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Amazing Lego artist spends six months bringing Hatsune Miku into the physical world

Casey Baseel Apr 16, 2014
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As so much of video game and animation character design shifts from sketching on a piece of paper to modeling on a computer, I’ve often wondered about the differences in the two skill sets. Not long ago, designing a character was about imagining how to express the three-dimensional human form using lines on a flat surface, but now, the arguably more valuable skill is being able to break that form down into minute building blocks, then render and reassemble them digitally.

The 3-D graphic method is a lot closer to building something out of blocks than drawing a portrait, so it’s actually quite fitting that one Lego enthusiast decided to use Japan’s favorite digital diva, Hatsune Miku, as his muse in making a life-size recreation of the virtual idol.

Twitter user ChaosBrick started his labor of love last October. By February he was working with a full-size drawing of Miku’s face, laying blocks on top of it to get the shapes and proportions of her features just right.

お顔に移る、はやく雪ミククエストに出動したい。　#ミクさん製作画像 pic.twitter.com/tgeCGA3rZa

— terebi bricksmith（ブリックP） (@ChaosBrick) February 5, 2014

About a month later he’d completed a respectable bust, and had even outfitted the Lego Miku prototype with the reed-like microphone she’s often depicted using. The artist hadn’t started work on the Vocaloid’s signature twin pigtails yet.

オハヨーハヨー！（ﾟ∀ﾟ)　ミクさんにインカム（仮）をつけてみたわ pic.twitter.com/Fx9qf4hHyo

— terebi bricksmith（ブリックP） (@ChaosBrick) March 4, 2014

The Hatsune Miku fan community is large and passionate, and a number of amateur designers have produced their own versions which share the character’s basic design cues. No matter which rendition you’re going by, though, Miku doesn’t have a frame that could be described as anything close to beefy. If ChaosBrick was going to retain her slender build for his model, he was going to need to make sure its weight could be supported by Miku’s slender legs. In order to keep things light, he settled on a hollow construction for the cranium.

▼ You could literally insert a crack about empty-headed idol singers here.

ツインテ製作、とにかく伸ばすわよ pic.twitter.com/FOxK6D58wq

— terebi bricksmith（ブリックP） (@ChaosBrick) March 15, 2014

You might wonder why Lego Miku needs articulation points in her fingers. Over the last few years, idol fans in Japan have come to expect the singers they support to periodically hold events where they shake hands with their supporters. Being a computer animated construct, Miku has been exempt from this until now, but now that ChaosBrick was bringing her into the physical world, he wasn’t about to skimp out on the design and spoil his chance of linking palms with the singer. Meanwhile, work continued on Miku’s torso, upper arms, and hips, with ChaosBrick setting the requirement of being able to pick the connected mass up without its parts separating.

Some of you might feel inclined to praise the artist’s restraint in not pumping up Miku’s ordinarily modest chest by a few cup sizes, but we ask you to hold your evaluations until the end. Next, ChaosBrick attached the forearms, and while he wasn’t entirely satisfied with the look of the hands at this point, the attention to detail shown by giving Miku polished nails is impressive.

両手を付けてみた。ハンドは少し修正が必要かしら( ´◔ ‸◔`)　 pic.twitter.com/vzqTrbZi5w

— terebi bricksmith（ブリックP） (@ChaosBrick) March 29, 2014

The project hit a bit of a snag when trying to mount the upper body onto the legs, necessitating a reworking of the skirt and pig tails.

かなり心折れそうになったけどスカートとツインテ無しの状態とはいえ直立できましたわ・・・！ pic.twitter.com/FYefRHmWOW

— terebi bricksmith（ブリックP） (@ChaosBrick) March 30, 2014

Once again, the trickiest part was recreating Miku’s voluminous locks with a minimum of blocks, in order to keep weight down.

軽量化した状態ではボリュームがさびしいと思い、片方はプレート中心でツインテのふくらみを製作、多少軽くなるかと思ったけどあまり変わらないのかむしろ重いのか支えの癖なのか左右で角度が＞＜ pic.twitter.com/t8DTEFcbMA

— terebi bricksmith（ブリックP） (@ChaosBrick) April 12, 2014

ChaosBrick persevered, though, and on April 15, six months after beginning his project, Miku was standing before him.

製作期間６ヶ月、LEGOで作られた等身大初音ミク完成です！ pic.twitter.com/KuatofQz6Z

— terebi bricksmith（ブリックP） (@ChaosBrick) April 14, 2014

Again, we’re impressed by all the little touches that make Lego Miku seem more lifelike and realistic. Check out her Lego hair and tie clips, her Lego ankle straps…

▼ …and her Lego panties.

以前のレゴミクさん＆ミニフィグとの比較 pic.twitter.com/BuWsy0dspQ

— terebi bricksmith（ブリックP） (@ChaosBrick) April 14, 2014

Yeah, like we said, we’re not sure about assigning ChaosBrick any bonus points for chastity. Full marks for technique, though, not to mention thoroughness.

Source: Hachima Kiko, Twitter