JC, always great to see a New video from YOU! I love this type of helpful video because there are lots of people who can benefit from making a MOC because creating is a real process! You have the perfect background in design to help with this! Great tips! I love the encouragement of doing research because it's a valuable life skill to use as we go through life. GREAT tip to not look at other MOCs before you build you own! YOUR tip about having a Feature element is excellent!
I am making my first moc and it will be an airship this really helped I had no idea what I could do to make it look better but the tips on details and story really help! Ty!
I really appreciate the advice that you gave. I have made some MOCs and then broke them down and saved certain features and combined them for a new build. And I have many times gone back and changed the color of the structure. Again thanks for sharing. Your video was very reassuring.
Thanks Clarence! That is a great strategy to improve and reinvent MOCs over time. Take the best parts and make a new build. Save bricks, you don't have to completely reinvent the wheel and the builds improve over time. Glad you found value in the video!
Good advice to not look for other MOCs first! I think you are completely right. And great idea to use any available color in your library to build the first version of the build. And step 5 is really my achilles heel - I never get enough detail going I think but you gave some good ideas - including the interior! Oh, and the story idea is really great! In my experience a lot of details grow out of that and sometimes the build changes altogether. Have you ever made the story first and then the MOC afterwards! And thanks for the shoutout! Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing your creativity! (I will build more toilets in my MOCs) :-D
Thanks! The story definitely helps to have ideas flow naturally for details. Once there is context, it is much easier to come up with detailing ideas. I came up with the basic story for my Underwater Deep Sea display before i got any of the sets. It is because of the story of the lost underwater city, ship wrecks etc that "guided" me to buy the right sets to fill up the space.
Thanks! Over years, I have done lots of videos, live lectures, talks and training sessions for magic and creativity so have found the best way to communicate useful information. But, I don't think I will ever be a teacher in the traditional sense :-)
As usual, a really informative video with lots of great advice. Whenever I'm building my little Micropolis MOCs, it is often one special piece which gives me the seed of an idea, which then turns into a feature item for the block, so I can really relate to that aspect. Having a coherent backstory is also invaluable, I find. Keep up the great work and thank you for sharing your expertise! 👍
This is a wonderful video. I'm trying to build my own city...a place I've always dreamed to living...someplace out of my imagination. The tips you gave are great and I'm now feeling less overwhelmed about the approach to building something truly unique and a creation I'm going to love. Thanks again! Love your videos and book!
Thanks so much! I'm glad my content is useful for you. I will do more of these and share different techniques that can be used for MOCs and customizing builds to make a Lego city your own. More people should buy the book :-D
Have you ever built a MOC based on a real building? In my experience it is a totally different but equally satisfying challenge- especially scaling everything down. I like to start by ‘sketching’ the footprint onto base plates using bricks.
I have yet to do that. I think scale would be challenging, especially if I want to create it in mini-fig-scale. But, maybe something smaller might be interesting and doable. But, I would want to find something iconic or something that everyone can relate to. What have you built that is MOC of a real building? An Irish Pub? :-D :-D
I have just ordered the assembly square off lego and had a really cool idea of creating a London style street out of it including a range of shops and an apartment and rooftop park. Should I try to vary the building styles or try and keep the same style but in different colours and sizes to make a two/one story street. (Corner restaurant and shop will be at the front to invite you down the street) The mini city videos are great and I really want to make a realistic old style Mocs. The only Mocs I have done are Star Wars bases and fighters. Love these videos.
Thanks for the tips. I have some concerns with 'not looking at other MOCs first', though. Even if it is satisfying beyond imagination to come up with something that's 'never done before', every time I think of a certain building style or technique for an object and then browse the internet, I find dozens (okay, maybe not dozens, but at least some) of MOCs that do it better. Moreover, if a MOC has some complexity to it, it doesn't make much sense to reinvent every part of it, but to look for the most elegant and fitting way to integrate, let's say, a tree. That said, it might be best to not look at other MOCs at all. But if I didn't, then I wouldn't have stranded here. ;)
I think as you get more experienced at MOCs, this tip might be more applicable. When we all start MOCing (or doing any creative in general), we start by modeling after excellence or "copying" ideas that are well-executed. However, after some time, it is a good exercise to force yourself to create your own version after you have built up a bank of ideas and techniques. At this point, in order to grow creatively and push yourself to the next level, looking at MOCs only after you create your own version will be beneficial. Hope that makes sense! :)
I love all the info you gave I want to build more moc stuff.....Do you know how to build a mock Lego claw machine that works....I saw one that has mini figures inside and you can actually put money in a the mini will come out but I cant figure out how to do it
No, I did not build the claw machine as I have seen some others who have already done them. I have not seen the one you mentioned. It is very cool if it is minifig scale. You can check out all my small-build tutorials on this playlist here: th-cam.com/video/tTjJyMVmJeE/w-d-xo.html
Small Brick City ya I've seen other videos but I wanna build a working claw machine......thanks for the link I love the videos I've seen so far your really good at doing your own creation
@@kaylove8663 Thanks so much. Let me see what I can do for a Claw Machine. A working one sounds interesting but am not sure if it can be done in minifig scale. I will try
Do custom Lego parts for builds really rack up to $600+ dollars? I want to build one of the Mocs listed on rebrickable.com but most builds cost over $1,000 to build a fighter jet or detailed car.
I just wanna build a cyberpunk city for my lego minifigure. I have an idea if what I wanna build but I struggle with making buildings look realistic with the parts I have.
I love you Jc. You helped me a lot, since I am building a lego Ninja warrior moc. Please respond and if you do shoutouts please give me a shoutout. I think you are a really cool person and don't be down, because of the haters you are the best. You helped me so much thanks I am one of your biggest fans.😍😍
But what if I don't have any bricks to begin with? :( What if I'm not very aware of what pieces exist to begin with? What if I want to make it purely in Bricklink Stud.io? Without knowing well what pieces exist? I can't afford many bricks.
Bru, I'm in 7th grade and I only have around 30 minutes each day to build lego, and I don't have enough time to watch thru the whole 17 min video, and where are the builds from the video screen when you click on it???
I recommend then you scan and skip or you watch in x 1.5 or x 2 speed. That will help cut down the time. You can find all my MOCs in this playlist th-cam.com/video/UCjbCUBcE3Q/w-d-xo.html You can also check my channel playlists for other vids that are relevant to you. Thanks!
1. Concept (0:57)
2. Research (2:40)
3. Feature element (starting point) (7:04)
4. Build and rebuild (9:34)
5. Add detail (12:08)
Awesome! Thank you for taking the trouble to index the sections 😄
Thx bro!
Thank you this really helps mika de grote
thanks man great advice especially for bias when looking at other peoples mocs
*me watching this while designing starkiller base*
Cool!
How did it go?
Hope you made some progress
I am watching this while making props for my lego stopmotion
That taco stand is extremely creative!! Awesome
Excellent -Very cool and very handy
3:35 and 3:41 Waluigi’s taco stand. Also this video is extremely useful
Thank you!
Finally, I can have a structure in my MOCs
JC, always great to see a New video from YOU! I love this type of helpful video because there are lots of people who can benefit from making a MOC because creating is a real process!
You have the perfect background in design to help with this!
Great tips! I love the encouragement of doing research because it's a valuable life skill to use as we go through life.
GREAT tip to not look at other MOCs before you build you own! YOUR tip about having a Feature element is excellent!
Thanks Vickie! Glad some of the points were useful!
thanks for the tips I am looking at making Moc houses or backgrounds for my speed champion cars to display them with
I got so inspired because of you man
I am making my first moc and it will be an airship this really helped I had no idea what I could do to make it look better but the tips on details and story really help! Ty!
Awesome!! Thankyou
Thanks so much for the advice this is amazing
I really appreciate the advice that you gave. I have made some MOCs and then broke them down and saved certain features and combined them for a new build. And I have many times gone back and changed the color of the structure. Again thanks for sharing. Your video was very reassuring.
Thanks Clarence! That is a great strategy to improve and reinvent MOCs over time. Take the best parts and make a new build. Save bricks, you don't have to completely reinvent the wheel and the builds improve over time. Glad you found value in the video!
tysm man it helped me so much!
Thanks, you gave me ideas on how to approach my project.
Good advice to not look for other MOCs first! I think you are completely right. And great idea to use any available color in your library to build the first version of the build. And step 5 is really my achilles heel - I never get enough detail going I think but you gave some good ideas - including the interior! Oh, and the story idea is really great! In my experience a lot of details grow out of that and sometimes the build changes altogether. Have you ever made the story first and then the MOC afterwards! And thanks for the shoutout! Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing your creativity! (I will build more toilets in my MOCs) :-D
Thanks! The story definitely helps to have ideas flow naturally for details. Once there is context, it is much easier to come up with detailing ideas. I came up with the basic story for my Underwater Deep Sea display before i got any of the sets. It is because of the story of the lost underwater city, ship wrecks etc that "guided" me to buy the right sets to fill up the space.
Awesome advice for designing and helping planning a moc from scratch
Thanks Nick!
This is a very helpfull video. If you ever get tired of magic, you can always become a teacher! You have a gift for it
Thanks! Over years, I have done lots of videos, live lectures, talks and training sessions for magic and creativity so have found the best way to communicate useful information. But, I don't think I will ever be a teacher in the traditional sense :-)
Be a teacher at a magic school!!! Or a Lego school 😉
AMAZING video
Thank you!
He's got sum nice DSL's
One of the best lego channel on TH-cam! Learnt so much in one night from your channel!
Thanks! Glad you found value!
Tip 3 is how I built my last one. I started off with a vault then it turned into a 2 story bank lol. Your videos are awesome
I made my Custom Monster Truck w/o online or even paper instuctions,but thanks for sharing your building in lego intellect
As usual, a really informative video with lots of great advice. Whenever I'm building my little Micropolis MOCs, it is often one special piece which gives me the seed of an idea, which then turns into a feature item for the block, so I can really relate to that aspect. Having a coherent backstory is also invaluable, I find. Keep up the great work and thank you for sharing your expertise! 👍
Thanks a lot! That feature element is very helpful and is often the catalyst for the rest of the build.
My first MOC was a Modular Building which was made of 11.000 pieces. IT WAS MY FIRST ONE!!!
Incredible!
Thank you for the tips
You are welcome!
There's about that medicine color JC! Haha :) Great advice.
Haha... you remember! :D
This is a wonderful video. I'm trying to build my own city...a place I've always dreamed to living...someplace out of my imagination. The tips you gave are great and I'm now feeling less overwhelmed about the approach to building something truly unique and a creation I'm going to love. Thanks again! Love your videos and book!
Thanks so much! I'm glad my content is useful for you. I will do more of these and share different techniques that can be used for MOCs and customizing builds to make a Lego city your own. More people should buy the book :-D
Love the video because I learnt a lot of advice thanks.
You are welcome and thanks!
thanks so much for this video. really helps.
Made me subscribe ;)
You are welcome! And welcome to Small Brick City!
Thanks, this was very helpful!
You are welcome and thanks!
Very cool video
Thank you!
Thanks for the help
Do you need a lot of lego pieces to make a good moc?
Nice video
Thanks!
Have you ever built a MOC based on a real building? In my experience it is a totally different but equally satisfying challenge- especially scaling everything down. I like to start by ‘sketching’ the footprint onto base plates using bricks.
I have yet to do that. I think scale would be challenging, especially if I want to create it in mini-fig-scale. But, maybe something smaller might be interesting and doable. But, I would want to find something iconic or something that everyone can relate to. What have you built that is MOC of a real building? An Irish Pub? :-D :-D
Another excellent video! I love the insight you share in your videos.
Thanks for the ideas.
Thank you very much! You are welcome!
Thank you so Much🙏
How can i get large quantities of bricks (for example, green bricks)
Awesome
Thanks!
I have just ordered the assembly square off lego and had a really cool idea of creating a London style street out of it including a range of shops and an apartment and rooftop park. Should I try to vary the building styles or try and keep the same style but in different colours and sizes to make a two/one story street. (Corner restaurant and shop will be at the front to invite you down the street) The mini city videos are great and I really want to make a realistic old style Mocs. The only Mocs I have done are Star Wars bases and fighters. Love these videos.
Super video TKS
Thank you!
Thanks for the tips. I have some concerns with 'not looking at other MOCs first', though. Even if it is satisfying beyond imagination to come up with something that's 'never done before', every time I think of a certain building style or technique for an object and then browse the internet, I find dozens (okay, maybe not dozens, but at least some) of MOCs that do it better. Moreover, if a MOC has some complexity to it, it doesn't make much sense to reinvent every part of it, but to look for the most elegant and fitting way to integrate, let's say, a tree.
That said, it might be best to not look at other MOCs at all. But if I didn't, then I wouldn't have stranded here. ;)
I think as you get more experienced at MOCs, this tip might be more applicable. When we all start MOCing (or doing any creative in general), we start by modeling after excellence or "copying" ideas that are well-executed. However, after some time, it is a good exercise to force yourself to create your own version after you have built up a bank of ideas and techniques. At this point, in order to grow creatively and push yourself to the next level, looking at MOCs only after you create your own version will be beneficial. Hope that makes sense! :)
Me: **Planning on making a TRansforming Astro Megazord**
Sounds transformative!
Searched this to build a star wars thing
I love all the info you gave I want to build more moc stuff.....Do you know how to build a mock Lego claw machine that works....I saw one that has mini figures inside and you can actually put money in a the mini will come out but I cant figure out how to do it
No, I did not build the claw machine as I have seen some others who have already done them. I have not seen the one you mentioned. It is very cool if it is minifig scale. You can check out all my small-build tutorials on this playlist here: th-cam.com/video/tTjJyMVmJeE/w-d-xo.html
Small Brick City ya I've seen other videos but I wanna build a working claw machine......thanks for the link I love the videos I've seen so far your really good at doing your own creation
@@kaylove8663 Thanks so much. Let me see what I can do for a Claw Machine. A working one sounds interesting but am not sure if it can be done in minifig scale. I will try
Do custom Lego parts for builds really rack up to $600+ dollars? I want to build one of the Mocs listed on rebrickable.com but most builds cost over $1,000 to build a fighter jet or detailed car.
I just wanna build a cyberpunk city for my lego minifigure. I have an idea if what I wanna build but I struggle with making buildings look realistic with the parts I have.
You keep mentioning you can use a designer for first building and planning, any suggestions to one I could use?
Hi, try Stud.io from Bricklink.com. it is free.
I wanna build a big moc but don’t have money
Love it! Also, are you continuing the Small Brick Town Project? If so, when will the next moc be posted?
Thanks! I may do another Small Brick Town modular in a month or two.
I am just starting to build Mocs and I need advice on how to put the base plates.
What do you mean by how to put the base plates?
I mean if there was a hill
@@owengravlee5837 This might help. th-cam.com/video/J-qOigshWXU/w-d-xo.html
Thank you , you are my favorite TH-camr because you are so informative and you answer all of your fans questions
@@owengravlee5837 You are very kind. Thanks!
Awesome MOC 😍👍 How do you find my new video?
I'd say first but I'm not an idiot so I'll just say... noice
Noice-r!
I love you Jc. You helped me a lot, since I am building a lego Ninja warrior moc. Please respond and if you do shoutouts please give me a shoutout. I think you are a really cool person and don't be down, because of the haters you are the best. You helped me so much thanks I am one of your biggest fans.😍😍
But what if I don't have any bricks to begin with? :( What if I'm not very aware of what pieces exist to begin with? What if I want to make it purely in Bricklink Stud.io? Without knowing well what pieces exist? I can't afford many bricks.
you can buy lego boxes with many pieces
Anyone have any downloadable apps for iOS free to build a 3D model of a moc?
I want to build Stalingrad ww2
Well I shall learn u
501 likes, nice!
watching this after seeing cyperpunk lego moc
Pov: Your making a white van moc
are you vansh
i bild a solger camp
50
I want to build a car
0:12 *the moc creation face*
you ulylee 0:37
I can just build lego house like this ⬛⬜
I dont pay the bills bc I am a cat
why the heck is all your videos 15 min plus??? the titles looks good but the video is too long
I think cos people without short attention spans find the value in the them... or so I have been told. Thanks!
Bru, I'm in 7th grade and I only have around 30 minutes each day to build lego, and I don't have enough time to watch thru the whole 17 min video, and where are the builds from the video screen when you click on it???
I recommend then you scan and skip or you watch in x 1.5 or x 2 speed. That will help cut down the time. You can find all my MOCs in this playlist th-cam.com/video/UCjbCUBcE3Q/w-d-xo.html You can also check my channel playlists for other vids that are relevant to you. Thanks!
dude he one that dosen’t have a garage I HAVE IT😁😁😁😁😁
This guy has the expressions of Morgz's Mom
My imagination isn’t the problem. It’s the lack of pieces and money that’s involved with making MOC builds😅