The Art of Virtual LEGO Design

Chapter 1: Getting Started ........................................................................................ 1

Welcome Screen ........................................................................................................................... 1

Starting a New Project .................................................................................................................. 2

Open an Existing Project ............................................................................................................... 3

Import a Model .............................................................................................................................. 4

Studio Update ............................................................................................................................... 4

Placing a Part ................................................................................................................................ 5

Moving a Part ................................................................................................................................ 6

Rotating a Part .............................................................................................................................. 7

Zoom In, Zoom Out, and Zoom to Fit ............................................................................................. 8

Rotate Camera .............................................................................................................................. 9

Pan Camera ................................................................................................................................... 9

Changing the Orientation of View .................................................................................................. 9

Add a Viewport ............................................................................................................................ 10

Delete a Viewport ........................................................................................................................ 12

Viewport Rotation Lock ............................................................................................................... 12

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 12

Chapter 2: Building Tools ........................................................................................ 13

Select Tool ................................................................................................................................... 13

Hinge Tool ................................................................................................................................... 17

Manual Mode .............................................................................................................................. 22

Clone Tool .................................................................................................................................... 24

Hide Tool ..................................................................................................................................... 25

Connect Tool ................................................................................................................................ 27

Collision ...................................................................................................................................... 28

Snap ............................................................................................................................................ 29

Grid ............................................................................................................................................. 30

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 35

Chapter 3: Building Palette ..................................................................................... 37

Master ......................................................................................................................................... 38

New Parts ................................................................................................................................... 39

Custom Parts ............................................................................................................................... 40

Hidden Parts ............................................................................................................................... 41

Custom Palette ............................................................................................................................ 43

Import an Official LEGO Set ......................................................................................................... 46

Part Categories ........................................................................................................................... 49

Searching Parts Using Keywords ................................................................................................ 52

1. Palette Colors .................................................................................................................... 54

2. Decorated Bricks On/Off .................................................................................................... 55

3. Thumbnail Size .................................................................................................................. 56

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 57

Chapter 4: Color Palette .......................................................................................... 59

Painting with Selected Color ....................................................................................................... 59

Grab Color from Part ................................................................................................................... 63

Colors List ................................................................................................................................... 65

Selecting Colors by Shade .......................................................................................................... 74

Hide Unavailable Colors .............................................................................................................. 75

Favorite Colors ............................................................................................................................ 77

Content Colors ............................................................................................................................. 78

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 79

Chapter 5: Design Tools .......................................................................................... 81

Find Compatible Bricks ............................................................................................................... 82

Find Alternatives ......................................................................................................................... 86

Submodels .................................................................................................................................. 87

Edit, Release, and Unlink from Submodel ................................................................................... 89

Copy and Mirror .......................................................................................................................... 96

Part Number, Name, Price, and Size ............................................................................................ 98

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 101

Chapter 6: Step List and Color Validator ............................................................... 103

Add, Delete, Shift, and Describe Step ........................................................................................ 104

Add, Hide, Delete, and Shift a Part ............................................................................................ 111

Expand and Collapse, Edit, Hide, and Delete Submodel ............................................................ 120

Expand and Collapse Steps ....................................................................................................... 125

Model Dropdown Menu ............................................................................................................. 125

Search in the Step List .............................................................................................................. 126

Step List Tools ........................................................................................................................... 127

Step View .................................................................................................................................. 129

Color Validator ........................................................................................................................... 138

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 144

Chapter 7: Render and Stability ............................................................................ 145

Render ...................................................................................................................................... 146

A. Preview ................................................................................................................................. 147

B. Photoreal ............................................................................................................................... 147

C. POV-Ray ................................................................................................................................ 161

D. Animation .............................................................................................................................. 166

E. Close the dialog on starting rendering .................................................................................. 179

F. Format ................................................................................................................................... 180

G. Queue .................................................................................................................................... 183

Stability Test .............................................................................................................................. 186

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 191

Chapter 8: Instruction and Mosaic ....................................................................... 193

Instruction ................................................................................................................................. 193

A. Step Editor ............................................................................................................................ 197

B. Page Design .......................................................................................................................... 220

Mosaic ...................................................................................................................................... 278

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 287

Chapter 9: Interesting Features of Studio 2.0 ....................................................... 289

Preferences ............................................................................................................................... 289

Show Recently Used Parts ........................................................................................................ 297

Expand Building Palette ............................................................................................................ 301

Hide all Panels, Side Panels, and Ground .................................................................................. 304

Split and Merge ......................................................................................................................... 306

Set as Origin and Reset Origin .................................................................................................. 309

Sign in to Bricklink .................................................................................................................... 312

Model Info ................................................................................................................................. 314

Add to Wanted List .................................................................................................................... 317

Upload to My Studio .................................................................................................................. 320

Build Together ........................................................................................................................... 322

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 326

Index ..................................................................................................................... 327