Now and then, you discover a use for a piece that's just too good NOT to utilize. Such was the case when I discovered that the body pieces for the LEGO Star Wars varactyl Boga could be turned into disgusting (yet oddly charming) slime-secreting aliens.
With gigantic eyes and stubby little arms, these aliens (dubbed "Throggs") are sure to take over the galaxy... or at least the local swimming pool.
I recently discovered Forlorn Creature (Thomas Evans) on Youtube, and I am extremely impressed by his brickfilming abilities. In this blog post I will be discussing his short, SCP - The Janitor.
The brickfilm opens with a janitor waking to an alarm notifying him of a clean up required in a containment unit. Evans does an incredible job lighting the following scenes, and it is clear he is using tiny LED lights instead of just VFX. You can learn more about how he lit the set by watching his behind-the-scenes here.
Evans' expertise in sound design is also apparent. Not a single footstep is unaccounted for, and the volume control is perfect. There is a fun twist on the mood of the film as the janitor, who is listening to beautiful classical music on his headphones, walks lightly into the horrific mess he has been tasked to clean. The sound design stays strong as the unfazed janitor begins to mop up the squelching blood and guts and drops body parts into his cart. All of this takes place on a smooth-tiled floor, which is an ambitious animation task!
It is at this moment when something quite spooky happens, but you'll have to watch the film yourself to see what that is! You can find the film in our animation archives, or you can watch it directly on Youtube here. Be sure to subscribe to Forlorn Creature on Youtube, as you're not gonna want to miss whatever he has planned for the future.
For those unfamiliar, Cocytus is the “river of wailing” (one of four rivers) that flows through the underworld of Greek mythology. As you would expect from a depiction of hell, the suffering in this build by Mihai Marius Mihu is very apparent. Figures appear impaled, despairing, and thrashing in the mire of Cocytus. The imagery of Sisyphus pushing his burden up the hill is instantly recognizable, though the absolutely harrowing figure in place of the hill is rather novel. It stares on with dead eyes and an expression of apathy, appearing as a symbol of power and hopelessness over the damned.
Artistic interpretation aside, the builds here are very impressive. Mihai has accomplished an incredible shape with the head of the stone figure, and the dead trees are packed with detail. The partially submerged wheel is particularly appealing in its symmetry and structure, and fills out its corner of the diorama perfectly. Overall, this is a haunting build that exudes both simplicity of style (composed almost entirely of 5 colors) and complexity in technique and symbolism.
