The LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery

Featured Works

● Could you tell us a bit about the MOC you've displayed at the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery? What are they called, how many LEGO pieces were used, and how long did it take from the design phase to completion?

Steven： I displayed 4 mocs at the Masterpiece Gallery. There is the Dwarf King Ulájuk Ironbrick which is a full-figure dwarf with armor, a crown and a hammer. This one has roughly 5000 pieces and took a month to build.

The second was the Orc Bust, a character bust of an orc similar to World of Warcraft. It has roughly 1300 pieces and took a month to build.

The third was my Troll Bust. It has roughly 1900 pieces and took 2 weeks to build.

The fourth was a brick-built laptop with an LCD screen that showcased a looping feed of my digital Lego builds from my Color Wheel Challenge (https://www.ghaladmocs.com/home-2/colorwheelchallenge). I am the first digital builder to ever display at the Lego House. Each of the 8 digital builds showcased on the laptop was completed within 24 hours and are a few hundred parts to a few thousand parts.

● Of the works you've displayed, which one do you feel best represents your creative style? Which one is your personal favorite or one you'd most recommend to others? Could you share some insights into the inspiration and story behind its design?

Steven： My personal favorite is the Orc Bust as I love building characters, especially those that are highly expressive.



The one I recommend the most is the Dwarf King. People generally seem to really like that one. It started with using the light yellow bricks from the LEGO Fiat set. I built the head in 20 minutes but the rest of the figure took more time to create.

● While working on these pieces, did you encounter any significant challenges? How did you overcome them?

Steven： The Dwarf, like any large LEGO figure build, was challenging in trying to figure out if I had enough pieces for the full figure and if he could stand on his own without falling. The arms are quite heavy but are surprisingly only held in place by two Technic pins on each side.

● Were there any other works by fellow designers at the exhibition that caught your eye? What is it about those designs that you find appealing?

Steven： I was quite impressed by Andrew Steel’s massive character builds. I knew they were big, but it is quite an experience to see how big they were in person.

Experience as an Invited Exhibitor

● During the exhibition, we saw you chatting with many prominent figures from the LEGO community, and you also gave several media interviews. Were there any interesting or memorable conversations or events that stood out to you during these interactions?

Steven： I really enjoyed meeting everyone, but three stood out the most to me. I met Ryan McNaught, the Lego Certified Professional builder from Australia whom I’ve looked up to over the years. The second was Wes Talbot, a set designer at LEGO, who inspired me to do my digital builds that are on the brick-built laptop. Lastly, getting to meet Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, who is the grandson of the founder of LEGO, the prior CEO, and the current owner of the LEGO Group was a huge honor.

● As a featured designer, what feelings or insights do you hope to inspire in the visitors who come to see your work?

Steven： I hope that all who see my work are inspired to go and create their own cool LEGO builds and have fun doing it. LEGO is a great medium and amazing things can be made using it, but it is also about playing. Children and adults can play as they create and I hope many will be inspired to do the same.

I also hope to encourage others that digital building is a valid way of playing and building with LEGO.

● When you first received the invitation to exhibit at LEGO House, what were your thoughts and emotions?

Steven： I definitely was shocked and thought it might be fake or spam. After I verified it was a legitimate request I was super happy and couldn’t wait to go to Denmark.

Steven's LEGO Story

First Encounters with LEGO

● Can you tell us the story of how you first encountered LEGO? When did you first come across LEGO, and what was the experience like?

Steven： I have been building with LEGO since I was 2 years old. I had a lot of LEGO growing up as a child, but when I was 10 or 12 my dad brought home over 340 kg of LEGO which nearly doubled my collection. By the time I went to college I had over 1800kg worth of LEGO.

I was always building with LEGO and working out various ideas in my head through the brick.

● When did you fall in love with LEGO? How did you go from being a casual player to a professional designer with works featured in the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery? Was there a particular moment when you thought, “I've really made it!”?

Steven： I’ve been obsessed with LEGO since I was a child. I think my works started to greatly improve in 2018 when I started exploring digital building. Digital LEGO building allowed me to explore technics that I may not have had the parts for. Both my digital and physical builds kept getting better and so did the attention towards my works. I honestly am still amazed and humbled that I would be considered good enough to be in the LEGO House. I’m not sure if I’ll ever feel I’ve “really made it!” I am constantly growing and improving in my skill and what I can do.

● As the champion of the Iron Builder competition, you've participated in many LEGO design contests. Is there a particular entry you've worked on that stands out in your memory? What made it so memorable for you?

Steven： The build that stands out to me the most is the War of the Worlds animation I did for the Iron Builder competition. Not only was I one of the first digital builders for Iron Builder, but I was the first to ever do a full animation for the competition. Iron Builder only runs for 2 weeks so it isn’t a lot of time to do any number of builds, but somehow, I managed to do 16 models and 1 animation while doing my day job. I finished the animation in 14 hours including the time it took to design the builds, rig them, light them, and animate and render them.

● What does LEGO mean to you? Can you summarize its significance in just a few words? Why would you describe it that way?

Steven： LEGO is one of the best mediums I can use as a creator. It allows me to express myself and put my thoughts and ideas into a physical or digital presence. LEGO is a source of play and creativity. The possibilities are endless, and it helps all who play and build with it grow as creative thinkers.

Creating LEGO Works

● How many MOCs have you completed to date? What types or styles of LEGO creations do you prefer or feel most comfortable with? Why?

Steven： I have likely completed several hundred MOCs. It is hard to say as I haven’t kept track of everything I’ve built since I was a child.

I prefer building characters. It is always challenging but also allows me to tell a story in a singular build. I wasn’t always good at building characters, but the more I build them, the better I am getting at it.

● Where do you typically find inspiration when working on your designs? Do you have any special methods or habits that help you tap into your creativity?

Steven： I find inspiration all over the place, but currently I find a lot of inspiration from concept artists and other fantasy-based creators on Instagram.

● What advice would you give to someone just starting out with MOC creations? Where should they begin?

Steven： When building MOCs just experiment with what you have. Limit yourself to the LEGO pieces in front of you and see all the ways you can create something from a limited set of pieces.

The Future of LEGO for You

● What are your future plans in the world of LEGO creation? Are there any specific challenges or styles you're excited to explore in your upcoming work?

Steven： I am always creating something. Sometimes I have too many projects I want to do. Haha! I have a few MOCs in the works right now and a massive digital K-pop inspired animation I have slowly been working on for the past 2 years. That one will likely be done a year or two from now. I am always building so just keep following me and you’ll see more and more.

About Steven

Steven's Work and Life

● Not only are you a skilled LEGO designer, but you're also an excellent 3D animator. How has your professional background in animation influenced your LEGO creations?

Steven： I didn’t do any 3D modeling or animation at Academy of Art University in San Francisco where I went to school. I studied Illustration. However, because of one of the jobs I had, I had to learn 3D modeling and animation. Through this it taught me how to explore new things. This is what got me into digital building and seeing how I could animate my ideas. What I learned for my job certainly influenced what I did for fun with digital LEGO.

● Do you work on LEGO designs and builds every day? How significant a part of your life is LEGO? How do you balance LEGO creation with your other daily responsibilities?

Steven： I am building almost every day, but I have a wife and 2 kids. It is important to me to balance my time with my hobby of LEGO and spending time with my family and time with my church family as a Christian. I have enjoyed seeing how I can use LEGO to reach others for the sake of my faith in Jesus. More important than LEGO to me is my life as a Christian. Those two don’t have to be distinct from each other, but as great as LEGO is, it is good to make sure it doesn’t take priority over my faith or family.

● If you were to build a LEGO representation of the most important scene in your life, what would it be, and how would you go about creating it?

Steven： Although I don’t have a specific date I became saved by Jesus, I think that is the most important scene of my life. I think a digital LEGO animation of a LEGO me being raised from a grave to life drawn out by a Bible might be a way to depict how that has changed my life. The greatest part of my life has been and continues to be learning about who God is through the Bible.

● We've heard that you have two lovely daughters. Do they enjoy playing with LEGO? Are there any fun stories you'd like to share about building LEGO with your kids?

Steven： My kids have gone from DUPLO to LEGO bricks now and it is awesome! Anytime I am building something I will often see them run to their own collection and start creating. My oldest loves creating scenes and stories while the youngest is experimenting with how things connect. Both have been an absolute joy to see as they blossom as creative people themselves.

Steven: The Chinese Son-in-Law

● Your Chinese Lion statue is truly impressive. How did you come up with that idea, and how did you bring it to life? Will you be incorporating more Chinese cultural elements in your future designs?

Steven： Thank you! Since my wife is from China, I wanted to embrace Chinese culture in some way. I unfortunately never finished that full build. I started it as an ornate traditional gate digitally. I intended to build the whole thing in real life but after seeing that it would cost thousands of US dollars I decided to hold off finishing it for a bit. Haha! I certainly will explore some more Chinese cultural elements into my designs in the future. It is a way to honor my wife’s home culture and to teach my daughters about their mixed heritage.

● We know your wife is from China (Qingdao), and you've shared your love of Chinese food on social media. Do you enjoy Chinese cuisine? Do you have any favorite dishes?

Steven： I definitely am a fan of different Chinese cuisine. My two favorites are Xi’an Biang Biang noodles and a simple barbeque bun. My mother-in-law also makes amazing ribs and dumplings.

● We've seen you mention how important Chinese culture is to your family, and you hope your daughters will learn more about it. How do you and your family share and experience Chinese culture with your kids?

Steven： My wife and I have built many of the Chinese LEGO New Years sets. We also partake in many of the Chinese traditions like watching the New Years Gala while dressing up in traditional outfits each year together or eating sticky rice buns for the Dragon Boat festival.

● With Chinese New Year around the corner, could you share your plans for the celebration? Are you thinking about creating any LEGO designs related to the holiday?

Steven： We will be watching the New Years Gala and getting red envelopes from my in-laws. I don’t have any LEGO designs currently planned for it but I might do one in the future.

● Finally, is there anything you'd like to say to your Chinese fans and readers who admire your work?

Steven： I am continually amazed and humbled to have fans all around the world. I hope to visit China one day to see where my wife grew up and experience the rich culture of your nation. I hope many of you are inspired to go create your own LEGO MOCs. I’d absolutely love to see what you make!