Learn how two of
Brick Fanatics caught up with LEGO Minifigures Creative Lead Esa Petteri Nousiainen and LEGO graphic designer Tore Magelund Harmark-Alexandersen to find out more about how we ended up with
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about the Elf Bard and Aarakocra Ranger, and check back over the next week for unique insights into the full line-up of D&D minifigures.
Elf Bard
One of seven customisable hero characters in
“We have some elf ear wigs in the LEGO portfolio, but what we don’t really have is short hair,” Esa says. “They're mostly these longer, very straight hairs, and those are limiting when you want to build some armour or accessories. So we were like, ‘Okay, let's make something a bit more modern which fits D&D and short hair.’
“That’s actually one thing which we have tried to pay attention to in this line-up. The wigs are all short, or if it's depicting longer hair, then it's tied on a bun or a ponytail or something, so that it still enables accessories on the shoulders. That was one important factor for us.”
Like other customisable characters with regular heads in
“This character is usually one who's boosting morale with his or her song,” Tore explains. “An elf and a bard tie well together, since elves are known for art and music. It was a lot of fun to pay attention to the patterns on the lute, which has this elvish, delicate feel, and to the nice details on the vest.
“We also tried to make it so that not all characters are super buffed up with details, because variety is not just in colour, it's also in the amount of detail. And this will make another character stand out more if he's fully armed up, in contrast to this.”
The Elf Bard’s accessories were specifically selected for being appropriate to this character too – the lute for being a musical instrument with a large surface area to decorate, and the rapier as a dexterity-based weapon. But the real ingenuity with this minifigure lies in its direct cross-compatibility with another character in
“We did the legs so that you could swap them out with the Aarakocra Ranger, who has the leather armour, so you can make full leather armour, which I think is a really neat detail,” Tore says.
“We really paid attention to customisation and mixing and matching these,” Esa adds. “But this is on the next level – this was specifically designed so that it fits very well with the leather armour that the Aarakocra has. If somebody wants to make a humanoid ranger with leather armour, then they can get the legs from here.”
Aarakocra Ranger
It seems fitting to move on to the Aarakocra Ranger next, a minifigure that will feel familiar to anyone with fond memories of the LEGO Group’s own adventure with anthropomorphic animals back in 2013.
“I worked on [Legends of Chima] as well, so it resonates,” Tore smiles, confirming a nice thematic link between
“We wanted to stylise it similarly to the Dragonborn, so they feel like they come from the same world,” Esa explains. “And with the wings, we wanted to do something quite big and have this shape that’s slightly tilting towards the front. It’s a new type of wing shape that we haven’t really done before, just trying to get a little bit of that attitude or strength you see when an eagle is up in the sky.”
“I think one of the reasons why the head works so well is when you have an element sculpt like this, you can feel that there could potentially be a minifigure head inside,” Tore continues. “It adds to that LEGO DNA. Of course, an eagle head is far slimmer and more aerodynamic, but I think this design really captures the LEGO feel. And we gave him this determined look – I hope he doesn't look angry!”
The Aarakocra includes two accessories: a bow (an obvious fit for a ranger) and a creature companion. But that furry fellow isn’t necessarily who you think it is. “Many times, rangers also have some kind of animal companion,” Esa says. “I’ve seen many people saying that it’s a little dog, but we were thinking that it’s a wolf cub.”
But why include an Aarakocra at all? There are countless other Dungeons & Dragons species that could have made the cut, after all. According to Esa, choosing the species for the full series involved ensuring a wide spread of colours – and, crucially, something a little different to the characters already included in
“We wanted to have more of these animal-based heroes that bring different types of silhouettes and different archetypes,” Esa says. “That's why we wanted to have the Aarakocra and the Dragonborn, so that we get these animal heads included.” The Dragonborn also pops up in the LEGO Ideas set, though in a different colour, but the Aarakocra is brand new to
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