Precision, Presence, and Form — Liang Joins the Lego Masterpiece Gallery
- Carson Zhang
- Dec 21, 2025
- 9 min read
Blacklug welcomes Liang as the newest entrant into The Lego House Masterpiece Gallery—an artist whose work speaks through precision, restraint, and narrative depth. Liang’s build is not just a technical achievement, but a considered expression of craft, intention, and visual storytelling within the LEGO medium.
Q: When you first heard your build would be displayed in The LEGO House, what was the moment right before you opened the email or got the call?
I was texting a friend on the phone. An email came in, titled “LEGO IDEAS”. I thought it might be a comment on one of my previous submissions, but it turned out to be a totally unexpected invitation forwarded through LEGO IDEAS to me. My heart skipped a few beats. Then I continued the conversation with my friend, “BTW, I just got an invitation…”
Q: Many creators talk about a “spark moment” behind each model. Was there a single image, memory, or feeling that lit the fuse for this particular build?
5 of my brick paintings are being displayed in The LEGO House. I’ll reference one of them, my self-portrait, as an example.
Before making this one, I had some other brick paintings that I was not too happy with. I found it necessary to make up some basic art trainings to make better brick works. I picked up some self-taught materials, one of which was the book “Drawing on the right side of the brain” by Betty Edwards, the art coach.
Main idea of the book is that better perceiving makes better drawings. There is one ultimate exercise at the end of the book, a self-portrait. Betty chooses this subject because most people find it super challenging. She argues that if you just honestly record the lines, shapes as you perceive, rather than marking down stereotypical symbols, your portrait result will surprise you no matter how terrible at drawing you thought you were.
I followed her instructions, and the moment I saw the complete work was like a “spark moment” to me. I was very much satisfied with the result, to an extent that I immediately started the brick portrait project. I received quite some positive feedback, and since then have gained the confidence that I could possibly make good brick art.
Q: LEGO models often have hidden details builders include just for themselves—or for the sharpest-eyed visitors. Do you have any “quiet” details in this piece that you especially love?
I’m aware of the fun of those easter eggs. I don’t normally have intentional details of that kind. But there is one thing about my work displayed in the LEGO House that might be a little relevant.
When I was reassembling my paintings for the exhibition, there was one of them missing a 2x6 or 2x8 plate. I couldn’t find the piece anywhere. Since it’s part of the support structure facing the wall only, I didn’t bother the staff for help.
As a result, the little defect was quietly left there for the sharpest-eyed or maybe the xray-eyed visitors to find out.
Q: What part of this build was the most stubborn or technically challenging, and how did you eventually convince the bricks to cooperate?
One of the most challenging parts of making my type of brick painting is to make it as “flat” as possible, so it appears consistent when viewed from different angles. I can’t say I’ve found a smart way to handle it, but my practice is that I focus on one thing at a time.
I use primarily the projection (top) view and lock the view when I work on the composition, the shapes, the lines and the colors. I don’t care about how many layers of plates I stack there in this first stage.
When that’s done, I unlock the view. The creation may look funny from an angle, but that’s fine. The next stage then is more about “engineering”. I revisit every corner of the canvas, optimize the layered plates, and try not to compromise too much.
I guess it’s all about patience…
Q: Every builder develops their own visual language. Are there building techniques, color choices, or textures that you feel have become part of your signature?
I want my brick paintings to have the effect of depth and perhaps volume as well, so I widely use different shades of colors that belong to a same hue. In this way I’m able to capture the highlights and shadows as precisely as possible.
For example, if the object is blue, I use a lot of dark blue, blue, medium blue, bright light blue, etc.…
Q: When you step back from the finished model, what do you see first? Is it the engineering, the storytelling, or something else entirely?
I always see unexpected quality and texture from a real, tangible model that is freshly finished. This brings a lot of joy and satisfaction.
Today’s digital rendering tools are just amazing, but still, you see new things when you bring digital design to life. I can’t precisely describe the feeling, but these realistic details touch me every single time.
Q: Was there a technique or idea you had been wanting to try for a long time that finally made it into this build?
I learn from the drawing lessons that negative spaces are equally important to main subjects. I was hoping that in a future work, I would make negative spaces meaningful and expressive.
Then one day in the evening, I surprisingly noticed beautiful silhouettes of pedestrians in front of the theatre building. I took reference photos, studied those silhouettes. I thought that was the right opportunity.
Now, the silhouettes come as negative spaces in the brick painting “Grande Theatre”.
Q: What’s one piece (or category of pieces) you rely on more than most people might expect?
To be honest I use very common parts in my recent brick paintings. They are mostly wedge plates/tiles and regular plates/tiles.
I don’t know if that’s obvious. I use quite a lot of those 2-to-1 and 4-to-1 jumper plates. They help me a lot getting a desired line in a desired position.
Q: I noticed that you primarily used MINDSTORMS® Robot Inventor set and did several workshops for kids in your early days. What caused your creative style to shift to brick paintings now?
I build mostly micro scale buildings as a hobby, years ago.
At some point my colleagues asked if I could show their kids some basic brick techniques. This idea was later developed into something much bigger. I planned and delivered a series of brick workshops inviting families to build a brick city together phase by phase. I found this much more motivating and rewarding than my day job.
A couple years later, I quit my job and started a brick adventure, that is to develop a workshop program and make it commercial. I chose Mindstorms simply because it fits better with my technical background. I thought it might give the business additional credibility or might make the contents appear more convincing in front of the customers.
The plan is to pilot the program, then contact schools and institutions for commercial opportunities. However, after the pilot, I was a bit lost. I didn’t clearly see a path for this kind of program in local market. Doing this for fun is ok, but I realized that I’m terrible at developing it as business.
Then “Shanghai 2022 quarantine” arrived. Group activities became difficult for months. A few friends suggested that I could continue to make those creative mini builds, and seek opportunities to do commissioned designs. Given the unclear future of the workshop business, I took the advices and made quite a few builds during months of quarantine. One of them was an album cover of one of my favorite recordings, inspired by the renowned LEGO artists ‘uvupv’ who makes hundreds of stunning brick album graphics. That was far from a perfect build, but I enjoyed it the most. I saw a lot of potential in this decorative canvas art style. Later, it became my area of focus.
Q: What role does playfulness have in your design process? Are you someone who sketches meticulously, or do you prefer to discover the build as you go?
If I visit a LEGO shop, I would probably grab some random parts from the pick-a-brick wall. Then I would discover the build as I go. If I do a planned design, I normally follow a standard design process. I very often take a lot of reference photos of a target object/scene, study the shapes and colors, as a first step.
The next step, I do some quick digital paintings, experiment the composition, and experiment the color pattern using only the “LEGO Color Palette”. I also have a box of plates and tiles, of 30-40 common LEGO colors. That’s a very handy tool helps me find the right colors.
After that I sometimes sketch line drawings on a physical notebook with grids. This helps me determine the best scale of my brick painting. Then finally Studio digital design tool comes in. Normally I don’t buy new parts before I finish my digital design.
Q: LEGO House visitors come from all over the world—kids, adults, other builders. What reactions to your display have stayed with you the most?
Some of them told me when they were taking photo of my work, a face was detected by the photo App, because of my brick portrait. That was some unexpected compliments.
Q: Thinking back to your early days as a builder, what’s something your younger self would be thrilled—or maybe surprised—to learn about where you are now?
When I look at my earlier creations, there’s always a voice in my head: I could have done it differently. I guess that’s a sign of growth or improvements.
Q: Many builders talk about a “creative rhythm.” When you’re deep in a project, what does your ideal building session look like—music, silence, midnight, early morning?
When I’m deep in a project, midnight is always the most productive time in a day.
I learn from the book “drawing on the right side of the brain” that verbal input triggers my mind to enter the left-brain mode, which conflicts the visual creativity work. So, when I’m in the design stage, I prefer some instrumental music or white noises. It’s easier this way to enter a desired mind flow.
But when I’m in the building stage, left-brain mode, right-brain mode, either works for me. Then I prefer podcasts, they keep me entertained.
Q: What has the journey to having a build in The LEGO House taught you about creativity, persistence, or community?
I don’t have much to learn from my work being displayed to be honest, but I learn a lot from the LEGO House itself.
I was surprised to know about how much collaboration/co-creation was involved, not only within a global organization, but among a large fan population as well. The LEGO House is a playground that everyone can find a way to make visible impacts, and to contribute to its growth.
Q: Your creative style is very distinctive and unique. What advice do you have for builders who haven't yet found their personal style?
My journey started from imitating someone else’s creative form. So, my advice is: always keep an eye on what’s fresh and new in the community. Learn from the works and styles that stun and inspire you. Use the forms but tell your own unique stories. Your stories will find the right form, the right styles ultimately.
Q: If you could leave one message for future builders who might see your work in Billund and feel inspired, what would you hope they take away?
I guess the message is clear: build things that matter to you the most.
Carson: We're truly grateful to Liang for agreeing to this interview. Talking with him, we can feel he thinks like a true artist—rational yet heartfelt. What impresses us most is his sincerity; he’s extremely down-to-earth with no arrogance at all. He treats everything seriously and responsibly, and is willing to share every detail with us generously. We’ve gained great inspiration from him during this process.
We hope this interview can also bring you some inspiration for your creations as it did for us.
Finally, don’t forget to follow Liang’s social media: https://www.instagram.com/huanhuan.works.
And we’re all looking forward to more amazing works from him in the future!
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