For the 2014 line, we made a big push to lean as hard into comic-book style graphics as we could in the packaging and marketing. As with any new concepts at LEGO, almost all of our ideas were shot down in favor of continuing to do things the way they'd always been done, but we managed to win a few battles we weren't expecting to.
Spider-Man Comic Style Proof of Concept
2013
76036 Carnage's SHIELD Sky Attack
Hero portrait and top bar background graphic elements, 2015
Our first win was in the character portraits. LEGO Super Heroes had been using a "comics-lite" style with the kind of relaxed poses, lighting, and linework appropriate for LEGO Club Magazine and childrens' books. I convinced the graphics team to let me pitch a more dynamic and dramatic style - less generically cartoony, and more specifically comic-book.
Since I only had one shot, I put together this Spider-Man with the most exaggerated pose and lighting I thought I could get away with, hoping for an incremental improvement as LEGO reeled it back in to something closer to the safe style they were comfortable with.
Instead, they stuck him unaltered on the cover of the 2015 boxes, and I found myself mocking up pages of comics panels and new vector halftones and
Kirby Dots to sell the new comic-book style.
Scuba Captain America
2016
The rest of our 2015 heroes followed the style of the Spider-Man prototype, but by 2016 we were getting more solid footing.
Part of the reason LEGO had finally been open to the comic-book style, I suspect, was because we'd just had a big success working with
Paul Lee on an exclusive LEGO Batman comic book for San Diego Comic Con 2014, which had a heavier comic-book style than we'd been allowed to get away with on the set boxes. That comic turned out to be a big help in locking down our 2016 style, particularly in the use of solid blacks and hard-edged shading like you see especially in Batman and Superman above.
Wonder Woman
"Wonder Woman" movie version, 2017
Ant-Man
"Ant-Man and the Wasp" movie version, 2018
Black Panther
"Black Panther" movie version, 2018
Doctor Strange
"Doctor Strange" movie version, 2016
Rocket and Baby Groot
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" movie version, 2017
Thor
"Thor: Ragnarok" movie version, 2017
Hulk
"Thor: Ragnarok" movie version, 2017
Spider-Man
"Spider-Man: Homecoming" movie version, 2018
Thanos
"Avengers: Infinity War" movie version, 2018
Aquaman
"Aquaman" movie version, 2018
Once everyone was comfortable with the new comic-book style, I almost immediately started making variations on it. (The most extreme of these were in the
LEGO Super Heroes 75th anniversary promo posters, which weren't limited to the tight stylistic restraints of packaging art). As the superhero movie licenses rolled in, I did my best to match the poses and lighting of the official movie promo art (when available) while keeping in the established style.
It wasn't always possible; a minifigure's proportions are different from those of a human adult (although very similar to a human baby). They can't reach over their own heads, and any suggestion of knees requires all kinds of visual chicanery.
Classic Captain America
Facing left, 2017
Classic Captain America
Facing right, 2017
We got another chance to play with the art style in parts of 2016 and 2017 when we took a break from movie-specific licenses to put out "classic" sets based on the Silver Age of comics, including
a Batcave based on the classic 1960s Batman series. LEGO ended up going back in and
adding shading to the flat-color TV Batman and Robin shown here, which kind of
killed the joke a little bit, but you can't win them all.
Occasionally I had to have two versions of a character when the packaging needed them looking left but the group shot needed them looking right, as seen with Captain America here. Of course the character decals and lighting setup can't flip just because the pose is mirrored, so we get two subtly different takes on the lighting and composition.
Flash
"Justice League" movie version, 2017
Cyborg
"Justice League" movie version, 2017
Aquaman
"Justice League" movie version, 2017
Batman
"Justice League" movie version, 2017
Wonder Woman
"Justice League" movie version, 2017
Superman
"Justice League" movie version, 2017
DC Super Heroes
"Build Something Super" group shot
"Justice League" movie version, 2017
There were a lot of group shots which were a little extra trick to set up, like this group for the "Justice League" movie license sets. Each of the characters had to work individually for their solo highlight sets, but they also all had to fit into a single palette, lighting, and perspective setup for the group shot. Further, the front row characters have to be higher contrast to separate properly from the back row.
It's been enough years now that I can't remember if I was the one who came up with that "Build Something Super" campaign tagline, but there's a pretty good chance that one was my fault.
Justice League group shot
2018
A contrasting example of the group shot in 2018 with the same characters (swapping out Aquaman since he had his own movie license that year), this time targeting a younger age group and themed around the animated cartoons rather than the movies. The colors and decals are lighter and simpler, the lighting and facial expressions less harsh (apart from Batman's inexplicable unshaven scowl), and the posing has them all crossing the screen together rather than confronting the kids directly. Otherwise, the same requirements apply: each character has to stand on their own as well as in the full group shot.