Creature Feature: An Interview with LEGO Artist Ian Hou
/Best of BrickNerd: Weekend Highlight — Article originally published October 25, 2021.
Today we share with you an interview with Ian Hou, a talented artist and passionate LEGO builder from Taiwan, and today’s honoured guest of our BrickNerd community!
Ian shared his festive characters for each Lunar New Year with us earlier this year, and now we’re going to discuss all aspects of his building creativity.
Ann: Hi Ian! It’s great to have a conversation with such a creative builder whose art guarantees such a cheerful mood. Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your love of LEGO?
Ian: I’ve studied in art since I was little and then came back to playing with LEGO in 2014 and was deeply fascinated by it; LEGO is a kind of creative element to me, and I use these blocks to shape my creations. During the process of creating, I use bricks from time to time to clear up my mind and to maintain my enthusiasm of LEGO.
Ann: I think your art of “animal painting” is one of the brightest sides of your creativity! What was your first brick-built animal? How did the love of nature find its reflection in your LEGO passion?
Ian: My first creation was an animal, and it was my golden retriever, Astro. I completed my first LEGO creation with only the parts I had that time—while also watching Astro sleeping.
I also like to build creations with a sense of vitality, and animals are my favorites. I find a balance between realism and cuteness when building them.
Ann: It’s really difficult to choose the most interesting LEGO work in your gallery because they all give so much glee to the viewer. Maybe you can help? Which is your favorite building project?
Ian: Besides animals, cartoon characters are also my favorite subjects—they have distinctive features and rich colors. When choosing characters, I usually try characters that no one has done before, such as the Joker, Deadpool Duck, Alien, etc.
Recently, I’ve been trying to build in larger scales and with more parts to preserve more details, such as with Donald Duck.
Ann: These great works really define your style as a creative portrait artist. Your characters’ faces look so fun and realistic.
Ann: What gives you the ideas for these eye-catching portraits? Like your recent Santa creation?
Ian: Fun is the element that I want to add to my work. The original idea of this work is to depict Santa with his big belly being stuck in the chimney with his hands raised holding a present—but not expecting to break the chimney by accident!
Of course, it is impossible to happen in real life, but this is the charm of LEGO. With LEGO, anything can happen.
Ann: That is part of the magic of LEGO! You tend to have a great eye for detail. Do you find any inspiration in TV shows, movies, cartoons, books for your creations?
Ian: Most of my inspiration comes from everything in my daily life. When I have an idea, I quickly sketch it in my notebook, and then complete some of the images through books, pictures, and videos—and then I build it out of LEGO.
Ann: I enjoy how you show the interaction between LEGO and the real world (keys, coffee, and glasses for example). Those glasses look pretty nerdy!
Ann: Changing subject for a bit, LEGO is making more “display sets” for adults it seems. Do you display your beautiful creations at home or are they more for photography only?
Ian: I prefer to be able to turn my creation into a interior decoration, just like my work Graceful Koi is currently being open for support on LEGO Ideas, feel free to check it out and support!
Ann: These Koi are brilliant! As we well know now, you build so many fantastic creatures who could interest Mr. Scamander from the Wizarding World. Your owls are really a delight the eye. Are you a fan of Harry Poter?
Ian: I must admit that I was not a fan of Harry Potter in the first place, but I am very interested in the creatures from the stories, and of course I saw Mr. Scamander’s movie before I finished my Niffler.
Ann: Your Niffler perfectly matches with the cinematic version! The shape of each detail recreates his fluffy fur, and the face is funny and recognizable. There are so many articulation points too.
Ian: This is the first time I tried to build my creation with more joint parts, which means it can do different poses, so I had to pay more attention to the arrangement of the space between the joints and the body. In the process, I had to work on the face first, mainly to present the characteristics of the duck’s beak. After determining the overall scale, I worked on the facial features next, followed by the hair, body and limbs.
Ann: You’ve also contributed quite a number of impressive projects to LEGO Ideas for some of their activities and other contests. Could you tell us a bit about those?
Ian: Sure! First, I would like to talk about my first winning creation, Incredible Reading Time. I think one of the most impressive scenes in the movie The Incredibles 2 is when Mr. Incredible is holding Jack-Jack and reading a book with a sleepy face. This is when we discover one of Jack-Jack’s new super powers is laser eyes! I just had to build him shooting his lasers through the story book.
Another creation is an endemic creature of Taiwan, a Leopard cat. As a Taiwanese creator, I would like to let people know more about Taiwan, so I chose Leopard cat in particular.
Apart from the presentation of the facial features, the other biggest challenge in the whole process was the distribution of his fur patterns.
Ann: Your art gets such a warm reception from LEGO fans. What are you most proud of as a LEGO builder?
Ian: Aside from displaying at the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery, I hope to show that LEGO is not only a toy for children.
Ann: Do you build official LEGO sets too? If so, what are your favorite themes?
Ian: My favorite sets would be different kinds of cars from the Creator Expert series, in which I can always learn new building techniques from the designers, which helps me a lot in my creation.
Ann: Are you working on anything at the moment?
Ian: I just finished a portrait of Harry Potter for LEGO Ideas 20th Anniversary contest. In my work, there’s Harry Potter with his legendary scar on his forehead, wearing a scarf and his iconic black-rimmed glasses. Plus a few hidden surprises.
Ann: I’m curious, do you have any other hobbies and interests outside of LEGO?
Ian: I like to go to the zoo because I can actually see the animals’ faces and full body posture—it is much more realistic than seeing them through photos or videos.
Ann: Thank you so much for this great interview, Ian! I had much fun studying your wonderful gallery, discussing it with you and sharing it with the BrickNerd community.
What animal or character should Ian build next? Let us know in the comments below.
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