LEGO® Seaside Scene MOC
I grew up next to the ocean. As the weather where I now live is getting warmer, I find myself missing the beach a lot. What I remember the most are the dramatic cliffs dropping off as we would drive by the bay, seeing the boats go by.
This design isn't exactly what I grew up with visually (we don't have white cliffs in Bodega Bay), but I decided to use white to capture the feelings of "childlike wonder" I feel when I think about these memories.
Design
When I started working on this scene, I wanted it to fit on a single 8x8 stud plate, yet convey a sense of depth and distance in the water drifting off the beach.
Using three distinct shades of blue simulates a range of depth in the water, and I feel this does that nicely. Since I wanted the visual focus to be on the water, the rest of the design lacks much color deliberately.
Adding a minimalist car and boat to the scene brings in an element of life. I chose to make the car dark blue to contrast with the white cliffs while still fitting within the overall color theme. And I made the boat a desaturated gray to keep the visual focus on the water.
The cliff sides are offset from one another to provide a textural contrast. One section drops off the edge of the road, while the other slowly tapers off. This matches my memory of the area, as the cliffs give off contradictory feelings of both sturdiness and danger, depending on where and how you look at them.
Parts and construction (with video)
This design has 9 distinct colors, using 28 pieces total. You can watch me build it in this YouTube video:
Parts list
Below is a complete breakdown of everything I used.
| Part | Color | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 8x8 plate | Black (or gray or blue scale would work) | 1 |
| 1x4 plate | Dark Azure Blue | 2 |
| 1x4 plate | Medium Blue | 2 |
| 2x4 plate | Pastel Blue | 2 |
| 1x6 plate | Pastel Blue | 1 |
| 1x2 plate | Tan (aka "Brick Yellow") | 2 |
| 1x4 plate | Tan (aka "Brick Yellow") | 2 |
| 2x3 plate | Tan (aka "Brick Yellow") | 1 |
| 2x4 plate | Tan (aka "Brick Yellow") | 1 |
| 1x2 plate w/ offset stud | Medium Gray | 1 |
| 1x2 plate w/ offset stud | Earth Blue | 1 |
| 1x2 plate w/ offset stud | White | 1 |
| 1x1 tile | Light Stone Gray | 1 |
| 1x2 tile | White | 1 |
| 1x4 tile | White | 1 |
| 1x1 brick | White | 2 |
| 1x2 brick | White | 2 |
| 2x2 slope | White | 1 |
| 2x2x3 slope | White | 1 |
| 1x4x2 arch | White | 1 |
| 1x4x2 medium claw w/ bar | White | 1 |
Again, color was the main focus here, so I will admit I could have picked different sizes for the tan plates to fill the same space. This would make a couple of the lines between plates feel a little more congruent.
Hope you enjoyed this simple creation of mine! Stay tuned for more in the future.
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