We're finally here, folks - the final interview of a wonderful review period. Today, we welcome back familiar face Nicolas Carlier, a.k.a. CARLIERTI. This time with a solo project, Nicolas is back for a third time with NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM - RE-OPEN THE DOORS. Will it be third time lucky for this fantastic project? Let us know what you think in the comments!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Hello, my name is Nicolas Carlier.
- Where are you from?
I’m both Swiss and French, currently living in Switzerland.
- How old are you?
I’m 24 years old.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I’ve just finished my Master’s degree in architecture.
- What hobbies do you have?
Besides playing with LEGO bricks, my other passion is 3D art (3D modelling, rendering and animation). In my free time, I’m spending a lot of time experimenting and learning new 3D software and techniques.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
Yes, you can find my LEGO creations on my Instagram account (@nicolas_builds)! This is where I’m the most active and where I’m regularly posting new MOCs.
- 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?
Yes, being a huge fan of the Harry Potter saga, I recreated a vignette series based on the movies, each related to one iconic scene. In total, I did 12 vignettes.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
I’m playing and building with LEGO bricks for as long as I can remember. Playing LEGO bricks with my brothers and creating new stories is something that I really enjoyed when I was younger, and it never stopped from then. Submitting my own MOCs on LEGO Ideas and sharing my ideas with other AFOLs is something I find particularly exciting!
- What is the LEGO hobby to you? What does it mean to you? How does it fit in your life? E.g. build, display, meetups, play the games or 'just' watch the cartoons.
Of course my LEGO hobby takes an important place in my life; literally, since you can find piles of bricks everywhere in my bedroom! In the past few years, I have been really addicted to building LEGO MOCs digitally, since it offers a lot of advantages and many more possibilities in comparison to just real-life building.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
Of course, as an architecture lover, I like the LEGO Architecture line a lot. I’m also a big fan of the Harry Potter theme, as well as LEGO Icons!
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
I think my favourite set ever made is the 10275 Elf Club House, designed by Chris McVeigh.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
I like Jeff Friesen’s work a lot, his photography and building skill never stop to impress me. And of course, I also really enjoy looking at my Brother’s builds (Brickproject)!
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
I think I mostly look for inspiration through Instagram, since there is a very big LEGO fan community there.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
I’m a big fan of Night at the Museum movies. Seven years ago, I submitted the first version which only reached 700 supporters. Two years ago, I’ve submitted a second version which reached the symbolic milestone of 10 000 supporters but got finally rejected. Now, this is my third version completely redesigned and I really hope this makes it through this time!
- How long was the process of making the project, and what did you have to research as well? What kind of prep, research and design phases did you go through to produce your creation?
I’ve built this 3rd version pretty quickly in comparison to the previous one. I first started by listing a few ideas I wanted to integrate into this 3rd version according to the many feedbacks I received in the last project. I quickly came to the idea of building a completely closed building, which you can open from the back. Building the model took about 1-2 weeks, plus a few days more to make all the renders.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
Since the new project is much more compact than the previous one, the main challenge here was to integrate as many elements and characters as possible. On a technical level, the most difficult part to rebuild was probably the coffered arch which you can see at the entrance, but I’m really glad to see how it turned out.
- 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?
Completing the model did not take a long time, since I had a clear idea about the finished model. The project collected 10 000 supporters in 62 days, which is also quite fast!
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
It’s always special reaching 10 000 supporters. For this occasion, I woke up quite early in the morning to see this in live!
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
The model was built with about 2700 bricks!
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
I really like the big Earth globe, which was taken from my previous NATM project, as I think it’s one striking element of my project.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I’ve built the model digitally using LEGO Digital Designer (LDD). After that, I exported it into Mecabricks to add some more details and then exported it into blender for rendering. For the final touches, I used Photoshop.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
I’ve designed the custom stickers using Adobe Illustrator.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support for your Product Idea?
I shared my project on my social media (Instagram and Twitter), but I guess most of the votes come from the Ideas platform itself.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
No doubt, my favourite Ideas project is the Microscale Jurassic Park project by Senteosan, which unfortunately did not reach 10k supporters.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
Being an active LEGO member for more than 8 years, I think LEGO Ideas is a unique place for all LEGO fans to share their creations. LEGO Ideas is a great chance given to all LEGO fans who want to submit their own ideas and creations on something they are passionate about, and which isn’t based on any trends like on social networks. Thus, I would advise everyone to build something that really matters to them. If you put all your effort into a project, I’m sure all your work is going to pay off one day! So don’t be afraid of publishing new creations, since I guess it’s by trying that you will improve!
- Do you have plans to submit any other Product Ideas in the future? If yes, can you give us a hint of what that might be?
I don’t have plans for a future LEGO Ideas project, but I’m currently working on a project with Brickproject, related to LEGO building and which hopefully is finished at the time of the interview!
