79 replies to this topic

[Hapori Tohu]

Renowned Bionicle artist Christian Faber has started a blog called '<a href="http://faberfiles.blogspot.com/">Faber Files</a>', where he is uploading his Bionicle concept art. Faber has already added a Bionicle logo concept and one of the first drawings of the island of Mata Nui. I highly recommend that you also check out his drawings of a possible Toa Canister design.

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[Takatu]

COOOOOL.

Further proof that we need a Bionicle art book lol. Some cool stuff on there so far, glad they changed the Mata Nui island shape, feel like the design on the blog would have given the secret away too early.

[Obsessionist]

Whoa. Those are neat. I love getting these inside looks at what could have been, but wasn't- in some cases fortunately.

[Parazan]

Great,now all we need is a BIONICLE how-to draw book.

[Kakaru]

This is the greatest thing I have ever seen in my life. Ever.
I'm saving all the files to my computer and then I'm going to print them all out and hang them all over the house and tattoo them on my face.

I won't actually, but that's how cool I think this is. I can't wait until they start producing posters of these, because I would totally buy them for serious. I want that beneath Mata Nui and early Bionicle village on my wall.

Edited by Kakaru, Apr 07 2012 - 08:09 PM.

[~Kodan~]

Whoa... This stuff is so awesome. It seems like this should be great inspiration for writers and Mocists alike. Can't wait to see more of his work.

~Kodan~

[Ta-metru_defender]

Oh dang that's cool.

Makes me feel like I'm 9 years old again.

TMD

[The Shouting God]

That sketch of Mata Nui below the surface...

I wanna check MNOLG to see if the three fingers are there.

[GSR]

Aaaaand bookmarked. I'm a sucker for concept art, and this stuff is very cool.

[The Iron Toa]

Ouch. "Doo Heads". Glad that didn't last long. This is interesting, the three-finger island sounds like a cool idea, it may have been too much of a hint though, even if it wasn't called that in the story. Some of the mask designs look good, too. And it's nice to see another one of the people that made Bionicle talking about it online.

[Phyoohrii]

It would have been cool if those three finger islands remained, because that would have been an awesome concept to explore. Like during the journey the Toa found out what their true purpose was, not just at the end from the mouth of Teridax.

A lot of interesting insight here. I really like those old logos. Be interested in following this.

[fishers64]

Glad they got beyond that...

But I liked the drawing of the giant robot/Mata Nui island picture. Neat. And the Gali temple design kinda looks like the future Coliseum or Kini-Nui.

[WORT WORT WORT]

Haha. I love the LEGO bricks coming out of the seed.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

These all look really cool. The Gali temper is my favorite of all of them. Just the dark atmosphere around it makes it look really great.

The three-finger islands looked like a cool concept too. I wonder how they would've been used in the storyline if they had been kept in-story.

Edited by The Smoke Monster, Apr 07 2012 - 10:55 PM.

[Electric Turahk]

This is the kind of thing we have been asking for for the longest time.

And I love it.

Thank you so much, Mr. Faber.

~|ET|~

[Dorek]

Definitely some fantastic stuff in here. Always good to get a look at the early days, which we've been getting a lot more of lately (I suppose it's inevitable after any kind of ending that we get glimpses into what was previously secret). The "three finger island" concept intrigues me the most; could have definitely made for a more interesting 2003, for instance, but it should hopefully generate good ideas around here.

[The Iron Toa]

I forgot to mention this earlier: I also found how the canisters were inspired by coconuts to be intriguing.

[CHTrilogy]

Smashing! I love how the Amphi Seed looks decidedly more alien than the actual canister!

[Gatanui]

Wow...this is beyond FANTASTIC. Too bad the three-fingers island concept was scrapped, it could have been great. TAHU poster ROCKS, though. I should print that and hang it on the wall or something. What strikes me is that it says 1999 in the lower right corner but it already features a finalized design of Tahu. Was the date added later? At least the Tahu logo was sort of reused for the satchel. Thank you so so much, Christian Faber! Please keep them coming, and show us concept art of later years, too!

-Gata

Edited by Gatanui, Apr 08 2012 - 06:15 AM.

[Peppermint Butler]

Really fascinating to read. That Doo Heads face seems to vaguely resemble those really really early Bionicle prototypes (the ones that didn't even have masks). Wish they'd kept the fingers island concept, especially if the characters had never visited them and they'd been left deliberately ambiguous. Thanks for posting these, Christian.

[Bionicle Guru]

I had to log in again to share my thoughts on these wonderful conceptual sketches and designs. It's really fascinating to consider what was once "Bone-heads of Voodoo Island" then became "Doo Island", followed by (?) "Bionic Recur Unit", and finally, "BIONICLE".

I liked the rather intricate Tohunga face designs. Though they clearly would not have worked from a set design perspective, they are true to the technological-tribal fusion that defined BIONICLE right from the start. The names are interesting as well...Zuul gave me a laugh. "Are you the Keymaster?"

I believe that "first map" of Mata Nui was included in the liner notes for the BIONICLE Music CD that came included in the Powerpack set. Makes me so glad I sprung for that set on a complete whim when I saw it in Wal-Mart over 10 years ago.

It was always the little details that made BIONICLE so awesome. Whether it was physically present, like in the designs of the masks and sets themselves, or in the storyline, leading us on this epic quest and great mystery, it made BIONICLE more than just an ordinary Lego kid's theme with good guys and bad guys. With a name like "Doo Island" and a location shaped just like a face, it strikes me that as a concept, BIONICLE could have just been Hero Factory in scope. While that would have been fine and dandy for Lego and fans alike, it was the refinement of the concept by people like Christian Faber that took BIOINCLE somewhere beyond the ordinary and into that rare spectrum of true greatness that will know no loss to the cycle of toy fads over the years, instead firmly entrenching itself in the memories and hearts of kids and (now) adults for a long time to come.

[Architect]

This is the greatest thing I have ever seen in my life. Ever.
I'm saving all the files to my computer and then I'm going to print them all out and hang them all over the house and tattoo them on my face.

I won't actually, but that's how cool I think this is. I can't wait until they start producing posters of these, because I would totally buy them for serious. I want that beneath Mata Nui and early Bionicle village on my wall.

I agree with you, Kakaru. This is the absolute best thing ever. DO WANT POSTERS.

[Toa Aakrah]

Wow, this really is something.

I agree that the three finger islands should have been kept, even if they were rarely made use of in the storyline.

When I watched that little video of the robot opening its eyes, I noticed something very peculiar about it.
It looked like it was wearing... the Mask of Time?
Interesting.

[the last chronicler]

This is truly great, it's fantastic to finally reconnect with the franchise, even without Greg, and see the Bionicle developement from the beginning.

[Hakann-The Bully]

TAHU poster ROCKS, though. I should print that and hang it on the wall or something.

My thoughts exactly. That Tahu poster is... okay, words can't describe its glory D:
Also, imagine if the Toa Mata canisters were the ones in the concept art, that would have been rather cool too O:!

Truly nostalgic, I'm looking forward to seeing more!

[TheSkeletonMan939]

It's things like these that make me wonder if there are animations that were never released.

[~~Zarkan~~]

So, they seriously considered calling Bionicle "Doo Heads?" .... words fail me.

Otherwise, this blog is chock full of awesome stuff. All the art relating to the Mata Nui is just so surreal. To think, for nearly eight years almost no fan had any clue what his true form really was - and yet from the perspective of Bionicle's creators, it was one of the defining concepts of the theme as far back as 1999.

[Cederak]

Wow, those were some incredible images, a lot of nostalgia tied up in that stuff. I wonder how much concept art is out there, just waiting to be uploaded to the web?

-Ced

[J46 Nui]

Doo Heads... Yeah. I'm surprised that title even made it that far.

But I am digging that B4 logo. Now that I know one half of the UDD symbol is a B, I cannot unsee it.

[fishers64]

There's been two updates since I first saw this - the most recent one is on Lego balljoints. Looks like we can periodically expect more from Mr. Faber, and I look forward to seeing where this goes.

[Takatu]

Wow, this really is something.

I agree that the three finger islands should have been kept, even if they were rarely made use of in the storyline.

When I watched that little video of the robot opening its eyes, I noticed something very peculiar about it.
It looked like it was wearing... the Mask of Time?
Interesting.

I think they said somewhere that the Mask of Time was the first mask Lego actually designed.

[Kakaru]

So, they seriously considered calling Bionicle "Doo Heads?" .... words fail me.

Otherwise, this blog is chock full of awesome stuff. All the art relating to the Mata Nui is just so surreal. To think, for nearly eight years almost no fan had any clue what his true form really was - and yet from the perspective of Bionicle's creators, it was one of the defining concepts of the theme as far back as 1999.

I believe it was first called "Woo Doo Heads," which makes a lot more sense. Shortening the title like that may have been the reason it tested poorly.

On that note: I would love it if Lego released a line closer to the original concept someday with the weird, quirky robots fused with organic island material by some strange "woo doo"magic. They could have done so much with those character concepts. :|

[Nuhrii the Metruan]

I love this blog and I will most certainly keep a close eye on this. Mr Faber was involved with BIONICLE from the very beginning until the end, so I hope we'll be seeing awesome concept art for every year.

[Gatanui]

Oh my god. CYBOTS looks beyond ugly and the prototypes are a pain to look at, although the concept art is well made as usual. Still, only the thought that LEGO might have made those makes me shudder. At least it led to the development of the glorious ball joint, so that´s something. Thanks for the concept art anyway, looking forward to more! Am I right to assume that the Galidor sets were influenced by these?

-Gata

Edited by Gatanui, Apr 09 2012 - 10:55 AM.

[Kojol]

There is no Jala.
There is only Zuul.

Really, a lot of the concept art is terrifying (they seriously were considering THAT?), but the three finger islands could have been cool.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Cybots is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen.

[Gatanui]

The birth of a Toa. Strange how Tahu wears a Miru but besides that it looks great. I would love to see that on a cinema screen someday. Well, you never know...

-Gata

Edited by Gatanui, Apr 10 2012 - 06:10 AM.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

I can't know that this blog was still being updated. I need to keep my eye on it.

Anyway, I'm loving all of these new concept art pictures! The Vitruvian robot and the Tahu posters are both really awesome.

Edited by The Smoke Monster, Apr 10 2012 - 09:35 AM.

[DragonSavior X10]

This makes me feel nostalgic to the 2001 days. Three finger island definitely should be kept. I will never ceased to be amazed how few people guessed that Mata-Nui lied beneath the surface of an island named Mata-Nui. The series really had good writing.

If you check Faber's profile, it looks like he has another blog with another project planned called "The Rig". Looking forward to see what becomes of it.

[Randy Disher]

Really cool art.