LEGO provides so many opportunities for creativity beyond just custom buildable sets. Minifigures are the perfect template to capture characters and people you know and love! This article is part of our series on LEGO skill sharing in real life, where we help you learn about the process behind creating your own brick wonders! Our inspiration for making this project definitely comes from seeing early renderings of the Barrows Brothers by redditor u/GoPewds2018. Then we happened to stumble upon u/Shikimoko4’s really creative project on r/Runescape transforming his whole clan into Minifigures!
The amazing designs were a huge hit with the community, and got us thinking about what else we could recreate with LEGO. With the launch of our Ol’ Brick Design – a tribute to the Anniversary of Jagex and everyone’s favorite NPC – we felt like experimenting ourselves and have decided to put together a guide showing you how to make Minifigures as well. While websites like Minifigs.me and Minifigures.com are accessible resources, the excitement and ease of designing and creating our own is worth exploring!
STEP 1. PICTURE YOUR CHARACTER
Whether it's recreating your own character or memorializing one of the many characters in the game, the first thing you will want to do is get good reference photos. Using the OSRS Wiki is a great place to find high quality images, but you can also experiment with screenshots and other renderings. Having a picture is crucial not only for planning, but for charting your progress as you begin creating your minifigure.
STEP 2. GET YOUR PIECES, TOOLS, AND SUPPLIES
Depending on your design you may be able to source all the materials you need from existing LEGO parts. Check out our FAQ to learn more about where to buy bricks and start building!
And if you don’t think you will find what you want, or you would like to customize your mini further then there are a few options available to you. As a general guideline, look for similar or like shapes and forms, over colors. Creating new pieces requires more time and resources than recoloring an existing brick!
If you intend on customizing your mini beyond just ordering LEGO pieces, we recommend some of the following tools and supplies:
- Cutting tool (like an Exacto Knife)
- Fine Grit Sandpaper
- Paint Brush
- Foam Brush
- Acrylic Paints
- Inkjet or Laser Printer (get decal paper if you intend to print sticker designs)
- Metal Polish to remove original lego print from bodies – alternative to sanding.
- Paint Primer to help acrylic paint adhere to LEGO surfaces
- Clear Nail Polish to help seal paints on accessories like capes, hair, and heads.
- Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer, with a matte finish – can use clear nail polish
STEP 3. CREATE!
The core of a minifigure is the torso and legs, and this is where the decision on how you wish to customize your design becomes important. For the Ol’ Brick Minifig we decided to paint existing bricks, and use a sloped brick instead of the traditional minifigure legs to better capture the robe bottoms of the wily wizard! We have been experimenting with stickers, which is a popular choice for mini customization as it retains the integrity of the LEGO brick. Using some of these templates and image editing software there is no limit to what costumes and outfits you can create. And for the super invested, 3D printing custom armor and weapons will certainly make your creation unique!
Accessories can be created or purchased. There are a wide range of items available from both LEGO and independent sellers. For our Ol’ Brick design we 3D printed Party Hats, but modeling clay can work just as well!
Capes can be an expensive or hard to find LEGO piece, but making them is a breeze and very fun. For our project we sourced fabric that was then cut with a template, before creating the neck hole and sealing the ends with polish.
Check out what other Adult Fans of Lego have created for inspiration and ideas on how to bring your ideas to life. We are really impressed with the impressive collection of minis put together by u/Shimoko and encourage others to check them out! If you make your own custom minifig, we’d love to see! Tag us in your Instagram post or story to share your creation.