How to Design a Modular or a Non-Modular Building?

[STHLM]

I quote my self from a similar thread (https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/149236-how-do-you-expert-builders-begin-to-design-and-build-a-modular-building/&tab=comments#comment-2833274):

I start with an idea I might get from a real building or something from a movie. Sometimes I just start with some interesting pieces I find in my collection.

Here, in my latest MOC, I wanted to achieve a run down look. I saw a building in The Wire that I really liked:

[MOC] Worn down building by Nybohov Creation Ltd., on Flickr

This hotel started with an idea of making fire escape stairs:

[MOC] NYC Fire Escape by Nybohov Creation Ltd., on Flickr

In this case, it was the 1 x 4 brick with groove that made me think of a ware house of sorts:

Tailor at the Warehouse by Nybohov Creation Ltd., on Flickr

This gas station was an attempt to build something with round shapes, art deco-style:

[MOC] Gas station by Nybohov Creation Ltd., on Flickr

I never build in LDD, trial and error with bricks is my way of doing it.

[LegoModularFan]

Many thanks @coghilla and @STHLM, they’re very useful! And thanks for the advice @koalayummies the part names in brickset seem more similar with those in the LDD! I hope seeing more MOC’s in near future by you, coghilla!

Edited January 31, 2018 by LegoModularFan

[sonicstarlight]

Thanks for the shout out! I'm also going to quote myself from a previous topic.

Sometimes I start with the thought of a building type I want to do, and sometimes I start with an architectural style I want to do. For example, I knew I wanted to make an Art Deco building and for me the logical function was to make a movie theater.

On the flip side, I wanted to make a courthouse and that made me study Neo Classical for the architectural style.

Very often I modify existing sets to make them into modulars - Medieval Market Village, The Burrow, Bike Shop and Cafe - so the style is determined but I want to give them a new function. For example, my bike shop and cafe became a jewelry store and pizzeria with apartments above.

Once I have the basic idea of the building in mind, I then decide the size. I don't like to be limited to just 32-studs or 16-studs, so sometimes I go over that (my courthouse is 64-studs and my theater is 40-studs) and occasionally I go under (my bike shop and cafe mods are 14-studs each). I also think about the number of floors, either two tall floors or three standard floors for me as I try to design buildings that look at home with the official ones. A few other things I always keep in mind:

1) Look at real-world examples. Many people in this topic already talked about this, and I agree completely. Take pictures of buildings in your neighborhood you are inspired by and do searched online, maybe saving pictures to a folder. I don't like to copy one singular building too literally, so I try and take bits and pieces from many while still having it look like a cohesive package.

2) It's all about the details. Modular buildings are essentially rectangular boxes, so the goal to to make them look like something more. Don't be afraid to use depth in your facades - mine can be three-studs deep at times - and look for other ways to break things up (roof lines, setbacks, balconies, etc). I've seen just as many builds that have too much detail as too little, so finding the balance it key and it isn't just about tacking things onto a wall that don't make sense architecturally.

3) Don't force it. Sometimes you need to walk away for inspiration to hit and other times you need to just tear the thing down and start over. For example, my courthouse was originally going to be 32-studs wide and I had a whole front facade for it constructed before I hated the way it looked and tore it down to make it wider. You might have and idea that sounds good in your head but it just doesn't translate in real life.

One last note: I always build in bricks and don't use LDD at all. This is purely my preference and I have a lot of respect for anyone that can create a digital model first and then order the parts to make it real. For me, I can more quickly prototype things in real bricks (I initially just build in any color I have and then go back later and get the bricks in the final color scheme) but I also have a large collection now to pull from. LDD is definitely the cheaper way to go, especially if you don't have the largest collection.

[Redhead1982]

First of all, thanks to include me in the list. Modulars are my favourite team, and something I love building the most. However, I'm not that active online lately (not so much time with two kids), I usually find time to read, but not always respond on time.

Briefly, I find inspiration either outside in buildings I see everyday or at home when sorting piles of bricks (odd parts or interesting colours). However, my last building was inspired by google search (the second photo, and is still a WIP).

That said, I think it's important to be aware of what you like, be it a specific architectural style, color scheme or part. When building I usually start with color scheme and design, and then evolve the interior around it (business or appartment). My long term wish is to make a variety of 16-wides in almost all the rainbow colours.

When I think of the basic design I sometimes do skecthes, very rough just to see the basic geometry of windows/doors and walls. This helps me figure out the width of the building, and detailing on the facade. I like a two colour facades, with one colour on the edge and a brighter one for the facade. Sometimes I try to make this kind of sketch in LDD, but I easily loose my nerves finding and positioning the bricks, specially if there's a lot of SNOTing. I'm trying out Stud.io now, and perhaps it will be easier. I don't draw since it would be a mess. I often have an idea what the building should look like, but don't know how to draw it out. Another problem is limited time, having two very young kids doesn't leave me lots of time to build, and at the same time MOCs are prone to be ''a little touched up'' by them. So I prefer to start with bricks as soon as possible. Luckily, my collection is well sized, and I did manage to finish buildings without BLing. As others said, I usually search for alternative parts/colours, but not always.

Style-wise, I'm not a expert on architecture, so I can't say I'm copying a specific style. Often I see a detail on the real building and think about recreating it with bricks. Sometimes successfull, but not often. Usually, it takes 2-3 months to finish a building. Time is spent on figuring out a design, and often waiting for some extra parts. Sometimes, I have it on the desk for weeks, just lacking ideas how to continue.

When I actually start building, I usually lay foundations of the front facade, and build part of the facade. The depth of the building is determined later, but I generally follow the Modulars standards. It also depends if I want a patio or more rooms at the back. From there on, it's just lots of building and rebuilding.

[Mestari]

I have several ways of "dealing" with MOCing.
First of all I have a notepad where I put all my random ideas. Whenever I think of something, I make a note of it there (it's in my mobile phone). It's usually something like "garage with pneumatics" or "house of Moniuszko", to remind me what I was thinking about and wanted to build.
Those builds are planned to be made within several years from now, but I keep that in mind to properly build my stock of bricks. I use bricklink for small orders mostly and utilise LUG BULK and support for the big ones, again planning not just for the nearest exhibition but for future ones too.
This planning years ahead is important for financial reasons, obviously.

I do not use LDD at all, MLCad only once so far to help myself with the mosaic on the wall of my Palm House. Other than that I always build with real bricks from the start.
But before I do that I have much of the building "ready" in my mind already. This conceptual phase can take a lot of time. My current WIP modular (The Ministry of Brick :) ) took more than half a year of thinking before placing the first brick on a baseplate.
This is also the reason why I build from the ground up, just like I would have if I had building instructions for my MOC. I simply know how to solve much of the problems before the start. Now, it doesn't mean there are no prolems as I build, far from it, especially in case of said ministry...
When I start thinking about my next MOC I start with what makes it distinctive. I usually also build that first to make sure I have it nailed. In my Ice cream parlor, it was the prototype of ice cream rotation mechanism. For my garage - the pneumatic lift and compressor. For the jewellery - the right part with the arched entrance and front of the building. For train station - the windows. And so on.

When building, one of the most important thing for me is to build it in such a way that I would want to live or spend time in that building myself. This means I always thought do interiors, which all have communication done for all floors, minifig have a place to sleep etc. I try to make them as nice a place to live as I can.

My inspiration comes either from real life (this is rather rare) or I put something together from my imagination, based of course on many examples of architecture we all see everyday. We all stand on a shoulder of giants, don't we? ;)

My Ministry is different in that it is inspired by one particular building. Here that real life structure was the stating point and the design done by me focused on making something that would work in modular scale. That process is not simple so I'll dive into it when I publish this MOC. I hope this to happen in may this year at the latest.

Great topic, by the way :)

Edit:

One more thing regarding source of inspiration and ideas.

I love Technic as well, so I have this idea to incorporate every technic system made to date to my builds. 

Power Functions motor and light were in Ice cream parlor.

Pneumatics were in Garage. 

9V and PF lights were in Railway station with warehouse. 

Flex system was in my railway control room with level crossing  (not yet published, includes Sbrick)

Fibre optics will be in... you'll see ;) I have at least 2 ideas for it. And it still has chancesto be in the Ministry. 

This is fun :D

And one day I'll put all of them in one creation with control panel from the technic command centre set, but this won't be modular, so no more info about it ;)

Edited February 3, 2018 by Mestari

[LegoModularFan]

Many thanks to all! Your posts are very useful, I was hopeless about more comments on this topic as there were no one who wrote for about one day and you reassured me!

On 01/02/2018 at 5:10 AM, sonicstarlight said:

Thanks for the shout out!

 

16 hours ago, Redhead1982 said:

First of all, thanks to include me in the list.

You’re very welcome!

I really hope you’ll be able to continue making MOC’s @sonicstarlight, they’re great and I would really like to see more 

16 hours ago, Redhead1982 said:

However, I'm not that active online lately (not so much time with two kids), I usually find time to read, but not always respond on time.

Then, I would like to thank you especially for responding!

16 hours ago, Redhead1982 said:

However, my last building was inspired by google search (the second photo, and is still a WIP).

It’s almost finished! The windows on the rooftop look awesome! 

12 hours ago, Mestari said:

My current WIP modular (The Ministry of Brick :) )

Great, I’ll see more great MOC’s soon!

12 hours ago, Mestari said:

Great topic, by the way :)

Thanks

It looks like some of my favorite MOC’cers usually work only with real bricks, it looks like I’ll need to expand my collection...

[Delbaerov]

Thanks for the mention in this list!

It's a mix for me.  Some I just build as I go, while looking at features/ideas I see in other great modulars, and sometimes try to do at least one new thing of my own.

For others, when I see a building that I like, i'll start building it in LDD and see what happens from there.

Look forward to seeing what you decide to try doing!

[Sir Stig]

I always look at buildings wherever I go, and add them somewhere in my mind. Sometimes images resurface as I fickle around with my bricks, and I go with the flow. It is often a small detail that set the course, and I go through a lot of revisions over 2-6 months before I get to a point where I can finish it. Since I don't have any formal knowledge of building styles and eras, it may be an ecclectic mix. The main point for me is that I like the overall esthetics. I try to not spend so much on BL and build with what I've got, because it forces me to be creative and try out other solutions. And I also use Google street view to have a closer look when I see a building I like in magazines/books/TV/etc. The building dictates what use it will have.

[snaillad]

Nice to be mentioned, thanks!

I subscribe to quite a few groups on flickr and own quite a few books on the subject of architecture - I probably still couldn't quote you many terms for parts of features from buildings though! 

I am inspired by what I find online, in books or even out in the real world. I use google maps and street view a fair amount to study buildings further. I like to try and recreate styles where possible with what bricks I have or with minimal online ordering. If I find a particular piece and think many of them together would make a convincing feature I will try and bulk buy for future projects.

I started out making modulars but found an open backed approach is more flexible allows certain details without interruption. An example of this would be Avenue St.Jacques. The middle two floors have a continuous column like you see in real life.

At the time I also didn't have as big a collection as I do now and trying to reinforce a floor to make it stackable meant a lot of plates on top of each other. I also found it to be far easier to construct interiors and get better shots of them.

Anyway this method is now my preferred way of MOC'ing.

I have a small sketchbook where I roughly draw out ideas with a few features and write down things I plan to make in the future. I find the hardest part is starting, once I'm on a project it's fun but finding the right idea and getting enthusiastic about it sometimes takes ages. Does anyone else get this?

Reading what others have said here about building everyone seems to have a different way! My method is to try and make something I've not built before such as different window frames as they tend to take up a lot of a facade. I then concentrate on the 'street' level floor to what the shop(s) might be an get an idea of the footprint of the entire building. I like designing the shop fittings and doors and trying to make it look interesting and varied.

The scale I build in is not particularly realistic compared to the size of minifigures I place on the scenes. I never use a LDD program its all done using trial and error with real bricks only. Once my first two floors are built, there is no going back for me I just continue building and try and come up with something that fits into what space I've got left so the roof tends to always be an afterthought. I'm hoping to change this in the future!

I have similar opinions with the methods and advice from @cimddwc and @sonicstarlight

Here's to a great seeing some great building MOC's in the town forum in 2018!

 

 

 

 

[beverly888]

While not a master builder, I do consider myself a reasonably good, but intermediate-level, builder.

I never use LDD.  I find digital brick manipulation cumbersome and somewhat annoying.  Building with real brick is my tried and true method.

First and foremost, I have a story I want to tell, which translates to the buildings I choose to design and build. 

Right now, my interest is in building a nightclub for the Friend's Pop Star sub-theme.  I've had this concept in mind for several months and have accumulated multiple on-sale Friends and non-Friends sets that will hopefully fill most of my brick needs.  Building on a budget makes the creative process more challenging, but that's part of the joy of building for me.  In a real pinch, I've been known to make small orders from local Bricklink stores.

Building isn't as simple as putting brick together, at least not for me.  There's so much sorting and organizing that goes on behind the scenes, and that seems to take more time than actual building.  Plus, I live in a one bedroom apartment condo, which means there are space limitations.  My mess tolerance is fairly low, too, so I feel most comfortable when I keep a semi-lid on my LEGO life.

That all said, though, I love building!

I'm beginning the Pop Star Nightclub by determining where in my Friends' world the club will located - which will probably be in an older downtown location that may be somewhat rundown.  In this instance, I'll have to design a couple of smaller buildings to flesh out the neighbourhood, to give the club a fuller sense of place. 

Next, I'll figure out the footprint and how many floors it'll have.  I'm currently thinking a footprint of three 16 x 16 stud plates should be fine, but that'll depend on how the performance stage is set up and where seating and the bar will be located.  Because of the stage, the first floor will require an extra tall ceiling, but we'll see once I get that far.  Maybe the bar/lounge will be on the second floor that overlooks the main floor stage.  The third floor will be dressing rooms and possibly private space for the club owner.  There will most likely be a rooftop patio.  The main colours will be black, dark purple, grey and dark grey, with some splashes of Friends' colours and transparent dark pink and other transparent coloured brick.  Again, we'll see how that all goes based on going through the sets I've yet to open and sort, plus the brick already in their respective bins.

When using real brick in the design stage, I'll test brick colours with each other to see what works best.  I'll build and rebuild - over and over, until I'm satisfied.  That'll mean I end up with piles of discarded brick that'll need to be reorganized, which is the most frustrating part of building for me.  I can see the advantage of LDD for this aspect of design, but the tactile element of building with real brick fuels my creativity, and helps me work out design and other problems.

Sometimes I design and build the basic floor plan of a building or two, then put it/them away for a few weeks with the brick I intend to use.  With time and distance, I can see the design with a less attached attitude and a fresh eye. 

Other times, the building almost builds itself in no time, like Amethyst Tower, my most recent large build (32" tall, with 118 figs of all genres) ...

 

Hope my comments help.

Cheers!

 Beverly

Edited February 5, 2018 by beverly888

[LegoModularFan]

Many thanks @Delbaerov, @Sir Stig, @snaillad and @beverly888! Very helpful comments!

On 05/02/2018 at 7:49 AM, Delbaerov said:

Thanks for the mention in this list!

 

On 05/02/2018 at 10:56 PM, snaillad said:

Nice to be mentioned, thanks!

You’re welcome!

@Sir Stig Wow, your two last MOC’s are amazing! Thanks for making yourself discovered 

On 05/02/2018 at 10:56 PM, snaillad said:

own quite a few books on the subject of architecture

Could you list your favorite ones? 

On 05/02/2018 at 10:56 PM, snaillad said:

like you see in real life.

That’s why your MOC’s are unique, your builds look like in real life!

On 05/02/2018 at 10:56 PM, snaillad said:

I find the hardest part is starting, once I'm on a project it's fun but finding the right idea and getting enthusiastic about it sometimes takes ages. Does anyone else get this?

Yes, me too! I have a lot of ideas but didn’t know where to start (now I’m beginning to know) and that’s why I created this thread 

Will you make instructions for your other MOC’s as you made the Avenue Saint-Jacques and the Cocoa Hotel? 

I would really like to see some Art Nouveau buildings by you in (near) future (of course if you want to make any) 

On 05/02/2018 at 11:30 PM, beverly888 said:

First and foremost, I have a story I want to tell, which translates to the buildings I choose to design and build. 

That’s very important, thanks for raising it! 

On 05/02/2018 at 11:30 PM, beverly888 said:

Hope my comments help.

Yes, a lot! 

[kjm161]

Not mentioned on the list but thought I might add my process because it is slightly different from others. Many of my builds actually are conceptualized from the interiors out. I hope that my buildings have a story and that usually involves a detailed interior like many miniature dollhouses.

I draw inspiration for the buildings from events, holidays, or favourite places or stories that may or may not resemble any actual buildings. I build only through trial and error using bricks. Lots of time has been spent on Bricklink to find the right parts, and looking at others creations online to see how they created architectural details like shingled roofs, clapboard siding etc. There are so many wonderful MOCs out there with so many different techniques used.

Santa's Workshop at the North Pole by Karen Metz, on Flickr

Santa's Workshop at the North Pole by Karen Metz, on Flickr

And Then There Were None by Karen Metz, on Flickr

And Then There Were None: Living Room by Karen Metz, on Flickr

A Child's Christmas in Eastern Ontario by Karen Metz, on Flickr

image by Karen Metz, on Flickr

image by Karen Metz, on Flickr

image by Karen Metz, on Flickr

haunted mansion 1 by Karen Metz, on Flickr

 

[peedeejay]

On 5.2.2018 at 10:56 PM, snaillad said:

I find the hardest part is starting, once I'm on a project it's fun but finding the right idea and getting enthusiastic about it sometimes takes ages. Does anyone else get this?

Absolutely. Once I have the main portion or the key visual feature of my facade done, the rest is usually a breeze.

[jalemac34]

Hello everybody,

Firstly i will thank legomodularfan to pick me in this superb list of "best" moc builders, i really appreciate.

The way i'm constructing my mocs is not really the same each time, i can take a picture from a beautiful building and construct it, or been inspired by a moc i see on the net. Sommetimes i've got an idea, i write it and draw it on a paper, and check on the web, things that inspiring me. My next moc i'm working on is totally original, it's a tennis and squash court in a building, i will finish it soon.and for this one i just imagined it in my head.

I think to progress and be the most reallistic you have to take inspiration from real buildings, and try to make them in lego. But before that you need to know a lot of techniques, you can learn them on different websites.

Bye bye, thanks again and brick on!!!

[Palixa And The Bricks]

Thank you very much for the mention

It's a bit of everything others have said before and it's slightly different for each building I've done so far.

There are some buildings that I started without any detailed plans (especially at the beginning when I left my dark ages in 2013). I only knew which purpose they should have and built them mostly with bricks I already had. Then there are some buildings where I drew some raw sketches first to get a feeling for proportions and dimensions (did this for the Mom And Pop Store). Often I see buildings (in my hometown or on city breaks) and immediately start to think about how a particular detail or the whole construction can be built in Lego. For example, my Main Post Office is based on a building in my hometown. I began by constructing the front corner with real bricks in white and red to see what could work and then switched to LDD, where I constructed the complete facade but no interiors to get a feeling of how many parts I would need. My canal houses are obviously inspired by a trip to Amsterdam. I originally only wanted to build one, the book store that is an almost exact recreation of an existing building. The project then evolved. The two other buildings are based on parts/details of several exisiting canal houses. Even the house boats are inspired by existing ones. Google Image Search and Street View helped a lot with those. For the canal houses I also started whith LDD, as I knew I did not had enough bricks and would have to BL a lot. For the bookstore I started with the facade of the second floor, for the other two with the facade of the ground floor.

Garage + Mom & Pop Store   Main Post Office                    Amsterdam Canal Houses

The interiors always come last and are always built with bricks I already have and without any digital tool. I love building them. It's like playing with a dollhouse (which I loved as a kid). I try to build only things that I would like or need as a minifigure if I had to live there.

Inspiration often also comes when dismantling previous MOCs or official sets or when sorting bricks and when seeing MOCs of other builders, like @cimddwc, @snaillad, @Kristel or @Redhead1982 for example.

When MOD-ing it's like @koalayummies said: this is a very different process. There's no planning or LDD involved. I take apart the parts of the building that I don't like and rework them just by building what feels right.

Cafe Corner MOD                    Brick Bank MOD

[LegoModularFan]

Many thanks @kjm161, @jalemac34 and @Palixa And The Bricks for taking time to write!

On 07/02/2018 at 1:22 PM, kjm161 said:

Not mentioned on the list but thought I might add my process because it is slightly different from others.

Your MOC’s are awesome! I’m so happy to have discovered another great MOC’cer, be sure if I make any other lists mentioning my favorite MOC’cers, you (and @Sir Stig) will be mentioned too  Didn’t expect this thread would also let me discover new great MOC’cers...

On 07/02/2018 at 1:22 PM, kjm161 said:

Many of my builds actually are conceptualized from the interiors out.

That seems very interesting. May try that!

On 09/02/2018 at 11:10 AM, jalemac34 said:

Firstly i will thank legomodularfan to pick me in this superb list of "best" moc builders, i really appreciate.

 

On 10/02/2018 at 5:39 PM, Palixa And The Bricks said:

Thank you very much for the mention

You’re very welcome!

On 09/02/2018 at 11:10 AM, jalemac34 said:

But before that you need to know a lot of techniques, you can learn them on different websites.

I understand quite a lot the techniques used for a modular when I look carefully if it’s not too difficult, I also like exploring myself new techniques by trying... But I already found some tutorials and I’ll look for more if a great MOC’cer recommended it to me 

On 10/02/2018 at 5:39 PM, Palixa And The Bricks said:

I try to build only things that I would like or need as a minifigure if I had to live there.

That’s important, thanks for precising it!

On 10/02/2018 at 5:39 PM, Palixa And The Bricks said:

when seeing MOCs of other builders, like @cimddwc, @snaillad, @Kristel or @Redhead1982 for example.

Nice to see I chose the correct people to include on my list  

[thomassio]

Hey thanks for mentioning me.

I don't have much to add that hasn't been said before.

If you want to learn how to build a good moc I'd say just start building and then have patience.

I actually don't know that much of architectural styles. I just look for real buildings that I like and let them inspire me.
I never begin with the baseplate. I start with a detail of the building that inspires me the most. Often I design and calculate a lot in my head before I get to my lego.
While building I decide the size of the building and how much it will divert from the original inspiration. Deciding can take long and maybe it's not me but the moc that decides.
The closer I stay to the original, the more patience Is needed to find all the solutions: Teteven Hotel took me two years to complete.

About color:
I'm not a fan of using bright colors which is personal because I've seen some brilliant mocs here using bright colors. The reason I like to use dark colors is because I strive for a balance between detail and tranquility, so with a lot of texture I can't go wild with colors. For my next moc I'm trying to do the opposite which is harder than I thought: I'm not using difficult techniques but I'm constantly rearranging many colors.

I haven't talked about techniques because you just need to look a lot at a lot of mocs which you are already doing. With experience it becomes easier to invent new techniques.
If you have any specific question about techniques you can always ask.

That's about it. Most importantly: Just start, have patience, and have fun. 

 

Edited February 13, 2018 by thomassio

[kjm161]

On 2/12/2018 at 2:03 AM, LegoModularFan said:

Your MOC’s are awesome! I’m so happy to have discovered another great MOC’cer,

Thanks, very glad you like them and looking forward to seeing some of your MOCs.

[LegoModularFan]

Many thanks @thomassio! Glad to learn some about colors!

On 13/02/2018 at 1:02 AM, thomassio said:

Hey thanks for mentioning me.

You’re very welcome!

On 13/02/2018 at 1:02 AM, thomassio said:

then have patience.

I’ll have to achieve that 

On 13/02/2018 at 1:02 AM, thomassio said:

For my next moc I'm trying to do the opposite which is harder than I thought: I'm not using difficult techniques but I'm constantly rearranging many colors.

Look forward to seeing it!

On 13/02/2018 at 1:02 AM, thomassio said:

If you have any specific question about techniques you can always ask.

Thanks! That’s very kind of you  I’m very much interested in European, especially Art Nouveau architecture which you’re expert at... 

8 hours ago, kjm161 said:

looking forward to seeing some of your MOCs.

And me making some!

 

I always look forward to hearing from more great MOC’cers!

Edited February 16, 2018 by LegoModularFan

[Jasper Joppe Geers]

Let me add just my two cents:

To start a modular, the thing that is most important to me is to get the floor plan right.
That means the inner walls, the facade, and pavement, and perhaps most important and tricky: the way upstairs to the next floor.

For example i'll add some pics from the post office i did:
 

 

 

From there you can't go really wrong anymore, just let your imagination do the work.
Of course you'll find yourself taking down your creation a number of times but (for me anyway) that is part of the fun.
It also helps to draw a simple lay out on paper before if that works for you.

 

 

The moment you have your floorplan ready you're likely having fun building the walls and probably the interior of your basis.
Most of the time it appears to be a store, a shop of some kind, but of course in your imagination it can be anything! 
And while building it you automatically start thinking of how to get upstairs, and what to find there.

 

 

 And when you start the second floor, it is more or less the same process. and the more you're getting into it, the more stuff you're able to create.
Think of rain pipes, chimneys, etc. Just remember, the floorplan has to be correct.

And there you go!

 

 

 

Have fun!

 

 

 

[LegoModularFan]

Thanks @Jasper Joppe Geers, I was no longer expecting replies to this topic! How nicely you described everything from the bottom to the top! 

40 minutes ago, Jasper Joppe Geers said:

It also helps to draw a simple lay out on paper before if that works for you.

That’s exactly what I’m doing! Already started to sketch my first MOC! 

I hope you’ll continue to make great MOCs!

Of course that doesn’t mean I don’t need to learn anymore from great MOCers, just the opposite!

Edited February 23, 2018 by LegoModularFan

[Jasper Joppe Geers]

58 minutes ago, LegoModularFan said:

Thanks @Jasper Joppe Geers, I was no longer expecting replies to this topic! How nicely you described everything from the bottom to the top! 

 

You're welcome. 

[Nightfall]

Thank you for mentioning me.

I always use LDD for planning buildings, because I don't have much space and Lego parts in my apartment and I can use as much parts as I want. So I can order the parts I need at the end of the building progress.

For modding like the Heartlake Pizzeria I start with the pieces I want to keep and then taking apart the rest of it. You can see HERE (German forum) on the following pages how I get there.

 

Edited March 2, 2018 by Nightfall

[LegoModularFan]

Many thanks @Nightfall! I’m sorry for the late response, I don’t really know what to write  But please don’t think I’m no longer interested, I still keep adding new favorite MOCers as yourself! 

Everyone mentioned or not are always very welcome to write of course! 

 

Edited March 4, 2018 by LegoModularFan

[Bricked1980]

Just wondered if any experienced MOC builders could offer me some advice please.

I have been working on a Design for my first MOC which will be a 16 wide Modular building with roughly 1300 parts. I've been designing this using LDD and am almost at the point where I want to have a go at building it for real.

Can anyone suggest a good method of generating instructions from my LDX file? I know there is a feature built in to LDD for making instructions but is this the best method to use?

I'm not bothered about the instructions being really professional looking or anything like that, but I obviously want them to be clear enough that I'm gonna be able to easily build the thing.

I'm new to all this and it has been a bit of a learning curve getting used to LDD but I'm really enjoying the process of designing my first modular building.

Edited March 13, 2018 by Bricked1980