HOW I DESIGNED BARRAKI PRIDAK | LEGO BIONICLE DESIGNER Part 1

[@jordanmyers9913]

I would totally buy your art of Pridak as a print or something; exceptional work.

[@brianellisart]

Thanks! I’m planning to make some of these original whiteboard prints available. I like being able to share the creation of these with everyone as well as their destruction after they are finished. I’ve done so much polished digital art over the years that it’s extremely boring to me, I really enjoy these fast, unplanned, spontaneous paintings. Just hit record and see where the image goes. And hopefully if people such as yourself want prints, then there is some kind of satisfaction in seeing their physical creation and destruction. And then the prints live on like ghosts. Thanks for watching!

[@DokuroHeartvore]

It is really good.

[@BackyardRonin]

@@brianellisart Honestly if you released an art book of bionicle white board art i'd buy that too

[@STICKOMEDIA]

@@brianellisart awesome

[@boogie1434]

There's something deeply funny about rubber squids beating out zamor launchers as the most dangerous bionicle toy.

[@normanclatcher]

Zamors themselves had nothing at all on the Midak Skyblaster.

[@QuartzRoolz]

@@normanclatcher Midak Skyblaster came out *after* the squid nerf, which... raises so many questions for me, because those things are huge and shoot *hard*

[@tbc1880]

​@@QuartzRoolz yeah I'm like the squidlauncher was too strong? The midak stung me s couple times but was and is still fun as heck.

[@QuartzRoolz]

@@tbc1880 midak is good but it's issue is it's too big, it works way better as a vehicle weapon than as a character one

[@tbc1880]

@@QuartzRoolz true i rememeber the standing and posing issues, especially when duel wielding

[@Chefbigpp]

that torso balljoint was the whole reason I wanted Pridak. No regrets, best Barraki

[@brianellisart]

Ha! Appreciate it! Tried to keep as much of OG intent, glad some liked what I was going for with the ball joint midsection.

[@Jarjarbinksreallife]

Pridak was a childhood favorite of mine, wow! I really want to see this prototype squid shooter.

[@brianellisart]

Yeah, prototype shooter was incredible, maybe one day it’ll be shown. Thanks for checking out the video, really appreciate it!

[@reginaldgickington4793]

I've seen pictures of it, though no photos of it in use. It was a funny sort of double-ring thing, where you could put two fingers into it and wear it like a set of two rings.

[@priestking8636]

​@@brianellisarti very like color choice for him! Very predatory looking Pridak always was taking eye

[@thevenomspino]

We hope someone has made like fanmade versions of those prototypes so we can give the Barraki the weapons they deserve.

[@KnoxCarbon]

I swallowed one of those rubber squids whole. I was not a smart kid.

[@AzazelLeviathan]

the barraki were such an intrinsic part of my childhood, getting this kind of view behind the curtain makes me appreciate their unique and unorthodox designs even more, thank you for making this video!

[@brianellisart]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to drop a comment!

[@Nailfut]

Now this is the type of content I'm all for. It's basically a dream come true being able to hear the creative process behind designing an actual Bionicle set. I'd spend hours listening to the stories of the Bionicle team from a set point of view!

[@charlottesimss9853]

Right?? System sets behind the scenes is fun but Bionicle is just such a whole new level of unique toymaking

[@frankusyoung4198]

Amazing, 2007 might be the best Bionicle year in terms of design, the canister concept art is so cool 😵

[@brianellisart]

Thanks so much! Glad I’m able to share a bit of this background with people

[@FlushedNoob]

@@brianellisart did lego tell designers to make totally unique designs for each character? For previous years characters had a general shape with slight differences.

[@brianellisart]

@@FlushedNoob I don’t recall them specifically stating it but that was the general impression I had on the team. It might have just been the opportunity that the Barraki line allowed us to become more individualized with our designs.

[@Yan_Alkovic]

I am so glad that members of the team cherish their time working on Bionicle and recognise it for the cultural phenomenon that it was! Thank you for letting us in on a bit of the development process!

[@GiantShoutmonTM]

This design made me go "HOLY SHIT THIS IS INSANE" when I was a kid. Your work on Pridak is superb! Barraki was probably one of the most Unique lines in all of Bionicle. Also even if that waist balljoint would become woobly after a while, I was blown away to have Waist articulation on a Bionicle Figure back them, It gave me so many ideas for MOCs at that time. Thank you so much for your hard work on this amazing Franchise that is Bionicle!

[@brianellisart]

Thanks for sharing! Really cool to hear how much the ball joint was appreciated for what it was.

[@nicholaslewis862]

What a privilege to learn more about the design process. Thanks for this, and for designing one of the coolest characters of the year. I liked that you didn't default to a burly great white as your inspiration, but rather a lithe shark combined with a piranha. His weapons are great, too. The bacteriophage packaging, in addition to being disgusting in the best way, reminds me of Christian Faber's story of cancer, and how he imagined the Toa fending off the disease inside his body. Was that an inspiration? Thanks once again for sharing.

[@brianellisart]

Wow, no never heard that story. Guess we were of the same mindset. Honestly, only met Faber a few times because he was part of Advance, an external agency.

[@yargolocus4853]

@@brianellisart yeah apparently that's the concept behind "soldiers delivered from inside pills" complete with the very first packaging.

[@brianellisart]

@@yargolocus4853 that’s great, I remember being brought in to the team and being shown some artwork by the team manager Christoffer that revealed Mata Nui’s body under the island and being pretty blown away. They kept a lot of story elements pretty hidden until it was time to know certain things.

[@zixise]

YOU CREATED PRIDAK?! He was my favorite villain bionicle EVER! That's so neat omg

[@brianellisart]

Thanks for sharing! Awesome to hear how much love there is for Pridak, I just thought the community really hated him all these years haha

[@BohrokKiller]

The Barraki are my favorite line in Bionicle so watching this was super fun. Still get goosebumps every time I watch the original 2007 animated video with them.

[@brianellisart]

We loved that original animated teaser video when it came out. Seeing our characters moving through the deep was super cool.

[@SagaFraga]

@@brianellisart Creeps from the deep still gets stuck in my head to this day!

[@wesleyh1493]

I remember how Pridak's blue eyes and bright red face jumped out at me from the Toys R' Us display. My brother wound up surprising me with him for my birthday. By far one of my favorite toys as a kid and frankly an awesome character too! Cannot believe I stumbled upon this gem of a video. Thank you so much for sharing and making so many childhood memories for so many of us. Your artwork is beautiful.

[@brianellisart]

Thanks so much for your feedback! Glad you found the video and so cool of your brother to get that for you. I too have fond memories of the toys my older brother and sister bought for me… MASK and GIJoe figs, the latter being my standard for toy articulation and that’s what I wanted to infuse as much as possible into this line. Thanks for sharing!

[@MrWhatdafuBOOM]

I was never that huge on Bionicle, but as a sucker for diverse creatures and monsters, Barraki instantly became my favorite generation. While my personal favorite was Takadox, and I still think he's the most terrifying, Pridak's bright white combined with gory-looking red accents really made him look the leader of the freaks from the deep. Excellent job on this one, coming from a true Barraki lover. 🏅

[@purpleYamask]

As a lifelong Bionicle nerd, I see the part-cutting and re-use as like, using raw genetic material. The Barraki have such unique designs that they've remained a fav, and the poster of Kalmah from Lego Magazine remains on my wall to this day.

[@brianellisart]

Nice! If you ever get the chance, it’s a lot of fun to grab a bag of spare Bionicle parts off Amazon or eBay and to snip parts with wire cutters and then hot glue them to make your own custom designs.

[@KARKATELCESARENVIADODESA-pv4yd]

@@brianellisart Spoken like a true Great Being.

[@Jackseyez]

22 years years later I’m still obsessed with bionicle

[@StarboyXL9]

Same

[@MakeItPerfectlyWrong]

Oh man it’s not “Pry-dak”? Been saying it wrong my whole life! I wanna see all of these and more! Amazing!

[@LiveforHM]

It is pronounced "pry-dak". Written in the 2007 encyclopedia.

[@MakeItPerfectlyWrong]

@@LiveforHM Yeah i checked it after this and you're right

[@jorymo4964]

I've been saying "pree-dak" lol

[@voidaspects9173]

I have the entire set of 2007 cannister sets beside me as we speak, and i am adoring every second of this video. I dont know if i can articulate just how much i appreciate this insight and info on this

[@brianellisart]

Very cool, glad to hear how much people are enjoying these stories and design experiences.

[@untapped8776]

Your desire to really push the envelope with the designs and even the packaging seriously shines through! I don't how much of the current fan discourse comes your way, but despite any past controversies, the Barraki are viewed by Bionicle fans among the greatest and most unique of the original line. They stand out and are so beloved precisely because of your hard work and effort! Thank you for sharing this! I know it's going to make the rounds in the community!

[@brianellisart]

Oh wow, really appreciate it. Honestly had no idea they were so highly regarded. I just remember it seemed pretty well received when they were unleashed but over the years wasn’t sure if they ranked among the best or worst

[@zacharysieben8949]

The Barraki were always one of my favorite waves of the original Bionicle and Pridak is my favorite of all of them. I've always really admired the creativity of the Barraki and how all of them are very distinct from one another when most of the villains of Bionicle tended to be more uniform in appearance. Thanks for posting this, it is cool to have some insight into the creative process behind one of my favorite toys as a kid!

[@brianellisart]

Appreciate it! So cool to hear that this line was beloved by so many in the Bionicle community. It will always be a special moment in time for me as I not only got to work with incredible colleagues but the Barraki was my my first Bionicle foray.

[@user-ed8ce8bg4e]

All the Baraki, and the entire Mahri Nui line, is my favorite era of bionicle! You guys did a fantastic job!

[@brianellisart]

Thanks so much. I look at the Barraki and just see my old colleagues and friends, a crazy bunch of freaks and creeps. 😂

[@TheMightyKite]

The Barraki and Major were honestly the best series of the Bionicle, and my best childhood memories came from those characters

[@RaiJolt2]

Wow! Didn’t know you created pridak! His design is one of my favorites from the wave so thank you! Seeing the “original” torso design is fascinating. It’s so simple yet works super well, in addition to making the waist tighter

[@brianellisart]

🤘🏼

[@Codee212]

This is way too good, I hope you're aware of how much of an impact your work had on people like me at a young age, and how much insights like these continue to inspire us today. Stuff like this is the reason I wanted to go into art and design as a kid and what set me on the path to being able to work in that field as an adult today. You literally had my childhood dream job (and honestly adulthood dream job still, but it's not exactly possible now with Bionicle not being produced anymore lol). Seeing those prototypes is an absolute treat, and those part sculpts of yours look super clean! Very interesting to hear that you intentionally wanted to set Pridak apart from previous primarily white characters. I can say it definitely worked on me, as Pridak was the first Barraki I wanted to get as a kid because he was so unique and different from what had come before! Definitely a cool deviation from the more standard canister builds we were used to at the time. Seriously, thank you for taking the time showing us this material and presenting the design process and the thoughts that go into it in such a nice way, I really appreciate the work that goes into this and I'm excited to see more in the coming episodes!

[@brianellisart]

Appreciate the feedback! So cool to hear you’ve gone into design, back when I was in school for industrial design I knew I wanted to go towards the entertainment industry and I’m really grateful that one of my best friends from school was the one that saw the job application/now hiring from Lego. He sent it to me and I hadn’t really ever thought of Lego as a “job” but am so glad I sent my portfolio in to them. Just writing this out is giving me some ideas for more videos. Maybe I’ll do a video specifically on the portfolio I submitted to Lego at the time if there’s potential interest there. Thanks!

[@Codee212]

@@brianellisart That's awesome! As a kid I always wanted to work at Lego, so initially my plan was to go to school for product/industrial design, but ended up going into game art because I was always more interested in the fantastical type of characters and objects that toys presented, rather than things like real life appliances (which are also cool). I'd still love to work on toys some day, as I feel like having a physical product that you can hold and move around at the end of the day is really satisfying in a whole other way than purely digital works. But of course there's always pros and cons to everything. I would definitely love to hear about how you got to work at Lego and what you applied with, it's always fascinating to learn about that sort of stuff!

[@brianellisart]

@@Codee212 that’s great man, sounds like we were on the same path, I had zero interest in designing toasters and housewares in school . Wasn’t really any game development programs when I was in school otherwise I’d probably have gone that same path. One of my good buddies in school took it upon himself to learn MAYA and game modeling/texturing characters and assets and he literally got a job offer from Midway games while standing in line for our diplomas. Dude deserved it because he found his own way when the school didn’t offer such paths. But design/concept art/story has always been my focus and that’s what I used my ID degree to bridge those fields. It’s all related and really one and the same when you see the connective tissue. Good luck man! Hope you’re enjoying the path you’re on

[@toascranill5464]

It's amazing to see the development process of my favorite character! Also damn, they nerfed the squid lancher lmao

[@RaiJolt2]

Rip og squid launcher

[@SagaFraga]

One of my core childhood memories is spending some of the first money I ever made on an eBay listing of Pridak. This happened about a month or two after the Baraki went off the shelves in North America. Never thought in a million years I’d get to hear from the guy who actually made it. What a treat! Thanks for doing what you do.

[@brianellisart]

Thanks for sharing! I currently feel you cause I’m going through the same thing right now! I have my sealed boxed sets that I designed on my shelf but I’ve been buying used figs off eBay for these videos and uh… they’re like 3 or 4 times the OG price. 😮

[@montygatwick1829]

The Barraki are such huge parts of my childhood and also my personal favourite bionicle baddies haha, I just want to thank you!!! Your designs are iconic to my generation :)

[@brianellisart]

Thanks so much for sharing! Best!

[@v_4_mp]

yo, this was the one Bionicle set i had as a kid. I still remember building it on my kitchen table with my mom (his blood did scare me a little lol). This video is amazing and provides so much insight into design process for Bionicle. I hope you make more videos on your work on Bionicle

[@brianellisart]

Ha! Thanks for sharing your story! Check back next week for part 2 and the following week for part 3 on this series.

[@johnfroh6774]

Literally one of my favorite bionicles of all time. So creepy and vicious looking, the white and red contrast, the wickedly curved protrusions, the gnashing teeth. Pridak looks lethal and untamed and I love it.

[@brianellisart]

Appreciate it! Thanks for watching!

[@SagaFraga]

I really like how you clearly appreciate your fans and people who watch and enjoy your content and product.

[@brianellisart]

Wow, thanks for this compliment! I’m doing my best to keep up haha

[@sebastienlabbe4647]

The Barraki line was my favourite in the entire Bionicle series. The Barraki designs are still a source of inspiration for me when I design characters. I hope I'll be able to do work on a similar caliber some day.

[@raulvidal2343]

The Barraki was the line that got me into Bionicle. Pridak in particular was really badass. I love how in the commercial it swings like a shark with his legs put together in a tail and the torso ball joint facilitating that movement.

[@brianellisart]

Yeah, I had that as part of the design intention from day 1, that he could be positioned in such a way to resemble a swimming shark and I showed that to the team but I never expected it to actually be implemented, just one of those subtle things I had in mind but never intended to have it shown. Still cool that they did throw that in.

[@stevenh5510]

I didn't buy much of Bionicle in 2007, but I did buy Pridak and Takadox. To this day, I still appreciate the unique designs of them even when learning about the limitations you had to deal with.

[@darkdoubloontv8906]

Fascinating to see! I always interpreted the red as blood FROM his enemies that he just kept on him for an intimidation factor. I never noticed the piranha inspo, but now that you've mentioned it I can't believe I missed it! Hopefully we get to see more Bionicle stuff

[@brianellisart]

More to come! Two more in this BTS series in the coming weeks

[@ElAquelarreDeMoon]

Pridak was my first bionicle, so i have a lot of feelings for him. I love every detail you shared with us in this video, it makes me comprehend and love more one of my favourite characters in the bionicle universe, thank you! ❤. Fun fact: my Pridak has its fin attached with a plastic wire 😂, he has seen better times, but i still treasure him.

[@brianellisart]

😂 Haha I love that Pridak has been to the emergency room for surgery. Thanks for keeping him alive!

[@lordseven7435]

Jesus this is so good. Pridak was already a great character with all that Lucifer-like story and sociopathic pride but having this in-depth explanation on his design makes me value him more.

[@brianellisart]

Glad to hear this! I appreciate it when others appreciate the behind the scenes details. Thanks for watching!

[@G1AM_]

12:51 That’s exactly what I was thinking! I remember I went to toys r us in 2007 and the box for Ehlek immediately stood out to me. Perfect marketing for boys who wanted something cool and fun. Definitely the most creatively designed bionicle lineup in my opinion

[@CadmeanLotus]

I find it insane that many ideas and designs were discarded or compromised. They ended up with models and figures that likely contributed to the decrease in sales. Bionicle is filled with so much untapped potential.

[@brianellisart]

@@CadmeanLotus I totally understand what you’re saying but I personally don’t see it as compromised. It only appears that way after seeing some behind the scenes process as every design must go through refinement to hit the budget. So the figure that comes out is the final design. The super cool MOCs online are not reflective of the design world at all as they are just pure aesthetic exercises that could never go into production because they’d be way over cost. Without a company or parent paying the bills, there’d be no Bionicle. So while infinite budget MOCs are cool, they are a false impression of “potential” because they’d break the bank in the real world of budget/profit.

[@mochalavender9398]

Pridak is easily my favorite of the Barraki. Hearing that Shark story gives Pridak a whole new meaning behind his design.

[@brianellisart]

Hmm, I wonder what creature/figure I would have designed if I hadn't had my encounter with that shark?

[@Jimmyknapp2]

I'll always be awestruck by the visual style used when drawing bionicle characters, so much intensity.

[@WOLKsite]

That double-spine explains a lot, and would definitely go far to improve the stability issue!

[@s_h9940]

I am a big fan of the 2007 Bionicle. I am very impressed with this video😭 I think Pridak is the most unique character in Bionicle. After watching the video, I learned of your intention to create a new Bionicle. I like Pridak more. Thank you.I will forever love Barraki🥰

[@arcaneruins3151]

The Barakki are so nostalgic, without a doubt the coolest villains Bionicle has had! I was so hyped when I first saw pictures of them and they are still my favorite Bionicle figures to date!

[@antroz66]

I want to thank you for all the work you put into the Barraki line. I still vividly remember the night the Bionicle website was updated and the Creeps From the Deep trailer was released. Despite my (very, very old) username referencing Antroz, 2007 was by far my favourite year of Bionicle, thanks to the Barraki. They were definitely the best Bionicle villains, in character and design - I loved how perfectly unique they were, and Pridak was one of my favourites, after Kalmah and Takadox. Thank you for pushing for such unconventional builds and packaging, it meant everything to my 6-year-old self!

[@brianellisart]

Thanks dude! Appreciate you sharing your words and personal connection to the Barraki. I loved being able to walk over to everyone’s desk at any time and see what they were doing with their designs. Christoffer, Jeffrey, Andre, Michael, Lars… miss those guys.

[@ahigherplace1542]

So cool that after all these years, we actually get to see inside stories behind these old characters from way back. Loved the 2007 character designs, so this is quite the treat!

[@sigurdjuul6006]

This is incredible! I always loved pridak’s unique design with the “blood” on his fins and mouth, and the long fins that made up his head. He was always my favourite of the baraki. I would love to try and moc a version of the character that really simulates the aggression and leans into the almost “bloodthirsty” and scary aspects of the character that you so incredibly conveyed in your drawings! Thank you for giving us the insight of this masterpiece of a character! :)

[@Diamond4403]

Thanks for working in the Bionicle Lego team. As a Bionicle fan it was one of my favorite set from the Barraki.

[@ianpcartoonr]

This wave and the Mahri were phenomenal. Thank you for your work 👏

[@RylinthAnderfel]

Ended up with three Pridaks over the years. Still have one up on my shelf and the other two have become some of my favorite custom models. Absolutely adore that elongated foot piece and the red+white color combo on the blades is definitely a winner. Also WOW that original spine design! I audibly gasped when I saw that.

[@brianellisart]

Sweet, glad to hear you dug the foot design, it’s different for sure.

[@ryans-archive]

The creeps from the deep, the Barraki, were some of the most appealing sets! I'm glad you had a chance to design a figure from that line, seeing as you're a big horror fan. Pridak is really cool and I hope to buy him one day! I was always so envious that I had just barely missed this line. The short film they made for this line of sets still blows me away to this day.

[@maniek8046]

Pridak was one of my first Bionicles and my very first Barraki. I still remember the birthday I got him for. You made my childhood and I thank you for that

[@radishman]

this was awesome--! It was great to see your creative process on one of the coolest bionicle series ever--!!

[@arctovishfan100]

I don’t normally comment on youtube videos but this content is awesome! 2007 was far and away my favorite year of Bionicle, and over the past few years I’ve managed to collect every set from that wave, plus two store displays and a prototype squid ammo piece. Hearing about the design process just makes me appreciate these sets that much more! And the art you were doing for the background of the video is awesome, I would totally buy a print of those if they were for sale. The dedication you have towards your designs shines through your work.

[@brianellisart]

Appreciate it, yeah at some point I will have some prints available to purchase for my whiteboard paints, thanks for the feedback, wasn’t sure if there was any interest in them because they are so expressive and not literal. Thanks for asking!

[@crycat7156]

The Barraki were and still are my favorite figures of all time. The design of each one is unique and interesting, and have inspired me to get into character design and start creating my own characters. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

[@N8-PT]

The prototype packaging is especially fascinating to me. It’s so conceptually different and darker from what we got, like the lore around the toys could’ve been a lot different. Really cool stuff

[@brianellisart]

Thanks! It was a lot of fun to be a part of the packaging design as well, really trying to push the boundaries, wether they were 100% successful or not, it’s always better than just “another canister”

[@toaku_mocs1298]

This is amazing, I love to see the inspiration behind Bionicle models, it's always so creative

[@EKOddLink]

Wow, I did not expect to see this on my explore page. Not only one of my favorite Childhood toys but the thought process behind him from the creator himself?! It's just awesome. I don't have as many articulate and amazing things to say like some of the other comments here, but I just wanna say thanks for making Pridak, my childhood favorite bionicle.

[@brianellisart]

Right on! Thanks for leaving a comment! Love hearing the stories everyone has to share.

[@Arcanist_The]

This is really interesting video! Pridak is one of my favorite characters from the series (both design/set and character wise) so hearing behind the scenes information of his creation from the man behind his design is super fascinating to me!

[@6bambolbi6]

Pridak and the Barraki are some of my favorite characters from my childhood. Thank you so much for creating him!

[@SwitchbackCh]

One of the most distinct Bionicle figures, saw it years ago as a child and the white and red evoking the image of blood on bone sticks with my imagination when drawing monsters and stuff till today.

[@brianellisart]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate you sharing your love for Pridak! Keep making them monsters and all the best on your future creative journey!

[@motionsuggests]

Pridak was one of my favs from 2007! Loved the balljoint torso and Nuva legs for arms. The Barraki, altogether, were such a strange but fresh change from the cookie cutter design method of past lineups. i find it wonderful that to this day former Bionicle designers are still coming out with behind the scenes vids like this one. This stuff was my childhood, thanks so much for sharing!

[@brianellisart]

Hey, really appreciate it!

[@3footraptor]

I knew he was a shark, but hearing that hes a cross between a shark and a pirahnna makes sooo much more sense. I loves his feet/tail function too

[@thesupershinymegagengar2034]

The Barraki commercial was my first ever experience of Bionicle, when I was six. Been a huge Bionicle fan and I remember that I really wanted those Barraki toys since. After watching the fan film by NP Productions, Pridak and Kalmah became my absolute favorites!

[@brianellisart]

Right on, Kalmah is one of my favorite designs too!

[@Shade2800]

2007 will always have a special place in my heart, so I guess I have you to thank for at least part of it. Also, love the style of these paintings!

[@brianellisart]

Thanks so much! Glad to hear people are digging my frenetic whiteboard art.

[@Madman13K]

Wow, this was quite a fascinating insight. Bionicle has long been a great inspiration to me, and Pridak in particular was a very memorably unique character in a line that already stood out as a whole, so getting to hear something of the design process was great.

[@joshuabrabo6400]

Thank you so much for making this! As an artist who grew up fundamentally shaped by Bionicle all the way from 2001 until the end, seeing art and information like this now being released is a balm to my soul. Please do more content like this!

[@brianellisart]

Two more videos on my other Bionicle figs coming up. Tune in the next 2 weeks. Cheers!

[@LetsPlayKradnium]

Bionicle was my childhood and inspired me to draw. Now I work as a concept artist in the games industry. Thank you for making my childhood great and creative!!!

[@brianellisart]

That’s fantastic, I’m sure one day you’ll be sharing your work and process with fans of the games you are now working on.

[@TheKrzysiek]

Barraki is one of my favorite Bionicle line in terms of the set design, the way they're all different was really cool

[@ThomasMurphyCosplay]

I've been a Bionicle fan for over 20 years and how you were designing Pridak with cutting and hot glueing the Pieces reminds me of a few prototypes that I've seen in a few Rare Images

[@brianellisart]

Yeah, it’s pretty much old school model/film making techniques. All the old Star Wars flicks used the same technique to make ships from different plastic model kits. A lot of fun but would be very pricey if it were your own personal collection of pieces haha

[@ThomasMurphyCosplay]

@@brianellisart true

[@helioseternal2537]

Pridak was my first Bionicle and my entrance into the line and the world and has always been one of my favourites because of that. It probably also helped that he looked so freaking cool lol

[@brianellisart]

Thanks for sharing, always love to hear from fans of Pridak!

[@blarp7948]

This video reignites my passion and want to become a Lego designer. Thank you for this really cool insight. Bionicle was the most important media from my childhood

[@brianellisart]

Right on!

[@michaelcutler5538]

Sharks have been my favorite animal since I was in kindergarten. Thank you for giving me this masterpiece of a bionicle figure

[@brianellisart]

Thanks! Appreciate you checking out the vid!

[@YukiKurosame]

Pridak has been one of my favorite sets since i was a kid. I was so excited for Bionicle to have one of my hyperfixations (shark) as a character. I love the shatk tooth blades, the cool unique face, how you can turn his feet into a shark tail. This was so cool to see all these years later, thank you for designing one of my favorites!

[@heyheyitsjae2475]

Back in '07 Pridak was one of the last Barraki my brother and I got. I believe we got him around the same time as Takadox. He was the last one they had in the store, and they had a big warning label on him that he was the last of their stock so you should buy him while you could. It was a small town store and really rough job kind of sign, just marker scrawled on construction paper and hastily taped on, but kid me found that warning so cool

[@brianellisart]

That’s awesome! I love hearing that, thanks for sharing your story.

[@niharsheth]

The Barraki were my favourite wave of villains and Pridak was the coolest one, thanks for sharing this

[@zero-zephyr]

Pridak was my favorite Bionicle that year. So many good memories. Thank you for sharing the process and story behind it all. Super neat.

[@swanurine]

The red on white coloration blew my 9 year old mind it was so good, its still one of my favorite color combos. Pridak's swords "made from 1000 Takea shark teeth" was also one of my favorite bionicle weapons they looked so wicked.

[@RyanD3606]

This guy was and still is my favourite villain of bionicle, I had the crab barraki an the shark. Thanks for designing this guy

[@AnomalyAlter]

Great design. The Mari Nui arc, and more specifically the Barraki themselves, truly represent the best of Bionicle Not only non-standardized designs for both the toa and villains, but impressive creativity in said designs both conceptually and in construction Most mocs employ techniques and parts introduced in this line. This is all to say nothing of the phenomenal lore. Thank you, Brian. It's not an understatement to say you helped make my childhood, and I know many others feel the same.

[@brianellisart]

Thanks so much for watching and sharing the kind words! Very grateful to have been a part of such a pivotal line in the Bionicle saga.

[@nuparusworkshop2615]

Lots of love for this video. I never knew the squid launcher had to be redesigned like that and it’s really cool hearing about what happened behind the scenes with Pridak’s torso design. I also like the format of the video, with the whiteboard art throughout. Very nice to watch while listening to the story behind the build.

[@brianellisart]

Hey thanks! Appreciate that, been doing my other whiteboard videos and wasn’t sure if cutting in and out would be annoying for people but glad to hear you dug it. Was just going for quick, expressive gestural paintings that capture the essence of Pridak, like a blurred frenzy of an attack. Thanks for the comment!

[@vthesnail]

The barraki were essentially my first real introduction into bionicle when I was a small toddler and honestly they never freaked me out, they just seemed really weird mysterious and insanely creative. Pridak is especially notable for me because I actually got him in like 2014-2015 when i was at a local toy shop/storage thing and I just saw a single pridak cannister just... sitting there. My 13 yo brain was flooded with such fond memories that I had to force my dad to buy it immediately on the spot and not gonna lie building it was awesome and I always loved the additional articulation he had. P.S: Only recently did I realise it looked like blood. I just though it was his skin/armour colouration since bionicles often had dual-molded features during the late 2000s.

[@brianellisart]

That’s awesome, thanks for sharing. Yeah, there was a serious discussion with the marketing team because they were really concerned about the red coloring. When the molded parts were being put into test production they actually tried to see if they could have the color changed. I’m glad the color was allowed to stay. Doesn’t really seem very controversial to me, then again, I grew up watching horror movies as a kid so 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@duddernator]

I'm really enjoying videos from people who worked on Bionicle. Getting to know their inspiration for characters or story beats, what lead them to Lego and Bionicle. And to see that the creators are also big fans of Bionicle is something really nice.

[@brianellisart]

Appreciate it!

[@masterchiefsbuddy]

Bionicle was my childhood, and honestly, the Barraki was one of my favorite lines of bionicle for how different they were, right next to the Piraka. I was (and am) into sea life so I appreciated that aspect as well. I didn't know there was controversy over the figure, i thought he was the coolest figure of the series, myself. And by the way, you are a remarkable artist. Thank you for sharing this with us. 😁

[@brianellisart]

Again, really appreciate you watching and sharing your experience! So glad to hear all these years later just how well Pridak and the Barrack were received by the fans. A real honor to have been part of this line. thanks again!

[@tHEPEk-kk7jg]

Man toa mahri and barraki were my favorite bionicles. During those days I pretty much looked forward to playing with my bionicles every day especially during the summer after the beach. Coming home to my bionicles brought me so much joy, wonder and imagination as a kid. I had pretty much asked my parents how I could earn money for bionicle at the time and they gave me a lot of chores but helped me buy pretty much all the barraki and the mahri. I always had huge fantasy battles with all my previous bionicles too lol. Pridak was so cool I loved all of mahri nui line equally but because each one had something unique going on w their design but at the same time felt apart of the same branch and fit bionicle very well looking back on how consistent but very different they all look together. When I played with them as a kid I always had Pridak do the foot kick because his heels were like spikes and made for cool takedowns but I never did play with mine too rough but over time have aged poorly due to bad storage and all their battles. Honestly some of the best memories of my childhood. Thank you!

[@brianellisart]

This is awesome to hear, thanks for sharing!

[@TheGhostRydr]

Bionicle was a massive part of my life ever since 2001 and really still is to this day. Thank you for sharing part of the creative process behind it, it's really awesome to learn how things developed and what the thought process was. 2007 was one of my favorite years for Bionicle: the character designs, the story, the whole underwater aesthetic, just really spoke to me. I definitely appreciated how much you guys tried to make each character and build feel unique. The double spine for Pridak makes so much sense and works so well, I'm absolutely going to have to modify my Pridak like that!

[@XMalevolentPandoraX]

The commercial for this line is still ingrained into my memory! I'm glad I was able to witness your work and be terrified by it! Thank you so much for your art and being open to explaining the design process to us.

[@brianellisart]

Appreciate it! Thanks for watching!

[@matijakovac473]

This is so cool, I really hope you make this into a series! I would love to see more behind the scenees of these characters, bionicle was and is a massive part of my life, thank you for this.

[@stickdrip_7581]

Pridak was the first bionicle I had ever seen, my brother got him from a holiday gift exchange. Such a great design! Thank you for your work!

[@tarsquang]

If Bionicle can ever actually make a comeback, it would need you to shake things up and to keep it accurate to what it was at the core. It really seems you understood what it had, and what it could have been as well. I'm inspired to kitbash and attempt the process you engaged in as an excersise in respect for that craft.

[@brianellisart]

Hey thanks for watching! I really do appreciate the sentiment and comment but I can absolutely say that there’s plenty of excellent designers and creatives at LEGO now who could properly guide the series. Unfortunately, and this goes for every company, there’s always people with egos that think they deserve that “showrunner” spot and will inherit (not earn) that spot if they climb the corporate ladder long enough. It’s not a game of creativity, it’s a game of corporate political longevity. LEGO is no exception to this. It’s still a corporate entity out to make money no matter how cool their sets may be 😎

[@R4V3-0N]

I am absolutely blown away with this gem of a video on KZbin. I am speechless.

[@brianellisart]

Hey, really appreciate it! Glad you found it and thanks for watching!

[@shadowbyname2802]

WIth that beautifully foreboding trailer and those incredibly unique designs, the Barraki and Pridak especially hold a special memory for me as being one of the first times I was ever hyped up for a toy that delivered it's hype. It's so fascinating to not only hear the philosophy that created such a fond part of my childhood, but to hear it from one of the people directly responsible for it. Thank you for sharing your story, I can't wait to hear the rest from everyone involved!

[@Coke5able]

Pridak was the first bionicle that I bought with my own money, I love the design, thank you!

[@toatahu003]

Thanks for the great video. I adore LEGO BIONICLE designers showing off the concepts of characters we all loved collecting.

[@toocoldforgreen]

I loved bionicle growing up 2007 is without question my favorite year. And as a kid who loved animals and monsters this line helped inspire me to make more animalistic MOCs.

[@earthsongeb]

2007 - 2008 were the best years of bionicle imo. Thanks for contributing to one of my all time favorite childhood toylines!

[@afterlife697]

I remember when I was 8 years old I collected all of these figures. Except the green one. I knew they weren’t gonna be on shelves for much longer and one day was at my local Toys “R” Us, and I saw pridak on the shelf I decided to ask my mom if she would buy me him. To my surprise, she actually said yes I never actually thought I would like the figure since he wasn’t my favorite, but after purchasing him, and opening him, he quickly became one of my favorites. In fact, he’s my second favorite figure of that Bionicle set. The first being the giant crab guy. Thank you so much for making this awesome figure he made my childhood truly wonderful. Also, I never even thought of the red markings as blood. I just thought it was part of his shark like appearance.

[@brianellisart]

Hey, thanks so much for watching! It's cool to hear that you came around from not liking him all that much to him being your #2 in the ranks! I agree with you, giant crab guy is great haha, my old buddy and colleague Andrews the designer on that set and I really loved seeing bits and pieces of everyone's final designs come together. I also really appreciate that there seems to be genuine balance of love for each figure in that line, and when I hear things like that it really drives home the fact that there was definitely something special about the Barraki line. Thanks again for watching and sharing!

[@afterlife697]

@@brianellisart hey no problem it’s an honor to have been able to talk to the creator of such an awesome toy.

[@raulmojarro9427]

I really appreciate this deep-dive on how this line was created. I was very surprised the figure designs came first before the story. And the whiteboard art was amazing.

[@brianellisart]

I wouldn’t exactly say that the figures came before the story, I’m sure Greg has story arcs written and general themes fleshed out, but specific looks of characters is a very last minute detail and can easily be swapped in or out, instead, I think the design team didn’t really get much of this detail aside from the major plot points: going underwater, mutated baddies etc. Despite what people believe, a lot of design in film & storytelling generally go on basics because the script is always shifting. No one ever had a final script in hand or locked in details. If they do it’s a very rare case.

[@cpafol]

Wait, you literally MADE pridak and the Barraki?? Am I hearing this right? This is AMAZING! On top of your artwork designs being absolutely gorgeous. It would be amazing to connect with you and possibly talk about your time designing BIONICLE on my podcast! Always love cutting it up about BIONICLE.

[@brianellisart]

Hey, thanks for checking out the vids, let me hit you up on Instagram!

[@TheOnlyTherazan]

I think Pridak's body type helped him; he's the least humanoid shaped of all Barraki, being almost just a bunch of White Shark elements barely tied to each other. It gives him a nice abstract quality, which I think helped the blood-like patterns go through. Still, I love that his design goes SO hard, without compromising the fearsome aspect of an underwater predator! All the Barraki have a solid theme and identity, but I feel he's the keystone that make the line truly stand out.

[@brianellisart]

Thanks so much, really appreciate the love for Pridak! I really like villains that are lankier or emaciated, when horror movies make villains too bulky it always loses me. Thanks for watching!

[@watsedhaene]

I'd love to see more videos where bionicle designers explain their process! Super cool to see