The Art of LEGO Design

Table of contents

1. Acknowledgments
2. Preface
3. Introduction
   1. Information and Inspiration
   2. Overview
4. Chapter 1: Inspiration & Preparation
   1. The Plastic Perspective
      1. Colors
      2. Shapes
      3. Size and Scale
   2. Reference and Research
   3. Your Work Environment
      1. Your Building Desk
      2. Indispensable Building Tools
   4. Fighting Builder’s Block
   5. Essential Elements
      1. 318 Bars
      2. Travis Bricks
      3. Pneumatic Ts
      4. Finger Hinges
      5. Flexible Hoses
      6. Minifigure Hands
      7. 1×1 Clips
      8. Cheese Slopes
      9. Pistols
      10. Half Pins
5. Chapter 2: Minifigure & Company
   1. Anatomy of a Minifigure
   2. Skin Tones
   3. Strike a Pose
   4. The Extended Family
      1. FABULAND Figures
      2. Belville Figures
      3. Technic Figures
   5. A Minifigure Rogues Gallery (1/2)
   6. A Minifigure Rogues Gallery (2/2)
6. Chapter 3: Bricks, Slopes, & Studs
   1. Bricks
      1. Plates
      2. SNOT
      3. Expansive Structures
      4. Scattering Bricks
   2. Slopes
      1. Roofing
      2. Rockwork
   3. Studs
7. Chapter 4: Patterns & Motifs
   1. Introducing Cheese-Slope Mosaics
   2. Measurements and Shapes
   3. Arranging Cheese Slopes
      1. Squares
      2. Other Shapes
      3. More Complicated Mosaics
      4. Eliminating Gaps
   4. Planning a Mosaic
   5. Framing a Mosaic
      1. Orientation
      2. Shape
      3. Special Frames
   6. Mosaic or Frame First?
   7. Other Helpful Hints
   8. Katie Walker on Mosaics
8. Chapter 5: Texture
   1. Fabric Elements
      1. Building with Fabric Elements
      2. Creating Texture with Fabric Elements
      3. Sculpting with Fabric Elements
   2. Rubber Elements
      1. Building with Rubber Tires
      2. Building with Rubber Bands
   3. Creating Texture with Plastic Elements
9. Chapter 6: Dynamic Sculpting
   1. Organic Models
      1. Bows, Slopes, and Wedges
      2. Flexible Elements
      3. Bruce Lowell on the Lowell Sphere
   2. Stylized Models
   3. Tyler Clites on Creating a Style
10. Chapter 7: Composition
    1. Lighting
       1. Hiding the Battery Box
       2. Unofficial Lighting Solutions
    2. Silhouettes
    3. Perspective
    4. Color
       1. Basic Rules
       2. Mixing Shades
       3. Advanced Designs
11. Chapter 8: Wildlife & Foliage
    1. Animals
       1. Articulation
       2. Achieving Realism
       3. Creating Small Animals
       4. Prefabricated Creatures
    2. Fantastical Creatures
    3. Ken Ito on Dinosaurs and Dragons
    4. Trees and Foliage
12. Chapter 9: Large-Scale Figures
    1. Scale
    2. Proportion
    3. Articulation
    4. Expression
    5. Iain Heath on Characters (1/2)
    6. Iain Heath on Characters (2/2)
13. Chapter 10: Cars, Wagons, & Watercraft
    1. Automobiles
       1. General Advice
       2. Common Pitfalls
       3. The Garage
    2. Adam Grabowski on Cars
    3. Wagons
       1. Shaping the Cabin
       2. Wheels and Horses
    4. Watercraft
       1. Building the Hull
       2. Final Details
    5. Tom Jacobs on Watercraft
14. Chapter 11: Buildings
    1. A Texture Medley
    2. Historical Buildings
    3. Luke Hutchinson on Medieval Buildings
    4. Interiors
       1. Furniture and Other Details
    5. Michael Jasper on Furniture
15. Chapter 12: Science Fiction
    1. Robots and Mechs
       1. Style
       2. Size
       3. Articulation
    2. Brian Kescenovitz on Mechs (1/2)
    3. Brian Kescenovitz on Mechs (2/2)
    4. Spacecraft
       1. Small Vessels
    5. Peter Morris on Starfighters
       1. Large Vessels
    6. Pierre E. Fieschi on Freighters
    7. A Universe of Possibilities
    8. Keith Goldman on Dioramas (1/2)
    9. Keith Goldman on Dioramas (2/2)
16. Chapter 13: Final Steps
    1. Photography
    2. Postediting
    3. Sharing Your Work
    4. Critiques
17. ClosingThoughts
18. Index (1/2)
19. Index (2/2)
20. Photograph Credits
21. Updates