More pictures…

Shown above is the source picture I had to generate the building plans from.  The small size made this a bit trickier than usual, but in the end I was pretty happy with the result.

Shown above are the building plans we used for construction.  Click on the image for a larger version.  These plans can also be used if anyone is interested in making a hornet like this with other materials, like cross stitch.

Just getting started.  All base plates connected and some of the outline.

Some yellow has been added and the hornet is starting to take shape.

Both wings are outlined and the head is showing progress.

The hornet is complete and ready to hang in the school!  I will add a picture of the mosaic hung up sometime soon.  I really enjoyed this project, especially getting to work with the students from Rosholt Elementary School.

In the image above, the red outline is the shape of the letter ‘A’ to be built as a LEGO mosaic.  The first step is to superimpose the outline over a grid of the desired size.  The smaller the pitch on the grid, the more accurately the ‘A’ can be represented, but the more bricks and effort it will take to complete the project.  For this example the ‘A’ will be positioned inside a 9 high by 11 wide grid.

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To build a mosaic that is black and white only the rule is that if 50% or more of the grid cell is covered, then that brick is black.  Otherwise, it is white.  Following this process will result in a mosaic matching the one below.

To build a mosaic that is black and white, plus anti-aliased with one additional color the rules are as follows:  If less than 33% of the grid cell is covered, then that brick is white.  If between 33% and 67% of the grid cell is covered, then that brick is grey.  If more than %67 of the grid cell is covered, then that brick is black.  Following this process will result in a mosaic matching the one below.

This same process works with other background and foreground colors, as long as bricks roughly halfway between the two colors are utilized.  For Part 1 of this series I built examples of blue on white adding light blue and green on white adding light green.  Obviously a limitation is the colors LEGO bricks are produced.  Plus, odd colored bricks are more expensive, so this will probably factor in also, especially for larger projects.

Some other ways to extend or fine-tune AA include:

• Use even more colors.  For example, if two in-between colors are used, then the rules could be adjusted to create four ranges  (< 25%, between 25% and 50%, between 50% and 75%, > %75).
• Adjust ranges for shades that are not exactly in-between.  For example, if the grey color above was darker than half-way between white and black the percentage of coverage range for grey could be shifted upward to compensate.  Possibly (< 50%, between 50% and %80, > %80)
• Compensate for several nearby bricks that are just over or under the range thresholds by using some bricks from the other side of the threshold.  This will prevent an area from getting too light or dark.
• Use trial-and-error to evaluate the use of AA.  If the range rules call for many brick changes or additions, make the changes incrementally and compare the results.  I recommend doing this type of evaluation on a computer using a graphics program since it is faster than building multiple variations from actual bricks.

These are just a few ideas.  There are books and websites that detail algorithms used for AA in computer graphics.

For this article series I used a shareware program Paint.net as an aid for generating plans for all of the small mosaics.  I also used it to create the image at the top of this article.  Paint.net includes AA, which simpler tools like MS Paint do not.  I usually keep the displayed zoomed to either 800% or 1200% with the pixel grid turned ON.

Shown above is a screenshot of Paint.net that illustrates AA (with many more shades of grey than are available in LEGO bricks.)  Since I only used one in-between color for my mosaics I had to visually map the full grey-scale spectrum to my three colors.  I also did some adjustments for symmetry and some general trial-and-error to achieve results I was happy with.

Sometime in the future I plan to create a large mosaic (between 100 & 200 bricks square) using AA, which of course, I will share here.

Starting today, there is another category, which is solid area, anti-aliased mosaics.

In real life I am a business software developer. However, for fun I’ve recently started playing around with iPhone development. This hobby has introduced me to the concept of anti-aliased graphics. Generally speaking, anti-aliasing (AA) is the use of lighter (or darker) colors at region transitions to smooth out jagged transitions. LEGO bricks are a great way to demonstrate this technique.

Shown above are a couple LEGO mosaic examples with and without AA.  Hopefully the middle blue line seems less jaggedy and the right green circle and letter ‘A’ also appear smoother than those to the left.  I’ve purposely shown these images small, because in order for the advantage of AA to be realized visual blending of the pixels must occur.

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LEGO bricks are available in many different colors, so most colors have at least two shades, which is needed for AA.  By using a lighter shade of the color in the proper places, the jagged appearance is visually smoothed when viewed from a distance.

Shown above is an enlargement of a section of the blue line.  The right image has been anti-aliased with the addition of the light blue bricks.  If the background behind the blue line was another color, the added bricks would need to be a different color.  These bricks should be between the color of each side of the transition.

Shown above is an enlargement of the green ball and ‘A’ examples.  Similar to the first example, light green and grey bricks were added (and in some places used in replacement of the darker bricks).

This technique could be used throughout a large mosaic to produce a smoother appearance, especially when viewed from a longer distance.

In Part 2 of this post I will explore more about AA including how to determine which bricks should be lighter or darker colors and tools you can use to help with AA.

The first mosaic is a close up of Mario Brothers Toad. Click on the thumbnail image below for a larger image. I used this picture as a building guide.

The second mosaic is the green dinosaur from Bubble Bobble. I found this article and adapted it to LEGO.

On this mosaic, I decided to cut the LEGO baseplate to the shape of the mosaic. I’ve used this technique before on several mosaics including my Starbucks Coffee Mosaic.

Here is a picture of the back so you can see how I’ve cut the baseplate. I wrote a post a while back detailing my technique for cutting LEGO base plates.

Like I did with the Pacman LEGO Mosaic, I’m showing a thumbnail-sized image here, because it simulates seeing the mosaic from a distance, which makes it look more realistic to the game. (The thumbnail links to the full-sized image.)

Shown above is my sample, which I made by moving the bricks from my original square mosaic sample to this base plate.

See below for more pictures and information on how I made the bases for these picture frames.

Shown above are the base plates I cut to create the picture frame templates. These are the same LEGO chess boards that I bought a bunch of recently on BrickLink and have been using to build the retro video game mosaics. They are a standard large (32×32 stud) base plate with square plates glued to them.

I used a utility knife to Cut LEGO Base Plates most of the way though the green parts (from the back side) and snapped off a strip from the bottom and an opening in the middle. The picture above shows a stack of prepared base plates along with the scrap pieces and the knife I used. These make very sturdy backing for the picture frames.

I even found a use for the middle scrap pieces. I made one more cut leaving a 3×3 plate square (12×12 studs), which makes a fine little tic-tac-toe board. During the building activity I will give each participant a small square to use as a test area. At the end, I will tell them to each pick out 5 square bricks of two different colors like the ones above so they can use it for tic-tac-toe.

The opening in the picture frame is just a bit smaller than 4×6 inches, which is perfect.  Plus, there is enough space around the picture for plenty of creativity.  I will post pictures of the kids picture frames after the workshop.

The image below better exposes the relief of this mosaic…

This mosaic is one foot square, and is very unusual for me since I rarely build studs-up mosaics. Most of my other mosaics are studs-out, with the exception of a Small LEGO US Flag. I also added a base which prevents it from tipping over, since I plan to display this on my desktop.

I decided this time to post a thumbnail-sized image which links to the full-sized image. I did this because I think seeing it about the size of actual game makes it look even more realistic.

Shown below is my Packer Logo Mosaic in both its original rectangular form, and newly modified form with cut base plate.

I very happy with the cut base plate result, and prefer it to the original design. This change also has an added bonus – it frees up the white border bricks for other projects.

Read on for more information on the techniques I use to cut base plates including additional pictures…

Shown above is the tool I used to cut the Packer Logo base plate, a utility knife. This knife model has an excellent handle design which makes it easy to apply enough pressure to cut through the base plate material. I cut with the yellow bricks in place to use as a guide.

Shown above is one of the cut away pieces.

Another tool I have used which also works well is a good scissors. Shown below is my Starbucks Coffee Mosaic with bricks removed to expose the cut base plates. For this mosaic I used a scissors.

I also used a scissors to cut Extra Large base plates into quarters for my Cub Scout LEGO Mosaic activity.

Obviously the major downside to cutting LEGO base plates is that they are no longer useful to reuse for other projects. However, since I usually keep my projects intact after I complete them, I don’t see this as a big issue.

Super Mario Bros 3 is the game that pulled me back into console gaming and I’ve played this game on and off ever since (now I play it with my kids on our Nintendo Wii). When I set out to find a good image to use as a guide, I found an excellent website Sprite Stitch, which has tons of retro-video game inspired artwork. I found exactly what I needed for this project along with many other plans and ideas for future projects.

I built Mario flying past one of those cute clouds with the eyes, which Sprite Stitch also had plans for. This is the same 32×32 baseplate as my other video-game inspired mosaics. After finding this website, you can count on seeing at least a couple more video game related mosaics from me.