What does constraction mean to you?

[LimeFlavouredLibertarian24]

At the end of my documentary "The Constraction Movie" it's going to show quotes from fans about how constraction has impacted their lives and I wonder how constraction has impacted your lives?

[Banana Gunz]

In terms of the building system, constraction is unlike normal bricks and stands out from anything else LEGO does. When I pick up constraction I am forced to look at it in a totally different way. The shapes are unique and the pieces have their own personalities and styles. Constraction I feel is fantastic for making figures and bodies because of the less defined and often curved pieces.

 

But even when you look beyond the building system and instead to constraction as a whole, it is typically more story and character based, and rightfully so. A minifigure is fantastic because it allows one to give life to a built vehicle or setting and populate it with characters, but constraction is all about the characters themselves. Most sets we get are figures and sometimes their rides, but it is mostly about the individual. This has been consistent through every constraction theme, with the exceptions of some experimentation with minifigure scaled sets once every blue moon.

 

Ultimately, to me, constraction is all about exploring character. Sets of such a scale allow for greater detail and expression. You don't simply rely on their print or hair mold, but rather you sculpt and create their very bodies. Their armor styles, heads, body types, and the equipment they carry are all ways to greater express what that individual is. To accomplish with constraction is to truly accomplish an understanding of more than just how to put pieces together, but rather of how to take the same general humanoid figure (not always bipedal) and make it special and unique. You could have a hundred pots lined up, each with the same exact form, but how the artist chooses to manipulate and shift it and make each stand out is a challenge and an art.

 

Constraction is about the individual, and the individual figure is more direct and easy for us to project onto. It can be familiar, and reflect ourselves, which is why it's so appealing. And it is also because of such an individual nature and how connected we become to the concept that drives the themes of the style to be more story driven than most other system themes. Constraction gives us the hero and the villain, and everyone in between. Our creations give life to theme, just as the theme gives back.

 

The stories from Bionicle rooted in the nature of character and what we are have affected me greatly. When I was young I watched teams of heroes working together, yet tried to understand what they themselves were. Even when their destinies are clear, they're still discovering themselves along the way, and that has always been beautiful to me. Whether it was Matoro dying, or Makuta rising in the gigantic robot body of Mata-Nui, I was a part of this world and these characters, and it made me care. Constraction more than anything else gives that opportunity to discover what people can be, and watching fictional heroes make their choices helped me to understand why I make mine.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Banana Gunz

[Taria Pakari]

Someone misspelled construction and they just rolled with it. - Terton 2016