Brickosaurus
Ben's Bricks Original Lego creations built in Calgary, Canada

Tools

Want to build a circle out of LEGO? How about a sphere? I have created tools that generate instructions for these standard shapes. Just enter the diameter in LEGO studs (between 4 and 32) and hit Generate to see the result.

Even if you don't need a perfect circle or perfect sphere you might still find the instructions generated by these tools useful. For example, my Jack O'Lanterns were based off the pattern for a sphere, even though some of them are far from spherical. The balls that make up the snowman were also based on instructions from the sphere generator before they were flattened to make them look more realistic.

Brick Paper

Sometimes it is really helpful to sketch an idea before you get out the bricks and start building. Using graph paper can make it easier to turn your sketch into a Lego creation. However, regular graph paper normally consists of small squares, while Lego bricks are rectangular when upright.

I have created brick paper that is covered with rectangles that are the same size as 1x1 Lego bricks. Each rectangle is further divided into three segments vertically for stacked plates, and into two segments horizontally for detail work where bricks are offset from each other by half a stud.

Note: When printing your brick paper Adobe Acrobat may give you Size options such as "Fit" and "Actual Size". It is important to select "Actual Size" so that the rectangles on the printed page will be the same size as Lego bricks.

Circle Generator

This tool will generate a studs up circle with the diameter specified. By default, the number of layers in the circle will be computed to achieve the closest approximation. However, you can override the default if your project specifically requires an even or odd number of layers.

1: Enter the diameter of the circle (in studs):
2: The number of layers in the circle should be:
3: Press this button:
Circle Instructions

Sphere Generator

The sphere generator shows you the layers that you need to build to form a good approximation of a sphere. The previous layer is shown in blue to help you line up the next layer as you build it.

1: Enter the diameter of the sphere (in studs):
2: The number of layers in the sphere should be:
3: Press this button:

Sphere Instructions

Cone Generator

A cone is defined by its height (in bricks) and the radius at its wide end (in studs). Enter these values to generate instructions for a good approximation of the cone.

1: Enter the height of the cone (in bricks):
2: Enter the diameter of the cone (in studs):
3: Press this button:

Cone Instructions