How to Build Heads out of LEGO Bricks

With Legos, you can build anything that you can possibly imagine, including statues or models of real people. Building a head out of Lego bricks can be difficult for many, however, as there are complicated details that make up the human head. By following a few simple guidelines, anybody can create a human head out of Lego bricks that will correspond to the facial dimensions of real people.

Determine the overall size of the Lego head that you wish to build.

Count how many bricks or bumps are necessary to construct his head. For example, if you create a life-size human head, it would be about eight standard two-by-four bricks wide or 32 bumps wide. Knowing this number allows you to determine the dimensions of your face 2.

Multiply smaller dimensions by 1.618 to create larger dimensions, or multiply larger dimensions by 0.618 to create smaller dimensions. These two numbers correspond to Phi, which is a very common ratio in the human face. For example, if a head is 32 bumps wide, then the face should be 51 or 52 bumps high, as 32 times 1.618 is 51.77. This calculation will give you the proper ratio and size comparison in the human face.

Construct the face by starting with a central mass of Legos and building outward, rather than starting with the bottom layer and building upward. This will result in a more natural process that will enable you to maintain proportions and adapt, rather than committing to a certain design by the second or third layer.

Build contours to the face. The human face is not a cube, nor is it a sphere. The cheeks push out, the eyes sink in, and the skull is more egg-shaped than it is spherical. Do not force the Lego head to have smooth edges. Allow Lego pieces to jut out to create the contours of the face.

Determine the innermost point of the eye by finding the intersection of Phi dimensions. It intersects at the length from the chin to the nose times 1.618 vertically, and the length from the side of the head to the side of the nose times 1.618 horizontally. Multiply the length of the nose by 0.618 to determine the width of each eye.

Inset the eye by building outward around where the eyes are. The eyes should not be actively built; rather, they are an absence of Lego bricks that indicate the recesses of the eyes.

Build the nose outward and downward from the midway point between the eyes. Determine the outward protrusion of the nose by multiplying the vertical length of the nose by 0.618. If the nose were 10 bumps tall, the nose should protrude six bumps outward.

Set the ears on the sides of the head, with the midway point of the ear's curve on the same horizontal level of the center of the eyes. The length from the bottom of the ear to the top is the length from the bottom of the ear to the midway point in the curve in the ear times 1.618. As with the eyes, the inner parts of the ears are defined by recesses. Build the edges of the ear outward in a spiral pattern.

Build the lips outward. To determine exact positioning, the distance from the chin to the middle of the lips is the length from the chin to the bottom of the nose times 0.618. Multiply the width of the nose by 1.618 to determine the width of the mouth. Depending on the size of your head, lips can be extremely difficult because they are composed of two layers that are very near each other. To create a distinct division between the upper and lower lip, use half-height blocks to build each lip.

Warnings

Avoid creating faces with expressions. It is best to start with a neutral face until you’ve familiarized yourself with the technique, and then advancing to facial expressions.