Lego Art (stylized as LEGO Art) is a Lego theme introduced in 2020. It offers sets based on iconic personalities and characters in pop culture, allowing builders to reproduce them in a mosaic-like format using Lego 1x1 studs. Following the launch of Lego DOTS, a theme mainly targeted towards children, the Lego Art theme is the second 2D tile creative concept to be launched by The Lego Group in August 2020.
Overview
The product line focuses on the artwork portraits. Each set is 48x48 studs in size and contains at least 2,900 pieces. Built upon nine 16x16 baseplates and connected by Lego Technic pins, each mosaic is formed using either round 1x1 tiles or round 1x1 plates. Although each set offers more than one design variation, they are unable to be built simultaneously. Some sets also give builders the option to combine multiples of the same set to create a larger piece. A wall hanging element is included for builders to hang the completed mosaic up. In addition, a new, larger brick separator is also introduced in this theme. Each set also comes with an exclusive 2x4 printed tile, featuring the mosaic's respective signature or logo, which can be added to the corner of the completed mosaic.
Podcasts or soundtracks that are intended to be listened to, when building the mosaics, are available online after purchasing a set. They feature creators or experts discussing the inspiration behind each design or the subject featured in the mosaic.
In 2023, Cooper Wright had set the Guinness Record completed World Map (set number: 31203) with a fastest time in 9 hours, 14 minutes and 49 seconds.
Development
Lego Art is a new theme from The Lego Group that forms part of a strategy to create new products to appeal to adults some of whom will never have built with Lego elements before. Model Designer Kitt Grace Kossmann explained, "We have done something with the building instructions that is different to what we are used to," and continued, "There is a colour bar and that colour bar is represented by all the different bags, so when you build it's much easier. You can say 'number seven, that was the light blue one,' then you can see here as well as just colours there are numbers on it."
Lego Art introduces exclusive new elements, an expanded colour palette and is an entry point for new fans. Model Designer Kitt Grace Kossmann explained, "Some of them are up to four to seven percent extra so you get a lot of extra bricks," and continued, "Where you can reuse, as you can see for example in The Beatles, the skin colour was easy to mingle around and do on all of them, then for example Marilyn Monroe where you have different backgrounds, you needed a spare colour. In that one I had to use more extra bricks than in The Beatles. I wouldn't say that we have been compromising, we decided to make it as good as possible."
During the development process of the Lego Art theme, Model Designer Kitt Grace Kossmann explained, "One of the reasons why some of them have tiles is actually the plates, when you look at them, they look much more smooth, they were really looking nice. But also I think the one with the studs on cater also for Lego fans, being a Star Wars fan and Lego fan is really combined nicely in that one, whereas this one is perhaps more appealing to not super fans."
Lego Art Design Manager Samuel Johnson discussed the combination of 1x1 round plates and 1x1 round tiles on the same mosaic achieve unique shading effects and explained, "That is something that was considered during development and we cannot exclude the possibility of combining them in the future. However, that can cause challenges when developing the building instructions because differentiating between 1x1 round plates and 1x1 round tiles of the same colour may be difficult. The issue becomes even more prevalent within these sets because their instructions feature an unusual top-down view, showing the mosaic in two dimensions."
Lego Art Design Manager Samuel Johnson discussed the soundtracks accompany each model and explained, "Each set features its own soundtrack which has been developed exclusively for these products. The building instructions feature a QR code to access the soundtrack and they are about ninety minutes in length. They discuss the background behind the subjects being constructed. 31200 Star Wars The Sith, for instance, features commentary from Lucasfilm employees about the design of each character and their original development. Moreover, the soundtracks conclude with designer interviews so the creators of each mosaic can provide some information about the production of Lego Art."