Mathijs Dubbeldam - LEGO Master / Builder / Artist
Quick and dirty
Not all great builds start with great sketches. In the case of this Bionicle build, I had already built the characters, the underlying structure and established a composition. I just needed a "quick and dirty" sketch to figure out which colours to use and where the colour transitions would be. One of my ugliest sketches turned into one of my (in my eyes) best works!
Sketches
Sketching is a key checkpoint in my creative process, which goes as follows: I get inspiration and see a (vision of) an idea in my head, an overall picture. I zoom in and brainstorm — in my head or on paper, on which individual parts, details or features I could include, and how. Once I am excited enough about the idea, I start sketching.
With my sketch I unite the overall picture with the details I have thought of, and sometimes the colours too.
Once it is done and I am happy, my head is clear and I can start building!
Below are sketches from between 2016 and 2024. Some I have turned into builds, others are concepts that have never left the paper.
Urban sketches
In 2022 it dawned on me that my part of Zeeland me is not static, but instead in constant development. What if I applied my imagination to it? Not for the sake of making a cool LEGO build, but for the sake contributing something to the real world. Brainstorming on things like green spaces, bicycle paths and rail infrastructure has become a bit of a hobby ever since.
