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Escher Paintings with Lego Bricks

sciuro writes "a couple of guys (A Lipton & D Shiu) have built three of M C Escher's 3D-distorting paintings using Lego bricks (and some carefully chosen camera angles). Balcony, Belvedere & Ascending and Descending are all down at the bottom of the page. Nice!" Some other pretty pieces as well.

187 comments

  1. And today, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    From the "too much free time and no girlfriend" files of Slashdot...

    1. Re:And today, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, the one guy is married, and his wife helps sometimes. I'm sure she just considers it a hobby like other wives with cars/computers/sports/whatever.

    2. Re:And today, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      s/girlfriend/ 12 year old asian twink /g

    3. Re:And today, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And you're the slashdotter.

      Kettle: "Hello, pot."
      Pot, pointing a finger: "BLACK!"

    4. Re:And today, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kettle: "Hello, Mr. Cliche."
      Mr. Cliche, pointing a finger: "FUCK!"

    5. Re:And today, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
      From the Dilbert figurine portions of the site:

      My wife Lesley likes them so much that she says I shouldn't take them apart, so I must go and buy some more LEGObricks. Well, who am I to argue?

      Apparently he has a wife--just one that is the same geek-calibur as he is :)
    6. Re:And today, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      That should be "calibre" Too many videogames for you. Read a book!

  2. Copyright! by Evil+Adrian · · Score: 5, Funny

    Has Escher's copyright run out yet? :-)

    --
    evil adrian
    1. Re:Copyright! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What part of "All M. C. Escher works (C) Cordon Art, Baarn, the Netherlands. All rights reserved. Used by permission." did you find confusing?

    2. Re:Copyright! by limekiller4 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Evil Adrian writes:
      "Has Escher's copyright run out yet? :-)"

      Well, if we represent a timeline with an Escher staircase and we represent the passage of time as the people walking up the stairs, then the answer is no, his copyright will actually never run out. =)

      --
      My .02,
      Limekiller
    3. Re:Copyright! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep. It ran out faster that a bottle of jager in ESR's hands, you stupid fuck .

    4. Re:Copyright! by The+Analog+Kid · · Score: 1

      I'm sure it will never run out since copywrite laws will be extend a gillon times in the future :) That is the say the US still exsists in 9000(hopes for a star trek universe, and reincarnation)

    5. Re:Copyright! by ebbv · · Score: 0, Troll


      this has got to be the dumbest fucking reply i've ever read.

      it's worth the karma loss to tell limekiller4 what a worthless moron he is.

      --

      Think different? I'd be happy if most people would just think...
    6. Re:Copyright! by Gonarat · · Score: 1

      Oh come on! I got a big laugh out of Limekiller4's comment! The worst part of it is if Disney wins the Supreme Court challenge here in the U.S.A. it will be true -- at least "in the land of the free"...

      --
      Beware of Sleestak
    7. Re:Copyright! by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      Perhaps this would be an adventageous method for Disney to permanenty extend the copyright on their Rat. Better not let them know.

      --
      Jory
    8. Re:Copyright! by Bartmoss · · Score: 2

      In fact, that is exactly what will happen, as copyright gets extended every couple of years.

    9. Re:Copyright! by rarity · · Score: 1

      I hope so - I've had an Escher design (dragon) tattoed on my right arm. How exactly am I going to Cease & Desist that?

    10. Re:Copyright! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The site says the images were used with permission...

    11. Re:Copyright! by EricWright · · Score: 2, Funny

      Lasers. Big freaking lasers...

    12. Re:Copyright! by ichimunki · · Score: 2, Informative

      You aren't, but your tattoo artist is probably liable since he was not licensed to reproduce the image. And yes, most of his work is still protected since it was produced in the 1900's and he died less than 70 years ago (however, the Supreme Court decision on Eldred v. Ashcroft may have an effect on that). As to how you might cease & desist, tattoo removal is fairly easily done (especially for black ink), but it's very painful-- much worse than getting the tattoo.

      --
      I do not have a signature
    13. Re:Copyright! by Godwin+O'Hitler · · Score: 1

      And what part of "Has Escher's copyright run out yet" did you find confusing?

      --
      No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.
  3. Why, why by Reggie+Funk · · Score: 5, Funny

    If only they gave a Nobel Prize in misplaced talent.

    1. Re:Why, why by ejdmoo · · Score: 1

      Yeah...then you'd see posters from /. getting Prizes for how much time they spend thinking up witty remarks for fp. :)

    2. Re:Why, why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately, witty FPs are few and far between.

    3. Re:Why, why by aarondsouza · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Actually this would make an excellent candidate for the Ig Nobel awards

      --
      "In mathematics, it's not enough to read the words -- you have to hear the music"
  4. White Stripes Video by Mtn_Dewd · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If anyone has seen the White Stripes video where the entire thing is done in lego-like animation, that is what this reminded me of. The filters to create this animation are quite unique.

    --



    My little sad piece of the internet: www.mtndewd
    1. Re:White Stripes Video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      they weren't done with any filters, that video was built by hand

    2. Re:White Stripes Video by Pike65 · · Score: 2

      Yeah - I can't stand the White Stripes, but I loved that video.

      When I get my MEng, that's the job I want.

      --
      "If being a geek means being passionate about something, then I pity those who aren't geeks." - Pike65
    3. Re:White Stripes Video by nullgel · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Perhaps he meant (and I believe this to be the case) that most, if not all, of the video was shot normally with the musicians/actors/sets. They then might have taken the raw video through some filters adjusting the colors to LEGO colors and perhaps "pixelating" the video. They could then use these filtered frames as a reference to build the LEGOs.

      Only a theory, but this is how I would attempt to do it anyway.

    4. Re:White Stripes Video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've been looking for a downloadable copy of that for a while... any idea where I could find it?

    5. Re:White Stripes Video by specialized_sworks · · Score: 2, Informative

      edonkey

      <a href="ed2k://|file|the.white.stripes.-.Fell.In.Lov e.With.A.Girl.mpg|20725432|acae6faebdca139e35f2b66 ce9fdceb5|/">the white stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl.mpg</a>

    6. Re:White Stripes Video by protohiro1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I think this video was done manually, most animators aren't programmers (but some are, I know). Animators are patient people. Also I think they probably doubled frames, so there are "only" 12 frames to come up with each second. they probably projected the video, then lined the bricks up with the projection. (a pretty common technique for "roto mation") You should check out some of the classic animations. There is one that features an animated cab calloway, done using this technique.

      --
      Sig removed because it was obnoxious
    7. Re:White Stripes Video by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wouldnt be hard to make a filter in after effects that would pixelize the video and then replace the color pixels with scanned images of lego bricks.

  5. Intelligence Aside... by xanadu-xtroot.com · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I wish I had that kind of time...

    DAMN cool, though!

    Two thumbs up!

    --
    I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
    I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
    1. Re:Intelligence Aside... by mgblst · · Score: 2

      Yeah, if i didn't spend all my time reading and posting to /., maybe i could do something cool too.

  6. More than one by RoC+MasterMind · · Score: 4, Funny

    The webpage mentioned in the article has been posted here before. I'm too lazy to find the link, but the guys are really good, these are just three new logo projects they've done. Anyway, imagine a beowulf cluster of these!

    1. Re:More than one by Thalia · · Score: 1, Informative

      Deja vu all over again. But it's been four and a half months... so we probably forgot the whole discussion already.

      Thalia

    2. Re:More than one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is about some new models though, and they are prety cool if I do say so myself.

    3. Re:More than one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Before you try to point out Slashdot repeats and feel cool, why don't you actually read the old article you linked to, where you would see it is about mathematical sculptures. Then go on to notice that this article is about MC Escher artwork in Legos. Then go to the guy's website and see how the MC Escher stuff was added recently. Then apologize for being a jackass.

    4. Re:More than one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Escher legos are new. This article is not a duplicate.

    5. Re:More than one by Pooua · · Score: 1, Troll
      Before you try to point out Slashdot repeats and feel cool, why don't you actually read the old article you linked to, where you would see it is about mathematical sculptures. Then go on to notice that this article is about MC Escher artwork in Legos. Then go to the guy's website and see how the MC Escher stuff was added recently. Then apologize for being a jackass.

      How about if I proclaim myself a psychic? I haven't read the Escher material from the current post, but I can tell you what it contains. It explains, in the illustration of the people walking around the square tower, how there is actually a gap in the tower, and the photograph has to be taken from a certain angle to see the illusion of the Escher painting. How is it possible that I would know that, when I haven't read that page since July? Am I psychic? Or, is this really a repost of the exact same material?

      --
      Taking stuff apart since 1969 (TM)
  7. Strange.... by silverbolt · · Score: 2, Flamebait

    I have never understood the geek factor in creating stuff using LEGO blocks. Or probably they have too much time on their hands...
    (*Shrugs*) ....

    1. Re:Strange.... by SoCalChris · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm not sure why the parent got modded down as flamebait, but oh well...

      I think that most of the geeks here on Slashdot probably played with Legos a lot as little kids, and most of us probably still play with them (I know I do when I have time!). A lot of the new Lego sets aren't very geeky, and a lot of people find the new sets downright boring. So when someone comes along like these guys and create something that is really cool/complicated/hard to do, it is generally something that most Slashdot readers would appreciate, so it gets posted.

      On the other hand, I've never been a fan of anime, and don't know any other geeks who are so I'm not sure why those are posted on Slashdot. When an anime story comes by, I just usually ignore it.

    2. Re:Strange.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think that most of the geeks here on Slashdot probably played with Legos a lot as little kids, and most of us probably still play with them (I know I do when I have time!).

      i'm sure your dad still plays with your lincoln log, even when you beg him to stop, you fucking fag.

      - tt

    3. Re:Strange.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lego went downhill from the day they added transparent pieces.
      Motors, electronics, computer control? WTF? That's not Lego.

    4. Re:Strange.... by jmcwork · · Score: 2

      The original Legos required some creativity and imagination. Sure your helicopter rotor blades were square and did not really spin but it was fun to make it. Now you simply build things from a kit, not much different that putting together a model. Just like Hot Wheels used to sell bundles of track so you could run them around the entire house. Now they all run in some small space with an electronic shark/spider/volcano to provide some lame interaction. Felt like a rant. Sorry.

    5. Re:Strange.... by f8xmulder · · Score: 1

      Three major geek factors here are Legos (which most of us played with as kids, I'm sure), M.C.Escher (his artwork is enough to blow your mind even if you're not smoking anything, and C programming for a non-work, non-"productive" project. This gets a pretty high geek factor score, IMHO.

  8. More information by kaosrain · · Score: 4, Informative

    More information on MC Escher, including his artwork and uses of his artwork, can be found here and here.

    1. Re:More information by Whibla · · Score: 1

      Another good resource for anyone interested in reproducing any other insane art is:

      Adventures with Impossible Figures, by Bruno Ernst (0 906212 54 5)

      But I have to admit, this guy takes it to the limit. Awesome!

    2. Re:More information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      500 mm, 5 dm, 0.5 m, 100 times the length of your micropenis.
      YOU are one of those who make the rest of the world want to fly aeroplanes into American buildings.

  9. What suprised me... by Cervantes · · Score: 5, Funny
    ... was that this made /. without having a Lego Penguin...

    Hmm, would that turn the Lego into GNU/Lego? Maybe that would discourage militant lego lawyers from attacking anyone who doesn't put up a disclaimer. Oh, sure, I know what you're thinking, Lego Lawyers, how scary are they, you can just pull their head off or stick the holes in their feet to some little pegs in the ground, but don't be fooled! Once those little bastards call in the Space Frontier Force, it's over! Those laser-light things burn, man! If I hadn't had the Lego Rescue Rangers there to save my ass, it would have been bad! Thankfully, they took all the lawyers, broke them apart, made an ambulance, and took me to the hospital, where they replaced a few bricks, and I'm fine now...

    ... Hmm, maybe they were right about that whole "acid trip flashback" thing...

    --
    If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
    1. Re:What suprised me... by DigitalDad · · Score: 5, Informative

      He did...

      Penguin

      Or is your poison BSD?

      --


      My good sig is in the laundry
    2. Re:What suprised me... by Observer · · Score: 2
      ... was that this made /. without having a Lego Penguin...
      Well... my second reaction to the Ascending and Descending piece was 'cool, nice little penguins' before I looked a bit closer. (First reaction was a broad grin.)
    3. Re:What suprised me... by Cervantes · · Score: 1

      You too, eh?

      I was really impressed with how they handled the perspective on the staircase... building it the way they did was a stroke of genius. Considering this is one of my favorite works, next to the one who's name i can't think of (there are four waterfalls, all with one leading to the other), I'm wondering if he'll sell schematics to hoseheads like me who don't have the time to experiment.

      Hmm, an excuse to buy lego... woohoo!

      --
      If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
    4. Re:What suprised me... by Cervantes · · Score: 1

      You know, if you're this bitter, then maybe where you've stuffed your lego for safekeeping isn't anatomically correct...

      --
      If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
    5. Re:What suprised me... by Cervantes · · Score: 1

      Sweet! That's what I get for rushing through the site from work.

      In other news, the creators also made a full bust of Bill Gates, but are unable to take pictures as they keep attacking it with the Imperial Battlecruiser and then throwing it down the stairs...

      --
      If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
  10. WATCH THE SLASHDOLTS MOD UP THIS BLATANT WHORING! by Subject+Line+Troll · · Score: 0, Funny
  11. Must be nice.. by l810c · · Score: 5, Funny
    This guy has either:

    A) No Job - Stays home all day to play with Legos
    B) A Really Cool Job - Stays home all day to play with Legos

    1. Re:Must be nice.. by AnyoneEB · · Score: 2, Informative

      He says on the page that he does his Lego work at night.

      --
      Centralization breaks the internet.
  12. Misplaced effort . . . by Pike65 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Our eventual solution was to take a number of separate shots, zooming in on distinct parts of the model, and glue them together as a mosaic panorama. The image above was constructed in this way from 16 images. The final Escher transformation was implemented in a custom C program that I hacked together.

    For the love of God! Implemented in C?!

    Someone get this man a copy of Photoshop, stat!

    --
    "If being a geek means being passionate about something, then I pity those who aren't geeks." - Pike65
    1. Re:Misplaced effort . . . by GuyMannDude · · Score: 5, Funny

      Someone get this man a copy of Photoshop, stat!

      Using a user-friendly tool like Photoshop would defeat the whole geeky purpose! He was able to use the words "custom program" and "hacked" in the same sentence -- a prerequisite for recognized by slashdot. The only things that could have made this cooler would have been:

      • Reverse-engineering the Photoshop software and then modifying it for his purpose
      • Using assembly instead of C
      • Making his webpage with a text editor while watching Star Trek

      All in all, a good geek project!

      GMD

    2. Re:Misplaced effort . . . by meringuoid · · Score: 5, Funny
      Someone get this man a copy of Photoshop, stat!

      Using a user-friendly tool like Photoshop would defeat the whole geeky purpose! He was able to use the words "custom program" and "hacked" in the same sentence -- a prerequisite for recognized by slashdot.

      OK, shall we compromise? Someone get them a copy of the Gimp...

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
    3. Re:Misplaced effort . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Gimp's sleeping.

    4. Re:Misplaced effort . . . by iabervon · · Score: 2

      No, what would have been really cool would have been if he'd ground a lens for his camera to do it. Of course, Legos are just no good for building lenses out of...

  13. duplicate story by dylanm · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Way back in July..
    http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/0 2/134620 2&mode=thread&tid=159

    1. Re:duplicate story by kaosrain · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No, this is not a duplicate story, it's an update on their projects. It is a story about the same people that we wrote about back in July, but what if we cried out "duplicate story!" every time a story about Microsoft or Linux was posted?

    2. Re:duplicate story by dylanm · · Score: 1

      But what if everytime some geek builds a new castle we have to read about it?

    3. Re:duplicate story by Pooua · · Score: 1, Troll
      No, this is not a duplicate story, it's an update on their projects. It is a story about the same people that we wrote about back in July, but what if we cried out "duplicate story!" every time a story about Microsoft or Linux was posted?

      It is a duplicate story. I haven't read the page since July, but I remember reading their explanation for the "Descending/Ascending" tower from back in July. The Escher material was on the page in July. I'm sorry if all you people missed it back then.

      --
      Taking stuff apart since 1969 (TM)
    4. Re:duplicate story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      (Posted by Andrew Lipson, who made the website)

      The photos of "Ascending and Descending" were
      taken over the period 16th-20th of September 2002.

      They definitely weren't on the website in July!

  14. limerick by bobtheprophet · · Score: 5, Funny

    There once was a man named D. Shiu
    Whose work is now being viewed.
    His page will be slashed
    Hashed dashed and mashed
    Linked from slashdot; to his page: adieu.

    --
    Don't give me none of this "nature theme" business.
    1. Re:limerick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      :-)

      Unfortunately from the link it looks's like it's the other guy's page.

  15. Re:Is there anything it can't do? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hehehe, i was just reading that alicebot stuff and downloaded it.

    me > who do all your base belong to?
    Alice > Linus Torvalds. :-)

  16. Mona Lego by kaosrain · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This article got me to wondering what other art works had been made with Legos. What I found isn't quite the same, but I still enjoy it nonetheless. You can find a complete recreation of Mona Lisa made with Legos by Eric Harshbarger at this site.

    1. Re:Mona Lego by fobbman · · Score: 5, Funny

      Screw art, we need more Lego Porn.

    2. Re:Mona Lego by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      screw you, i need some eskimo pussy, you fucking cockmaster

      -tt

    3. Re:Mona Lego by jmoriarty · · Score: 5, Funny

      If someone can make a convincing Salvador Dali out of legos without melting any bricks, you could color me impressed.

    4. Re:Mona Lego by Xtraneous · · Score: 4, Funny

      Funny, it seems to be slashdotted.

      What a sad, sad world...

      --
      .noitacidem deen uoy siht daer nac uoy fI
    5. Re:Mona Lego by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What a sad, sad world...

      Y'know, you had to click that link to see if it was slashdotted.

  17. I got one of these.. by geekoid · · Score: 5, Funny

    ..It's upstairs in the basement.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  18. carefully chosen camera angles, eh? by e40 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The same perspectives used in the original works, I might add.

    1. Re:carefully chosen camera angles, eh? by jedie · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I think the visual deceit only works from those specific angles (because of shadows and whatnot that fool the eye and brain of the beholder).
      I do actually wonder though what the sculptures would look like from different angles: it would be interesting to see what's *really* there, and not just what our brain thinks there is.

      --
      "The majority is always sane, Louis." -- Nessus
      http://slashdot.jp
    2. Re:carefully chosen camera angles, eh? by xenode · · Score: 1

      Clearly you didn't look at them, did you? They do have pictures showing their construction and of different angles.

    3. Re:carefully chosen camera angles, eh? by JonasH · · Score: 1

      These animations will possibly explain it. Sortof. I spent all of last night trying to regain my faith in perspective after watching them. Don't say you weren't warned.

      --
      rasher

  19. It strikes again... by 403Forbidden · · Score: 5, Funny

    1) Lose your job
    2) Build geometric and paradoxical shapes out of legos
    3) Get them posted on Slashdot
    4) ???
    5) PROFIT!

    I actually like his work, it's very mathmatical.

  20. Not duplicate post by Shard013 · · Score: 1

    To everyone claiming this post was on the same thing, they are wrong. Though it is the same web site the old article was about the mathimatical formations.

  21. Mirror by zachlipton · · Score: 5, Informative

    I don't usually do this, though these are pretty darn cool so I setup a mirror!

    http://www.zachlipton.com/mirror/lego.htm

    Zach

  22. Why the hell does this get modded +4? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ya, I saw that video too, give me the karma! Oh but I'm AC so NOOOOO

  23. Not a repeat! by jlv · · Score: 5, Informative

    While this link of Andrew Lipson' was mentioned back in July, this is not a repeat. The Escher works are newly added in October.

  24. Anyone seen really big (2"x4") bricks? by Spy4MS · · Score: 1

    I've been looking for them for months and tried googling and LUGnetting without results. I know they were made before 1975. They came in a set of all-rectangular bricks that was big enough to build a structure I could actually sit inside, at least when I was 4 yrs old.

    I've got a kid now who's coming up on that age and I'd like him to have some.

    Help would be appreciated.

    1. Re:Anyone seen really big (2"x4") bricks? by laard · · Score: 1

      There's a certain brand of baby wipes that comes in a plastic box designed like that. They're about the size of a shoe box, collect a few dozen and build furniture or something... not very sturdy though (thin plastic).

      --
      --- If we knew half the things we shouldn't we'd stop wishing we knew it all
    2. Re:Anyone seen really big (2"x4") bricks? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      my best guess at what you are looking for is lego soft

      i first saw them at legoland california, very cool. i would love a big set, just as soon as i have an extra couple of hundred dollars sitting around.

    3. Re:Anyone seen really big (2"x4") bricks? by Trebuchet · · Score: 2, Informative

      Ritvik makes mega bloks. However, their site is very very useless. You can get them at Toys R Us, but I would suggest that you go to a local toy store (try one of the independant stores) and see if you can get them to order them in bulk?

      I have no idea how these blocks are sold, so YMMV.

      Lego also makes (or used to make) very large foam lego bricks. They show up on ebay and bricklink.com sometimes.

      And after typing this entire post, i reread yours and saw that you were looking for 2 INCH by 4 INCH blocks... in that case what you probably want is Duplo, made by lego. look at lego's catalog.

      Forgive me if this post is incoherent, I really should go to bed right now.

      --

      Malcolm solves his problems with a chainsaw,
      And he never has the same problem twice.
    4. Re:Anyone seen really big (2"x4") bricks? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes.

      You're looking for BRIK (BRIKK?) blocks, the 2x4stud blocks are roughly 4x8x3". The company dissolved in the early 90's after releasing & recalling a child's play table (non-brikk related) with safety issues.

      The bricks originally came in sets of 80, mixed 2x2's, 2x4's & wheel/axle units in blue, red, green & yellow. They can be found occasionally on ebay in varying quantities (anywhere from 10-20 blocks to several 80pc sets) for around a buck a brick. They're very heavy & very sturdy.

      I was lucky enough to find 500+ bricks at a garage sale for $40 when my son was two, and they are the most versatile, replayable toy I've ever come across.

      --colin

  25. Lego LEGO *LEGO* by AbRASiON · · Score: 0

    Lego.
    Lego bricks.
    Pieces of Lego.
    Lego Pieces.
    Lego.

    Sheep.
    Flock of sheep.
    Pieces of sheep.(ok ok lamb!)
    Sheep pieces. (ok ok lamb again!)
    Sheep.

    Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine, but they have always been and always will be LEGO BLOCKS never ever will they be "legos" (they make pasta sauce)

    - AbRASiON

    1. Re:Lego LEGO *LEGO* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      they have always been and always will be LEGO BLOCKS never ever will they be "legos"

      Ummm, that's "LEGO (r) blocks (tm)" to you, buddy.

  26. I made a 3D model of belvedere! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Here is the 3D models I made of Belvedere, it has Side and back pictures as well, if you wanted to know how it was done. I had to program it at the University of utah, in a language for their alpha_1 modeling. Took me two weeks to learn the language and make it.

    1. Re:I made a 3D model of belvedere! by sum+ASM+required · · Score: 1

      I didn't know I wasn't logged on, What do you guys think? I can ray trace more pictures if people would like to see them.

    2. Re:I made a 3D model of belvedere! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the original print looks good, and that your recreation fails to do it justice.

    3. Re:I made a 3D model of belvedere! by sum+ASM+required · · Score: 1

      Yes, but did you make one. It's not like I was able to draw something, and it also isn't particularly easy modeling with software made for CAM (thats Computer aided Manufacturing)

  27. Why, oh Why.. by Pi+Kapp+142 · · Score: 1

    Did I take the red pill?

  28. Just wait until... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Just wait until thier older brother knocks it down and they start bawling. Ah those were the days.

  29. Were they an official "Lego" product? by AbRASiON · · Score: 0

    Might've been one of the many clones - hence the issue finding them?

  30. WATCH THE SLASHDOLTS MOD DOWN THIS BLATANT TROLL! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's all.

  31. Re:Coincidentaly.... by Sensitive_Clod · · Score: 1

    I'm listening to it now but don't hear anything

    --
    Surrender YR pattent!
  32. Close... :) by jlv · · Score: 2
    This is not what you are looking for, but they used small bricks to make really big bricks when they scaled up the 2' Hagrid to 13'... The exact scale was 5:1 (a 2x4 became 10x20).

    ...and they are using child labor to build it!

    This is a traveling exhibit of Lego Master Builders; it started in MA, has been to MD and NY. I see that it was just assembled in Chicago and will be there for another week.

  33. Do you mean Duplo blocks? by RatBastard · · Score: 2

    Lego had/has a line for really small tykes called Duplo. They are quite huge.

    Though, I think you are referring to even bigger blocks. Yeah, I think I rememeber those. And those giant Tinker Toys. Made a 5-foot tall robot out of giant Tiinker Toys when I was in the third grade.

    --
    Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
  34. The most amazing thing about this... by FyRE666 · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... is the following snippet from the article:

    "The chef's hat was suggested by my wife Lesley..."

    After all this, they're still married?!

  35. Give these guys their own segment by spoco2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    There seems to be enough articles about them... every time they make something new... article on Slashdot.

    We could expand the segment:
    * Give the guys an idea for a lego model (My guess 95% will be for Star Wars or LOTR models... the other 5% will be nude women)
    * See what they do with the rest of their time (My guess is weird little contraptions around the house)

    and maybe

    * Live webcam updates of them building... in realtime... never miss a second of the thrilling lego building action!

    1. Re:Give these guys their own segment by Lemmeoutada+Collecti · · Score: 1

      Modded as funny, but that sounds to me like something great to do when mast^H^H^H^Hmy girl is busy... watch these guys build masterpieces... from their Lego Webcam :P

      --

      You can have it fast, accurate, or pretty. Pick any 2.
    2. Re:Give these guys their own segment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...the other 5% will be nude women
      Now that's a lie. AFAIK, Natalie Portman never posed nude.

  36. Nope. by Inoshiro · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is not a repeat! The Escher works are newly added in October.

    Go read the original story -- it's about unrelated works.

    --
    --
    Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
    1. Re:Nope. by RoC+MasterMind · · Score: 1

      Right, the original article was about his page, and this article is about the new additions.

  37. Not just for children...... by bkontr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Legos can be wonderful teaching tools that can demostrate mathematics and art (in the case of Escher) in way that can make difficult abstract ideas more tangible. Lego takes the designing and building of models which meant to represent buldings, machinery and so on seriously that they actually hire engineers to design and build the Lego structures for thier showrooms and projects like Mindstorm. http://mindstorms.lego.com

    --


    "You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 -- 1976." --George W. Bush, to Queen Elizabeth, Wash
  38. Re:Coincidentaly.... by 0x0d0a · · Score: 2

    Where did you get the effect for "lid closing"?

  39. Escher's paintings? by turg · · Score: 4, Informative

    Warning: Picky complaint about semantics. Stop reading here if such things annoy you.

    a couple of guys (A Lipton & D Shiu) have built three of M C Escher's 3D-distorting paintings using Lego bricks

    I didn't know Escher did any painting.

    In any case, what I see on this page is a couple of guys have built three of M C Escher's lithographs using Lego bricks.

    --
    <sig>Guvf vf abg n frperg zrffntr
    1. Re:Escher's paintings? by greylouser · · Score: 1
      Further picky complaint about semantics.

      In the Escher-like spirit of "ceci n'est pas un pipe" (http://www.uwrf.edu/history/prints/magritte-pipe. html), I should note that they haven't actually built M C Escher's lithographs, but rather reproductions of those lithographs. (Okay, sorry about that. :-)

    2. Re:Escher's paintings? by Theodore+Logan · · Score: 3, Informative

      I didn't know Escher did any painting.

      Obviously, you are not very familiar with his work. Escher made huge amounts of paintings, most of them in the beginning of his career. It is true, however, that these particular works happens to be lithographs.

      --

      "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance" - Derek Bok

    3. Re:Escher's paintings? by turg · · Score: 1

      Okay, I was being too clever. Any trained artist has done painting somewhere along the line.

      --
      <sig>Guvf vf abg n frperg zrffntr
  40. Ascending and Descending...How did he do it? by alchemist68 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I keeping looking at "Ascending and Descending" and I can't see where the trick to illusion is. I can't SEE how he did it. The "Belvedere" is easy to see how he cheated the illusion - it's in the columns. How in the *UCKIN' HELL did he do it?

    I've been staring at this for fifteen minutes, connecting the stairs, following the path of little figures, and this is really pissing me off. And I'm not an idiot.

    1. Re:Ascending and Descending...How did he do it? by Obyron · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If you scroll down the page you'll notice that they have more pictures from different angles that specifically show how they pulled off the illusion.

      Cheers.

      --
      --Obyron
    2. Re:Ascending and Descending...How did he do it? by v8interceptor · · Score: 1

      if you scroll further down the page he shows you how he did it - the stair cases don't connect, it's an illusion.

      --
      --- Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit? | Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?
    3. Re:Ascending and Descending...How did he do it? by PurpleBob · · Score: 2

      Did you look at the later pictures taken from other perspectives? At one point on the stairway, the Legos are actually much farther back, but since photographs are two-dimensional, the stairs look continuous when photographed from exactly the right angle.

      --
      Win dain a lotica, en vai tu ri silota
    4. Re:Ascending and Descending...How did he do it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      BTW, jerkoff, there's no need to use *'s in your posts. Be a man, and just say the words FUCKIN' HELL

    5. Re:Ascending and Descending...How did he do it? by Idarubicin · · Score: 4, Funny
      From the other replies to your post, I can see that there are a lot of people on /. that don't realize that you're really not an idiot and that you know the answer to your question is at the bottom of the page.

      Apologies to the other posters if you really are an idiot despite your denial.

      Cheers.

      --
      ~Idarubicin
  41. Re:Coincidentaly.... by Obyron · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure what entertains me more. The parent to this post, or the fact that it's modded 0 because Moderators don't understand why it's funny. =)

    --
    --Obyron
  42. Yeah, but did you see the links? by milkmandan9 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This one is flat-out amazing. Some lady has managed to build scale models of all sorts of construction equipment--and functional, too!

    Mind-blowing design work, that's for sure.

    1. Re:Yeah, but did you see the links? by nettdata · · Score: 2

      All I can say is "holy fucking shit that is WAY cool".

      She should be working for NASA or something.

      --



      $0.02 (CDN)
    2. Re:Yeah, but did you see the links? by JimPooley · · Score: 2

      After looking at this site, all I can say is:-

      Bloody hell! Those are very well made models. She obviously puts a lot of effort into each one.

      --

      "Information wants to be paid"
  43. Not mentioned but cool... by Zen+Programmer · · Score: 2, Informative

    There are many other neat things on this guy's website besides the Eschers, most notably these mathetical scultupes and Rodin's Thinker. From the Rodin's Thinker project: This took a lot of work, despite starting from computer-generated instructions based on photographs (actually the programming was nearly half of the project). Cool!

  44. Repost by Pooua · · Score: 0, Redundant
    Escher Paintings with Lego Bricks

    This is a repost of a /. article from July 2:

    Mathematical Lego Sculptures

    --
    Taking stuff apart since 1969 (TM)
  45. Good geek project? by DirtyJ · · Score: 5, Funny

    The other day I was using my overclocked, water-cooled Linux PS2 to write some assembly code to automatically record ST:TNG while I'm out seeing TTT on November 18th. I knew it was going to take a while, so first, I used vi to write a Perl script to have my NeXT workstation brew a fresh pot of java every 30 minutes using the Mr. Coffee clone that I built out of legos. Everything was going fine for a while, but then I started thinking about M$, the RIAA, the MPAA, the DMCA, and all those goddamned emacs users, and I found my blood boiling. So I tried playing a little Q3 to get my agressions out. But despite being l337, I was getting fragged badly because the ping on my 802.11b network was too high. So I gave up and settled down in front of my plasma TV to watch Babylon 5.

    1. Re:Good geek project? by Reziac · · Score: 4, Funny

      Bah. REAL geeks use "copy con program.zip"!!

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
    2. Re:Good geek project? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Imagine a beowulf cluster of those!

    3. Re:Good geek project? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That was a joke, right? No real geek uses DOS!

  46. Animated Lego by TwistedSpring · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Fans of motivated lego may be interested in this link to a winning demo for the Assembly '01 "wild demo" competition. Stop frame photography + lego blocks + talent = cute little movie (38mb mpg).

    1. Re:Animated Lego by NoData · · Score: 2

      Haha..Oh my gawd. Yeah, the animation is quite impressive...but jeezus...download this for the botched English subtitles....

      "I'm going to blow your nostrils up!"
      "I'm the king of grapes!"
      "You mustard!"

      It makes Zero Wing sound like Shakespeare.

    2. Re:Animated Lego by WWWWolf · · Score: 1
      Haha..Oh my gawd. Yeah, the animation is quite impressive...but jeezus...download this for the botched English subtitles....

      But note that the subtitles have probably more in common with the story than the actual soundtrack... I don't know Swedish too well, but I can tell it wasn't exactly accurate =)

  47. Its all about the camera angles baby by sum+ASM+required · · Score: 1

    Check put my site and thread (a couple down) I tried to preserve the angle, thats why stuff looks off in my 3D picture from the back. Escher was working on paper so his shapes could be as distorted as he wants.

  48. To preempt any semantic bastards by Zen+Programmer · · Score: 0, Troll

    I meant 'sculptures', not 'scultupes'.

  49. SLASHDOT PERFECTION by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I finally figured out how it works. You run a "technical" internet site about computers, OSes and networking. Then you post a story about a guy that who has done something revolutionary with an old protocol that everyone claims to know everything about. Surprise, surprise, the 31337 moronic masses don't understand a bit of it and start calling the editors names for posting an "incomprehnsible" article. The editors quickly recover with aplomb by posting a story on Legos.

    Nice....

  50. derivative work by Jafafa+Hots · · Score: 4, Insightful

    see, another example of why lengthy copyrights are bad... with the copyright enforced on the escher images (according to the page they are still under copyright) we wouldn't be able to have our society enriched by important derivative works such as these. ;)

    --
    This space available.
    1. Re:derivative work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      This copyright is enforced. He used the images with permision. It says so right on his site.

      -Greg

  51. M.C. Escher & Douglas Adams by cmeans · · Score: 3, Funny
    Escher did for architecture what Adams did for literature.

  52. Putting the "link" in hyperlink by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Much appreciated, Sparky!
    How about coding up an <a href="http://www.zachlipton.com/mirror/lego.htm" > for your next link?

  53. angles by h4x0r-3l337 · · Score: 3, Informative

    They would have gotten better pictures if they had photographed the scenes from far away using a telephoto lens. The way they did it for this webpage, perspective is still way too visible, and makes some of the "pillars" easily recognizable as non-vertical. By moving the camera further away, this effect is reduced.

  54. Such awsome talent! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Never before have I seen the words "404 Server error" built in lego's and still look so increadibly clear. Kudo's man!

  55. Obligatory Futurama Quote by darkitecture · · Score: 3, Funny

    *looking at an apartment inspired by Escher's 'Relativ'* Leela: "Wow! Now *this* is fantastic!" Fry: "Hmm... I'm not sure we want to pay for a dimension we're not gonna use " *Bender falls down a dozen random stairs at varying angles* Bender: "Oooh Aaah Oooh Ufff Ahhh Ohhh"

  56. Is this open source? by m00nun1t · · Score: 1, Troll

    How unlike /. to feature a proprietary tool like this. Have lego released their source code under the GPL? I thought not. You are tied into their closed source bricks. This is monopoly action at its extreme. Have you seen how much lego costs? It doesn't cost more than a few cents to make a brick.

    Does anyone know of an open source/GPL lego-clones?

  57. Blue ball, by Openadvocate · · Score: 3, Funny

    Quote the website:
    "I'm quite pleased with the dome - and I finally found a use for the blue ball that appears in LEGO set 8269!

    I,,,, but,,,, aaarrrghhhh... damn!

    --
    my sig
  58. LEGO: Ellen Feiss, Osama Bin Laden, Bill Gates by dstone · · Score: 3, Funny

    Enjoy the following plans for snapping together your very own cultural icons! Start saving your 1x1 bricks!
    (these are undithered, top-viewed LEGO art and use only 6 colors: black, white, yellow, red, green, blue)
    Ellen Feiss
    Osama Bin Laden
    Bill Gates
    and, of course...
    the goatse.cx guy

  59. Penrose Staircase in VRML by saha · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Here is a link to our lab's website featuring the Penrose staircase.
    You'll need a VRML 97 compliant plug-in in your browser to view the model.

    Perose Staircase in VRML

  60. Don't miss his Dilbert sculptures by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 3, Informative

    Don't miss his Dilbert scuptures. He has Dilbert, the Pointy-haired Boss, and Wally.
    -russ

    --
    Don't piss off The Angry Economist
  61. Damnit! This is cool! by multiplexo · · Score: 3, Funny

    Where can I get the four dimensional Lego tesseracts. I'm tired of all the Mindstorm and Star Wars crap.

    --
    cheap labor conservatives - they want to keep you hungry enough to be thankful for minimum wage.
  62. Just more proof... by Metalhead01 · · Score: 1, Funny

    that some people have WAY too much time on their hands.

    --
    The only reason I keep my Windows partition is so I can mount it like the bitch that it is.
  63. Paintings? by Superfreaker · · Score: 2, Informative

    I think the items represented were originally woodcarvings.

  64. In related news... by Yoda2 · · Score: 1, Offtopic
    it was announced that Douglas Hofstadter announced a new theory based on strange legos.

    Sorry, that was pretty bad.

    1. Re:In related news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      strange legos, like those god-damned castle-wall bricks that make exactly one thing; a castle wall?

  65. WHITE STRIPES BLOW SHEEP by snoozebutton · · Score: 0

    no-talent losers, along with THE STROKES, THE VINES, and THE HIVES. Please let this horrendous trend pass us by quickly.. please.

    1. Re:WHITE STRIPES BLOW SHEEP by dextromulous · · Score: 1

      Woah there... if you thought that the general public would select their favorite bands to be people with talent you are sadly mistaken. There are no talented mainstream bands (at least they are not talented as musicians) unless they have either been around for a loooong time or are making a second coming with less talent and people never realized they were talented before... There are exceptions to this... but you'd be hard pressed to find one if you had an unbiased opinion on everything. /* examples of talented artists without a mainstream fanbase -- ravi shankar, blank and jones, afu ra, atmosphere, aceyalone, and a bunch of other underground artists... not to say that all or even most underground artists are very talented... just these ones were. btw, I do know that ravi shankar is not an underground artist... but is still mostly unheardof by the general public */

      --
      There are two types of people in the world: those who divide people into two types and those who don't.
  66. Notice it's a girl/woman/female by lingqi · · Score: 3, Funny
    Original Lego Designs by Jennifer Clark

    Unless some guy was named "Jennifer," which would explain why he whould be hiding at home spending that much time on legos.

    --

    My life in the land of the rising sun.

  67. Man, not bad... by PhReaKyDMoNKeY · · Score: 2, Funny

    Most advanced I ever got was trying to recreate the bridge of a Star Destroyer. I even made a Grand Admiral Thrawn.

    I made a pretty sweet X-Wing once. Folding wings and everything. But then again, who hasn't made an X-Wing out of legos at some point... /nerd

    1. Re:Man, not bad... by Omote · · Score: 1

      Speaking of Star Destoyers, I'll assume you've seen this:

      http://shop.lego.com/product.asp?id=%7B43C070D4% 2D D089%2D11D6%2D802F%2D00065BA09B53%7D

      Hopefully I've built up enough husband points since Xmas is coming.

  68. No matter what else... by quantaman · · Score: 2

    You have to appreciate the irony of using lego to make impossible structures!

    --
    I stole this Sig
  69. Re:Lego, and how it relates to you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sheeit, what a twisted story. Normally, gays use iMacs.

  70. Re:Is there anything it can't do? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    At least its favourite music group is Kraftwerk. w00t!

  71. Michael Gondry by sh0rtie · · Score: 5, Interesting


    Michael Gondry speaking about his video for white stripes in an interview with RES ....

    "I really like the basic-ness of the music - one voice, one guitar, and one drum. I like this concept, and I thought it was very close to the primary color of the Lego blocks." On the video's creation: "We shot a very basic video of the band [in London], we edited it and then we had a program that pixelized the video, roughly the size of the Lego blocks and then we printed each frame [25 frames per second] on paper. Then we had an animation team building up Lego blocks to match each frame. Then we reshot each of those frames on a film camera. We didn't have enough Legos to do more than five frames at a time, so after five frames were shot [the Legos] were demolished to build the next five frames."
    The imagery is kinetic and jubilant. Audio levels thump, people swim, a walk sign says "go!", and the candy cane-colored White Stripes jam out.
    To acquire this job, Gondry didn't write a treatment. According to Meg, "One day he came to a restaurant and he had Jack's head in Lego." Jack: "You couldn't argue with that. When someone brings a Lego sculpture of your head to dinner and says this is what the video's going to be, you pretty much say, 'That's it, go ahead.' " (credit)
    "I've seen 'Star Wars' build-ups and huge model displays, but this is the most intense creation that I've ever seen done in Lego, and definitely the most creative and original," said Roger Cameron, a senior designer at Lego. "It definitely has that retro feel, because they used just the basic colors and pieces from 30 years ago. They didn't even use green or orange." (credit)
    The video has won many, mostly technical, awards, including an MVPA Award, and 3 MTV Video Music Awards. Jack and Meg accepted the MTV Breakthrough Video award on Michel's behalf.
    "Girl" is available in America on a companion DVD issued with new copies of White Blood Cells. You can also find a Quicktime copy on #2 of a 2-CD single set released by Third Man/XL Recordings (UK).
    Excellent copies of this video are at sputnik7.com. 'boards mag has a MOV here.

    his other works can be found here [try not to kill it]

    1. Re:Michael Gondry by nullgel · · Score: 1
      On the video's creation: "We shot a very basic video of the band [in London], we edited it and then we had a program that pixelized the video, roughly the size of the Lego blocks and then we printed each frame [25 frames per second] on paper. Then we had an animation team building up Lego blocks to match each frame.

      Yay. I was right. +1 for me.

  72. kids room, Schipol airport by mks113 · · Score: 2

    I've seen bigger ones. At the kid's room in Schipol airport (Amsterdam) they had a shed-load of large bricks. In the few hours that we were there, my kids built themselves a fort.

    Of course, my pics of it never made it onto my server....

    Michael

  73. Name spelled wrong by dnxthx · · Score: 1

    It's LIPSON not Lipton.

  74. Not just for children, continued.... by Observer · · Score: 1

    Actually, kids toys in general can be useful visual aids when you're at a meeting where different organisations are presenting their take on something and what they think is the way forward. By the time a few tens of PowerPoint bullet-item slides in the approved corporate style have been put up, everyone is getting drowsy and needs a bit of light relief: using toys to illustrate your contribution can get your point across pretty graphically.

    A colleague of mine uses this technique a lot: Lego, Tinkertoys, Silly Putty, slinky springs, 'my first mobile phone'... he's used them all at one time or another to supplement his 'proper' presentation materials. Often gets his way because his contribution is the only one the PHB's can remember half an hour later (though there's always the danger that a decision-maker has zero sense of humor and writes him off as 'unprofessional').

  75. Watch out for the DEA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Too many "joint" projects and you start giving props MC Escher's work with Legos. Peace, word out.

  76. OffTopic, Good Morning Vietnam! by AgentPhunk · · Score: 1

    I know this is OT, but the above post just reminded me of this line from the movie:

    Robin Williams: "Excuse me sir, but considering that the VP is such a VIP, shouldn't we put his PC on the QT, otherwise the VC might make us MIA and then we'll all be put on KP."

    (PC in this case is referring to "Press Conference")

  77. Last Post! by alpg · · Score: 1

    I just uploaded xtoolplaces-1.6. It fixes all bugs but one: It still
    coredumps instead of doing something useful. The upstream author's
    e-mail address bounces, Redhat doesn't provide it and I never used it.
    -- Sven Rudolph

    - this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...