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PORTFOLIO

Janwillem
LOONEN

ABOUT ME:
Welcome to my portfolio website! If you scroll down, you will find a variety of projects I've worked on.

I thrive when I work on projects that require me to pick up new skills and discovered that I learn best in these scenarios. I love figuring things out by myself, but this doesn't mean I prefer to work alone. Whenever I can I try to help others who encountered problems in their projects. Few things satisfy me more than helping somebody reach their potential, partly due to some guidance I was able to provide them.

To show my progress, I have arranged my LEGO creations chronologically.

I set out to recreate the popular Pok�émon Flygon at a minifigure scale using only existing LEGO bricks.

I had the choice of either slightly altering Flygon’s original colors or working with an extremely limited selection of parts. I thought I had managed fairly well until I discovered that part 65426 does not have a bright green mirrored version, something that almost never happens in LEGO. This left me without options for the wings.

The best solution I found was to use windscreen part 27262, which is available in both the correct bright green and in red. Ideally, a green sticker would be applied on the inside, as shown in the picture.

Ollie, the mascot of LEGOLAND Billund, has had several LEGO sets dedicated to him. However, this little dragon has yet to receive a modern interpretation. I set out to see how well I could capture his charm using today’s bricks.

This creation won the digital category of the 2025 Summer Joust contest. Builders were allowed to alter the materials of bricks, which I used to create glowing elements and transform LEGO tires from rubber to gold, adding more detail to the plague doctor masks.

The scene depicts a well that releases a gas, causing terrifying illusions of a warped reality, and a guild of plague doctors sent to investigate its source.

The newly reworked Furnace from Clash Royale.

Upon seeing the character, I knew I could perfectly recreate the face right away. The scale of the build was determined by both the face and the furnace on its stomach. Due to the small scale of the MOC, there weren’t many options for the hands. The best option was only available in red, which made the character represent the opponent in the game instead of the player.

This hourglass is the official trophy for the 2025 Summer Joust 12x12 Vignette category!

The design of the trophy symbolizes the two dominant styles in vignette building: minifigure scale and microscale. The hourglass itself was chosen not only as a nod to its medieval origins, but also to reflect a key aspect of the challenge: the limited time builders have to create their entries. It's a tribute to the creativity and speed of those who rise to the occasion!

The trophy even includes a play feature! In between the golden studs you will find a diamond that can fit into the cup that is being held by the knight.

This is Crabtain America, a crab I designed for "Time for crab!"

People in the LEGO community challenge each other every year to make crabs in new and interesting ways. Captain America is a pretty recognizable character, so I wanted to see if I could recreate his most iconic features in my crab. I'm really happy with some of the building techniques I used to create the red and white stripes and the 'A' on his back, while keeping the model so small.

The biggest challenge in making these ring-tailed lemurs was building both the babies and the adults at the same scale while maintaining their identifiable characteristics.

My goal in this project was to design a compact LEGO set based on various small-scale mechanisms activated by a single actuator, intended to serve as a gift with purchase. After keeping this goal in the back of my mind for a few days, I got the idea for this set during a walk through the forest, where we found many tracks and signs of animals but didn’t encounter a single one. I figured I could replicate this experience by showcasing the different ways an animal can appear and disappear based on the position of a minifigure.

I chose to use a wildlife photographer because, even though I prefer to enjoy the moment without taking a photo, I realized it clearly conveys the character’s goal within the scene. Although I wanted a small forest scene, I decided to include a pond with wilder vegetation to help illustrate that it is a wildlife scene rather than one in a backyard.

One of the bigger challenges was working on such a small scale, as LEGO Technic has many pieces meant to complement each other that are too large for a 10-stud-wide LEGO set. (Seriously, 7.8 cm is sooo tiny!) In the next design iteration, I would fine-tune the mechanism to improve both its fluidity and the strength of its connections.

I had the goal of designing a LEGO set based on Dragon Ball Z. Because this is a popular anime, I decided to look at what other popular merchandise looked like. By far, the most popular products are collectible figurines of well-known characters, around 20 cm high, designed to be easily placed on shelves. With this knowledge, I decided that Shenron would be the ideal character to reproduce at this scale. This is not only because of how iconic the character is, but also because he is the easiest to represent at this size.

The main element that this set is designed around is what I like to call the “big macaroni brick” (element 65473). It is the only element that can neatly convey the curved body of the dragon. However, my goal when designing a LEGO set is to use no new elements and as few prints as possible. Shenron has a very recognizable color scheme that is mostly present on his body, so I had to find a way to include it while keeping prints to a minimum. I designed the set to use only two different types of prints on the macaroni pieces. The red line is positioned in a way that allows it to continue seamlessly when the pieces are connected. One piece has the green color on the outside of the curve, and the other has it on the side. I discovered that I could create the illusion of a twisting body without actually creating a piece that twists the position of the red line or one that has green on the inside of the curve.

To fill up the empty space and justify the necessary support structure, I added clouds to the scene. Considering Shenron usually appears high in the sky and Goku uses a cloud as transportation, I figured that the inclusion would be justifiable.

“Barf the Banana Dwarf” is the winner of New Elementary’s “Mind that Banana” contest. The challenge was to create a LEGO set that creatively showcases the use of banana elements in new and interesting ways, using only existing LEGO bricks.

Currently, there are three different LEGO banana pieces. The regular banana piece was used to create the dwarf's horns, mustache, belt, and shield. The banana peel was used to create the hammer, and lastly, the cluster of bananas was used to create the beard.

To showcase the elements, I wanted to work at the smallest scale possible, because the fewer pieces that are being used, the more focus is drawn to the pieces that are. The most complex piece was the cluster of bananas, which is why it was the piece I decided to start with. After trying some configurations of the piece together with other pieces to support it, I stumbled upon the beard that could be made together with the regular bananas. The only problem was that the mustache made with the bananas was comically out of proportion compared to the beard, so I decided to increase the volume of the beard until the proportions looked right. From this point, I had limited options to create the face, which led to me finding a solution where the nose (element 28192) sits on a jumper plate, surrounded by the rest of the helmet. In combination with brackets on the side, this led to eyes that are half a stud wide, which is far more detail than you can normally get at this scale.

Designing a vignette challenges builders to work with a limited amount of space. For this challenge, I needed to build a 12-stud-wide vignette. Normally, vignettes revolve around a minifigure and a small scene based around them. They are known for their detailing and cozy feeling. However, the only restriction in this challenge was its size, so I wanted to see if I could create a vignette that portrayed something large and epic.

Since the challenge was limited only in surface area, not in height, I decided to create a scene that would make the most of the available vertical space. When working at microscale, the tallest elements are usually buildings or mountains. The problem with mountains is that the slopes cannot be too steep. I realized I could create the illusion of a larger mountain by displaying only its top and carving out the bottom to form a statue. From the top, you can imagine the size of the original mountain without having to depict the whole thing. However, I still wanted to add more visual interest, so I decided to build a city on top of the existing mountaintop.

To help sell the idea of the scene, I added scaffolding. This served two purposes: it suggested that the statue is still part of the mountain because it is unfinished, and it helped convey the scale of the scene. Since people need a point of reference to understand scale, the addition of a small village and ship at the bottom was crucial.

Portal 2 was my favorite game growing up, so I’ve always had the desire to build a LEGO set based on it. However, almost all characters and objects have already been designed by someone else, so I wanted to come up with something more unique. In the game, portals can be created that link two surfaces together over a distance. When I realized I could make a LEGO set based on this concept instead of a character or location, many more possibilities became available. My favorite idea was to create bookends that showcase the core mechanic of the game by transporting one of its most recognizable items, the companion cube. What really sold me on the idea is that it not only works as a functional bookend, but it can also be placed in different locations. People familiar with the game will naturally start looking for the other portal when they find the first.

The size of the build was limited by the dimensions of small books and the Technic construction needed to support the book and hold up the portal. This meant I had to get extra creative when designing the characters, which have very organic shapes. The most important element was the serpent staff (element 98134) because it accomplishes several goals at once. The open stud allows for a strong connection with the elbow by providing both a stud connection and a bar connection on the inside, at the most vulnerable part of the build. The characters are known for having many complex technical parts. The serpent staff also adds wires that help convey the idea that these characters are intricate machines.

In addition to the two playable characters, the main antagonist of the game (Wheatley) and the most common enemy (a sentry turret) are also represented. Another iconic part of the game is the panels that make up the walls and floors of most rooms. These are controlled by a mechanical arm, which I tried to recreate. The bird nest with Potato GLaDOS and the birthday cake are subtle references that only fans of the game will recognize.

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Most of my LEGO designs are created digitally, but I also enjoy the challenge of

working with physical sets. Using existing sets, I build new creations to demonstrate

my ability to work within these constraints and ensure my designs are durable and

practical. I also share these creations on Rebrickable.com, including building instructions.

Esport Events

For events on a larger scale, I offer sponsors the option of having a customized visual style that matches both the company's aesthetics and the game being played. In most cases, a minimalist approach is requested because the promoted product is supposed to stand out.

However, in some circumstances, sponsors want the event itself to be the main focus, which leads to more interesting design challenges. Click on an image to learn more!

Dungeons and Dragons is a game in which one player is a storyteller and others are characters in the story. The only limitation to the game is the imagination of its players. Rules solely exist to calculate the chance of failure from actions taken by players.

I found that the creativity of my players however was cultivated by placing them in a more detailed environment, instead of one that only exists in their minds.

Because my version of the game is so drastically different from the norm I decided to create an online version so everybody could experience it.

For the latest prototype click here

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In this section, I included my most interesting projects that have the main target of increasing brand awareness and brand image in the long term.

While the goal of graphic design in most esports events is generally to capture the attention of the viewer, the goal of the projects presented here was to make viewers identify with the product through the atmosphere they help create.

Branding

During the recruitment process for the position of Design Manager for the Legoland Discovery Centres, I was tasked with creating concepts for a new experience, that is suited for the whole family, but with a focus on girl guests.

The Lego Merlin Partnership Creative Team was "blown away" by the two concepts I managed to design within the 2 day time period.