This stand-out submission recreates a key location from the hilarious Shrek films – his swamp home! Learn all about the DREAMWORKS' SHREK'S SWAMP 2 project by The Real Ashnflash in this 10K Club Interview :D
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Ashnflash.
- Where are you from?
Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I have a Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, and my full-time job is YouTube.
- What hobbies do you have?
LEGO is definitely my main hobby. I also watch a lot of TV shows and movies, as well as playing video games.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
https://youtube.com/Ashnflash
- Have you created any LEGO MOCs (my own creations) that you’re particularly proud of? What is it, why are you proud of it and do you have a photo of it?
Over the last five years, I have created 85 custom minifigure series, six custom Advent Calendars, and some custom sets. But out of everything I’ve created, I’m definitely proudest of Shrek.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
I can’t recall specifically if I was 4 or 5 years old, but I know which were my first LEGO sets – the Temple of Gloom (1355) and Droid Escape (7106).
- What does the LEGO hobby mean to you? How does it fit into your life? E.g. build, display, meetups, play the games or 'just' watch the cartoons.
LEGO means a whole lot to me. It was a huge part of my life growing up. When I was in school or university, I would always try to do projects or presentations related to LEGO if possible. I’ve also been fortunate enough to build a career around LEGO, and I’ve made some amazing friendships and connections with people all over the world!
- What is your favorite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
Superheroes is definitely my favorite LEGO theme. My love for superheroes started back with the original Spider-Man films and a handful of sets. Then in 2006 I was introduced to the world of DC through the new LEGO Batman theme that launched that year! And ever since 2012, I’ve tried to make sure I don’t miss out on any superhero-themed sets.
- What is your favorite official LEGO set ever? Why?
My favorite LEGO set by far is the Avengers Tower (76269). It’s just such an incredible model, and the shaping of the Tower is spectacular. But it’s the insane amount of minifigures inside and all the fun references and “Easter eggs” that pushes it to the number one spot for me.
- What is your favorite LEGO element? Why?
It’s probably the masonry bricks. There’s something so satisfying when they’re next to each other and the patterns all line up! I love how we keep getting it in more and more colors.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
I would have to say Marcos Bessa. Back in 2013, I saw an interview with him talking about the design process for creating the Arkham Asylum set from that year. That’s what inspired me to look into how to become a LEGO designer and ultimately led to me getting my Bachelor’s degree.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
YouTube was definitely a large inspiration for me starting on this journey. I’ve also met some incredible people on Eurobricks, Flickr, Instagram, and Discord.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I have loved Shrek for as long as I can remember. I can’t believe it turns 20 years old this year! I had the movie on VHS, and I would watch it on a loop while building LEGO, so much so that I have most of it memorized. Shrek 2 was the movie I watched the most because it was my favorite of the quadrilogy. I could go on and on about my love for the franchise, as well as the shorts, the video games, etc.
My LEGO Ideas submission is actually a resubmission of my previous Shrek’s Swamp creation. I had the idea for this set for years ago, probably when I realized the first movie had a 20-year anniversary coming up. The idea to base it on Shrek’s Swamp was easy because it’s the most iconic location from all the films. I was very grateful to have the opportunity to return to this and update the model with newer pieces and colors. I also added a highly requested fan-favorite character and snuck in a few more “Easter eggs.”
- How long did the process of making the project take and what did you have to research? What kind of prep, research and design phases did you go through to produce your creation?
I’ve been working on this set for a couple years now, on and off. Because Shrek is so important to me, I wanted to perfect the set. The idea of the set having a dollhouse feature, opening up down the middle, was inspired by the Winnie the Pooh Ideas project.
Research-wise, I rewatched all the films multiple times while working on the project. I looked up concept art from the films and took screenshots of the interior and exterior of the tree. I had to double- and triple-check the doors were all swinging and opening the proper way, like they do in the film. The list for the “Easter eggs” and little details included in the set continued to grow with every rewatch of the movies!
I’ll touch on what took so long with this project in the next question, but it started with me designing the base of the tree first, then the removable trunk, the interior, the minifigures, and finally the milestone minifigures to promote the project.
- What special challenges or frustrations did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
This ties into the last question, but the reason this set took so long to finish and upload is because I was never satisfied with the trunk’s shape or color. Depending on the movie, the lighting on the tree would change. So, I would constantly go back and forth between different browns, tans, and grays. But the shaping of the trunk… That was the most challenging! You can see in the attached pictures a few different versions of the trunk. The trunk would either be too short, too long, or just didn’t look like it was in scale with the bottom of the tree. The pieces used for the grass effect also changed multiple times.
Because the set took such a long time to finish, more and more new pieces and colors were introduced by LEGO, so I updated a few builds and details with newer, more useful parts.
- If you could talk to yourself before you started on this project, what would you tell him/her? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
Time management is such an important thing. With the original submission and with creating milestones, it’s important to get everything ready as soon as possible.
- How long did it take to complete the model? Did you finish it fairly quickly, or did it take a long time? And how did the build time compare to the time you spent promoting your Product Idea to reach 10,000 supporters?
Like I said before, this set had been in the works for a really long time. I had announced that I was working on the idea by revealing one of the original builds for the set in a video in June 2021.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
Reaching 10k supporters is never something I will take for granted. Seeing the support continue to grow and reach every milestone is just such a special experience. The project took less than a month to reach 10K. I did all the same things I did the first time around in promoting the project, it just took a bit longer to reach the goals this time.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The set has about 2,700 pieces. I definitely went a little overboard with some of the terrain and environment detailing!
- What is your favorite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
The outhouse is still my favorite part of the overall set, but my favorite part about this new version of the submission is the “Easter eggs” I included. The favor that Fiona gives Shrek was something I didn’t include the first time, and the waffles on the tree trunk was a fun additional inclusion because it references the fourth movie.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I used a site called Mecabricks to build and render the model.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I created all the prints and stickers in Photoshop and was able to import them into the digital model on Mecabricks.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas Product Idea?
Patience and pursuit of perfection. I knew that if the shape of the tree or a specific print on a figure was off then it would bother me. I needed to give it 100%. Even if it took me more time to complete, I wanted to be happy with the final product.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
I’m fortunate to have had a lot of people supporting the project on Instagram, X, and YouTube, so I made social media pictures and videos of the model to post there. I was also inspired by Bulldoozer, who has created minifigure milestones for his other Ideas submissions – it gives people a bit more of an incentive to support the project in order to reveal their favorite Shrek characters in minifigure form!
I also believe that the biggest factor of this project’s success was just Shrek. The character and franchise are so beloved, and recently he’s become a very popular meme online. Put that together with people’s existing love of LEGO… My posts garnered a lot of traction, and other people’s support blew me away. People from all around the world were posting about this set in different languages, and on different platforms, like TikTok and Facebook. There were over a million eyes on this project!
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
The chance to be a part of the process of turning an idea into an official product really excites me! It’s been a dream of mine for a long time, and I hope Shrek is the one to get me there. The most important tip I can give to someone is to be passionate about the idea you’re submitting. I think if your project is connected to something you love, it will show.
- Do you have plans to submit any other Product Ideas in the future? If yes, can you give us a hint what that might be?
I have a lot of ideas, but I lack the time. You never know what might happen in the future, but for now I’ll continue fighting to turn Shrek into a LEGO minifigure!
By
JacobM366