How it works

studmap turns an NFT or any image into a LEGO mosaic plan: each pixel becomes one stud in the closest of 41 current LEGO colours, the studs are packed into the largest plates that fit, and the plan lists every part with its price and the order to place them.

1. Read the art at its true size

Pixel art is usually stored scaled up. studmap finds the original grid, so a 48-pixel character becomes 48 studs, not a blurred resample. Plain backgrounds can be cropped away so the character fills the baseplate.

2. Match every pixel to a LEGO colour

Each colour is matched to the nearest of the 41 solid colours LEGO currently makes 1×1 plates in, measured the way the eye sees colour difference (CIELAB), not by raw RGB. You choose how many colours to allow.

3. The studmap Plate Packing

Every 16×16 section is covered with the largest same-colour plates LEGO makes in that colour, from 4×4 and 2×8 down to 1×1. Across the published plans, 90,863 studs take 20,309 plates, 78% fewer pieces than one 1×1 per stud, and bigger plates cost less per stud.

4. Price it

Each plan prices every plate size in every colour, plus the baseplate, and downloads as a BrickLink wanted list or a LEGO Pick a Brick list. Sizes from one 32 × 32 baseplate (25.6 cm) up are offered with their cost side by side.

5. Build it like a LEGO set

The instructions work like a LEGO booklet: one colour per step, a parts box showing which plates and how many, and the new plates highlighted on the section. Progress saves as you go.