Please welcome the newest member of the 10K Club, Les Briques de Loïc, and his beautiful HUMPBACK WHALE. This is sure to appeal to anyone, with its beautiful use of colour and silhouette - a piece to truly be proud of!
ABOUT YOURSELF
- Who are you?
Les Briques de Loïc.
- Where are you from?
I am French.
- How old are you?
I am 22 years old.
- What do you study or do for a living?
I am a student of product design.
- What hobbies do you have?
I like drawing and painting a lot. I’m interested in everything related to art and design, and I’m a big fan of LEGO contests, of course.
- Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website that you can share with us?
Yes, of course, come and discover my other creations here: instagram and flickr.
- 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, I’m most proud of my animals like these dinosaurs for example, but I like my characters too. Actually, I like all my MOCs.
- How and when did your interest in LEGO products come about?
I have always been interested in LEGO building, starting with Duplo and then System, I also had my Lego Technic period. In 2015, at the age of 15, I won my first contest. Since then, I regularly participate in contests.
- 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.
Being a student, LEGO building comes second to school. Also, I don’t have my bricks in my student flat so I just make them when I have time using digital building software.
- What is your favourite LEGO theme (current or past)? Why? And has any theme inspired your building style or preference in any particular way?
I like the «3 in 1» Creator sets that allow you to imagine several models, which is the original spirit of the brand. With this range, you can create various objects only with bricks and without figurines or very little. I find that this is what allows our imaginations to be best conceptualised. The constructions may seem simplistic, but with a few bricks, you can build a plane, a car or a boat. This is confirmation of the universal use of bricks.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set ever? Why?
I don’t really have a favourite set, but in the 3 in 1 range I like the 31129 set designed by George Gilliatt and I really like the Lego Ideas 21333 - Vincent van Gogh - Starry Night set by @legotruman
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
I really like the modified brick, especially 4070. This piece allows you to do SNOT (Studs Not On Top), a technique I really like.
- Is there a LEGO designer (official LEGO designer or fan designer) who you are inspired by and look up to? Who and why?
I really like Dan Ko’s work. He’s a master of the coin reinterpretation for me. He builds small MOCs in detail, which I really appreciate. Here's his flickr.
- Is there one or more particular LEGO-related websites (not official LEGO websites) that you visit often and/or are inspired by?
I look at blogs from time to time like BrickNerde, but I spend more time on Flickr and Instagram.
ABOUT YOUR PROJECT
- Where did your interest in this particular model come from?
My inspiration comes straight from the art of paper cutting. This technique, which consists of superimposing 2D planes, allows me to obtain depth in the painting.
- 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 always go through the drawing process before I start testing with LEGO bricks. I don’t necessarily look at the time I spend on construction, I progress on my projects little by little when I have time and until I am satisfied with the result.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
The most difficult and important part was the whale, you had to recognise it at first sight. It was a challenge to make all those curves with the constraint of the available parts. I’m frustrated that I can’t make it in real life at the moment, not all the pieces are available in the colours I used.
- 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?
If you have to design digitally, one uncertainty remains, and that is the solidity, especially with this kind of construction where there is a large part suspended in the void. I would have liked to test with real LEGO bricks.
- 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?
This project was spread out over a month, knowing that it was not my first construction in this style. I had the basics and I was able to use the techniques I had developed on my previous builds.
- How did it feel when you reached the magic 10,000 votes and how long did it take?
My project took four months to reach 10,000 votes, I was quite surprised at how fast it went. In fact, this is my third project submitted on the platform, the first two didn’t even reach 1000 votes. I was already very happy when I reached this level in only 18 days. So when I reached 10,000 votes, I was even happier.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
This project contains about 2000 bricks.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
As said before, my favourite technique is SNOT even in this style of construction. The part, 87087 (Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Stud on Side) allows you to build vertical arches and to multiply the possibilities to make different curves.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
I use the Studio software from Bricklink.
ABOUT LEGO IDEAS
- Do you have any useful advice about creating a successful LEGO Ideas project?
I don’t necessarily have any advice on how to create a successful LEGO Ideas project. The concept of proposing an original idea that has never been seen on the platform allows all those chances to be rated.
- What (if any) methods did you use to advertise and attract support to your Product Idea?
I obviously shared my project on my social networks and some AFOL groups. The fact that I had the Staff Pick helped me a lot to make my project visible.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
I like the original projects that try to challenge all these minifigure scale projects with all these other buildings.
- What is it about the platform that attracts you? What tips would you give to anyone who is thinking about uploading an idea?
Obviously, having the opportunity to have a set named after me attracted me to propose an idea on the platform. Waiting for 10,000 votes showed me that this type of construction is popular and made me want to develop other paintings in the future.
- 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?
Yes, of course following this success, I proposed a painting in the same style: see here. I think I will submit other ideas if one of these two projects does not succeed.
