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Brendan,
I sense your next book. Truely amazing work. Hard to believe that after all this
time your work has maintained it’s consistant high quality. Good thing for all
of us that the Bible is such a long book.
Congradulations again.
Scott
In lugnet.announce.moc, Brendan Powell Smith wrote:
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Fine workmanship, Brendan. IS there a typo in the name of Jesus, in Crucifixion,
last line of John 19:41, Mark 15:47, or is it realy the mother of another person
in that verse?
With friendly greetings, M. Moolhuysen.
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In lugnet.build.ancient, Manfred Moolhuysen wrote:
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Fine workmanship, Brendan.
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Thanks.
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IS there a typo in the name of Jesus, in Crucifixion,
last line of John 19:41, Mark 15:47, or is it realy the
mother of another person in that verse?
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I triple checked that to be sure, but every translation I could find does indeed
haves “Mary the mother of Joses”. There are so many different Mary’s in the
Gospels that it gets quite confusing. Who is Joses? Impossible to say.
“Joses” is a Greek variation of “Joseph”. That doesn’t make the identification
of Joses’s mother Mary any clearer, though, I suppose.
There is also a “Joses” listed among Jesus’s brothers in Mark 6:3 (“Isn’t this
the carpenter? The son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?
And aren’t his sisters here with us?”), but if this is the Joses the author
has in mind, it seems like it would make far more sense to say that it was Mary
the mother of Jesus at the tomb, since that Joses is the brother of Jesus.
-Brendan
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In lugnet.build.ancient, Scott Costello wrote:
I would love to see this stuff get published in book form, but that will likely
depend on whether sales of two more recent Brick Testament sales pick up.
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Truely amazing work. Hard to believe that after all
this time your work has maintained it’s consistant high quality.
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Thanks! I do hope I’m getting better at this over time. I see a world of
difference between the construction and photography of the original versions of
those stories I did back in 2001 and these new ones. But perhaps eventually
I’ll just start phoning it in, who knows?
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Good thing for all of us that the Bible is such a long book.
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It is nice to know there’s a heck of a lot more source material for me to work
with so long as my motivation for the project stays high, which so far it has.
Best,
-Brendan
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Yahoo! More BT!
Last Supper - Hmm, it seems very similar to before, though the photography seems
crisper. Is the old version still there for comparison (for some reason, the
relevant folders on Brickshelf are all suppressed - I can’t imagine any
questionable photos (along the lines of Lot’s relations with his daughters) in
these, which I thought was the point of Kevin’s handling of the BT)? I do see
that it’s a lot more polished comparing the
old to the
new - the seams between bricks aren’t random, you’ve removed the goblets that
were blocking faces, the window frames match the wall, and you’ve added some
exterior outside the windows. You’ve also changed a couple of the disciple
torsos. When did those become standardized? I know I’ve had the problem with
two-year waits between my story updates that sometimes better torsos or heads
appear for characters I’ve already established. One thing I notice is that the
photoshoppery in
this pic isn’t quite precise in that the satan ghost overlaps Judas’ arm.
Arrest - Again, I don’t remember exactly what the original was like, but this
seems crisper. I like the first scene where they’re climbing into the hills a
lot and the kneeling Jesus is very good. I’m not a big fan of the goofy angel
face.
Trial - Ooh, there are some major changes here. I really like Annas and his
floor, and also Caiaphas’ floor and his menorrah, Pilate’s porch and Herod’s
floor. Why the grill bricks on Herod’s floor, btw? Setting these
round bricks into the wall works well. I’m not a fan of that Barabbas face.
Crucifixion - Outstanding as always. I particularly like how you added the
unfocused city in the background of the crucifixion scene. The cross carrying
is also a nice new addition. Are the eyes in
this scene modded or photoshopped? Btw, the minifig positioning in that scene
is particularly good and realistic. The zombie attack is a nice scene - very
Goldmanesque.
Judas’ fate - Where are the silver coins from? I see that there are a few on
Bricklink but neither Bricklink or Peeron list them as being in any sets. Judas
throwing the coins works well (nice floor there, btw), and slightly stretching
the head out in the hanging is a funny effect. Not that it matters, but my
impression was that the tradition was that he hung himself in a tree rather than
inside.
Empty tomb - I get your point, but the way you emphasized the differences
between the accounts is a little heavy-handed. The MOCs are all outstanding
(though it seems like there should be a better solution for the strips of
cloth). I particularly like the use of lighting for in the tomb, out of the
tomb, Jesus in the door, etc.
How the Jews tell it - LOL on the “to this day” scene. Who knew that Harry
Potter was Jewish?
Bruce
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In lugnet.build.ancient, Bruce Hietbrink wrote:
Hey, Bruce! Doesn’t really seem like a real BT update until you’ve weighed in
on the matter.
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Last Supper - Hmm, it seems very similar to before, though the photography
seems crisper. Is the old version still there for comparison (for some
reason, the relevant folders on Brickshelf are all suppressed - I can’t
imagine any questionable photos (along the lines of Lot’s relations with his
daughters) in these, which I thought was the point of Kevin’s handling of the
BT)?
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Yes, the new Last Supper story is a photo-for-photo remake of the original
without any rearrangement of the material or additional illustrated verses. The
only structural change is that Judas’s consipring with the chief priests used to
be part of The Last Supper, but is now part of Temple Tantrum. You’re also
correct that the main difference is better photography.
If you’d like to compare side-by-side, the old versions of all The Gospels
stories are still online where
they were before. For The Last Supper, start
here and
here.
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I do see that it’s a lot more polished comparing the
old to the
new - the seams between bricks aren’t random, you’ve removed the goblets
that were blocking faces,
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Yeah, the blocked faces were something I’ve been unhappy with for a while now.
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the window frames match the wall, and you’ve added
some exterior outside the windows.
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Good job catching the other diffrerences. Hopefully they’re all for the better.
I was sort of nervous about redoing one of the Brick Testament’s most iconic
images.
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You’ve also changed a couple of the disciple torsos. When did
those become standardized? I know I’ve had the
problem with two-year waits between my story updates that sometimes better
torsos or heads appear for characters I’ve already established.
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One of the disciples (Nathaneal) used to have a brown torso with silver dots on
it (the same one I used for
Moses). I decided to swap that out for the Episode II Anakin Skywalker torso
which wasn’t around when I first did The Gospels. James son of Alphaeus got a
complete makeover, going from having a gray beard and a pirate doorag to having
one of the Harry Potter character’s face (Uncle something?) and a very recent
Star Wars torso. And the bald disciple, Thaddeus also got a new Star Wars torso
(Lars Owen?) and matching pants.
Most of them kept the same look. When I started work on redoing the Gospels
stories I looked through the ones I knew I was keeping and checked to see what
changes I could make to the disciples’ looks without creating any big continuity
errors. I made a list of all the disciple and what each was wearing to maintain
consitency from story to story.
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One thing I notice is that the photoshoppery in
this pic isn’t quite precise in that the satan ghost overlaps Judas’ arm.
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Ah, is that how it comes across? That was actually intentional--I was trying to
give the sense that Satan was entering Judas, and right at the entry point their
bodies mesh a little. Maybe I should have just kept the
original (which was added to that story a couple years after the fact).
There’s overlap in that one too, but it’s all below the belt, so perhaps it’s
less noticeable.
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Arrest - Again, I don’t remember exactly what the original was like, but this
seems crisper.
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Compare
old and
new. The most obvious thing is that I think I’ve worked out a much better way
of doing nightime scenes.
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I like the first scene where they’re climbing into the hills
a lot
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Thanks, yeah, I was pretty terrible about including any sort of background
scenery when I first started The Brick Testament. I think the new version give
a much better feeling of Jesus and the disciples being up on the Mount of Olives
across from the city of Jerusalem.
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and the kneeling Jesus is very good.
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The kneeling is new.
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I’m not a big fan of the goofy angel face.
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Can’t win ‘em all. :) It just strikes me as kind of tragically absurd how when
God’s son (or God himself according to some theologies?) is grieved to the point
of death about his fate, God doesn’t step in to change his fate or even show up
to comfort him himself, but instead sends an angel to “strengthen him”. So I,
of course, can only speculate what that angel might have done or said. I guess
I pictured him as giving Jesus a spirited pep talk.
The blood/sweat has also been changed to more resemble blood.
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Trial - Ooh, there are some major changes here. I really like Annas and his
floor,
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Yes, many changes
(old
and
new). Annas’s floor is one I’ve had around for several months, waiting for a
good enough excuse to use it.
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and also Caiaphas’ floor and his menorrah,
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Caiaphas’s place was probably one of my better interiors at the time I made it,
but I wanted to try something a little different this time around. I like the
update menorah a lot better than the old one (even if it has only six candles).
The scriptural change here is that I used Jesus’s confession (threat?) to
Caipahas from Mark rather than his evasive answer in Luke. This makes the
accusations of blashpemy more understandable (as well as the mandated punishment
for it).
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Pilate’s porch and Herod’s floor.
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Yeah, I don’t remember if this was an oversight, but the first time they bring
Jesus to Pilate, they don’t go inside the Praetorium, as apprently that would
make them “unclean”, so the exterior shots are new.
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Why the grill bricks on Herod’s floor, btw?
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Good question. It looked a lot cooler when I was building it than it does in
the photos. That’s why I had Herod stand over those bricks in the first shot.
When I was building, those bricks sort of looked like a third shade of gray
between light and dark gray. But it just turned out weird in the end. Oops.
Maybe it’s a vent?
The interior Praetorium is pretty much an exact replica of the original, since I
think that’s one of the few constructions from The Brick Testament circa 2001
that stands the test of time. The only significant change is the side walls.
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I’m not a fan of that Barabbas face.
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Well, I used the old Barabbas face for the angel you didn’t like, so I had to
choose a new Barabbas. Again, Barabbas always struck me as a sort of tragic
comic character, so I like to imagine him looking kind of crazy and silly.
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Crucifixion - Outstanding as always. I particularly like how you added the
unfocused city in the background of the crucifixion scene.
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Thanks. Here’s the
old and
new, by the way. My single favorite crucifixion shot is still
this one
from The Law. I wanted the new Life of Jesus ones to have the same feel, so I
knew I wanted another miniature Jerusalem in the background (though of course I
no longer had the one I’d made before).
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The cross carrying is also a nice new addition.
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Yeah, that’s probably my favorite shot from this new version.
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Are the eyes in
this scene modded or photoshopped?
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Those are photoshopped. Having Jesus “dead” with the regular open eyes just
didn’t look right (though I usually don’t change the eyes when other characters
die in The Brick Testament).
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Btw, the minifig positioning in that scene is particularly good
and realistic.
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You’re the second person who’s made that comment. Thanks.
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The zombie attack is a nice scene - very Goldmanesque.
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Heh, thanks.
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Judas’ fate - Where are the silver coins from? I see that there are a few on
Bricklink but neither Bricklink or Peeron list them as being in any sets.
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Any time I’ve used “silver coins” in The Brick Testament, I’ve always just used
Photoshop to select all the coins and then drain them of all (or sometime 90%)
of their color. I did not realize there were actual LEGO silver coins. They
would come in handy.
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Judas throwing the coins works well (nice floor there, btw),
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The floor is the same one seen in the Temple in the Temple Tantrum story.
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and slightly stretching the head out in the hanging is a
funny effect.
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Hmm? The only photoshoppery I did here was slightly diminish Judas’s eybrows,
but I don’t think I stretched his head at all.
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Not that it matters, but my impression was that the tradition
was that he hung himself in a tree rather than inside.
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Any idea what the source of that tradition is? I assume it’s extra-biblical.
As far as I know, Matthew is the only one in the Bible to report Judas’s hanging
himself, and he says nothing of the location except that he “went away” before
he did it, so presumably it wasn’t at the Temple.
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Empty tomb - I get your point, but the way you emphasized the differences
between the accounts is a little heavy-handed.
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I suppose, but what do you do when you get four conflicting accounts of a story
and have to treat them all as if they are infallibly correct?
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The MOCs are all outstanding (though it seems like there should be
a better solution for the strips of cloth).
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I agree, but let me know if you think of one. I thought of using
this, but it’s not really
“strips”.
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I particularly like the use of lighting for in the tomb, out of the
tomb, Jesus in the door, etc.
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Ah, glad that came across well. I took some extra time while shooting it and
again in Photoshop trying to get that just right.
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How the Jews tell it - LOL on the “to this day” scene. Who knew that Harry
Potter was Jewish?
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Hermione? Actually I haven’t read any of the books or seen the more recent
movies--do they get it on?
My thanks as ever for the thoughtful comments!
-Brendan
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In lugnet.build.ancient, Brendan Powell Smith wrote:
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In lugnet.build.ancient, Scott Costello wrote:
I would love to see this stuff get published in book form, but that will
likely depend on whether sales of two more recent Brick Testament sales pick
up.
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Hi Brendan,
I recently ordered a set of your 3 books from Amazon. It’s nice to have a
permanent copy.
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