Hey everyone,
I recently acquired a large lot of loose Bionicle elements (limbs, torsos, heads, etc) and now want to dive into the wonderful world of Bio-MOCing. Do some of you veteran MOCists have any tips on how to start?
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Any piece could be used for anything. I recommend also using System pieces (by that I mean the actual Lego bricks, like studs and other pieces) as well as combining them with BIONICLE and Technic. If you can combine all three of those, your MOCs can look pretty cool.
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Your first MOCs are the ones that set your own particular style in place. When I restarted BIO-MOCing last year, I had both BIONICLE and CCBS elements together without a large history of wanting to separate them, so the two are now inseparable in my MOCs (and, if I had to build a MOC using only one of the two systems, it would have to be CCBS.)
The community at large prefers custom MOCs (models with body parts based on Technic rather than prefabricated parts), but if you’re just starting, I recommend you follow the style of the official sets more, while making the characters and designs your own. Once you’ve got a feel for the proportions and styling of a character, then make them better quality and more custom.
And I disagree with Chronicler about the use of system – some people can use it well, but in a lot of cases blocks of system in a BIONICLE MOC seriously detracts. Again, start from the basics, and once you understand those, you can experiment more.
And if you can, avoid making MOCs that are seriously skinny (to the point of anorexia), especially on females. And don’t give them huge breasts either. Again, proportions are everything.
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Man, you guys have like, whole big things to say on this. That’s really good. I have much less to say, though.
“Put pieces onto other pieces in ways you think makes stuff look cool. When you have thing you think looks cool, post pictures on web. Then continue revising based on criticism and comments of people who see your posted cool thing.”
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Well, there’s a few things I can tell you:
-Always have a colorscheme! I can not stress this enough. Even a well designed moc will not look very good if there isn’t some color correlation. It’s often a good idea to choose an element when you’re making a moc, that way you already have a colorscheme to stick to. The whole moc doesn’t even need to have the same colorscheme(If the character is red and black, but has a robotic arm, make the arm grey and silver. Stuff like that often gives the moc more character).
-Be creative with your building. There was a time that I only used techniques that lego used for their sets, it really just made my mocs boring. Of course, that’s not to say use of conventional methods is bad, just use in moderation. Go above and beyond the sets that lego puts out. I’m kind of adverse to the folks that say it all has to be “custom” or it sucks.
-Don’t be afraid of the new system. Despite what many people might tell you, the “HF” system complements the old bionicle parts quite well! The new system has alot of sleek, smooth parts, while old bionicle parts tend to be heavily detailed. Used together, they give the moc an interesting texture.
-Make your moc “pop”. This one took me a long time to get. Your moc should have something interesting about it. It can be a flashy ornamental color, an interesting use of pieces, or many other things, but the moc looks better if it has something special about it.
-Don’t just copy other people!!! Make your own mocs! Don’t just make another rehash of the done-to-death Rahkshi moc based off biorockdude’s self moc.(or anyone’s moc) I swear, a part of me dies when I see another remake of Detox.
Lastly, just kind of nitpicks, Nuva boobs, awkwardly placed bohrok eyes on crotch regions, Inika shoulders as butts, and anything similar is not cool on female mocs. I know it can be hard to express femininity with bionicle parts, but there are ways other than those listed above.
Alright! I think that’s about it. Enjoy the realm of Bionicle mocing!
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Not a MOCist here, but I’d advise organizing your parts (I’m still working on that)
On a somewhat-related note, 3rdeye88 and I were hanging out at Bricks By the Bay last weekend and we think it’d be good to start up a “Resources” subforum with tips/tricks/tutorials/etc. to help beginner MOCists start up.
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@Chronicler, I’ve seen some excellent Bionicle/System hybrids though I agree with @Hawkflight, System parts can very easily look out-of-place.
@Garnira, I plan to use CCBS. I even made a simple HF MOC a while ago using exclusively that system.
@Crunchy, I just finished sorting my constraction parts. It wasn’t that difficult, I’ve got my (much larger) System collection almost completely sorted already.
Thanks a lot for the suggestions guys, I really appreciate it. Also, does the don’t-have-exaggerated-female-proportions thing have anything to do with Eljay’s recent Roodaka review?
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No ho no! Many MOCers make their females looks a bit, well, too skinny and un-proportional. It’s actually a problem in the MOCing community.
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@legomaster1378 I don’t really even have a problem with Roodaka’s design. As Chronicler said, misuse of female proportions is just a common issue among mocers. People just seem to think that to make it properly female it must have a stick thin waist and massive breasts. Made of Nuva shoulders, may I add.
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@Garnira Although Nuva shoulder breasts aren’t necessarily bad in themselves, similar to how system pieces in BIO MOCs aren’t bad in themselves. It’s just that the MOCs they’re used on typically aren’t designed to use them correctly. Thanks for mentioning color scheme though, it’s a critical part of my own MOCing that I somehow forgot.
@Chronicler Quite so.
@legomaster1378 Also, something I forgot, try to use a black-and-silver color scheme as little as possible. I see a lot of black and silver MOCs (typically wearing an Avhokii or Ignika) and they’re usually super bland.
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If you need help, I can show a few female MOCs I have made recentlly:
Look at Carika’s neck, BTW. You see those Lego System pieces (the little claw ones)? I put those there in order to not only keep her neck from swaying left to right (basically keep it in place), but to also filled up a gap. I think this is a good technique for using Lego System to help improve MOCs.
And her waist is not so very thin. It has thickness, yet she still looks feminine enough to distinguish that she is a woman. And this is one of my thinner MOCs.
Sheydai is one of my buff ladies. She is meant to be a member of Axonn’s species, so I ended up making her rather muscular, yet you can tell she is a female.
I hoped that helped. I know I’m not the best MOCer in the world, but I thought my two examples would help show good examples.
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Oops… That was meant to go to @legomaster1378. Sorry, Garnira. 
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@Chronicler, I might have critiqued these MOCs before, but for the sake of example, I’ll do it again.
Carika is on the skinny side of female MOCs, but that’s to be blamed on the Roodaka set you based it off of, which had a really tall and skinny figure (mostly the fault of the prefab lower legs.) The torso though, is really thin and blocky – if there could be a bit more transition between the midsection and the shoulders, maybe by transitioning into a five-brick-wide section, if would work better. The breasts are large, but the whole figure is large, so it’s not really a problem. And the use of flexible pieces as hair is one of the better ones – other types of hair that can’t move freely are one of my hate spots.
The second build, which I don’t believe I’ve seen before is a bit bulkier in the abdomen and arms, but it’s not very good in the legs. And TBH, I’m not sure if I would mark it as female if you hadn’t told me.
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U all have the potential to becoming a decent moccer in my eyes and the only thing separating u and the best is experience.
What I did is that I observed others mocs and see what is good about it. They might even give u inspiration! but never copy, that’s a big NO. See what pieces are used and not used very often like the Technic lift arms (titan build). Dont build titans or mocs like sidorak and u can tell by how many good mocs are using that technique that looks intriguing and solid. The answer is none.
The other tip is to mess with pieces for HOURS. think outside the box. Try to show ur personality in the moc, create new building techniques, use appealing colour choices. Lastly, talk to some experience moccers and ask what is good and bad, but make sure the mocs are in the proto stage so u can improve and use their advice.
lastly, try to get a good/decent background and light. This I think is the MOST important. the lighting needs to be able to show the viewer the moc and make it pleasant to look at. with the background, all I used is new christmas wrapping paper (the white side) this i best for a lot of mocs but it doesn’t work with white so use poster boards.
I hope this helps and good luck!
~awesomenessborn
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The only piece of advice I can give right now is to not object when someone gives you perfectly good ideas. If you listen to people and are open-minded, you’ll become a better Bio-MOCer pretty quickly.
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Well hello there, i created account just to help you ( and i may actually wander around the site too but that doesn’t matter for now). Anyway, first thing you should know, original “torso pieces” are actually bad for making good looking mocs, what you should be interested in creating custom torsos. Now, don’t get me wrong, basic torsos are not bad thing, but to build more complex and better looking mocs you will have to learn how to do them. Now let me take you through a journey.
I cant post all links because its new account… same goes for images.
EDIT: Hey, this is Kahi; since you’re adding a resource, I went ahead and added all of the links and grabbed some relevant images off the moc page. Hope you don’t mind; I just hoped it would help the people using this topic out a bit more. Thanks for the tutorial!
This guy there is one of first mocs with custom torsos i ever made.
He may look impressive, originally he started as inikabuild (based on inika body, simple build without custom parts), but he will look funny compared to his newest version.
Theres 4 monts differenve between them and around 10 mocs.
All you need is experience, what you can put together, cheated connections etc. Its also important if you want moving and posable mocs or less posable but more impressive looking ones, i personally want all of my mocs to be posable, still looking for consensus between look and articulation.
Now, the femocs. Bane of mocers. First thing i would recommend you not doing is this:
Nuva breasts, also rahkshi heads. They just look ridiculous and over the top. Less ridiculous and more sophisticated shapes are better than big boobs and saying “That is female now, cuz it has boobs”.
My newer femocs look like this (what is funny, my selfmoc is female):
Same race, completely different feel. Toa are a different story, example:
More petite and better shaping, less unnecessary boobs, moc doesnt have to scream “IM OVERSEXUALIZED FEMALE FROM PLASITC”.
I hope these simple examples helped you, if I were you i would start with lego torsos and limbs, just adding technic pieces and armor. With time (and more attempts) you will get better. HF with building! 
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“never copy, that’s a big NO. See what pieces are used and not used very
often lift the technic lift arms. Dont build titans or mocs like sidorak
and u can tell by how many good mocs are using that technique. the
answer is none.”
}
Seriously.
I am insulted. I’ve actually built MOCs using titan build systems and they turned out well. And copying isn’t a bad thing, so long as credit is given – it’s a way to take what others have tested and proven true for part of a MOC, while other parts are your own original parts.
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Though I agree with your post, you shouldn’t copy at a constant rate nor should you copy too much of a MOC. It ruins the creative experience and makes you on an equal level with thieves. I know this is most likely common knowledge for most, but it is still worth addressing.
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This topic is now pinned. It will appear at the top of its category until it is unpinned by staff for everyone, or by individual users for themselves.
Pinning this topic, since it seems like a good idea to have one.
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Every moc I have seen using that technique all look bad, I’m sorry, but I care for quality and using that system is not pretty. It gets a job done for play-ability but for 2014, come on. Its like the inika build system. They are boring. proportions are usually wonky and weird looking, and (In my opinion) looks lazy. Its been done to death and seeing some mocs in 2014 with that style is painful to see. I am not saying it isn’t a solid start because it is (I’ve even used to begin), but if you use it at a constant rate… well I don’t see the creativity in that since they all look the same and you will never improve. I will not promote its use.
On the account of copying, it’s not good. No matter how you use it. You can be “inspired” and create something relative but still different enough to be your own thing, but copying is copying. Its not creative and is lazy and telling people to go use that just because it “works well” is terrible. People need personality in their mocs and copying gives the moc 0 personality if abused. There needs to be rules and limits and not setting those down and telling them to use what ever they want is not good
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