Complexity for the Sake of Complexity? Is a Good MOC a Complex One?

LEGO
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#1

Alright, in my time here on the boards, and in my little time I’ve posted MOCs, I’ve noticed something. I will not name any specific groups or individuals, but I notice a decent amount of people who can be hard on MOCs that don’t use many custom limbs. I know that originality is important for MOC designs, but does a MOC without custom limbs end up being a simple and unoriginal MOC just because of that factor?

My personal viewpoint is no. To me, what the MOC is reflecting is what truly makes the overall MOC original. Custom limbs can also sacrifice structural integrity, and in some cases, appearance.

I’d like to know what you all think. Are custom limbs essential? Or are they just cool additions?

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#2

I agree with basically everything you’ve said.
Custom limbs, for me, can definitely hinder the appearance especially when you don’t have the right technic pieces.

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#3

Custom really is only necessary to do things that prefab can’t. Sure, custom very wells displays a MoCcist’s skill and creativity, but sometimes end up looking like nothing but fluff.

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#4

It takes a lot of skill to make a good custom limb. If a beginner makes a custom limb just for the sake of complexity, you can tell. Sometimes sweet and simple is better if you know you can’t pull it off

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#5

Concept is always important but if a concept goes out side of basic CCBS or prefab pieces it’s usually a better concept because it pushes your and the building materials abilities

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#6

Custom limbs are appreciated. They may not always look that good, but I find it better than just slapping on some pre-fab or just standard issue parts. If you intend to put in that little amount of effort there’s practically no use for basic mocs IMO.

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#7

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

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#8

Custom limbs are a double-edged sword. They can vastly improve the look and shape of a moc or they can do the opposite.

If you’re building custom limbs, then you have to know how to shape and texture them manually (which takes time to learn) but if you go the prefab route those steps are already done. But sometimes a prefab will have a texture on it that you can’t achieve otherwise and it is wise to use them instead.

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#9

A MOC with little to no customized parts can’t really be called “bad” solely for that reason, but generally, the certainly aren’t good either. In fact, I have only seen one MOC with an Inika torso that looks good. (actually, I now remember seeing another one on the boards somewhere, but the piece was well hidden)

(If I was any less tired than I am not, I’d probably put a two paragraph statement on my stance on the topic. However, I’ll sum it up in a few sentences.)

The point of customized bodies and limbs is to give options that didn’t exist previously. Whether it be larger bodies, more armored legs, better shaping or freaking ugly nuvaboobs. So yes, custom stuff is fairly important.

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#10

I don’t tend to make all that complex of MOCs, because I never was a huge fan of gear functions, don’t have too many technic parts, am bad at MOCing tend to try and focus more on the ideas of the story behind something, building it easily, making its colors look good, etc.
I also find making original, complex things to be a bit difficult, and I’m still learning. I am trying new things, but I enjoy the little things.
Also, I like CCBS a lot, so I have a simple way to make a MOC I enjoy sing in my stories/ playing with.

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#11

I think that if you can do it, you should. While being a nice display of skill, custom limbs differentiate a moc and can achieve things the molded parts cannot ( precise length, bulk and width). Of course, I don’t think that every single limb or body needs to be completely custom, but at least some should. And if a good moc isn’t necessarily complex, IMO, a complex moc has a higher chance of being a good one.

1 Like
#12

If customization is to hinder the function, then it should be semi-custom, where the actual pose-ability is unhindered, but the limb is custom enough to have a distict appearance, look no further than Lewa 2k16 or Kopaka 2k16.
If we are talking about MOCs, however, that is a completely different side of the coin. From my MOCs, there are 4 instances that function (poseability) does not clash with the aesthetic (customisation). That is Dreadraxx, Ven, Makuta Jorax and Andrakis. The others are either too small for customisation or I don’t have the pieces or simply put, they are complex enough to not need it.

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#13

I personally only opt for something “custom” if it’s entirely necessary. Things like the upper half of my Kulta’s legs, the digitigrade legs on my modded Umarak, or the head of my self-MOC’s companion, Vulpi, are custom-built as their shape or form couldn’t really be realised with generic CCBS building. Things like, say, Cetro’s limbs or the vast majority of Velken’s build however, don’t need to be custom built, so they aren’t. Forcing complexity for the sake of it can -and often does - make things look cluttered and boxy. Yes, it shows great technical prowess, but not much aesthetic awareness.

TL;DR: Build complex only when it’s necessary either aesthetically or functionally, to save yourself the hassle of building something that looks like a Bayformer.

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#14

This is one of the best summaries I’ve ever read. Period.

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#15

I’ve always tried for entirely custom builds on my mocs, but they just don’t work sometimes.
If the complexity is making the moc look bad, don’t do it.

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#16

I just build whatever I think my character would look like.

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#17

I agree with pretty much all of you. I just find it weird when MOCS are dismissed as poor or simply bad when they don’t use entirely complicated designs.

The definition of simple is not bad, is what I’m basically trying to say.

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#18

Dude, right after I said that about your self MOC, you went right over to make a topic about it. It makes me feel like I’m the bad guy here. You’re making me feel like I did something really bad, and that you want the entire site to be on your side. Not too happy, and I hope y’all understand.

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#19

No, you’re fine. I’m referring to some other people who were a bit less polite about it.

Also, I was legitimately curious about the topic in general. I just actually asked the question now, but this is something I’ve been thinking about for weeks.

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#20

Oh, ok. I understand, but that was almost right after I responded to one of your MOC’s. And to stay on point, simple is not always bad, it just depends on how well you use it. Sorry bout that. XD

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