LEGO Art Great Wave designers reversed the original process

The designers behind LEGO Art 31208 Hokusai – The Great Wave had to reverse the artwork’s original process for the new set. 

Now available on the official online store, a new feature has highlighted the design process for the latest LEGO Art model. Based on the first print in Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series, 31208 Hokusai – The Great Wave, the new set recreates the woodblock print by blending all of the techniques used in LEGO Art so far, from single-stud mosaics to slight 3D flourishes. 

“As a design challenge, we had to ask ourselves, ‘How could the shapes and textures of LEGO pieces be used to accentuate and capture that expression and emotion?’” says Fiorella Groves, creative lead on 31208 Hokusai – The Great Wave. 

“That made for a really interesting design experience for the team. The layering of the LEGO plates, in order to create the shapes.” 

Since the original artwork translated a 3D moment into a 2D print, the LEGO design team faced the challenge of translating the print back to 3D, but only slightly.

“We needed to imagine what Hokusai’s vision might have looked like and we have a funny situation where we’re creating something that’s three-dimensional from a two-dimensional piece, but the original artist had created something two-dimensional from a three-dimensional vision!” 

As noted in our review, 31208 Hokusai – The Great Wave feels like the closest thing to LEGO Art yet and you can pick up this model on the official online store for £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99. At the time of writing, the model is out of stock worldwide temporarily though it should return for purchase again in time. 

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