MOCpages account here.

~Casey~

Mosaics at Brickworld 2010: Terminator Mosaic

As many of us know, one of the most popular Lego conventions took place last month (June) in Wheeling, IL. Brickworld 2010, which took place June 17th-20th with 795 attendees, was a huge success (Or at least what I've heard and seen). And it had a fairly good sized presence of mosaics!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I couldn't find the advanced mosaic workshop's mosaic, but now...I did! Turns out that it was, in fact, the Terminator one!



As you can see, the mosaic is incredible because it uses pieces that have curves or "slopes" you could say (Sorry, not really sure how to describe them, just look at the picture =) ) .

Great job Adv. mosaic class. This is fantastic!

Mosaics at Brickworld 2010: Master Chief Mosaic

As many of us know, one of the most popular Lego conventions took place last month (June) in Wheeling, IL. Brickworld 2010, which took place June 17th-20th with 795 attendees, was a huge success (Or at least what I've heard and seen). And it had a fairly good sized presence of mosaics!

One such mosaic that was brought and displayed, was a Master Chief Mosaic, made by Flickr user, Jetfire35.



The mosaic is incredible because it appears to be made entirely of 1x1 tiles.

Seen below is the mosaic at Brickworld (on the left, click the image for a slightly larger size).



Although I don't have much of an interest in Halo, the mosaic is great. =)

Brickworld 2010 Workshop: Advanced Mosaics

As many of us know, one of the most popular Lego conventions took place last month (June) in Wheeling, IL. Brickworld 2010, which took place June 17th-20th with 795 attendees, was a huge success (Or at least what I've heard and seen). And it had a fairly good sized presence of mosaics!

As you've learned from yesterday's post, the first mosaic workshop took place June 17th in the morning, but a second one took place later that day in the afternoon. The Advanced Mosaics workshop took place from 1:00-4:00 PM. Led by Roy T. Cook, the description on the Brickworld website reads,

In this workshop we shall examine some advanced LEGO mosaic techniques (such as those used in my Aayla Secura mosaic and Johnny Cash mosaic, displayed at previous Brickworlds, and my Reese Witherspoon mosaic, displayed this year). In particular, various techniques for 'blending' colors, and using non-rectangular elements to achieve this and other effects, will be discussed. After the presentation and question and answer session, the participants will collaborate on a large mosaic. Led by Roy Cook

I've searched all over the place to find the "collaborative large mosaic", but can't seem to find it. If anyone can point me in the right direction, that would be great.

But, I was able to find two of the mosaics mentioned in description.

Both of them are by Roy T. Cook.

First, his Aayla Secura mosaic (Star Wars).



To see the technique he used for this awesome mosaic, click here.

And secondly, his Reese Witherspoon mosaic, which does not have a close up image so you'll click on the one below to get a closer look (The mosaic is the one on the far right).



I've got two more posts about BW'10 so stay tuned! ;-)

Brickworld 2010 Workshop: Build Your Own Lego Mosaic

As many of us know, one of the most popular Lego conventions took place last month (June) in Wheeling, IL. Brickworld 2010, which took place June 17th-20th with 795 attendees, was a huge success (Or at least what I've heard and seen). And it had a fairly good sized presence of mosaics!

The most notable presence of mosaics is the workshop that took place June 17th from 9:00 am 12:00 pm, directed by Jeremy Moody of the "Lego ship in a Bottle" fame. The description on the Brickworld website reads:

Have you ever wondered how the some of the best LEGO mosaics are designed? Have you wanted to build one yourself? In this workshop you will learn everything you need to know to design your own mosaic. We will talk about various techniques in design — where one method is better than another, etc. You will even get a chance to build your own full color mosaic to show at Brickworld and take home at the end of the event! Builders are asked to bring $20 to cover the cost of materials, or $15 if they bring their own 32x32 baseplate. Builders are also highly encouraged (but not required) to bring laptops, and to install GIMP, available for free at http://www.gimp.org. Builders must also decide on an image they want to turn into a mosaic ahead of time, and if unable to bring a laptop to the workshop, send the image via email to [Taken out]. Any other questions about the workshop may be sent to that address as well. Take some time to think of a good subject for your mosaic; remember that these mosaics will be relatively small, so tiny details won't show up. If you are unsure if a particular subject will work, feel free to ask. Limited to 20 teams of builders.* A team refers to a group of one or more builders working on one mosaic. Non-builders may come to watch, provided space is available. Led by Jeremy Moody

$20 for a 32x32 custom mosaic is a great deal and sounds like a lot of fun! Jeremy posted an image of all the mosaics that were made:



Flickr user, TooMuchDew took a closer up picture of the mosaic he made, based off his Flickr avatar.



I think it turned out great!

Be sure to read Jeremy's write-up on how he thinks the workshop went here.

On another note, I was able to attend the public display, and it was blast seeing all the cool mosaics that weren't in the workshop.

For several posts here at MosaicBricks we will be talking about all sorts of mosaics at Brickworld (despite it being a month afterwards). =)

Ow...my head hurts!

Flickr user, eilonwy77, creates a mind boggling black and white labyrinth. Start in the center (the loop outside of the 2x2) and see if you can find your way out of the maze (I would suggest clicking the thumbnail to see a bigger version though.)



Eilonwy77 also makes some great patterns and designs, so be sure to stop by her photostream.

Ten-hut!!

After coming back from Brickworld with "thousands" of green 1x1s, Flickr user au_riverhorse, creates a green army man drill Sargent in Lego Mosaic Form.



I'd love to see more of these type of mosaics, with doing more green army men.

Hi there, Papa Smurf!

Brickshelf user, "welshielegos", recreates an 80s cartoon classic by making a Smurf mosaic.

Welshielegos also made a second version, except, in 3-D.

Also, this mosaic comes out at an interesting time because during the previews for Toy Story 3, I saw a trailer for "The Smurfs". Not sure what I think of it. =P

A Mosaic: What is it?

I'm glad you asked! You can't really have a Mosaic blog, let alone a Lego Mosaic blog, without even knowing what one is!

Dictionary.com defines a Mosaic as

a picture or decoration made of small, usually colored pieces of inlaid stone, glass, etc.

but the Lego design school has my favorite definition:

A mosaic is a picture, pattern, or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces of material onto a surface. In art and architecture, mosaics are usually made of stone or ceramic pieces in a variety of colors set into cement or mortar.

Also, Mosaics come in all shapes and sizes and can be made on any
surface with enough adhesive. Plus, mosaics have been around for a very long time. It's not like it's a "new thing". The first one dates back to the second half of 3rd millennium BC. Seen left, is a cone-like wall mosaic courtyard from Uruk in Mesopotamia 3000 B.C. Even primitive and almost colorless, the mosaic displays an different design on each pillar. Mosaics became even more complex and popular as time went on, being used a lot during the rein of the Roman Empire, being used to decorate walls and floors. To learn more on the history of mosaics, I suggest reading it up on Wikipedia. Here's the link.


But on this blog, we're not doing normal mosaics. We're doing Lego ones. But what is "Lego?" Or more importantly, "What are Lego bricks?"

I had to do a "definition" in school once and I choose "Lego bricks" as my thing to define so mine is:

A type of toy consisting of interlocking bricks and pieces that have a tube inside the bottom and studs on the top so all pieces can be put together and taken apart easily.

And when you put those two things together, Mosaic and Lego, or "Lego bricks", you get something wonderful. Lego Mosaics. Seen right is my first attempt at a mosaic. The classic Lego logo on a 32x32 baseplate.

The rest of the blog will consist of creations from other builders and their mosaics, tutorials on how to get started in mosaics, and we might even get interviews on builders, about their mosaics. I'm new at this blogging thing so cut me a little slack. =P I'll get better as time goes on. :) Stick around!

~Casey~

Hello, there!

and welcome to MosaicBricks! The only blog dedicated to all things Lego Mosaics. I'm so glad you've stopped by. Although there aren't any posts yet, there will be in the near future. Here, we'll cover all types of mosaics including, Face-up mosaics, SNOT mosaics, cheese-slope mosaics, as well as give you tutorials, tips, and help on your own Lego mosaics.

So once again,

I hope you have a good time reading here.

~Casey~