LEGO

These are some of the builds that the Veinhart Soul Engine and Swarm Core are responsible for. I have a story for these, but I can’t seem to find it right now.

https://imgur.com/a/CIn1oSS - pictures

This is a small build that resides in the apocalyptic scraps realm. It is the scout that guides the mobile city through the realm.

https://imgur.com/a/kAviSao - pictures
https://imgur.com/a/m5l0NVo - setup at Brickworld Indy

Hello. I'm Tanis Nikana (she/her), a photographer based in Portland, OR.

Matsuri Machi is a celebration of my childhood, idealized and seen through the lens of mixed media: traditional Japanese gaming components, alongside lego, to create a vibrant and cozy fantasy village, set atop a traditional Japanese dining table. It strongly features themes of friendship, queer relationships, and feelings of cozy fantasy. It's inspired by the dense works of Andreas Gursky, and informed by Hayao Miyazaki and Katamari Damacy.

I had a few friends help me a bit on lighting and storytelling when I realized, on my fourth attempt at doing this, that I may have been over my head. There were seven hundred takes over seven shoots, spaced over two days to give a variated feeling of weather and the advancement of time. Editing is still ongoing; these are just the first of the series.

This project was shot with a Canon EOS Rebel T7, with an 18mm-55mm lens at approximately f/5.5, but some shots went as high as f/14.

Eventually, my wife asked if we could use the dining table for food again, and I said sure.

Please enjoy Matsuri Machi; we worked hard on it. I hope it inspires feelings of peace and longing.

This build has gone through many iterations, but I think I am finally content with the results. Unfortunately I do not have a recent video or anything showcasing how the build opens. The top floors are removable featuring a wild west area with a prospector and the other side is an Egyptian showcase. The bottom floors are reception and old Model A cars. One day I might even add lights to it.

I do have an older set of pictures from last year: https://imgur.com/a/UmADx3G

I definitely felt that this display was lacking, so I decided to create a landscape for the build. I threw it together in 4 hours, so apologies about the crudity of the layout. I also wanted to give the build a sense of flight, so I elevated it with some trans-clear pieces. This build will be on display at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for two weeks.

I already have plans on what I need to do for cleaning up the layout, but I ran out of time last night.

https://imgur.com/a/ckZ97so - quick video

This build was inspired by the recent santa sleigh Christmas set that was on sale during Black Friday. I almost pulled the trigger on it, but after looking up what parts it came with I decided to use that money to create a Bricklink order consisting of dark brown elephant trunks, and appendages (my favorite part) I knew I wanted to create an Eldritch Horror-esque type build, and roughly 5 hours later this was the end result last Friday. It will be on display at our last LEGO Christmas show of the year.

What person wouldn't want this festive decoration?

https://imgur.com/gallery/qvDElLI - quick video, since I did not have the time to take other pictures.

Sure, you’ve hung a few LEGO ornaments on your Christmas tree, but why stop there? This year, we’re taking donning the tree to the next level by creating Christmas lights and other holiday decorations with the classic LEGO light brick.

This build originated from a surplus of appendages (favorite part), elephant tails, along with dinosaur tails. I have a feeling if I were to ever make "kits" to sell for someone to create a "squ1ddos" build, this pretty much encapsulates my concept of building. I then decided that the build needed to resemble more of a carousel, as opposed to a statue. So I created a platform and did what I do best, and created a rotating abomination. Unfortunately all of this has been sacrificed for Veinhart Soul Engine and Swarm Core. One day I will revisit the idea and add it to the nightmare realm.

https://imgur.com/a/QgY77fy - video of the build in action

I didn't have a chance to take proper pictures of the build due to finishing it right before Brickworld Chicago. Once the event completed I then started pulling it apart to make the Sky Squid. Some of the time with my builds, if I know I don't have the parts, I will sacrifice the current build to work on the new project. Some of my builds are saved from the chopping block, and others not so much.

This build was created out of the inspiration from meeting Michael Kanemoto at Brickworld Chicago this year and him letting me plunder his parts collection. He was glad to meet another bar and clip type builder. So the back story behind this build is that it ties into the apocalyptic scraps realm and Arachnis' Swarm Node. Basically the humans have harnessed Arachnis' technology and are going to use it for taking down the Swarm Nodes.

This build has gone through a few iterations and was inspired by the lavender plant piece. I wanted to create a monster that uses the plant pieces and sculpt something from it. There's a short story, but I only have it on the video I created for the nightmare realm. This is the 4th creature that make up the nightmare realm. Technically there's a 5th, the nightmare carousel, but it was sacificed for the greater good. I'll post that as well sometime.

https://imgur.com/a/ryLlnU2 quick video

The Conductor has awoken to feast
every step taken brings the monster closer.
The hands of the damned start to rise from the depths as distorted abominations appear
The ground starts to tremor as the engipedes shoot out of their nest, towering over and closing in.
The creature below has awakened and is ready to feast. The body is ingested and harvested for The Conductor's fuel.
Once consumed, the surface folds in on itself and prepares for the next meal.
A defiled display is all that remains of a corpse as the bones are thrown into the air To satiate the realm that remains.

https://imgur.com/a/V2SAM8v - Quick video of the build

This is a mobile city that I created and yes, was inspired by mortal engines. The concept is that Arachnis has invaded earth and imagine the Matrix, but with alien spiders and Swarm Nodes everywhere. The last of the humans reside in Quadrant 3 and are trying to overtake her scourge and reclaim what they can.

People have also mentioned it reminds them of something from WarHammer 40k.

Here's a quick video of the build.
https://imgur.com/a/bR73OR8

Arachnis' Swarm Node
https://imgur.com/a/4OTqyZj