Today we meet a familiar face to the 10K Club - welcome back, Yang Yang! For a second time, Yang Yang has hit the 10K milestone and has a rather unconventional story about why he created GARFIELD – 2-IN-1. Give your congratulations to Yang Yang in the comment section!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Hi everyone. I'm Yang Yang.
- Where are you from?
I'm from Kunming (China).
- How old are you?
At the age of 33.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I work in a bank.
- What hobbies do you have?
I love drawing, designing, clay carving, photography, and, of course, building LEGO sets and MOCs.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
You can find the name 'Enzo Young' on Flickr with my LEGO MOC works.
- 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?
Carl's House is my first MOC. I am very proud of it. My wife and I love the movie “UP” so much. In the movie, there’s one saying “Happiness is about having each tiny wish come true”. I wished I could have a model of the house from “UP”, so I made the house with LEGO bricks. I recreated every detail of the house as closely as I could from the movie.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
I had my first LEGO set when I was a child. I felt that every scene and every LEGO minfigure had their own story. Since then, LEGO building has been another small world for me.
- 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.
LEGO bricks were my best friend when I was a child. I always like to take apart the sets and build the buildings and vehicles I imagined. In 2008, I came into touch with the LEGO Star Wars series and Street Scape series again, which evoked my childhood memories. Now my wife and I love building with LEGO bricks and have bought many sets as art displays and collections.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
My favourite themes are the Street Scape series and the Star Wars UCS series. My first set of Street Scape is 10185. During building this set, I found that not only the exterior of the building is beautifully decorated, but also the interior of the building has exquisite furniture and decoration. It deeply impressed me and made me fall in love with the Street Scape series. When multiple sets of Street Scape were put together, it felt like all the LEGO minfigures on the street came alive. I always thought about how complex and elegant the whole production process is.
As a fan of Star Wars, I certainly could not miss the Star Wars UCS series. The details of the vehicles in the movie were recreated extremely well with LEGO bricks.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
75192 is my favourite LEGO set. It recreates in proportion to the LEGO minifigures. This LEGO set recreates every detail of the exterior and interior of the Millennium Falcon in the movie.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
The 1X1 brick is the most original and symbolic brick of LEGO to me. It defines the ratio of length, width and height of LEGO bricks so, to the extent that the Ideas theme uses it as a logo.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
Jamie Berard is one of my favourite LEGO designers. Especially when I found out that most of the Street Scape series was designed by Jamie Berard, I admired him even more. Every detail in these sets and the way they are put together makes me feel amazing.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
I visit Bricklink often.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
In fact, I am not a fan of Garfield. A friend I met once suggested that I should try to make the IP of Garfield. My wife told me that she thought Garfield was very cute and she also liked it, so I decided to try to make this IP.
- 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?
It took me about a month to create this set. In order to have a deeper understanding of the IP of Garfield, I dug out the earliest Garfield series of TV animations and anime works and watched them from the beginning, trying to find the most popular features and scenes of this cartoon.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
There were lots of difficulties in creating the model. One is that the colour scheme of Garfield is very monotonous. So I finally decided to choose the model of Garfield sitting on the sofa watching TV to restore some colour, and because this image is the most representative of the cartoon. At the same time, the colour of furniture and accessories can show a level of richer colour. Another difficulty is that the entire facial lines of Garfield are almost curved and the shapes are very round, which is difficult to recreate with LEGO bricks. In order to reduce stickers as much as possible, and to restore the appearance and features of Garfield with the least parts and the smallest building size, I tried a lot of different ways of assembling them. In the end, I decided to reduce the width of the face to 12 bricks while preserving the features of Garfield, thereby avoiding the problem of the finished product being too large.
- If you could talk to yourself before you started on this project, what would you tell them? What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
"After thinking more about it, there must be a better way to put them together." Good work needs to be thought about, over and over again.
- 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?
Because I usually work very long hours, I have very little time to create. Secondly, there are constantly new problems appearing in the creative process, and the plan needs to be revised constantly. So the whole process took a month. I was very moved and grateful to see other LEGO Ideas members helping me share my work.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
When I reached 10,000 votes, my wife and I were extremely happy. I am really happy to see that my work has been validated by the LEGO Ideas community. At the same time, I was very touched and grateful to see the comments of the community. The work was uploaded on May 18, 2022, and reached 10,000 votes on August 3, 2022.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
I used 2303 bricks to create this model.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
My favourite building technique is using a hinge plate to facilitate wedge assembly.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
To complete this work, Studio 2.0, and Photoshop.
- If you used custom stickers or prints for your design, how did you create them or where did you get them?
The stickers used are all redesigned and finished with Photoshop, according to the movie settings.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
First of all, you need to love LEGO building a lot. Secondly, the selected theme must be popular. Finally, you must consider whether it can fully show its details with the existing LEGO elements, whether the whole structure is stable, and whether you can create the model that you want with fewer bricks, and whether the assembling process is boring, or not.
Maybe you can create it slowly. Good ideas always come out suddenly during the production process.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support for your Product Idea?
If it is an original work, it needs to have strong playability or enjoyment. If it is a work with an IP, you must consider the global popularity of this IP.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
My favourite LEGO Ideas set is 21322. First of all, it reminds me of the LEGO Classic set 6285, which is truly a classic. Secondly, it has two forms that really make me feel amazed. This design is really great. I think the BAG END from saabfan has been overlooked. It is very artistic and tells a story. It is unfortunate it was not selected.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
As a LEGO fan, this platform is very attractive. This platform allows LEGO fans all over the world to see my works. Every support I received on this platform is of great significance to me. I can also see the excellent works of other members on this platform. As long as your work meets the requirements, try it boldly.
- 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?
Yes. I have finished my next project and I’m ready to submit it. Through the previous four MOC works, I have accumulated some experience in building. This time, I made a Chinese temple with elements of Chinese knight-errant. I hope to show some works with Chinese elements on LEGO Ideas, and at the same time, I hope to take this opportunity to let foreign players know more about Chinese culture.
