Let's meet our new 10k Club member Yang Yang! Today he will present his LEGO Idea named CARL’S HOUSE, which is inspired by a well-known animated movie UP from 2009 created by Disney Pixar.
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 wish I could have a model of the house from “UP”. Then 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 come about?
I had my first LEGO set when I was a child. I felt that every scene and every LEGO Minfigure had its own story. Since then, LEGO has been another small world for me.
- What is LEGO for you? What does it mean for you? How does it fit in your life? E.g. build, display, meetups, play the games or 'just' watch the cartoons.
LEGO was 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 LEGO Star Wars series and Street Scape series again, which evoked my childhood memories. Now my wife and I love LEGO very much 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?
All along my favorite 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 extremely recreated with LEGO bricks.
- What is your favourite official LEGO set? Why?
75192 is my favorite LEGO set. It recreates in proportion to the LEGO minifigures. This set of LEGO extremely recreates every detail of the exterior and interior of the Millennium Falcon in the movie.
- What is your favourite LEGO element? Why?
The 1*1 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 that the Ideas series 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?
As I said before, my wife and I like the movie "UP" very much. This movie symbolizes the most beautiful love and the realization of dreams. Carl's house is a classic in the entire movie. The moment the house flies is the most exciting moment of the whole movie. The design and color matching of the house is very warm. After learning LDD and Studio 2.0, I decided to make it as soon as possible.
- How long was the process of making the project did, 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?
The whole process took about a month. The early decision was to build a house in the same proportion as the LEGO figures on the 32*32 tablet so that it could be better integrated with the streetscape series. I planned to design two modes, on the ground and take off. During this time, I replayed every shot of the house in the movie over and over again. I tried to recreate every detail of the inside and outside of the house in the movie.
- What special challenges did you face creating the model? What was the most difficult part to recreate?
There were lots of difficulties during producing the model. For example that I had to adjust the inside structure of the house because I found there was some unreasonable layout for the house in the movie which made it impossible to recreate the model while fulfilling the specific conditions.
When it came to the balloon part, I wanted to make enough balloons that were just like the movie poster. However, after trying a few times, I realized that too many balloons will cause excessive weight. The load-bearing capacity of the roof is a big problem. Then I decided to make the balloons just fly out of the rag. In this way, the weight of the balloon can be reduced, and at the same time, the most classic scene in the movie is recreated as the house just took off.
- 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?
“After thinking more about it, there must be a better way to put them together.”
Good work needs to be thought 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 busy, I only 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 players 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 affirmed by the players. At the same time, I was very touched and grateful to see the comments of the players. Because this is a dream I have had for many years. The work was uploaded on July 14, 2020, and reached 10,000 votes on August 9, 2021.
- Approximately how many LEGO bricks did you use to create your model?
I used 2988 bricks to create this model.
- What is your favourite building technique or part/section that you’ve incorporated into your Product Idea?
The slant of the roof uses the triangular fixed assembly technology, which makes the roof more realistic to the shape of the house in the movie while ensuring the stability of the roof.
- If you built your model digitally, what software did you use to build and render your model?
To complete this work, I used LDD, 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 very much. Secondly, the selected theme must be popular. Finally, you need to 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, 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 to your Product Idea?
A good cover is a key.
- What is your favourite LEGO Ideas Product Idea (besides your own of course)? Are there any Product Ideas you think have been overlooked?
My favorite LEGO Ideas set is 21322. First of all, it reminds me of the LEGO classic set 6285, which is really classic. Secondly, it has two forms that really make me feel amazed. This design is really great. I think the Bag End from saabfan is underestimated. Its form of expression is very artistic and storytelling, but I feel sorry for the final defeat.
- 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 players 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 players 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, it may be a building with Chinese characteristics.
By
Kamila9