Help: Lego mosaic software recommendation

stevenzhang

Hi, 

Can anyone recommend a good software to create lego mosaic based on photos which can generate me a list of lego parts needed?

Many thanks

bandit778

This is probably one of the easiest to use as your in the market place for the Bricks/Plates as well.
https://studio.bricklink.com/v2/build/mosaick.page

LittleLori

Thank you @bandit778. I didn’t know that existed and it should make the perfect gift.

stevenzhang

@bandit778 many thanks!! :) Didn't realise bricklink has such function before lol

CCC

The bricklink one has a big downside that you cannot control the colour palette - it is either everything or B+W / greyscale. This means that it often throws up colour/part combinations that are rare (and thus expensive).

stevenzhang

@CCC do you know if there is any software which can choose palette?

akunthita

PictoBrick is really good. You can select color, size, whether you want to make your mosaic studs facing out or up, and make a bunch of other choices. It's a pretty advanced software though, so it may take a bit to get used to it. Here is the link to their website: http://pictobrick.de/en/pictobrick.shtml

CCC

Yeah, pictobrick gets some decent reviews.

When I was doing mosaics, I wrote my own code that pixelates an image by averaging a number of pixels, then chooses colours based on a colour map. It didn't work out the plate sizes though as I always assumed I would be using 1x1s or I would do it myself at the time of building. Averageing colours is not always ideal, sometimes it is better to take the majority colour - for example, if a pixel is roughly 55% red and 45% blue, then a red pixel may look better than the average of the RGB numbers which would be a purplish colour.

stevenzhang

Is bricklink build Mosaic tool still working? 

CCC

No, they closed it at the beginning of Feb.

nexander

There is brickaizer as well. We used 2 different colour schemes, plus the original image on our latest mosiac initially, then we went freehand to improve the design.

Switchfoot55

Can anyone speak to an average cost of a mosaic? Assuming non-rare colors and a 32x32 or 48x48 stud size. B&W vs color? 

I'm sure it's difficult to quantify, but any general info would be great. 

CCC

The important consideration is to you want to use 1x1 plates or will you use larger ones if possible?

If 1x1 plates, you can be looking at about 6p-8p (probably same numbers in US cents) per stud so of the order of $80 for a 32x32. Whereas 2x2 plates are typically cheaper and twice the area, similarly 2x2 cheap and double the area again, and so on.

It is worth calculating the price per stud for different plate sizes for any large blocks of colour and buying the optimum ones based off that.

Switchfoot55

^Thanks. I was looking through some mosaic galleries and noticed some are only 1x1 plates and others are more of a mix. That would obviously change the price per piece considerably. 

This would likely be a good project to search bulk tables at locally owned second-hand Lego shops. I can fill a bag for $5 with 1x plates and probably save a decent amount. 

Now just to determine what subject matter I want to venture into for my first mosaic. 

Seems par for the course with me, going 0 to 100 in a matter of minutes with a new project. Maybe I should finish my other projects first?

Muftak1

^^ Wouldn't a 2x2 plate be 4 times the area as a 1x1 plate?

CCC

Typo - the first should be 2x1, the second 2x2.

Whereas 2x1 plates are typically cheaper and twice the area, similarly 2x2 cheap and double the area again, and so on.

paul_merton

I wrote some software a few years ago that turned PNG images into LEGO mosaics that were optimised for cost by using larger pieces where possible. The typical cost (based on pick-a-brick prices) was reduced by 75% for a 48x48 mosaic like this custom commission:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VdhaslYXuo

It's also a lot more fun to make something like that, rather than messing about with 2,304 individual 1x1 plates!

stevenzhang

Is there any recommendation on the most easy to use Lego Mosaic Tool available at the moment converting a picture into lego mosaic? 

Myrdhin

paul_merton said:

I wrote some software a few years ago that turned PNG images into LEGO mosaics that were optimised for cost by using larger pieces where possible.

Hello @paul_merton ,

Is it possible to download your software? Is an Open Source (github, etc) version available?

Thanks :D