Napping Santa

I know how you feel Santa, I'm tired too. But tonight's your night, I promise we'll put out some delicious cookies for you. And I've been super good, really! Now, I'd like a Steadicam, some new Canon lenses, a slider dolly, some LED panels, a butterfly frame and black background, some flags, some apple boxes, a junior cart, oh and a LEGO death star, an X-wing...

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A Merry Presentation

Telling a story with LEGO bricks via still photo takes a lot of setup and posing, along with the right camera angle and focus. Seth Christie pulls this off nicely throughout his Night Before Christmas series by focusing on the story elements in the photo instead of on the actual build itself. To some builders this may seem counterproductive as blurring out the background and cropping things tightly does not show off all your hard work. However, by focusing on the central elements Seth is able to tell us a story with the LEGO brick medium.

Night Before Christmas, #15
Night Before Christmas, #16

It's All In The Details

Up until this point we have talked mostly about the story part of Seth Christie's Night Before Christmas build. In today's two posts we will be take a look at some of the details that make this series so special. Specific things of note are the use of screwdrivers for chain pulls on the two floor lamps (brilliant), use of minifigure legs for the wall baseboard and don't even get me started on the fireplace.

Night Before Christmas, #13
Night Before Christmas, #14

I Woofs You

These are so very charming. Kosmas Santosa has started what I hope is a long series of dog MOCs. Each is a specific breed and they're all adorable. The pictures almost look like illustrations they're so well done, and I wouldn't be surprised to find them in a book (hint hint Kos). I'm hoping a Corgi is on the list if there's going to be more of these.

I Woof You! - English Bulldog
I Woof You! - Scottish Terrier
I Woof You! - Bull Terrier

Olaf!

If you've seen Disney's Frozen, you are probably now in love with it's diminutive comic relief, Olaf. From his warm hugs to his fascination with summer, and from his witty one-liners to his continual reconfiguration, he steals the show. BrickJournal's own Joe Meno took his love to the next level and built Olaf in bricks...and took him to his favorite place, the beach.

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Flew Like a Flash

A window, a simple thing, yet so masterfully created by Seth Christie for his Night Before Christmas series. I believe this is the first time I have seen a double hung window created in LEGO bricks. The shutters, the siding, the window and the excellent choice of minifig configuration bring this set all together and add life to what otherwise could have been a boring build.

Night Before Christmas, #7
Night Before Christmas, #8

Nightmare Before Christmas

It's hard to believe this movie is already twenty years old. I still have vivid memories of seeing it for the first time. I was absolutely blown away. The animation, the characters, the imagination, the music. It was a perfect storm that the world wasn't quite ready for. But it's now seen for the masterpiece that it is. This MOC by Gabe Umland is a charming little tribute.

Simply meant to be...
Jack and Sally (full)

Longshanks' Death

Every year Castle-Castle.com runs their Colossal Castle Contest which includes some great prizes for the winners including some rare vintage castle sets. For the Castle LEGO lovers among us this means being treated to some excellent Castle-themed MOCs and this year is no exception. Some of my favorite castle builds that come out of this event are the interior creations as they tend to feature more intimate scenes. Lukasz 'LL' Wiktorowicz recently posted his interpretation of Longshanks’s death that includes some never before seen building techniques. This creation is totally worth pouring over the details.

CCC XI Longshanks' death