Form or Function? How Gnarlicbread Builds LEGO Mechs
/One of my favourite genres to develop out of the MOC community has been character design. From mechs to monsters, builders across the globe have been pushing LEGO beyond the grid to create colourful, unique characters that continually redefine how LEGO can be used.
One of the builders I think of when it comes to this style is @gnarlicbread_ over on Instagram. His design work includes lots of vintage parts and colours, presented in totally new ways. I’m fortunate, through BrickNerd, to chat with him a bit and learn some of the secrets to design!
Building Mechs With Attitude
Marshall: Thanks for chatting with me today! Let’s start with a bit about your LEGO journey! How did LEGO come into your life, and how long have you been building?
Gnarlicbread: I was first introduced to LEGO in 2003, just after my 4th birthday. My dad presented me with a big bin liner full of 80s LEGO he’d bought, and we sat on the floor and went through it and built together—I was hooked from there on. The first sets I remember getting were the small brick-built dinosaurs, Dash Jet Sub from Alpha Team, and the small pull-back Drome Racers.
I lost interest in LEGO for a few years at the age of about 13 and gave all my LEGO to a family friend. But when I saw the Bionicle logo again in a toy shop in 2015, something in me clicked, and I was buying loads. Shortly after, I started posting Bionicle MOCs on Instagram but ended up switching to building mostly in System after a short while.
Marshall: You've got this really unique style of mech builds. Tanky, four-legged weapon platforms, and long, spindly guys with attitude. What inspired this style, and what was the first build where you feel the style really clicked?
Gnarlicbread: Thank you! Inspiration comes from everywhere, but I’m definitely heavily influenced by comics, manga, anime, and graffiti. Listening to lots of hardcore, jungle, drum and bass, and garage also influences the attitude of my builds, I think. A lot of my current building style is very in line with the kind of stuff I like to draw.
I’m also always finding inspiration in what other builders are creating—there’s so much talent in this community.
For example, my build “Sky Shark” is very much based on Themaestro333’s “Dirrt Angel” because I loved that build so much and really wanted to try to make something similar. As for when I think the style clicked, it was just under a year ago, when I made “Blade Defender,” one of my first Exo-Force mechs—I got a sense of the attitude and posture of my Bionicle MOCs come through.
Marshall: Your builds feel very purpose-built, as though they're actually designed for a function. When you design a MOC, do you approach function or form first?
Gnarlicbread: I think that really depends on the build Some are made to serve a particular function or theme, and others are purely inspired by the form of certain parts. I find form and colour to be the most important aspect and main focus of my builds, and most start from me being inspired by a certain part and the form I can make with it. I’m also a big fan of using decorated elements, so those often dictate the theme and shape of my builds.
Marshall: What's your approach to greebling, especially at a scale where it's easy to tip from intention to noise?
Gnarlicbread: I think I’m a bit too impatient to add much greebles to my builds. Which could be a blessing in disguise—it is very easy for that detail to turn to noise. I like to work with the texture of the parts themselves rather than adding too much extra. I think a good, but maybe extreme, example of using the texture of parts is a pair of figures I built recently, predominantly from Technic bricks. They were inspired by “drillium,” which is the act of drilling a series of holes into bicycle components and frames.
Marshall: When you sit down to make a new build, what's your process? Where do you typically draw inspiration?
Gnarlicbread: I usually start by finding combinations of interestingly shaped, textured, or decorated elements and see if they come together in a way that inspires a good form. Then I find a way to connect them and fill in the gaps. I’m often inspired by prints and stickers to create something based on their theme. Some builds are based on art I’ve seen or things I’ve drawn, although I find replicating things frustrating, so I usually let the parts guide my ideas instead.
Marshall: Are there any specific designers, media, or worlds that helped shape your style?
Gnarlicbread: There are a lot of other LEGO builders who have influenced my style—Djokbuilt, Themaestro333, and Cementaddiction, whom I really look up to, just to name a few. Outside of LEGO graffiti, B-boy characters have had a very big influence on my style. Vaughn Bodē is definitely a standout for me in terms of character posing and form.
Marshall: Do you try to reference real mechanical restraints, or let LEGO limitations guide the design?
Gnarlicbread: I definitely just let LEGO limitations guide me in terms of structure and balance. I’ve never really thought to reference real-world restraints in my builds. I am much more focused just on the visual weight of things making sense, and if the bricks hold together and look right, then it’s just fine.
Marshall: What's the most difficult part of creating unique-looking characters at this scale?
Gnarlicbread: One of the most difficult parts for me is making joints that are sturdy enough to support a build, when a lot of joint pieces are bulky or locked to certain colours. I don’t want to compromise the colour scheme and shaping of something just to have a sturdy build, but they do need to support their own weight. Given the weird shape and pose of a lot of my builds, it can also be quite difficult to find their balance point while not compromising the form that I’m aiming for.
Marshall: Every builder has some go-to parts, techniques, and colour choices that tend to show up across builds. What are some of yours?
Gnarlicbread: My go-to parts are all sorts of SNOT (studs not on top) bricks, brackets, pneumatic T bars, and just generally the clip and bar pieces.
As for favourite techniques, I’m not really sure, just whatever works for the shape or function I’m trying to create. I’d say most of the techniques in my builds are pretty simple.
For colours, I’ve always been a big fan of the warm tone of old dark grey but never had a good amount of it until I got a big bag at a show in November. I also use lots of black because of the parts’ availability. I’d like to think I have quite a good variation with the main use of colour in my builds. LEGO has made so many nice colours over the years. I really enjoy collecting interesting colours and finding nice pairings with them.
Marshall: If LEGO didn't exist, what medium would you be making these in?
Gnarlicbread: If LEGO didn’t exist, I would definitely be drawing lots of characters, and I have toyed with the idea of making models from rubbish and recycled materials for a long time. Although I’ve never given it a go. I’ve also always been tempted by Gunpla kits and the like, but that’s an expensive hobby too. So maybe I would be building and customizing those if it wasn’t for LEGO.
Marshall: Thanks for chatting with us at BrickNerd!
When you build a LEGO mech, do you start with a job for it to do, a shape you want to try, or a part you’ve been itching to use? Let us know in the comments below!
Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, Andy Price, Lukas Kurth from StoneWars, Wayne Tyler, Dan Church, Roxanne Baxter, and Marci Hollingsworth to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more.
