The Art of Virtual LEGO Design

Have you ever dreamed of designing your own LEGOs? Do you love building huge LEGO models, but don’t have enough bricks? This book will show you how to do all that and more with Bricklink Studio 2.0, a software program that's widely used by LEGO designers to create LEGO models virtually before making them with real LEGO bricks.

You'll learn how to start a new project, use the camera control options, and drag and drop parts into your building plate. Then take your bricks from a pile of random pieces into intricate masterpiece models using building tools like Select, Hinge, Clone, Hide, Connect, Collision, and more! You’ll master all the building tools that help you build LEGO models. Then you’ll learn to search and manage LEGO bricks in Studio 2.0 using different palette options like Master, Hidden parts, and Custom parts.

Beyond the official LEGO colors, there are special color options you can use to render neon, glow in the dark, and translucent brick. Use this expanded color palette to add to the complexity of your models, and then render your model to see it realistically in 3D! You’ll also learn to animate your model and watch it come to life.

After finishing your design, you’ll learn to share what you’ve built with the world. You’ll create professional LEGO instructions for your model that can be printed or shared. Making you a true LEGO design master!

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

* Make fascinating models with virtual LEGO bricks


* Design LEGO models more efficiently with Studio 2.0’s powerful tools


* Use “Build Together” simultaneously with another designer on the same project


* Build massive, amazing models on a small budget

WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR

Anyone interested in digital modelling or who loves building with LEGOs. Students, hobbyists, and enthusiasts will find fun learning activities.

VISHNU AGARWAL has years of experience in the field of STEAM Education using the LEGO Education platform. He is the founder of ROBO-G, a robotics and STEAM education service provider. Vishnu has successfully coached teams in the World Robot Olympiad and First LEGO League competitions. Many students and teachers alike have learned STEAM concepts from Vishnu’s courses and coaching.

He has also presented a research paper on Teaching Programming and Computational Thinking to Elementary Level Children Using LEGO Robotics Education Kit at Technology for Education (T4E) at IIT, Bombay.

He is also the founder and LEGO artist at PICK A BRICK - BUILD YOUR IMAGINATION. He uses LEGO bricks to make people's imaginations come to life through custom models, workshops, and employee engagement activities. In other words, he 3D prints their thoughts using LEGO bricks.

He is the author of "THE ART OF VIRTUAL LEGO DESIGN: DESIGN LEGO MODELS USING STUDIO 2.0" published by Apress, a Springer Nature company.

Chapter 1: Getting Started

• Welcome Screen

• Starting a project

• Dragging and dropping parts

• Rotate Camera

• Pan Camera

• Zoom in Zoom out

• Viewport Controls

• Viewport Rotation Lock

Chapter 2: Building Tools

• Select

• Hinge

• Clone

• Hide

• Connect

• Collision

• Snap

• Grid

• Finding Compatible Bricks

• Finding Alternatives

• Copy & Mirror

• Submodels

Chapter 3: Bricks Palette

• Master

• Hidden Parts

• New Parts

• Custom Parts

• Create an empty palette

• Import an official LEGO Set

• Import a wanted list

• Searching parts using key words

• Palette Colors

• Decorated Bricks on/off

• Thumbnail Size

Chapter 4: Color Palette

• Paint with the selected color

• Grab color from parts

• Favorite Colors

• Content Colors

• Solid Colors

• Transparent Colors

• Chrome Colors

• Pearl Colors

• Metallic Colors

• Milky Colors

• Glitter Colors

• Speckle Colors

• Rubber Colors

• Satin Colors

• Glowing Neon (Render Only)

• Luminous Soft (Render only)

• Luminous (Render Only)

• Translucent (Render Only)

• Glow in Dark (Render Only)

Chapter 5: Building Techniques

• Mastering the Tools

• Selecting and Copying Elements

Chapter 6: How to Create Steps

• Step List

• Color Validator

• Build a basic model

• Render

• Stability

Chapter 7: Creating Instructions

• Building a Robot Model

• Step Editor (In detail explaination)

• Page Editior (In detail explaination)

Chapter 8: Interesting Features of Studio 2.0

• Mosaic

• Preferences

• Import & Export Files

• Hide Panels Options

• Sign in to Bricklink

• Upload to my Studio creations

• Build Together

• Add to wanted list

• Buy Creations