Answers.Body: <p>You can also use the web-based <a href="http://www.lugnet.com/cad/mosaic/" rel="noreferrer">Mosaic Maker</a>.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-01-30T17:45:44.063Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-01-30T17:45:44.063Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Conrado
Answers.Body: <p>Similar to 'Mosaic Maker' suggested by @Conrado PLG , there is <a href="http://www.bong69.com/pages/bricksaic.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">'Bricksaic' from Bong 69 Productions.</a></p>
  
  <p>From their website:</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>A program used to make Lego Mosaics. You choose the image, the stud width and the type of bricks to use and you instantly have an LDraw file to make the mosaic from. </p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>I have used the software myself and found it to be complete and functional with lots of nice options. It seems to do exactly what you are asking for by taking a digital image, and creating a 'LEGO map' of parts using only the colours that you specify. (The choice of colours being only actual LEGO colours).</p>
  
  <p>Feature list (from their website):</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Choose the image</li>
  <li>Choose the stud width of the mosaic</li>
  <li>Choose from 7 different Dithering routines</li>
  <li>Use up to 41 colors in the color palette</li>
  <li>Makes an LDraw file</li>
  <li>Prints a color map</li>
  <li>Loads and Ldraw file made with Bricksaic</li>
  <li>Choose to use plates or bricks and studs up or studs out from these selections:
   1x Plates - studs up
   2x Plates - studs up (2 studs thick)
   1x Bricks - studs up
   2x Bricks - studs up (2 studs thick)
   1x Plates - studs out
   2x Plates - studs out
   1x Bricks - studs out
   2x Bricks - studs out</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/fcfoB.jpg" alt="Bricksaic"></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-07-26T13:55:25.533Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-07-26T13:55:25.533Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: mcqwerty
Answers.Body: <p>On the Mac you can use an app called Digital ColorMeter, whcih is built into the Mac by default. The app can be used to parse out colors on a screen base on their R G B ratings, so you can just hover the mouse over a picture of a lego brick for a semi-accurate rating if the photo is good. If you have a program that can generate colors based on the R G B ratings of colors you could use the color, or you could install <a href="http://wafflesoftware.net/hexpicker/" rel="nofollow">Hex Color Picker</a> and enter the HTML color-codes into the Mac color picker if you can get the color codes with a certain program.</p>
  
  <p>Hope this helped. :)</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-02-05T01:30:08.183Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-02-05T01:30:08.183Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: beakr
Answers.Body: <p>You can use GIMP for this.
  First you need to scale the image to the size you want. (If you want to stack bricks on top of each other instead of a baseplate, use a different y-scaling to correspond the bricks height.)</p>
  
  <p>Now create a palette by going to the Palette tab and click the "New palette" icon.
  <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/MpqKR.png" alt="GIMP palette tab"></p>
  
  <p>In this add the bricks colors you want. You can find the colors RGB values to a brick color here: <a href="http://www.peeron.com/cgi-bin/invcgis/colorguide.cgi" rel="noreferrer">http://www.peeron.com/cgi-bin/invcgis/colorguide.cgi</a></p>
  
  <p>Now convert into these colors by going to "Image->Mode->Indexed...". (If indexed is already selected, select RGB first and then click Indexed.) A "Convert Image to Indexed Colors" dialog box should appear.
  <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ufIdN.png" alt="GIMP convert to indexed dialog box"></p>
  
  <p>Select "Use custom palette" and select the palette you just created.</p>
  
  <p>Click "Convert" to get your result. If you are not quite satisfied, click undo and try to change/add some colors in your custom palette and convert again.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-06-17T05:37:46.050Z
Answers.Text: Anyone have a palette for Photoshop or Gimp they can share? :)
Answers.UserDisplayName: Adam Plocher
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-01-29T11:48:52.080Z
Answers.Text: Awesome. GIMP rocks. Let me make sure this method works (not that you're untrustworthy, I just want to be sure) and I'll accept it then!
Answers.UserDisplayName: Peter Cassetta
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-01-29T14:57:01.040Z
Answers.Text: This can also be done in Photoshop by cropping an image of a mosaic to the selected area, then applying the Blur -> Average filter effect. From there you can change the image mode to an indexed colour using a Lego colour pallete.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ambo100
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-01-29T10:39:43.327Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-01-29T10:39:43.327Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Sebastian Wahl
Body: <p>The LEGO Group released a few "mosaic" sets a while back, which came with clear baseplates and a bunch of 1x1 bricks. I have been wondering recently if it is possible to use an image as a reference when building one of these.</p>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/0H3OA.jpg" alt="LEGO mosaic"></p>
  
  <p>Unfortunately, this is hard because digital images can have a lot more colors than there are actual LEGO colors.</p>
  
  <p>I am not interested in anything more than 1x1 bricks on a baseplate, regardless of the fact that the image has some other bricks added onto those 1x1s. The scenes which I would be interested in building would effectively be two-dimensional.</p>
  
  <p>Is there perhaps a way (besides approximating) to change the pixels of an image into actual LEGO colors? Is there perhaps some type of web-application for this?</p>
  
  <p>Related: <a href="https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/75/how-many-different-colours-of-lego-bricks-are-there">How many different colours of LEGO bricks are there?</a></p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2012-01-29T15:13:10.517Z
Comments.Text: @Ambo100 You have not gone unnoticed, you crafty tag-adding-person, you! :)
Comments.UserDisplayName: Peter Cassetta
Tags: <software><colour><mosaic>
Title: How can I convert an image's pixels to actual LEGO colors?
UserDisplayName: Peter Cassetta
ThreadText: # How can I convert an image's pixels to actual LEGO colors?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2012-01-29)
  
  The LEGO Group released a few "mosaic" sets a while back, which came with clear baseplates and a bunch of 1x1 bricks. I have been wondering recently if it is possible to use an image as a reference when building one of these.
  
  ![LEGO mosaic](https://i.sstatic.net/0H3OA.jpg)
  
  Unfortunately, this is hard because digital images can have a lot more colors than there are actual LEGO colors.
  
  I am not interested in anything more than 1x1 bricks on a baseplate, regardless of the fact that the image has some other bricks added onto those 1x1s. The scenes which I would be interested in building would effectively be two-dimensional.
  
  Is there perhaps a way (besides approximating) to change the pixels of an image into actual LEGO colors? Is there perhaps some type of web-application for this?
  
  Related: [How many different colours of LEGO bricks are there?](https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/75/how-many-different-colours-of-lego-bricks-are-there)
  
  **Tags:** software, colour, mosaic
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: @username_6 You have not gone unnoticed, you crafty tag-adding-person, you! :)  
  
  ---
  
  ## 4 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2012-01-29. Score: 11 | Accepted answer
  
  You can use GIMP for this.
  First you need to scale the image to the size you want. (If you want to stack bricks on top of each other instead of a baseplate, use a different y-scaling to correspond the bricks height.)
  
  Now create a palette by going to the Palette tab and click the "New palette" icon.
  ![GIMP palette tab](https://i.sstatic.net/MpqKR.png)
  
  In this add the bricks colors you want. You can find the colors RGB values to a brick color here: <http://www.peeron.com/cgi-bin/invcgis/colorguide.cgi>
  
  Now convert into these colors by going to "Image->Mode->Indexed...". (If indexed is already selected, select RGB first and then click Indexed.) A "Convert Image to Indexed Colors" dialog box should appear.
  ![GIMP convert to indexed dialog box](https://i.sstatic.net/ufIdN.png)
  
  Select "Use custom palette" and select the palette you just created.
  
  Click "Convert" to get your result. If you are not quite satisfied, click undo and try to change/add some colors in your custom palette and convert again.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Awesome. GIMP rocks. Let me make sure this method works (not that you're untrustworthy, I just want to be sure) and I'll accept it then!  
  > **username_6**: This can also be done in Photoshop by cropping an image of a mosaic to the selected area, then applying the Blur -> Average filter effect. From there you can change the image mode to an indexed colour using a Lego colour pallete.  
  > **username_5**: Anyone have a palette for Photoshop or Gimp they can share? :)  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2012-01-30. Score: 5
  
  You can also use the web-based [Mosaic Maker](http://www.lugnet.com/cad/mosaic/).
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2012-07-26. Score: 3
  
  Similar to 'Mosaic Maker' suggested by @username_1 PLG , there is ['Bricksaic' from Bong 69 Productions.](http://www.bong69.com/pages/bricksaic.php)
  
  From their website:
  
  > A program used to make Lego Mosaics. You choose the image, the stud width and the type of bricks to use and you instantly have an LDraw file to make the mosaic from.
  
  I have used the software myself and found it to be complete and functional with lots of nice options. It seems to do exactly what you are asking for by taking a digital image, and creating a 'LEGO map' of parts using only the colours that you specify. (The choice of colours being only actual LEGO colours).
  
  Feature list (from their website):
  
  * Choose the image
  * Choose the stud width of the mosaic
  * Choose from 7 different Dithering routines
  * Use up to 41 colors in the color palette
  * Makes an LDraw file
  * Prints a color map
  * Loads and Ldraw file made with Bricksaic
  * Choose to use plates or bricks and studs up or studs out from these selections:
    1x Plates - studs up
    2x Plates - studs up (2 studs thick)
    1x Bricks - studs up
    2x Bricks - studs up (2 studs thick)
    1x Plates - studs out
    2x Plates - studs out
    1x Bricks - studs out
    2x Bricks - studs out
  
  ![Bricksaic](https://i.sstatic.net/fcfoB.jpg)
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2012-02-05. Score: 2
  
  On the Mac you can use an app called Digital ColorMeter, whcih is built into the Mac by default. The app can be used to parse out colors on a screen base on their R G B ratings, so you can just hover the mouse over a picture of a lego brick for a semi-accurate rating if the photo is good. If you have a program that can generate colors based on the R G B ratings of colors you could use the color, or you could install [Hex Color Picker](http://wafflesoftware.net/hexpicker/) and enter the HTML color-codes into the Mac color picker if you can get the color codes with a certain program.
  
  Hope this helped. :)
  
  
  ---
  
  