[Interview] Introducing a LEGO® Model Designer (Part 1 of 2)

출처 - http://www.4kids.tv/buzz/view/introducing_a_legoreg_model_designer_part_1_of_2

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Caption for photo at left: This is a mural of an Australian scene made completely of LEGO bricks.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a LEGO® Model Designer? Or have you ever wondered how those really cool life-sized LEGO brick models come from and who makes them? Well, over the next couple of days we are going to be sharing with you an interview we did with a real LEGO Model Designer named Steve Gerling. Here you’ll be able to find out just how those models are made and what skills a model designer needs to have in order to work for LEGO.

Q: Did you always know that you wanted to build LEGO brick models?
A: I always really liked making things. For instance I took a shop class in high school, but I made weird things. I made a model of a nuclear submarine, an electric boat, boomerangs, a lot of things that really required kind of above and beyond just designing weird stuff.

Q: How old were you when you started building things? A: Four, five, or six years old. I was always building stuff. Lincoln Logs® and Erector® sets were a revelation for me because now it’s like I can build stuff as tall as I am. To be perfectly honest, they didn’t have LEGO bricks when I was a kid; but if there were, there would have been no contest.

Q: How did you become a Model Designer at LEGO? A: I went to art school and after I graduated I actually carved wood for a lot of years. I was always drawn towards creating realistic human and animal figures, which actually served me well when I started working here. I saw an ad for a model designer at LEGO and I showed up to apply for the job and it was gone; but I kept showing up on their doorstep and they ultimately hired me in a temp position. But while I was temping, I was able to bring in my portfolio and show it to the head of the model shop, and eventually they said, “Yeah, we can use your skills.”

Q: What was your favorite subject in school? A: My favorite subject in high school was my shop class because all of a sudden I learned that I don’t have to buy stuff, I can make stuff from scratch. I pushed that idea further when I went to art school. I learned a tremendous amount in shop class, but I also still refer back to my high school math for various things.

Q: What advice would you give to kids today if they want to be a Model Designer when they group up? A: No matter what you want to do when you grow up, if you want to be happy at it, you’ve got to work really hard to develop the skills for that job. If you want to do what I do, you certainly have to like making things, but the basic skill I push is drawing. Learning basic drawing skills is where you begin to teach your hands to do what your mind is envisioning -- whether that is drawing a LEGO brick sculpture, clay sculptures, or designing a bridge or race car. Now someone showing up here for a job interview should also have training in three dimensional design and computer skills.

Q: What kind of computer programs do you use? A: We use a program called Poser® that works well with human figures. In the past we’ve used 3-D studio Macs®, but we’re switching over to Maya® now. So in the future we’ll primarily be using Poser and Maya. We also use some AutoCAD® and a program called LEGO Brick Builder. About eight years ago LEGO developed a program we can use internally that is not publicly available. It allows us to take a 3-D model, virtual model and put it into a matrix of bricks plates and all of a sudden you have a virtual model of Sponge Bob Square Pants® or whatever. So I can go in on that screen and add or remove bricks and change colors. Then [the builders] are able to look at an image on the computer screen and any number of ways they can look at the model. They can look at it layer by layer and sort of a fly around view and twist and turn it and look at it in different angles.



Caption for above photo: An Emperor Penguin built entirely out of LEGO bricks.

Q: If you weren’t a LEGO brick Model Designer, what would you want to be doing as a career? A: I would probably be something like a wildlife biologist. Being a wildlife biologist definitely runs a real close second [to what I’m doing now] and is something that is near and dear to my heart.

Q: Do you get to create a lot of wildlife designs at LEGO? A: I try, but nowhere near enough (laughs). That would be a wonderful world indeed if we could walk in in the morning and create anything we want, but we don’t have control over what we design.

Q: Who do you create model designs for? A: Most of our customers are people within LEGO. Our primary job is to support our sales, marketing, and public relations departments, but we do get the occasional outside customer.