Think you’ve got what it takes to make the next great zombie MOC? Do you look at the Zombie Creations of the Week and say, “I could do that!” Well then, this is just the challenge for you!
It’s time to break out your bricks and build the best damn zombie-themed MOC you can. I’m hoping to see a lot of variety here, so the rules will be pretty liberal. That means you can use non-LEGO pieces, put your minifigs out in the real world, manipulate your creations both physically and digitally, etc. The sky’s the limit!
Contest Rules:
- Third-party parts (Brickarms, et al.) allowed
- Photo manipulation allowed
- Physical modification allowed
- Digital entries (LDD and the like) are allowed
- One entry per person
Up to three photos per entry- Entrants must be at least 13 years of age (sorry, internet rule)
- Entries must not have appeared online prior to July 15th, 2011
- Entries must be posted in the Bricks of the Dead Contest Flickr Group
- Bricks of the Dead is not responsible for any loss or damage to the prizes while they are in transit. That said, prizes will be shipped in such a way to minimize any danger of loss or damage.
The Prizes:
One winner will receive one Custom Zombie Minifig and one Hazmat Suit Collectible Minifig.
Several other winners may be selected as a Zombie Creation of the Week, depending on individual merit.
Judges:
Dave – creator of Bricks of the Dead
ZombieMutts – frequent commenter, creator of fantastic zombie MOCs, and sponsor of this contest
Deadline:
All entries must be posted by August 15th, 2011 by 12:00PM Eastern. Winners will be announced shortly thereafter.
Good luck everyone!
I got this question via PM at the BCN: Can you use official sets as part of your creation?
The answer is yes, so long as they’re only a part of the creation.
Get building, and good luck, folks!
Just remember….creativity is what this is all about. We want as few restrictions as possible but the base is creativity. I love what people do with store bought sets to a pile of random bricks.
for the contest how many pictures do i have to take. and can my zombie heads be moded so the look a certain way. like if i paint one.
“and can my zombie heads be moded so the look a certain way. like if i paint one.”
Yes!
for the contest is there a certian amount of pictures you have to take. and do you have to give a description.
how do you post pictures on the bricks of the dead contest entries page with more than on picture.
Hello Dave a quick question if you didn’t see my set for the contest do i have to give you my email or address so if i win ( hoping to) so you can send me the hazmat guy and zombie mini fig?
is it ok if i us 6 or 7 pictures
sorry if i comment and reply alot i just have alot of ideas and questions.
Hah. Yeah, six or seven photos is fine.
Looks like you figured out how to post.
The winner will have to provide an address, but only after being declared the winner and they’ll do it privately (via email) instead of posting on Flickr or here.
does it count if your 12 and a half?
Unfortunately not. But not to worry, this contest is over anyway.
whew, thats a releif
Um…I don’t have any actual zombie heads but if I find a way around that I may actually enter. You say the sky’s the limit so it seems I may actually have to think hard but for once I would have needed to do that anyway. Ok, now I’m rambling.
Skeleton heads are always a decent alternative.
” I may actually have to think hard but for once”
🙂
“. Ok, now I’m rambling.”
Nonsense. Please see my posting history for rambling.
I’mma be a back seat dr– Judge…
Pssst.. Mutts…Ppsssssssstttttt
You know, at some point I’d love to do a contest where the winner was declared by popular vote. I don’t know if the community is quite big enough for that yet.
… Hey Dave..
Psst.. Psssst.. Over here..
What’s up?
Are digital entries allowed?
Yes; I should add that to the rules.
If anyone has trouble navigating Flickr don’t be shy…. feel free to ask for help.
Pssst.. Mutts.. Pssst.. Over here.. Come over here Mutts.. pst.. Pst.
get to building! 🙂
Oh I don’t own legos that complete anything any more. Saddly..
I don’t think 3 pictures could do it for my entry. Oh well.
You have plenty of time! No rush yet.
If you don’t think three photos can capture the creation, let us know. I’d be okay with modifying that rule.
Ya, dave i might need a few more photos so please
No problem, guy.
YAY MY CHANCE TO GET A HASMAT!!!!freaking camera get here soon i gotta enter a contest.
😀
While you’re waiting for the camera you can still build. Best get crackin’.
well best get to the blueprints thanks bye!(also gonna spread the word on youtube)(somehow…)
tyzan8….actually you’re the one to thank for this contest. You made a comment a month ago how bad you wanted the hazmat guy so I approached Dave willing to donate some extra stuff I had for a contest,
oh thank you VERY MUCH! 😀 do you have a donate page i would like to pay you for this!(jk low on cash i would if could sorry)
“do you have a donate page i would like to pay you for this!(jk low on cash i would if could sorry)”
Well thank you for the thought but its totally unneeded. This is entire site is the hard work of Dave and this is a small expenditure on my part to add to it. I just enjoy seeing people be creative. Its only 4 frames a week and some text but trust me, the amount of work that goes into this is staggering on his part which is what made me stop in my tracks and stick around here.
i cant wait until my mom hands over the camera i just got done building this morning. i want that hazmat guy so much.
Yes i finished my set for the contest. its on flikr, but do i have to post it on the bricks of the dead contest page? please answer back.
Nope, just on Flickr.
i posted my entry on the bricks of the dead contest page on Flickr i hope i do good.
i cant wait until tommorow then we will have a new comic.
i just hope this si’nt like every lego contest i’ve ever been in where the winner is a pro builder who built a city with zombies all over and thousands of brickarms guns ad HD photos.that’s why i only enter AMATUER contests nowthis is amatuer right guys?
Open to everyone. There are a lot of great builders out there, but that’s what pushes you to do better.
As far as photography goes, take your time and do as good a job as possible there. You don’t need to be a pro, but good photos will show off your work a lot better than poor photos.
Don’t worry about that tyzan…dig deep and be as creative as possible. Imagination exceeds financial expense in my judging.
Mutts pssst… Mutts pssst over here go on the lego zombies flickr group and get people to enter pssst.
That’s a good idea. I’m on it now.
Wow, I just found this! Gotta start building!
You sure do.
And tell your friends. We need more entries (you don’t want to make our job as judges too easy, do you?).
I don’t have any friends. 🙁 To Flickr!
Hah
I WAS THE FIRST ENTRY WE NEED MORE OR IT WILL BE TO EASY DONT MAKE MME BE THE ONLY ENTRY.
Ok Dave ZombieMutts in one of my pictures in the truck on fire there is a guy stuck in the back looking out the cage but one of the doors are open and a zombie is crawling through hence the legs i got that from a dream i had about bricks of the dead . i would be scared.
Holy crap, people are dreaming about BotD!
Close your site Dave…you’ve peaked. 🙂
Hah, so it would seem.
Well yes in a way im thinking o digitally designed movie of bricks of the dead like the movie clutch powers ( a digital movie LEGO made)
That’d be a hell of a thing.
I’m sorry to say that I won’t be participating – my original idea didn’t turn out good, and I’m either going to scrap it or change it to something else.
You have about 3 weeks!
Plenty of time to come up with a new concept!
i have it planned out and i’m almost done with minifigs.my plan:in a small town the apocalypse starts.yeah i’m to an on the brink kind of thing but think it’s cool.it has s creative swat team not all have guns i am blaming the low city budget for they’re town.and there’s a cameo in it.workig on building designs.46% done right now.
That’s quite ambitious. Good luck.
i did my entry on the pizza parlor i remade with an alley on the side with murphy and dave and one of my minifigs and people in the pizza parlor fighting off zombies. Check out my Flikr page.
problem is i’m also working on a moc for the contest at www.legosuperheroes.com but i have till october so i ptu that to the side.oh and the cameo is you dave you ahve a cool jacket and awesoem jeans see if you ca spot it inside(when i get done).
another problem it won’t let me sign up for flickr can you maybe substitute with maybe…mocpages?or photobucket?bottom line does it ahev to be on flickr?becuas i can’t sign up for it.i think i’ll try it on mocpages.mocpages has a good layout.just saying.
Why won’t it let you sign up for Flickr?
I’m not a fan of Mocpages. It seems like the site is slow and a bit of a pain to navigate. If you can’t get on Flickr we’ll work something out. I did like time around with Colonel Bracket.
it says that i need my parents to sgn in even when i ti\ried to sign my mom up.what’s colonel bracket?
Colonel Bracket was one of the winners of the last contest. He couldn’t get signed up to Flickr either, so he emailed in his photos.
Why are so many people putting dave in there MOC.
Hah, because I’m awesome?
well in mine you had a brown leather jacket and a chainsaw and explosive. i wanted my seen to look modern and badass
I used to have a brown leather jacket. Loved that coat.
I’d like to believe it was a craze started by Zombie Outbrick; so far, Dave’s had 2 cameos in separate episodes.
Nah, I’m not prideful nor deluded enough to actually think that. You’re right Dave, it is because you’re awesome.
It helps that my face shows up in a hell of a lot of sets, although not as many as Doyle from Brick House. I probably have twenty Doyles.
man, if only I could make a Dave AND Doyle zombie for my entry in the next contest…
…oh wait, photo manipulation allowed…Okay, scratch that. Using Photoshop zombie!Dave and Zombie!doyle will make cameos! You’re both the most awesome webcomic makers I know!
Go for it!
man i cant wait until august and tomarrow’s new comic.
I already have the minifigs packaged and ready to go. Nice snug little mailer protected with interior buddle wrap.
i hope i win or get close.
Good luck. Hat’s off for being the first entrant.
Thanks.
If all goes well, I may very soon have an entry for this ready…
Outstanding! I can’t wait to see it.
My entry may be done in the next day or two.
I’m not terribly pleased with how it’s turning out, and so far I’ve used up all my pieces of several different types and colors. Not to mention, it’s made a mess of the floor in my bedroom…
But I hope you like it when I’m done, Dave! I think that it’s technically the biggest MOC I’ve ever done so far. and there are a lot of “firsts” in it for me.
Can’t wait to see it. Don’t worry, I’m never totally satisfied with anything either.
dave i’m sporting out peices for my moc and i had an idea how about the runners up get a featured post in the blog?even if you lose you get recognized.
Well, the runners up that I like, anyway.
This my first contest i wanted to be in the movie or video game platform thing but i found out i had to be 13 and i had a great idea. I’m glad I’m in this one though.
I have no chance at winning this. All I have is a zombie-related model featuring a motorway and garage complete with zombies and a roadcrew armed with nailguns and the like. It sounds cool I suppose, but it needs work.
But that custom zombie minifigure and the hazmat minifigure are getting rarer. So I think it’s worth investing the time and love into making it even better and giving it a first shot. I currently am building a big tiered city similar to Bretticeman07’s (see his youtube channel) and I will fill it with zombie figures. But right at the moment I cannot buy anything because I will be visiting New York soon which I have to save up for. So right now I must make do with what I have. Wish me luck and good luck to everyone else in the contest. 😀
Oh, and Dave, I have no Flickr account so what can I do to get my entries in?
The only way you have no chance is if you don’t enter.
Sign up for a Flickr account. They’re free!
I’ve improved it. It’s now a whole town and things! Will be uploading them soon!
Ooh I am SO going to try and enter! I have no idea what to build tho…hmmm. I really want that zombie because then I shall have an official zombie and not just the pirates of the caribbean zombies…
Well it’s not an official zombie. It’s a custom one.
Speaking of which, could we have more pics of the custom? Or is it a surprise, like zombies themselves?
ZombieMutts, do you have any other shots of the zombie?
I will send Dave some more pics of the Custom Zombie this weekend.
Here is where I got it from and note it is out of stock..this is a rare prize I am giving away so you really want to win this one.
http://www.minibigs.com/Zombie-Al-LEGO-Compatible-Minifigure/M/B003TI0DF2.htm
Also check out my flickr stream for some more pics but I will for sure provide some more close up detailed pics asap
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zombiemutts/
That is a really, really cool zombie right there.
Yup…and the paint/decal is superb. There is a lot someone can do with this.
Aw god, that looks fantastic. It’ll go right next to my Brickarms zombie head.
It’d* 😛
So, I’m turning 13 next Thursday. Am I eligible?
That’s before the deadline, so yes.
Aw, nuts…I just made a cool creation but it’s not eligable since it isn’t online yet and even then would be too late. T_T Oh well, I guess the Newscorp fortress van will have to wait until next time!
Wait, why isn’t it eligible? If you just made it, put it on Flickr.
???? You have two weeks until deadline.
but I thought the tules said it has to be online before the 15th?
Oh, my mistake. Ignore my entire comments prior to this. I’d misread it. Damn my tiredness. I thought it said “must be online prior”, I didn’t realise it was “Must NOT be prior”, OKAY, I’m gonna get those wheels attached and the ort will be ready!
Yep, we want to make sure the stuff in this contest is new.
Done! I’ve added the photos of my entry! I’ve given each photo a different name that matches what their shot is of the thing, but the entry itself is called, and this is it’s final name; the Brick News Survival Van! The news people and a couple of other survivors combined their news van with a rubbish lorry (Garbage Truck to anyone who doesn’t know) to make a fortress they can hide and move in.
Excellent!
How many photos allowed? And how does my entry look? Is it good?
However many photos you need to adequately show off the creation.
Checked out your creation. Definitely not bad. Some of your photos are out of focus though. You might want to re-take a few. Remember, presentation counts.
Well, I can’t really do that because I had to take it apart in order to build the big layered city in my Lego Shed (Yes thats right, I have filled a standard-sized garden shed with Lego) I would be happy to take a few shots of it. It’s not zombie related, but you can definitely see it’s just the right place for a zombie outbreak. But I might just be able to tag the blurry photos so you can see what is going on.
And I added some extras with a nice pic of the Ford Anglia which I hope can make up for the blurry ones.
Will taking photos of my new and improved city add to the ‘like factor’ of my model? Its not zombie related, but that’s only because I’ve got hardly any zombie figs.
” I’ve got hardly any zombie figs.”
You can hide that fact by showing figs/zombies attacking from behind! Some of the best MOCS I have ever seen don’t have a single true zombie yet are still represented somehow. Dig Deep creatively!
Thanks for the the advice, but the trouble is I have already submitted my entry and moved it away to my new city. You could say I have added more to it. Does this still count or will it just be classed as a new entry?
” Does this still count or will it just be classed as a new entry?”
Why don’t you just remove your earlier entry and resubmit? As far as I am concerned people can do that 100 times a day until the deadline. I am not even looking at entries too close yet so if everyone who has submitted an entry took it down and resubmitted I wouldn’t even notice. In fact I would encourage everyone to re-submit if they feel like they can do better. Have fun with it.
Yes, but the scene is all intact, I just need to take some more photos of it in a new place, with added scenes. Does that still count?
Absolutely altho I encourage you to delete your old photos from the group. It will increase your odds of standing out to the judges, which is what you want.
How will it?
Well….look at it this way…
Lets say you have 4 images of the same set with minor variations but the 4th set is the one you’re most proud of…IMO its best for the judges is such a competition to solely focus on that one image.
Maybe Dave and Nikolai will look at it different than me tho.
In the end, all that matters is you can still add images. So go for it!
I followed your advice and made more entries of the zombies in my new city using regular minifigs as the zombies. I and pleased with the result and can’t wait to hear what you, Dave and Nikolai think of it!
Everyone make sure you check out the updated closer shot of the prizes.
17 more days
Just entered! Be sure to check out my Photostream for all the other shots.
Awesome glad you entered!
Hey Daaaaave! I think I know some words you’d like to hear! Ya wanna hear ’em? 😉
Yes. Yes I would.
How do you like the sound of “Runner-Up Prizes” Eh? Donated by yours truly, Nikolai.
Sounds very generous. What did you have in mind?
Awesome Nikolai!
Well, since a while ago I bought a surplus of Hazmat Guys and I really have no use for all of them, one Hazmat Guy would be the prize. Normal face, helm, nozzle, everything.
Very generous, Nikolai. Hopefully we continue to get quality entries so you have a hard time picking the runner up 🙂
:O I get to pick the runner up?
As the guy donating the prize I’d say you should get to pick the winner.
Now there are runner up prizeson the line, I’m shooting for the moon-even if I miss, I’ll land among the stars.
😀 Keep in mind I’ll be on vacation on the 16th so I might not pick the runner up until I wake up and have yummy Disney foods.
No worries.
I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to ship them from Disney, and I’m staying for two weeks! D: I’ll try to fight my way to the post office.
I’m sure the winner will understand if they have to wait a week or so for their prize.
Alright, the pic is in the pool.
Alright folks…due to Nikolai’s awesomeness I am going to up the ante as well. I am going to throw in a nice custom made weapon I bought. I’ll give the grand prize winner a few choices and the can pick ONE
ONE choice between a shotgun, sniper rifle, M4 Carbine and a few others…I’ll work it out with the winner.
Get pumped people!!
woo 13 more days fingers crossed
DAVE! You gotta go to Flickr and check out the new Brickarms prototypes!! You should really ask Will Chapman if he could send you one or two as prizes!!
linky?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95492142@N00/
Very cool. I’m glad to see more civilian-looking shotguns. Can’t wait for these to come out.
You might have a few generations to wait. The Retro Raygun was prototypes in 2009 and was just released.
dave i have an idea you cab sign into my account and get the pics from there probably only using it for this gonna change pass after you’re done.name is REDACTED
i don’t need it much i will change after sunday bye!
That was a REALLY bad thing to post. Just so you know.
*FACE PALM*
i changed pass yeah but i don’t need it and i trust you guys(sort of)!and i only need it for that moc plus i can’t email stuppid computer!i’m not gonna use it anymore i’ll use mocpages for other creations a silent reader can take it now i don’t care.
I think Nikolai was more gearing his comment towards lurkers than us regulars : )
dang that brickarms M16 looks sweet to bad i need to wait for it.
Huh, I got banned from the Brickarms forums. Now I’m bored.
make a new account?i don’t know.
Good point. Well, I guess as long as I can see stuff, just not comment.
Okay, my entries are up! I took more photos of the zombie city and now I’m off to London for a week. Hope you like my entries!
Five more days… I’m scared now
And Dave may remember my comment about my problem with nervousness. I said ‘if I was in a building and there were zombies outside, or coming up the stairs, I would be very, very scared.’ But comparing an actual zombie outbreak to a little contest iis a very big comparison to make – but for me, this contest could be a real building-confidence builder.
I can’t wait to see who wins!
I’m stumped. Do I post the link in my comment or something?
(If yes, here it is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/58615386@N03/sets/72157627368673114/ )
nvm… I was just being blind 🙂 found it!
Had to change my model ‘cuz of…well, definetely not a lack of bricks, just couldn’t think of a real idea for it. This one’s smaller, but much better in my mine. Now I’ve got to finish it…
Alright folks…clock is winding down. I am sure Dave will be advertising it a bit more so I am hoping we get some more entries this week.
Awww I’m sad 🙁 I don’t know if the bricks for my project are going to be here in time for the contest!
(Btw hi guys I’m new here!)
Welcome!
You can always try something smaller. I’ve featured stuff that’s no more than a minifig or two out in the dirt. You don’t need a giant collection to win this contest.
Thanks!
Oh it’s really not that big. Just ask Zombiemutts, he has seen the plans for it and is one of my weapon suppliers. (Thanks again zombiemutts!)
Hey man…package was mailed today. Well…from Dallas to your city..maybe it will be in time. I through in an extra gun for you btw. Enjoy.
Oh and this will be your first ever MOC am I correct? If so this will be an inpressive grand opening of a hobby with what I have seen fromt the BrickLink forums.
This dude has mastered the LEGO design software rather fast it seems.
If all else fails, you could always do a digital entry.
Yea, if worst comes to worst I’ll post the digital pictures the day before the contest ends. And mastered the design? If you wan’t to think that go ahead 😀 haha
Wow that’s a weird spelling error… want, not wan’t
Dude where’s my car?and why did you steal it?JUST KIDDING!!!!yeah LDD is frickin hard to use!!!!I nly use pick-a-brick now….mainly becuase it took me 3 hours to figure out how to place a brick on a brick…
Better than me…I couldn’t even figure out how to rotate a brick until my 3rd or 4th hour.
Good thing my camera had enough battery left for one picture.
http://s1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd460/tyzan8/Mobile%20Uploads/
AT LAST I UPLOAD TO bricksofthedead.com YAY!!!!!!!!!!!hope it works.
Thanks Tyzan8. We’ll make sure to include these in judging.
Hey Dave just out of curiosity, ever thought of putting a general forums on the site?
I’ve thought about it. Looking at a few different forums that would integrate with the site but haven’t found anything I’ve liked yet.
Well if you find one you like you should use it! It would be a great addition to an already amazing site! 😀
Just gotta find one I like first 🙂
And thank you for the compliment. I’m really glad people enjoy Bricks of the Dead so much. It’s extremely flattering.
I dunno about a BotD forums… I kind of like the close-knit community feel of everyone in one place, posting in the comments section on each episode.
I feel that a forum would make things more impersonal… And personally, I’m not sure BotD is ready for a forum yet anyway. I can’t think of a lot of topics to fill said forum with, you see… So I’m not sure one is necessary yet.
I’ll definitely be a regular at a BotD forum, if ever there is one… It’s just that I kind of like things the way they are now. 😉
BotD being “ready” for a forum is my primary concern as well. Once upon a time I setup a forum on another website I do. I put hours upon hours into trying to build it and never got more than a handful of regular users.
The more I think on it the more I am against a forum. I do know of a few busy blogs where a forum killed it. I agree with Dave’s caution now.
Part of the problem with forums is you get cliquey. Also post counts and join dates somehow oddly form some sort of status which makes the cliques worse. If a forum ever does happen maybe there should be no record of post counts. Nobody should ever have any sort of status on a forum…it should be fun for all and none of that idiotic arguing. Just folks chatting about a hobby while killing time.
Dave if you ever do a forum maybe a better idea for starters would be a non-static general comment area that is linked to every post. One that purges the 20th older topic….or any thread that hits “page 4” or whatever. For example…kinda sorts what Bricklink does but with some tweaks.
Good points there, especially about the status that comes from post counts. I hate reading filler posts where people are trying to get the next highest rank avatar, or what-have-you.
What I was hoping to find was something that would combine both the forum posts and comments, but that seems difficult to do without having hundred and hundreds of topics in the forum. I dunno.
*steps down from soap box*
Hmm… Now that you have said that, I actually take back me request 😛
Wow, I just took a peek at the other contest entries on Flickr, to see what I’m competing with…
And it looks like I’ve lost already!
There are some truly amazing creations up so far, especially the “Dawn of the Dead”-themed one by Yatkuu (sp?). I love MOC’s that use very creative lighting, combined with great building, to create not only a model, but a real scene.
Legomiles’s zombie city is fantastically huge, as well. There are some very nice details going on in there! (I like the guy getting run over by the train, with a trail of blood behind him, among other things.)
I have no idea how I’ll stand up to some of these amazing MOC’s, but I’ll just have to try anyway.
I applaud everyone who’s entered so far! Well done, guys. Hopefully my entry will be ready soon…
There’s definitely been some incredible entries thus far, but the winner is far from decided.
UGH! I’m so close to being done! Just one more shipment of very important parts!
*Glares at zombiemutts*
So… let me get this straight….
You bought things from zombiemutts… so that you could use them in a MOC for a contest… to win more stuff from zombiemutts…
Very interesting plan you have there. Good luck! 😉
Well actually I found out about this contest AFTER I ordered the parts. 😉 It’s just guns, hopefully it won’t effect the results. And you are the one who writes the other zombie comic right? I can’t remember the name at the moment… (Sorry! :P) I kinda stole how you do blood splatter… 😉
Ah, I see. That makes more sense.
And yes, I write *ahem* Zombie Outbrick. 😉
As for the blood splatter, you mean with the trans-red studs? That’s fine! I’d be very proud to know that my comic helped spawn more LEGO zombie carnage. 🙂
Its genius marketing isn’t it? I am salesman of the decade! Actually I am terrible…I gave him an extra gun for free and I think I actually lost money when all was said and done. lol….who cares…I had too many guns anyway.
I pointed him to this blog from BrickLink….figured he would enjoy it like the rest of us.
Should be there today or tomorrow brutha…did paypal send you a tracking number?
And thank you for pointing me this way! Also it did, it should arrive today. I’ll post the pictures of it on BL. Then I have to go make a flickr just for this 😛
Make sure you add me as a contact on flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zombiemutts/
Gahhh didn’t come today. Tomorrow it is! 😀
Uh-Oh, not much time left! Hope you know what to do if they don’t come in time!
Dave, I’ve got a question for you regarding my MOC.
I have some lighting ideas that I’d like to use, but they wouldn’t necessarily beautify all the details I put into this thing.
Is it ok if I submit pictures with 2 different lighting setups, in order to show off all the details? Or would that be like 2 entries, since the lighting (in this case) is a crucial component of the entry?
I’m torn between two options, it would really help if I didn’t have to choose between them.
I don’t have a problem with two different images showing two lighting techniques. Could be an interesting study in contrast. However, if one does look noticeably better, it would probably be prudent to just go with that.
Ah, good to know. Thanks, Dave.
YES!!! The shipment came today! 😀 I have the pictures taken and everything! Just need to post them… BTW, I took 9 pictures, is that too many? 😛
Awesome! And no!
Dave people with multiple hasmats are entering is that legal?Just asking.
No…we wanted this as open and free style as possible.
LOL….dang it….I mean NO ITS NOT A PROBLEM.
I’m screwed i looked at some of the entries and they’re amazing!good job guys!
Oh, you never know! You might get one of the Runner-Up prizes!
Hah, if you scroll up, you’ll see that that’s almost exactly what I said!
u h sorry to comment 3 times in 10 minutes but did anyonew notice the zombie is’nt wearing pants in this pacture?0_0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/65759558@N02/5991346822/in/pool-botd-contests/
i guess it’s just an error in building but thought it was a funny joke.
Mine are up now 😀
My personal favorites out of mine are probably… “Almost There!”, “Is it dead?”, or “They have broken the defenses…”
Good luck everyone!!!
Great job!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/istoleyurcar/
Link it in your website field so your name is red like mine..that way it follows your every post.
sorry, just posting to add a website link to my name
That’s cool, nice entry!
Oh goodness… My entry is taking much longer than I thought it would to complete.
I just have a few things left to finish up on, then I need to actually take the pictures… But time is running out! I may have to make some tough decisions on the final details… And with some of the other entries being so fantastically awesome, every detail counts!
(Not to mention, I don’t even know how to work Flickr properly yet… 😉 )
Need help?
With Flickr, you mean? No, thank you… I think I’m getting it figured out! I was just a little uncertain at first.
Contest’s ending soon, and the entries are looking great so far! I especially like retrogarde’s and Electrical Eagle’s entries.
Who else is existed to see who will winn
As a judge I can barely wait…I have avoided looking too closely at the entries yet, I want them all to be as fresh as possible.
That’s why I kept up loading mine…like a recording artist. Bringing out great new things, and finding out what people think of them so they can improve the next batch.The great thing-they’re all the same entry, just more new ideas and more zombies in a new location.
If anyone needs help please ask!
Here are the basics…
Make a flickr account
Upload a photo
Join this group http://www.flickr.com/groups/botd-contests/
Once joined, click “Add photos ” which is next to the pink label of “Group Pool”
Thats it!
Argh, I’m really cutting it close… But I’m still not done with my entry yet.
I hope I finish in time! At least it seems to be turning out better than I had thought it would…
If all goes well, I should have the pictures up tonight.
So just to clarify, the deadline for this is tomorrow at noon, right? Or is it midnight tonight or tomorrow?
Correct, noon tomorrow.
That’s good! I ran out of daylight hours today to shoot, I’ll have to take some pictures early tomorrow once it’s light out. Thanks Dave.
Wow, only two hours to go… At least I finally finished taking all my pictures!
…All 43 of them. 🙁 (not including bad ones.)
I’ll have to try to slim that number down a bit….
Hah, you take photos like I do. More is more!
Of course I usually end up using maybe one in four. Sometimes less than that.
Yeah! All that “less is more” nonsense really doesn’t apply to photography, I think.
I usually cut out a lot of shots when I’m taking a bunch of pictures, too. I was able to cut down on my pictures, removing shots that conveyed essentially the same thing… so nowI’ve boiled it down to 18. (That’s still more than anyone else has posted for one entry, is it not?)
I’m just about to start uploading the 18, they should be up (hopefully) within the hour! (I still have to write descriptions for them, and such.)
I hope you find my entry to your liking! 😉
Plenty of time!
Dave you might want to double check that your default isn’t at 6 photos if he is doing 18
Good call; I’ll check that right now.
Set to unlimited.
Thanks for pointing that out zombiemutts, and thanks for changing it, Dave! 😉
Almost done with descriptions/titles… Should be up soon.
Well, that’s that! And with 40 minutes to spare… 😉
Hold on a sec, I logged out of Flickr, and now I can’t see my own pictures in the BotD contest group! I could have sworn they were in there before…
Can you see them in there, Dave? I don’t know what I did wrong…
Don’t worry; I see them.
Thank God! I was very worried for a second. (While logged out, I also could not find myself using the search function, even though I typed my name in exactly… I almost thought I’d deleted my Flickr account somehow!)
That’s very strange that I couldn’t see them when I was logged out… Oh well, maybe they’ll show up publicly in a few minutes.
ACTUALLY, as it turns out, I figured out what the problem is. I looked through Flickr FAQ/Help, and found this:
If your account is new, first you need to upload at least 5 public photos. After that minimum has been reached, then it shouldn’t take more than a few days until your photos appear in searches, groups, etc.
So since I haven’t uploaded more than 5 photos before today, it “shouldn’t take more than a few days” until people can actually see my pictures in the group. 🙁
That seems so unfair…
That makes sense. Probably an unfortunate necessity to stave of spamming.
Don’t worry though, the judges can see them.
Ah yeah…it has to be cleared by staff first.
How about you send them to me and I will deal with flickr for you? [email protected]. I think you can do three images at a time to yahoo.
Oh never mind…Dave has it handled.
It is a rather unfortunate necessity, especially when you’ve entered a contest that then ended, and was hoping that other people might see your entry…
Oh well, I suppose if the judges can see it, that’s what really matters!
Maybe someday they’ll be visible to other people, too. 😉
Hmmmm… I just looked at your pictures… There goes any chance of me winning! 😀
Hah, well I’m not sure I’ll win, either! There are some other really great MOCs in this contest.
Thanks for the compliment, anyway. 😉
This is going to be a tough one to judge. We got a lot of really great entries.
On the plus side, I wont have to search very much for my next few Featured Creations.
No kidding. These are amazing! I’m just blown away by some of the photography!
Some awesome photography, several with really cool lighting techniques, lots of nice builds, some great custom works… the list goes on.
Yeah, there really are some amazing entries!
My guess is that you’ll go with eeny-meany-miney-moe, or a coin toss in the end… 😉
I can honestly say I don’t have a winner yet by any means. Dave when will we announce the winners because I need time to think about this?
I’m hoping to announce the winner this Friday and use the MOC as the featured creation of the week.
Does that sound okay to everyone?
Thats a good idea. Very cool.
You guys have seriously blown me away. There is a lot of incredibly creative people who read this site.
Sounds good to me, too.
And yes, yes there are. I’m betting that it’s because creative people seek out similarly creative people, and that’s how some readers found BotD in the first place. (That’s what happened with me, anyway.)
Well, I just opened up the account to see that I was in the top 5 whatsits or something and I was happy because I thought I was in the top 5 running selection for winning, hand picked by the judges. Then I noticed that it was the ‘top 5 contributors’ meaning I had put the most photos in. This does not guaruntee a sure win. I’m scared now. Like ZombieMutts said, this is a rare prize to be giving away so it is well worth entering. Hope people liked my creative comment ‘I’m shooting for the moon-even if I miss, I’ll land among the stars.’
And even if you don’t win, you’ve created a hell of a zombie-themed MOC. That’s worth doing!
And don’t forget Nikolai will be giving out the second place prize altho there will be a delay as the fellow is on vacation.
Blast, I’ve finished my entry and taken pictures, but can’t find the confusticated mini-usb cable.
Hopefully I can find one before the deadline. Funny how I was the first in the last contest and will probably be last in this one.
Colonel Bracket, is that you? Haven’t seen you in a while!
I hate to break this to you… but the deadline was today at noon (Eastern Time.)
I’m not sure which timezone you’re in, but if you refer to the timestamp on your comment, you’ll see that it was already 2:48 PM Eastern Time.
The contest is over, sorry man. 🙁
What do you say, Dave? Are you willing to take a late entry from Violinja?
I’m conferring with my co-judge on that now, actually.
Yeah, we’ll make an exception for [:]. Sounds like the MOC and photos were done anyway.
Excellent!
I’m looking forward to seeing it, [:].
Alright, Done.
I took a look at it already, it looks great! Nice job, I love the minimalist approach you took.
I left you a few comments on Flickr, as well.
Oh, PM, not AM. *Facepalm*
Thanks Dave. Uploading now.
Holy shit you guys…
I am stumped trying to decide.
Hah, like I said, my bet is that it’ll eventually come down to eeny-meany-miny-moe!
Perhaps instead of simply trying to decide which one is best, you could rate each creation in a few different categories (like creativity, build quality, presentation, etc.) and see which get the best scores overall. (If you’re not doing something similar already.) Just a thought.
“Perhaps instead of simply trying to decide which one is best, you could rate each creation in a few different categories ”
If I had that many hazmats and custom zeds that wouldn’t be a bad idea : )
The way I’ve done judging is to have the judges rank their top three, and then compare lists and see where we have commonality. For the last contest the judges were unanimous in one category and had a clear commonality in the other.
This time around we’ll have to wait and see, but if there isn’t any consensus then ranking based on a variety of categories seems like a good way to choose the overall winner.
I think you might’ve misunderstood me, zombiemutts.
I meant that you would rate each creation in different categories, then select one overall winner based on which creation scores the highest number of points, or gets the best overall rating, etc.
There’d still be one winner for the entire contest, it’s just that the judging would be broken down into simpler components to make judging easier.
Oh I see…
Well….anyway…I have my picks. The sealed white envelope with is en route to Daves compound.
Hey, it looks to me like there was a new entry, far past the deadline.
It could’ve shown up any time in the last 2-3 hours, but was definitely not there before that.
The entry is from “bricksforlife.” Is this sanctioned? Or does it not count?
Unfortunately, that entry isn’t going to be counted.
Man, all this suspense, and It’s only been one day! I’m pretty sure I know who the winner is, though.
Let’s hear some crazy speculating!
Hooray for crazy speculating! 🙂
Just say already! 😛
Who’s to say we’ve even reached a consensuses?
Besides, I really like the idea of Zombie Creation of the Week: Big Damn Announcement
I mean who he thinks is going to win haha, not what you guys have chosen
Oh, yeah I guess that makes more sense.
Carry on.
I don’t see any black smoke coming from the Conclave.
Well that goes for you to Mr Car Thief….who do you think will win? And what picture specifically.
I don’t want to say who I think who will win yet, it might interfere with the Judge’s decisions.
We actually just reached a decision. Speculate your asses off, it won’t affect the winner!
Ooooo! The suspense! In my personal opinion, my picks would be: Experiments by Yatkuu, or On the Other Side… by zombie outbrick. Just my input 😀
OR it could be one of mine… *nudge*nudge*
Ooh, I can’t wait to see who won!
I think Yatkuu’s entry is definitely one of the best. It has that streamlined look to it, not to mention the amazing lighting. I wouldn’t be surprised if he won.
I’m glad you like mine though, automobile hijacker! 🙂
What is with all these remixes of my name? Haha 😛
Yeah, I think Yatkuu’s the winner.
I think the one’s that will be on the blog are The Dude Person’s, Retrogarde’s, Maybe Legomile’s, and maybe even mine.
Well, I think Dave said he’d put any entries that he liked into the blog (right, Dave?)
If that is the case, I’m sure you’ll be in the blog. I think your vig is much cooler than the most recent creation Dave featured, anyway. (It’s the “She Awakens” one, it’s interesting but it’s just a minifig with brick-built legs.)
Yeah, I’ll be blogging a couple of the entries I like in the coming weeks.
She Awakens is probably the most divisive creation I’ve ever featured, which I think is pretty cool.
Thats cool as hell you’re doing that…some of these entries deserve a focus regardless of winning.
Plus it saves me time finding awesome creations every week.
Before too long Dave…you might be posting something everyday.
I hope that’s the case. This week has a post scheduled for every week day, anyhow.
Are you going to tackle the WWZ news? I think I might have enought thoughts if you don’t.
Meh…never mind I am sure everyone knows it by now
I should, but I haven’t had the chance. If you’ve got some thoughts then put them together and we’ll get it posted!
Ok…I’ll see if I can put together a worthy rant
I can’t wait!
I’m actually questioning why I entered the contest. I think it was because in the beginning it didn’t look like there was much competition. my speculation for who won isZombie Outbrick or Yatkuu. I know I’m nowhere near as good as those guys. Still, I might be one of the merit guys, but that’s just hope speaking. Actually, I think I’ll not bother with the next one – my research lab isn’t as cool as past ones I’ve seen.
Think about it this way: those awesome creations are going to push you to create something bigger and badder next time around. It’s certainly intimidating (I know if was for me when I launched this comic; just look at the fantastic competition I have), but if you don’t push yourself and keep trying you can’t improve.
Very true, Dave.
In fact, one of the reasons my entry turned out the way it did, is because I saw some other really cool creations in the contest (like Yatkuu’s) and tried to step up my game.
Who knows? Maybe if you improve, or if some of the “best” MOC builders who participated in this contest might not even enter the next one… Perhaps you could win!
As they say, the only way you’re guaranteed to lose, is if you give up.
(By the way, I thought your garbage truck/news van/superfortress on wheels was a very creative idea, and I thought it looked pretty cool, too!)
Well said.
thanks for the encouragement. Though usually my problem is I run out of bricks when I near the end of my model. My lab, for example, has no roof…though I guess witht the right lighting it could be a lab in disrepair from BEFORE the invasion.
Just don’t forget these things take a lot of time and practice. When I approached Dave about wanting to sponsor the contest I believe I said something like “It would be fun to encourage people to try to be creative instead of just enjoying others peoples creativity” so the idea was to get a mix of first time MOC’s along with the people who have this as a hobby. Definitely a community project.
Please keep sitting down and keep working on it if you have interest in it. Just have fun and don’t build trying to make something perfect.
Hah, Someguy, let me tell you: I’ve got the same exact problem.
Between the set/background for my comic, and the white building in my contest entry, I have absolutely NO white bricks left! I used every last one of them, and I only built the front of a building.
If you took shots from inside your lab (at minifig eye-level) you could certainly get away with having no roof.
Remember, there are entries like Violinja’s/Colonel Bracket’s, that are only a small vignette that uses a relatively small amount of pieces. But because of the building techniques he employed, and the details he packed into it, it turned out to be pretty awesome in my opinion!
Part of vignette building is taking a small amount of pieces, and building them into something with a lot of interesting detail in a small space. Vigs can be just as cool as larger MOCs, sometimes even cooler.
So don’t let the pieces you don’t have limit your building, let the pieces you DO have encourage it.
I agree with zombiemutts, if you stress out trying to make something perfect, it defeats the purpose of MOC building, because then it’s not fun anymore.
Who is thE blasted winner
The announcement is Friday.
You guys sure know how to build a suspense… hehe, so Friday it is.
Whoever the winner might be I just wanted to say that this contest was really fun to take part in. I was also both surprised and flattered by some of the comments posted here by people who consider my entry as a potential winner, I’m new to this blog and it’s a great welcome.
Digihuman / Someguy – we all have brick availability limits, but to me that’s part of the fun and that is what is stimulating the creativity. That being said, here is a trick that perhaps could help you. I have posted a picture of the full setup of my MOC on BS (http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=5139838). You will notice that this build is actually quite small and that’s because I only built what was going to be visible on the final picture. If you design your MOCs keeping in mind the picture angle(s) you want to shoot you will realize that you do not always necessarily need to build 4 walls and a full ceiling each time (the setups of Dave are a great example of this). Worst case scenario, if you are really short on bricks you can also re-use portions of your MOC on several shots by moving them around where you need them to be.
Thanks Yatkuu!
That’s a really good behind the scenes photo. It really demonstrates how much good framing can create the illusion of size. This is a small build, but it sure doesn’t look that way.
I am absolutely stunned at how small it is.
I too, am blown away by the smallness of it. Great job making it look much bigger than it is!
I run my own LEGO zombie webcomic, called Zombie Outbrick, and I only have so many white pieces to use as walls. I usually have to rearrange my wall segments between every shot!
Sometimes, I even have to take 2 shots of a scene with the segments in different places, then combine them to get the amount of wallspace I need.
Dude….do you know about bricklink.com?
Yes zombiemutts, yes I do. I just haven’t gotten anything from there yet. I’m sort of trying to amass a list of parts I need, so I can try to get them all at once. (I could probably save on shipping that way, anyway.)
“I’m sort of trying to amass a list of parts I need, so I can try to get them all at once”
I hear ya. I need to seriously spend some time with organizing and get a better idea what I have and need. I also need to find some more containers to use to store my parts. The pull out drawers that people use are great and I have a nice large one but its hard to know exactly what’s in it. I have recently come to realize that glass jars from pickles or whatever are perfect, and free. Stackable clear boxes are great too.
The thing about storage and organization is that it always needs to be upgraded, which gets costly. I need to buy another set of drawers, or start looking at stackable boxes to get a handle on my 1xYs.
Yup I am quickly realizing how expensize that gets so that why I decided to start reusing jars from the fridge. They are perfect for 1xy’s and give you the perfect view of the contents so you are’t spending so long sifting. And its free of course.
Hah, I have just 3 large transparent drawers, in which I put (washed of course) takeout food containers with clear lids. The containers have 3 compartments, and I usually just sort everything by color. Some colors take up 2 or 3 compartments in a container.
Other than that, I have 2 or 3 semi-large boxes with a bunch of jumbled pieces I have yet to sort. I often have to excavate through them for useful parts!
My organizational system could definitely use some work, especially if I end up getting a ton more pieces from bricklink.
I have to admit…I like organizing. Going through everything actually gives me ideas on builds.
Very glad to see you here! What kind of camera do you use, Yatkuu?
Also Yatkuu…since you’re new to this site I am curious how you found out about the contest.
Sorry about all the questions. This site is obviously full of curious hobbyist types.
I use a small Sony compact (http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Cyber-Shot-DSC-W530-Vario-Tessar-Wide-Angle/dp/B004H8FNNA) and I leave all the setup on automatic (I just switch off the flash).
It’s a good cheap camera, the Macro is enabled automatically so you don’t need to worry about it and it has a wide angle and that’s also great for close-ups.
In what concern the lighting of that scene, I have used a regular flashlight through the transparent ceiling on the zombie side and the led flash of my cell phone on the “scientist” side (to be honest the differentiated lighting effect is really just a fortunate accident…)
You have to love happy accidents.
That has got to be one of the happiest accidents I’ve ever seen.
Agreed. I’m more amazed at the incredible lighting than most of the other things in that MOC. Of course, the rest is brilliant, but the lighting is what really did it for me.
I found out about this specific contest via Eurobricks but I had heard of this site before as I have a friend who once won a contest here (Pixel Fox who did the movie poster adaptation challenge).
Now that I have been trough the 145 (!!) episodes of the comic I can say that I’m officially addicted and also amazed to see how far you have been pushing “the theory” behind the Zombie clichés and detailed articles… I enjoy zombie stories and know the basics but you guys must have a PHD in Zombiology!
Much obliged!
I’ve been following this discussion for a while now, but seeing Yatkuu’s behind the scenes photo blew my mind. I hadn’t really considered lighting options until I saw his entry, and then I knew I’d need to step up my game if I was going to have a shot at this. So out came every light source I could think of (scrapped options included a black light and a mercury light) until I’d found some options that worked. My sewer shot is lit with a red gelled flashlight for behind the grate, and a three colored jack-o-lantern light for the foreground to highlight both the figures and the wall detail. I wish I could have come up with equally engaging lighting for the street scene, but I didn’t want to lose the details on the zombies. Maybe next time…
I love the way your sewer was lit, very nicely done. The zombies looked great as well.
I tried to step up too, with more pics, zombies and lego. I found a nice thing that sort of cheered me up on Friday.
link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rehgaXn0mw
Well done, Yaktuu
😀
Gah, the anticipation is killing me! I can’t wait to see that the winner is Yatkuu!
I mean, I can’t wait to see who the winner is! 😉
You’re not the only one 😀
MY FIRST AVATAR OF BRICKS OF THE DEAD
um
Damn! i’ve only just seen that competition!
i don’t have flickr or know much about it, how do I post on it?
Well the contest is over, but you can still post in the group if you want. You’d need to sign up for Flickr, then join the group.
And what’s an MOC?
My Own Creation
Generally a fan taking something that already exists commercially and creating a custom theme.
whered you get the hazmat suit?
It was a Collectible Minifig.
ohh trying to find it on ebay now, damn it stupid auctions