Building Spaced Out LEGO Optical Illusions

Every once in a while, you see a build that’s so creative you don’t even want to say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It’s the kind of build that just makes you take a deep breath and try to take in the limitless breadth of imagination captured in LEGO, where, if you’re anything like me, you quickly get drowned, swept away, and get that incurable itch to get building! That’s exactly the feeling I got when I stumbled on this build by shiu (Shiutoku).

optical illusion II.

First off, it was an instant follow for me, but then of course I popped in to check on his Flickr photostream only to discover it wasn’t just one optical illusion, but shiu was working on four such illusions for a short series! And so, of course, we sat down to talk to him about it. He was awesome enough to answer our questions and share a bit about himself and this clever series of builds.

Sitting Down with Shiutoku

Isaiah: I see that you’ve been on Flickr as a photographer for a long time but started posting a lot of LEGO more recently. What got you into the hobby or into the online community?

One of shiu’s earliest flickr posts all the way back in 2008!

Shiutoku: When my son was five years old, I bought LEGO for the first time in the hope that he would develop an active imagination. However, it was me who became obsessed with them. When I found an MOC, a small robot with a mini figure on board, on Twitter or Instagram, I thought, “It would be fun to build it myself!” Then I started participating in online contests to have my MOCs evaluated, and here I am today.

Isaiah: I think I first found you while you were posting the Optical Illusion series. What made you think of trying something like that in LEGO? Was there any specific inspiration you used for those that you could share

Shiutoku: It all started when I saw a video on Instagram of the design for “Optical Illusion I.” as a drawing on a notebook, and I was convinced, “This can be expressed with the 35787 Tile, Modified 2 x 2 Triangle!” I also thought of reversing the idea and making the background, which had been a complement to the main subject, the main subject of the work. Moreover, even though it is a work of three-dimensional blocks, I deliberately tried to make it a flat surface with no bumps or unevenness.

Optical Illusion I.

Isaiah: Yes, that’s what first struck me about the project—these all jump off the screen so well, it still blows me away how powerful the illusion is with such a simple secret behind it. But I also wanted to ask: the spaceman? He's great and fits the color-scheme so well. (I guess that might be the answer to my question!) What's the story behind the space guy in all the builds?

Shiutoko: I think minifigures are what convey the worldview of LEGO works most richly. In this series, I chose simple colours to represent light and three types of shadow—White, Light Bluish Gray, Dark Bluish Gray and Black—so that the tile patterns would be the focus of attention. When I thought of a visually monochrome and mysterious space, the image that came to mind was “space!”

So I decided to feature my favourite character, Astronaut, as our guide to experience (exploration) this slightly mysterious world that is flat yet appears three-dimensional. I think the fact that his expression is obscured by his Metallic Gold visor will stimulate the imagination of those who see it.

optical illusion iv.

Isaiah: I think my favorite of the series might be your last one, Illusion IV., but it’s really hard to choose! Which of the series is your favorite and why?

Shiutoku: That’s a difficult question. If I had to choose, I think it would be Illusion I. again, which was what prompted me to create this series. By letting the Astronaut peek through the hole, I think I was able to expand the worldview of the series.

Isaiah: I'm really curious, did you build them all together or in quick succession, or did you come up with the ideas over a longer span of time? And do you think the illusions work better in photos or in real life?

Shiutoku: I designed this in about two weeks as a break from designing my work for the contest, “Exo-suit 922.” I didn't have enough tiles for all the real builds, so I first built a frame and replaced the tiles every week for each new build, photographed them, and posted them to Instagram. After that, I tried posting them every day on Flickr to avoid it becoming too long!

I think the optical illusion is easier to create in photos than in real life, because you can limit the viewing angle.

optical illusion III.

Isaiah: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us about this project or your future LEGO plans? What did you take away from your experience with this series?

Shiutoku: To be honest, it’s a very simple LEGO build with just tiles lined up, so I expected that someone else would soon post a similar (and better) build if I only made one pattern! Therefore, before that happened, I thought I would design four patterns at once and post them as a series. However, even after posting, as far as I know, I have not seen any similar builds. This was a needless worry.

As for the future, I would like to continue enjoying LEGO as if I were solving a puzzle that I have designed myself!

Isaiah: We can’t wait to see what other puzzles you come up with! Is there anything else that you'd like to share with us?

Shiutoku: The phrase I keep in mind when building with LEGO is, “God is in the details.” In my case, although it’s a small thing, I like to apply that by trying to “rotate the bricks around while using Studio to improve consistency in all directions” and “build the parts so that the LEGO engravings on them are oriented in the same direction.”

Isaiah: Wow, that’s dedication! Thank you so much for sharing your time and the story of your illusion series with us. All the best for you as you continue building!

What’s your favorite optical illusion? Let us know in the comments below!

Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Marc & Liz Puleo, Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, Andy Price, Lukas Kurth from StoneWars, Wayne Tyler, Dan Church, and Roxanne Baxter to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more.