How You Can Make Your Own LEGO Characters!

The method in which I choose pieces for my custom minifigures is no secret, and I am here today to walk you through the process! To begin, BrickLInk.com is the best database for finding and sources LEGO minifigures and pieces. To start, you want to find an optimal photo of the character you want to recreate. For today's example, I will be recreating Walter White from the "Popcorners" advertisement.

Image from Deadline article "Bryan Cranston’s Walter White Cooks Up Super Bowl Ad For Snack Food" by Erik Pedersen. (January 4, 2023).

The Head

Recreating an actors likeness is by far the hardest part. Sometimes you get lucky with big-name actors receiving exclusive figures from popular franchises such as, Pedro Pascal with "The Mandalorian" or Matt Smith with "Doctor Who". Most of the time this is not the case, and you must pick a head by narrowing down the choices by different attributes. You must always start with the skin color. So far, LEGO had produced six unique skin tones:

Light Nougat represents Caucasian, Reddish Brown represents Black, Medium Brown represents a Mixed or Light-Skinned tone, and finally Medium Tan, Nougat, and Medium Nougat, represent the Latin, Asian, and other ethnicities. The latter three are very interchangeable. Dark Orange can also be used, but it is very rare.

Obviously for Walter I will be using the Light Nougat color. Next I want to analyze some prime features I can use as keywords with my search. His glasses, goatee, and eyebrow color stand out. For Walt, using the skin tone, glasses, and goatee will be enough to warrant a narrower selection.

As you can see, I have narrowed the overwhelming 1472 choices down to 4. I chose the first head belonging to both Ben Urich from "The Daily Bugle" and Florean Fortescue from "Diagon Alley". Some tips while searching is to always start with the head color and follow it up with a comma. This will separate your key words. When searching eyebrow or lip colors, use broad terms like gray and brown instead of light or dark bluish gray and reddish or dark brown. This will give you the most options while still getting rid of the junk. Sometimes quotation marks can be used to prioritize key words you must have on the head. As much praise as I give BrickLink, their search engine can be inaccurate and leave out important faces you are looking for.

The Hair

The hair is also important, but the selection process is simpler. All you have to search by is the color. The natural colors are Black, Dark Brown, Reddish Brown, Medium Nougat, Dark Orange, and Tan. Other specialty colors are Nougat, Orange, Bright Light Yellow, Dark Tan, Light and Dark Bluish Gray, and White. I preferably do not narrow the search down due to there being no more than 200 options of each. Walter White is bald, so I can skip the hair selection.

The Headgear

Headgear is straightforward as well. I use keywords such as hat, cap, and helmet. There are specialty options such as hats with hair and hats and helmets with print patterns. I selected the bowler hat (Right) for Walt. The top hat (Left) would be serviceable with Walter holding it, but due to the top being so tall, I would not have him wear it.

The Torso

After the head, the torso the second most important, and difficult, piece to select. I am a perfectionist, so I will scroll through the entire selection of multiple colors of torsos. You can utilize keywords such as shirt, jacket, and coat. Also styles such as plaid or suit help out. Accessories can also help as in suspenders, ties, and necklaces. The more you browse the BrickLink gallery, you remember and associate minifigures to outfits. I knew right away that I would use this torso for Walt.

The Arms

To add some flair to the minifigures you can include either dual molded or printed arms. Dual molded arms can transform torsos into t-shirts or shirts with rolled up sleeves, if a skin tone is the bottom half. In other scenarios, it can be used to give more color and separation from the torso. Arm printing is also key for adding additional detail to your characters. The special keyword is to place "arm pattern" after the color you are looking for. For dual molded arms, the bottom half of the mold will be the color you search. For sleeves, search the skin tone you desire and it will include all of the different colors that are available. Also searching the color with "short sleeve" can produce varying results. In a rare case, a dual molded arm can incorporate printing as well. I selected black arms with buttons to accentuate the jacket.

The Hips and Legs

The hips and legs are universally searched together. A lot of creators utilize plain legs, but I strive for as much detail as possible. I search for hips and legs separately. Dual molded legs are a similar process to arms. Searching the keyword "boots" will bring up dual molded selections, but they will still pop up with a standard color search. Toe prints have become more common in production, and they add shoe detailing. I choose black legs with a black belt from the character "Nate Lockem".

Miscellaneous Items

Some miscellaneous items are armor, capes, collars, and more. For all armor, search "shoulder armor" with the color you want associated. For capes, type in the desired color with "cloth". All cloth options will pop up, so it is imperative to look for the "Minifigure" in the item name. Scarfs, bowties, and other options are as simple as typing it in.

The Accessory

I utilize the accessory as a great form of comic relief. Whether its giving Nacho from Better Call Saul a pill container or Homelander from The Boys a baby bottle, applying the right accessory shows the dedication to the character and craft. Most accessories are named correctly, but I always do a google search to see if there is a printed tile or specialty piece I might have forgotten.

The Final Product

Here is what I came up with for the "Pop Corners" Heisenberg. I hope this blog inspired you to go out and create your favorite characters!