Designing Skylines, part 3
Posted by benbuildslego,
In my previous article I discussed how to construct the base for your skyline and described how to choose which icons to include in your MOC. In this article I want to highlight some additional tips for when you actually begin constructing your own skyline.
The Importance of colour
When building at a micro scale, the importance of colour choices can hardly be overstated. The contrast created between different coloured pieces immediately begins to suggest depth and detail. If too much of the same colour dominates a section, your build may begin to appear too flat and simplistic. To help determine which pieces already exist in certain colours, I have the handy Bricklink colour guide bookmarked!
Even if the particular icon in your skyline may in actuality be a single colour, I would go as far to suggest that it still makes sense to add in an additional colour for added interest. Take for example the Erebor section of my “The Hobbit” skyline. The famous Lonely Mountain is, of course, predominantly grey; however, for my micro design, I added in additional splashes of dark tan and olive green to break up the grey monotony. You can compare the two approaches below.
Colour can also be utilised to draw attention to key locations in your skyline. In my “Beauty and the Beast” skyline, the landscaping and foliage by Belle’s village is mostly darker orange and green. To help single out the importance of Belle’s house on the far left, I made the conscious choice to place a bright yellow flower next to it.
Blending
The Skyline sets in the first wave back in 2016 were designed with clear distinctions between each icon. The icons were separated from each other between the width of a single tile or so. You can see this distinct divide approach very clearly in the Venice and New York City skylines.
Subsequent Skyline sets began to break this original mould by blending and overlapping icons. The more recent Tokyo skyline features buildings placed in front of other icons (notably with Chidorigafuchi Park and Shibuya Crossing cleverly placed in front of Mount Fujii). The overlapping and blending of icons adds interest and depth to the skyline as a whole.
At the same time, also consider the layout of the Dubai skyline, which was release at the same time as Tokyo. The Dubai skyline features the more straightforward distinct divide design (comparable to the New York City skyline). With your own skyline, you must decide which skyline style your chosen icons are best suited for.
For my own skyline for season one of “The Mandalorian,” I decided to blend each of my icons into each other. This was achieved simply by slightly overlapping each segment using wedge plates and slopes. In the comparison below you can see the different results of the two approaches – you may decide you prefer one approach over the other.
Additionally, in my “Jurassic Park,” skyline, I sought to blend and link all the scenes together by having the car track run across the length of the skyline. Despite all the precedents, don’t ever be afraid to experiment and break the rules!
You can see all my geeky skylines on Instagram @BenBuildsLego.
If you are also on Reddit, I am also the moderator of /r/DigitalLego, where everyone is invited to share and discuss LEGO built on the computer! Come join the fun!
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12 comments on this article
This one is by far my favourite Skyline!
That Mandalorian skyline is simply beautiful.
Ah JP, my favorite licenses before being introduced to SW as a kid.
The use of hair brushes as trees is a clever parts usage in the 'Beauty & the Beast' scene.
For some reason I love the use of that technic piece for the beast that comes out of the ice in mando
These are each amazing Ben but my favourite detail is definitely the pile of Triceratops dung beside the track in your Jurassic Park Skyline!
@CapnRex101 said:
"These are each amazing Ben but my favourite detail is definitely the pile of Triceratops dung beside the track in your Jurassic Park Skyline!"
Thanks, Captain! Great catch - that's definitely my little favorite detail :D
That Jurassic Park skyline is amazing and I love it.
Would love the details on printing up your own Nameplates. How about a part four where you answer some questions from the comments over the last three articles?
Wow! Jurassic Park looks great!
I'd love for TLG to start producing this movie skylines. They have much more appeal.
@Spike730 said:
"I'd love for TLG to start producing this movie skylines. They have much more appeal."
I agree.