Designing Custom Lego Figures Part 1

HOW TO DESIGN CUSTOM LEGO® MINI-FIGURES

In this very special look inside the Brick Yourself design process, we’re pleased to release this article in conjunction with the premiere of Brick Yourself’s new Brick Yourself pictures. These pictures are available for public display and can be viewed more thoroughly in our gallery.

PART 1:

CUSTOM LEGO® MINIFIGURES

There are many types of custom Lego® minifigures. The term is given to any figures designed specifically in the image of someone, be they a notable character or otherwise.  As far as standard, (or non-custom Lego® Minifigures go), design for minifigure characters initially was a very generic, smiling person. Over the years the faces began to develop reaching the diversity and complexity of the figures Lego currently produce.

The characters have in the past generally been dictated by different themes  e.g. Batman, Star Wars, Pirate. But over the last few years, the Lego® group has released a veritable feast of minifigures each representing a character in society or fiction in some way. These figures can be viewed as being their own theme and as a result Lego figures became much more adept in its personalisation of minifigures and in this sense become far more relatable to society.

The next stage in this evolution is to customise the mini-figures to individuals and this is where you’ll find Brick Yourself: At the forefront of the custom Lego® frontier. Going boldly where no-one has gone before. We aim to design figures that are artistic in a fun and exciting process of collaboration with the client.  

WHAT EXACTLY ARE CUSTOM LEGO FIGURES?

You can describe custom figures in many ways, but what they are essentially and fundamentally can only be described as highly specific pieces of art. They capture aspects of reality in unique ways, while expressing certain truisms about the subject. Though the figures can be small, the shear quantity of available parts make the design and research  process quite challenging.

Brickman Dan

Brickman Dan is the founder of Brick Yourself and publishes regular articles on how LEGO® Art & Design, as well as LEGO® Investment.

In Part 2: How to design the perfect mini-figure and what goes into it.