The wonderful team at No Starch Press have been kind enough to supply us with a selection of their 2015 titles for us to take a look at, we’ll also be bringing you news and reviews of future titles released throughout the year. For our first review we take a look at the Beautiful LEGO Wild! title. It’s the third in the series of the Beautiful LEGO books and it was first published in September 2015.
Official Synopsis
Scenes from nature spring to life in Mike Doyle’s latest curated collection of LEGO art, Beautiful LEGO: Wild! From botanical marvels to adorable critters—such as a sea otter family made from 3,500 LEGO pieces—every page is sure to delight the artist and naturalist in all of us.
Interviews with LEGO masters from around the world give you a glimpse into the inspiration behind these incredible works of art. Discover amazing landscapes, insects, mythical creatures, and more, all within the enchanting pages of Beautiful LEGO: Wild!
Review
There are many amazing LEGO builds around from some wonderfully creative people but quite often their work is lost in a sea of pages and websites when uploaded online, so a book like this is an ideal way to bring together these amazing works of art, for the world to see. As the title suggests the books theme is focused on natural world elements and with a number of different builders work present, there’s a nice varied selection of LEGO models to savor, from simple little insects to elaborately details animals and landscapes.
Unlike other LEGO books, the focus is clearly on featuring the builds themselves, you won’t find any build instructions or anything else to distraction from the LEGO creations. There are a few pages dotted throughout the book which focus on a some of builders, who’s work is included in the book but these kept to a minimum although I would of liked to of seen a couple more of these or maybe a few more in-depth interviews with certain builders, however this may distract from the feel the book is hoping to offer.
The book is split into a number of themed sections beginning with the natural world before moving through to the creatures that inhabit it. Despite the natural focus of the book, I like how one of the sections includes a number of character builds, which features Pokémon and other popular culture creatures. The natural world isn’t the easiest thing to capture with LEGO pieces so it’s quite impressive to see how well it can be done and interesting ways some LEGO elements have been used.
There may be no instructions but that doesn’t mean the book can’t offer plenty of inspiration to create your own wild builds. It’s refreshing to see a book that not only recognises so many wonderful builds but one that also portrays LEGO as a form of art. The photography is beautiful and does an amazing job of showcasing each build and despite so many different builders creations being included, the imagery is nice and concise across the book.
Beautiful LEGO Wild! would excellent addition to any LEGO fans collection, from those who appreciate the use of LEGO as art to those who want to find a little inspiration. Beautiful LEGO Wild! is published by No Starch Press and is available now from all good book retailers including Amazon, WHSmith and Waterstones. We’ll be bringing you more reviews of No Starch Press’ other LEGO titles over the next few weeks.