“The Conversation Piece” is a monthly BrickNerd series about creativity and building with LEGO authored by our friends over at the Builder Improvement Initiative (BII), a Discord-based community that helps LEGO builders of all levels get better at their craft through knowledge-sharing and constructive feedback.
Have a question you would like us to consider for a future article? You can submit it here. Enjoy!
Why Do We Build?
To date, The Conversation Piece has explored a range of topics linked to building methodology and technique. From colour theory to the elements of style in LEGO building, our articles have largely concentrated on the ‘whats’ of MOC building. However, a discussion of ‘why’ we make LEGO creations is equally important to understanding both the significance of the hobby to its members and each builder’s creative process.
The LEGO community has long attracted, and continues to attract, a large and diverse audience—a trend that has increased substantially in the years since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic. Each of these people has their own unique motivation for getting involved, so we gathered a range of voices from the BII ensemble to talk through their journeys.
Margit (margits_mocs)
For as long as I can remember, I have had this need to make things with my hands. From using pom poms, googly eyes, and glue in preschool to clay in high school and knitting and art quilting beyond, keeping my hands busy has always been a balm to my neurospicy brain. LEGO is my medium of choice these days. When my hands start feeling “itchy,” my husband tells me I have “LEGO eyes” and shoos me off to MOC.
Sometimes I build to help process my fears and emotions. I build things that I have difficulty expressing in words, due to my struggles with alexithymia. I’ve always been a very visual thinker. I build to get the pictures out of my head and share them with the world. Art is communication.
‘Stomp’ combines seed part-based building with political expression.
I also love seed part challenges. I find that they really jumpstart my creativity when I feel stagnant or blocked. Trying to find uses for a part from every angle engages a different part of the creative brain than just mimicking shapes from art or memory. Sometimes I build just to exercise that aspect of creativity.
I’m competitive, too, so I often build for contests. I enjoy the way that limitations on time and theme push me to create in ways I otherwise wouldn’t.
Lastly, I love being a part of the community and collaborating with other builders. There’s so much to learn from different perspectives, styles, and focuses.
Levi (Lever Builds)
Why do we build is a fascinating question, and one which I haven’t really thought about before—I just build. After thinking about it for a while, I have three answers…
Firstly, I remember that when I was younger, I always loved looking at MOCs other people had made, browsing YouTube, Flickr, and sometimes even forums. These were a constant source of inspiration to me, and still are. I hope that my builds will also motivate some people to create, as others’ MOCs inspired me.
Alongside this, I just like the process of building. It is a very tedious and lengthy journey, but also very motivating. LEGO’s part catalog is always evolving, opening up new possibilities, and my skills as a builder are also getting better, build by build. Sometimes I like to look through my MOC history, just to see how far I have come and how I have improved. The world of MOC building is truly limitless, and if you are willing to try something different, there’s always gonna be a new project.
Finally, LEGO is the one art form that has stuck with me the longest and that I enjoy the most. I got my first LEGO set for my 5th birthday; I am over 20 now, and I have been creating ever since. LEGO, for me, was never about building sets and collecting them on shelves; the ability to create anything from anything has always fascinated me about this toy, and it’s what separates it from everything else. I grew out of all my other childhood toys, but LEGO has grown up with me, and now it is a part of my life that I think will stick with me forever. It is tough for me to imagine myself not wanting to recreate something cool I saw on a walk or on a trip.
In a nutshell, I just build because it brings me joy and satisfaction.
Evan (iterative_bricks)
Most simply put, I build for my own enjoyment. However, my answer is much more in-depth than that. As a creative person, I’ve always enjoyed making things and, like many of my peers, have always felt the inherent need to create. The format of creation has changed over time, but LEGO has remained a fairly consistent part of it. Currently, that drive has manifested in my enrollment in a Master of Architecture program, where I get to express many of my creative ideas. But I often feel motivated to explore themes and concepts outside the constraints of my formal education; that is where LEGO comes in.
Evan makes use of novel colour combinations and modulex parts in this run-down rail platform.
To me, LEGO allows a more explorative side of my creativity to emerge. Whether I am inspired to build a rundown yet cozy train station, a wizard frog, or a cyberpunk tower, LEGO allows me to create without the burden of 100% realism. Most of my builds are things that couldn’t (or shouldn’t) exist in real life. Much like other forms of art, LEGO is simply a canvas for exploring unrealistic aesthetics and themes.
Furthermore, I generally build for myself, although I do post on Instagram and Flickr, I am not worried about how many likes I get—I mostly post to have an archive of builds anyone can see. So, I often build because I am eager to push my understanding of the brick, exploring new techniques, themes, or color palettes in every project to keep building fresh and engaging.
As I have become more involved in the LEGO community, I have built lasting friendships with other FOLs. One thing is evident: these people inspire and motivate me to build. Having a circle to bounce ideas or works-in-progress off of helps me stay engaged in building because they are genuinely interested in what I am doing.
Furthermore, collaborating on builds with those friends is not only motivating but also brings me the most joy. Collaborations push my skills because I am working within a set of standards or rules established by the group, which forces me to problem-solve in new ways. In my experience, the building calls and convention setup days are major parts of the collaborative process, and they are easily some of the most fun.
Jackson (jermaxmikufan)
When reflecting on my personal motivations for building with LEGO, I reach a few primary conclusions. While LEGO provides a solid creative outlet, it also serves as a problem-solving activity. Finding ways to accomplish various shapes and forms (particularly in small spaces, such as my build Westfield Residence – Kitchen) provides a unique puzzle for the builder to analyze and solve. This idea of problem and puzzle-solving is reflected in many hobbies and sports, in which LEGO fits comfortably.
Westerfield Residence – Kitchen leans into a Northwest Modernism aesthetic.
I will be the first to say that I do not build LEGO just for my own self-satisfaction. A fair portion of why I build comes from outside gratification from both the online LEGO community and people within my personal life. The general idea that LEGO is a somewhat dorky hobby is misinformed. It turns out, if you make cool stuff, people think it’s cool stuff. It provides great satisfaction knowing that people are seeing and interacting with my content and that it reflects positively on me as a person.
Lastly, I find LEGO to be a unique way to present ideas and concepts that I have acquired through lived experience, hobbies, and education. I find my university degree has had a major impact on how I create LEGO creations and how I experiment with new building styles. Various concepts in spatial science and art history have completely changed the way I look at art, space, and place.
Similarly, my lived experience and other hobbies have changed my visual understanding and worldly context, which can be reflected in my LEGO builds.
Cole (mcgwerks)
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about why I enjoy making things at all, so I was excited to contribute to this article. For the purposes of this article, when I say art, I mean a creative outlet, and while there may be varying definitions, I consider them mostly the same thing. I enjoy many forms of art and can create some myself, albeit with varying degrees of skill. LEGO is probably the one I have put the most time into, having started around 4 or 5 years old and having no dark age—so at this point it’s the art I am best able to get the result I want with, and thus the form I enjoy most.
All of my creative work comes from being inspired by something cool and wanting to put my own spin on it; with my LEGO cars, it’s seeing a real car design I like and trying to translate it into LEGO parts. Recently, I built a model of a McLaren P1 and was extremely happy with how it captured the car’s features, as the P1 is one of my favorite real-car designs. So the main reason is that I get a lot of joy out of creating things, especially when they are inspired by other things I enjoy.
Another reason would be that I want to inspire others to create things; when it’s so easy to spend time scrolling through other people’s content or creating things with AI (which, while possible to make something cool, I believe takes away a lot of the fun and satisfaction in making something), I want to encourage people to create things simply because of how much fun it is, and how much you can learn about what you enjoy through it.
Cole’s McLaren P1 model.
While you could point out that I am also trying to make money from my designs through social media and selling instructions, ultimately, I am doing this because it simply is one of my favorite things to do.
Simon (Si-MOCs)
I’ve probably been building in the community longer than any of my co-writers above. I do note the difference between building as a kid in isolation vs. being in the AFOL community, as the justification differs hugely once you find the greater community. So it’s an interesting question, which is why I’m diving in: over the years, my motivations have definitely shifted, and maybe others have similar arcs, or maybe something completely different? Builders are as varied as LEGO pieces.
Pre-phase: Before the community, I was isolated. Either as a teen or before finding the community, I always built for myself. As there’s no one else—and it’s fun. It’s to pass the time or to relax. It’s the most basic motivation.
Early phase: When I first found the community, it was all about getting LEGO, building LEGO, and getting involved in all the new things I saw everywhere. Brothers Brick used to be a gateway to all the community challenges and contests, and the real drive was just to tread water—build with the contemporaries, and just be part of the collective whole. Posting and getting faves, getting blogged, going viral—it was all about being with your newfound people.
Mid phase: After my first convention, I went through a dramatic shift as I found the community. Engaging with other builders directly and breaking MOCs and bread, it completely alters your motivations. You get a taste of MOC blood, and you circle it like a shark looking for your prize. The concept of a collaboration, building something greater than yourself, is huge. And awards. Yes, the allure of winning and being the so-called top dog is a powerful motivator. Even today, the allure of awards is hard to put down.
Late phase: I feel like it’s almost less about the building, but more about the people you build with, or even for. The motivation shifts as you come to realize the toxicity of awards and that collabs are less about the build and more about being in the clique. They are less about building the best MOCs than about building with the best people. Even posting MOCs online seems less important; the importance and motivation are similar to the early stage, but in a tighter circle. You fall back into that almost pre-stage motivation.
Post Phase: Yes, post phase… What happens to your motivation when your day-to-day job involves building and playing with LEGO? While not as exciting as a LEGO designer, as a full-time LEGO mover, organizer, and occasional builder, do I even touch LEGO when I get home? Honestly, for the first few months, I didn’t—but the allure of building and those pesky convention obligations brought me back in. And I must say there’s a definite endorphin rush of building something you’re passionate about.
I feel like the love of building never leaves you, the ‘why’ shifts—it ebbs and flows—but the joy… the joy is ever constant. (I also build because my favourite accountibuildabuddy, Evan, encourages me. #guiltBuilds)
Putting the Pieces Together
Figuring out what pushes us to create with LEGO doesn’t need to be an existential question. As we’ve seen, the list of reasons people give for sticking with the building hobby is both broad and endless.
LEGO as a design medium offers both unique challenges and advantages for creators. As we age and our enjoyment of the hobby evolves, our reasons for staying involved can shift from self-gratification to a more community-minded approach. But in the end, LEGO’s value is found in its accessibility for our different reasons for building, whether we’re designing creations on our own or collaborating with others.
Have a LEGO building journey of your own to share, or a question about the content of the article? Leave us a comment below or hop onto the BII Discord server.
Written by Levi (Lever Builds), Cole McGadden (mcgwerks), Margit (margits_mocs), Evan (iterative_bricks), Jackson (jermaxmikufan), Si-nonymous, and Oshi.
Have a question for a future article in The Conversation Piece? Let us know in the comments below!
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