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#2370 TECHNIQUE DISCUSSION: Posing Minifigures

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Minifigs are a staple of LEGO scenes, but their seven points of articulation may feel limiting. Check out a variety of ways to stage your minifigs for photography, from NPU to detaching limbs! Share some of your favorite techniques with us in the comments and look back over post #2128 TIPS: Photographing and Photo Editing LEGO for more fantastic tips.


#2370 TECHNIQUE DISCUSSION:Posing Minifigures Even without any moving features, the way we pose minifigures can bring action and life to a build! Image of stormtrooper minifigure kneeling on a table. The torso is on top of loose legs and an arm holds a bulb to replace a light in a chandelier. The build is by @in.a.galaxy.not.so.far.away . Minifigures performing martial arts stand on a white mat. Some are seated in the background with loose legs as if sitting with feet together. Two minifigures have loose legs placed on brackets to show them standing on one leg. The build is by Geneva D on Flickr. Image of X-men fighting a large brick-built Sentinel. There are red lasers in mid-air, some minifigures are jumping, and Storm appears to fly. The build is by @br.ickelangelo . Let’s strike some poses!

With seven points of articulation, minifigures have a great range of motion for posing! Facial expressions and accessories are also an easy way to tell stories. A photo of CMF 25 Fitness Instructor posing as if doing yoga, with one leg forward and one leg back. The Vita Rush printed 1 by 1 round brick is shown. The photo has a Minifig Photography watermark and is by @minifigphotograpy . Lighting and background are additional ways to enhance a character’s pose. Try natural lighting in outdoor settings for fun character moments! LEGO Animal Crossing minifigure Fauna appears in mid-step, posed on top of organic mossy-looking material. A blurry background shows vegetation and blue skies. The image is by @thedutchnerd . Learn about more ways to strengthen your photography and editing skills in post #2128! A thumbnail image of Tips & Brick post #2128 is shown.

Image of X-men fighting a large brick-built Sentinel. There are red lasers in mid-air, some minifigures are jumping, and Storm appears to fly. It is on a large base built sideways with gray rocks, then a dark tan plate is on top of it. A brick-built partially destroyed building is part of the background of the build. It is by @br.ickelangelo . The angled bar with stud, introduced in the DC CMF series in 2020, is another popular way to create dynamic action poses! A large image of part 66578, the angled bar with stud is shown. Placing the angled bar in an open stud is a great trick to make a minifigure fly or jump. Part 3062, the 1 by 1 round brick, is pointed out. It is used with many of 66578 to have the Storm minifigure appear to fly in the middle of the scene. @br.ickelangelo also puts parts in minifig hands to build this action-packed scene! Part 15303 Projectile Arrow, Bar 8L with Round End (Spring Shooter Dart), is pointed out. Cyclops holds it to show lasers from his eyes. He is poised on top of some 66578 to show him jumping, with energy effects showing explosions behind him.

Thanks to their articulation, simply angling minifig legs and arms or rotating their hands is an easy way to pose them in exciting ways! Two images of a minifig with mask, scarves, and two small blades is shown. A 2 by 2 disc and 66578 make the character appear to jump on a flat surface. Another image shows many trans-light blue parts to create a cool foreground for the character to pose behind. These builds are by @doodlebricks . Putting arms and legs in opposite positions creates a sense of movement in this awesome Ahsoka habitat! A habitat with dark tan at the bottom and grays and blues in the walls is shown. An Ahsoka minifigure in the center has posed arms and legs with two lightsabers, showing movement. A battle droid is connected to one saber blade, while another droid is being shot backwards by a clone trooper hidden behind Ahsoka. Energy effects are another posing tool! Part 35032b Power Burst, Bolt Large with Bar Ends goes from the trooper’s gun to the battle droid. This habitat is built by @brickapal00za.

No fancy tricks or editing are needed here! @br.ickelangelo uses some bar parts and energy effects, then poses arms and legs in specific positions to bring this scene to life! A small contained scene of Captain America fighting Iron Man is shown. There is a light bluish gray base and wall, with brown windows, pipes, and some damage shown. Iron Man has blue thrusters and 66578 to show him flying backward, while Captain America is in midstrid, holding a shield up to block Iron Man’s energy blast. Three parts: bar with anti-stud, 1 by 1 open stud, and 35032d Power Burst, Bolt Spiral with Bar Ends are shown as connecting from Iron Man’s hand to an energy blast. Standard minifig legs have six anti-studs. Use the anti-studs on the back of the legs for more creative posing! An image shows how to pose 66578 on the back of a minifigure’s legs. Now that we’ve looked at some of the ways to pose minifigs using “legal” techniques, let’s check out some other clever posing styles you’re not likely to find in any official sets.

Popping minifigure arms out of the torso allows them to be posed less rigidly. Beware that removing arms can put torsos at risk of cracking. A dark tan base around 16 studs by 16 studs sits on a black frame below.One corner has five medieval spectators cheering behind a brick-built fence with flags. A smiling knight in armor lifts their helmet and looks over a downed foe. In black armor, the fallen knight is on its back and appears limp. The build is by Digger1221 on Flickr. The rounded end of a minifig arm can fit into a pair of handcuffs! Part 61482 handcuffs is shown, with a zoomed in image of the smiling knight from the above build. Arms taken from the torso are placed into the cuffs, allowing one arm to hold the helmet visor and another to be turned down holding a sword. The vanquished knight’s arm has been removed, then the hand is clipped to a sword. Laying the sword down cleverly portrays a limp arm! An arrow points to how the sword with arm clipped onto it is laid on the dark tan base of the build. A shot looking straight down at a table shows a stormtrooper seemingly cut in half by a red laser bar. The arms have been removed from the torso and put into part 20482, the Tile, Round 1 by 1 with Bar and Pin Holder, with the pins leaned into the torso’s open armholes. Part 54200 the cheese wedge 1 by 1 slope, is attached to a 1 by 2 plate over two loose legs. Another cheese wedge is placed against the torso, creating the image that the stormtrooper was sliced in half. The build is by @henry.bricks11. There are few actual connections in this brutal build, but placing parts loosely creates a fantastic photo!

@KosBrick takes Shang-Chi through a series of dynamic leg poses! Brackets are the secret ingredient here, though any stud can fit in the underside of a torso. Three images of Shang-Chi against a yellow background are shown, all with different poses. Two point out the 1 by 2 outer-facing bracket. The bracket face is placed against the bottom of Shang-Chi’s torso, then parts are connected to the studs of the bracket. One pose places legs at angles to show Shang-Chi standing on one leg and kicking with the other. Another uses a 1 by 1 plate and two legs with the feet touching to show Shang-Chi as if he is sitting on the ground with both feet together in front of him. A third photo shows Shang-Chi as if he is taking a kneeling step forward. A 1 by 1 bracket and 1 by 1 plate with the top anti-stud of a loose leg attached make it appear as though Shang-Chi is kneeling. For the other leg, a 1 by 2 inverted bow uses a plate on the higher part and a tile on the lower to simulate the leg tucked backward. These builds can all be found on the video Lego Leg Posing Minifigure (Tutorial) by Kos Brick on YouTube. The link follows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07Ktt4H-nJ0.

Geneva D on Flickr also uses a 1x2 bracket. Studs on the bottom of the legs resemble bare feet! Minifigures performing martial arts stand on a white mat. Some are seated in the background with loose legs as if sitting with feet together. Two minifigures have loose legs placed on brackets to show them standing on one leg. Using the lower antistud imitates a raised leg! At the bottom of their feet, yellow 1 by 1 studs resemble feet. When posing minifigures for photos, carefully placing loose pieces can create a specific effect. A simple frame of tiles keeps these parts together. An arrow points to a small 4 by 5 footprint with tiles around the outer edges. Inside the open space, a torso is placed loosely with legs so that the feet face away from the camera. Arms are leaned against the front of the box and a head is nestled behind them; this creates the idea of a minifigure laid on its stomach looking directly into the camera. This build is also by Geneva D on Flickr.

1 by 2 plates can stand in for seated hips. Lifting the torso presents a more realistic depiction of a seated minifig. Three builds, all by @in.a.galaxy.not.so.far.away , are shown. One is a bedroom scene, with a pair of hips and legs and torso with jacket and tie print on the floor. A stormtrooper sits on the bed with a cup of coffee looking at the work clothes. The head is angled down to look at them and the legs appear stuck to a bracket so that they hang over the bed. Another build is the interior window of a room. A stormtrooper sits in the window ledge looking at the rainy skies outside. Two 1 by 2 plates are below the torso to simulate hips, then the legs are loosely placed in front as if the stormtrooper has one leg bent at the knee. The last build shows a stormtrooper kneeling on a table. The torso is on top of loose legs and an arm holds a bulb to replace a light in a chandelier. A 1 by 2 black plate underneath the torso resembles hips, and loose legs are placed directly on the table! Creating a static angle for a minifig head may be easiest to achieve with putty or sticky tac. Some types may leave residue, so use wisely! Follow @in.a.galaxy.not.so.far.away for everyday adventures of stormtroopers!.

@farawaybricks also uses a 1x2 plate for hips – the legs are underwater! The front and back of the same small build are shown. It is a swampy scene that is one brick and a stud high. A scout trooper’s torso and heads are on top of the swampy build, with a 1 by 2 white plate beneath the torso acting as the trooper’s hips. Part 37341b, the Weapon Knife with Flat Hilt End and Curved Blade, Cross Hatched Grip, is pointed out as swamp grass. Blaster 58247 attaches part 37762 the candle on the end to make a modified blaster. Another build uses a similar small base, but also has yellow and orange, white, and light gray brick-built round shapes to simulate explosions and smoke. Two Rebel minifigures are being flung away from the center of the build, with Boba Fett in the background of the build rising above the gray smoke. This build is also by @farawaybricks . Bar and clip connectors show the explosive impact of a thermal detonator! Part 66578 is pointed out to show how Boba Fett is posed at the top of an Antenna 4H. Parts 60478, the 1 by 2 plate with bar, and part 15712, the 1 by 1 tile with clip, are pointed out to show how minifigs can attach to these to create different angles from the base. From angled bars to putty to brackets to loose bricks, there are innumerable ways to pose minifigs. Share your favorite technique with us in the comments!


Be sure to follow these talented featured builders for more:

@minifigphotography

@thedutchnerd

@br.ickelangelo

@doodlebricks

@brickapal00za

@henry.bricks11

@KosBrick

@farawaybricks

Digger1221 on Flickr

Geneva D on Flickr


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