Professional Contributors to BIONICLE
"When I see the kids react to the BIONICLE sets - it's very rewarding to see all the hard work we put into the sets is appreciated."
— Christoffer Raundahl
The LEGO Group employs and commissions a number of people to expand and promote the BIONICLE theme. Below is a list of those employees who have no articles of their own:
Martin Riber Andersen
Martin Andersen was a Design Manager for the LEGO Group from 2000-2002. He began working for the LEGO Group in 1997 and was one of the designers of the earliest LEGO Star Wars sets. Later, after being promoted to his role as a design manager, he was partly responsible for the concept and design of BIONICLE. Andersen approached Bob Thompson, who was working on BIONICLE, with the idea of evolving the Slizer line into the Toa.
Martin Andersen continued to work as a creative director for LEGO until late 2005, when he left the company. He returned to LEGO in 2011 to work on business development for emerging markets, the job he currently holds.
Lincoln Armstrong
Lincoln Armstrong is a senior brand manager with the LEGO Group who worked on the BIONICLE team from 2002-2010 and went on to work on LEGO Hero Factory.
Ulises Arreola
Ulises Arreola is an artist[1] who has been the colorist for BIONICLE comics from Realm of Fear to The Fall of Atero.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett was the inker for The Coming of the Toa. For this reason he is listed as one of the illustrators of BIONICLE 1: Rise of the Toa Nuva, along with Carlos D'Anda and Randy Elliott.
Matt Betteker
Matt Betteker is a BIONICLE Generation Two concept designer and model designer. He previously worked as a model designer and illustrator for LEGO Hero Factory. A number of his illustrations for BIONICLE Generation Two have been shared to the official LEGO Bionicle Facebook page. He previously worked on LEGO's former constraction line Hero Factory.
David Bird
David Bird is a set designer who worked for the LEGO Group from 2004–2008. He designed for several sets and parts including Krika, the Nynrah Ghost Blasters, Stronius, Skrall, Atakus, Lewa Phantoka, Tanma, and the Adaptive Miru as well as the Noble Miru.[2][3]
David Michael Williamson
David Michael Williamson is a voice over artist who narrated the Toa Mata Nestlé Promo CD, the Bohrok Swarms Promo CD and the Toa Nuva Promo CD which happens to rehash mostly content from the Bohrok Swarms Promo CD.
Jeffrey Alan Davies
Jeffrey Alan Davies is a BIONICLE Set Designer who took part in a series of BZPower interviews in 2008. He was a designer for LEGO Hero Factory.
Lena Dixen
Lena Dixen was for a time BIONICLE's franchise manager and a member of the BIONICLE story team. She went on to lead The LEGO Group's web team. She was also one of the executive producers of The Legend Reborn. She married set designer Christoffer Raundahl in September 2011. She is now the manager of LEGO Friends.
Brian Ellis
Brian Ellis worked as a LEGO set designer from 2004 to 2008. He designed the 8921 Pridak and the 8913 Toa Nuparu sets, and the early prototype of 8692 Vamprah. After Ellis left The LEGO Group, the company hired him to illustrate the Mata Nui Saga.[4]
Jan Faltum
Jan Faltum was the BIONICLE marketing director. After BIONICLE ended he went on to be the marketing director of the constraction (buildable action figure) product category.
Esben Fløe
Esben Fløe is a BIONICLE Set Designer who designed Tuma, of which he is most proud, among other sets. In 2008 he took part in several BZPower interviews. He has since gone on to design for LEGO Hero Factory and BIONICLE Generation Two.
Per Frederiksen
Per Frederiksen is a former BIONICLE set designer. He is credited as a Master Builder in BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui and as an original character designer in BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows.
George Gilliatt
George Gilliatt is a Product Designer for LEGO. He created the "Classic Tahu" model seen in 11021 90 Years of Play,[5] and also did concept work for the 40581 BIONICLE Tahu and Takua set.[6]
Garry Henderson
Garry Henderson is a freelance digital colorist. He was the colorist for All Our Sins Remembered and co-colorist for The Exile's Tale.
John Ho
John Ho is an Adult Fan of LEGO and a BIONICLE Generation Two model designer who designed the Pohatu - Master of Stone, Onua - Master of Earth, Protector of Stone, Protector of Earth, Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder, and Skull Warrior sets. He also designed the sketch model for the Protector of Jungle. Some of his LEGO Bionicle MOCs were used as inspiration models on the official LEGO Bionicle Facebook page.
In 2016, Ho designed the models for Onua Uniter of Earth, Terak Creature of Earth, Tahu Uniter of Fire, Ikir Creature of Fire, and Kopaka and Melum - Unity set, as well as the Shadow Spawn combiner model.[7]
Darvell Hunt
Darvell Hunt was a lead programmer on The Legend of Mata Nui in 2001.
Darvell Hunt graduated from Utah State University with a degree in Computer Science in 1992. He has worked with many different companies as a programmer for almost thirty years. From late 2000 to late 2001, he worked at Saffire Corporation during their development of their two BIONICLE titles: Tales of the Tohunga/Quest for the Toa and The Legend of Mata Nui, the latter of which he was the main physics and collision programmer. Seventeen years after LoMN's cancellation, he provided the community with the game's final development build. Today, he works at Perficient Digital as a programmer on iOS games.
Jeff James
Jeff James has played numerous roles in developing BIONICLE media. His earliest executive work for the LEGO Group was as a public relations and online development manager starting in 1998. In 2000 he began work as a producer for the Game Boy Advance game BIONICLE: Quest for the Toa, a role that included story, character, game script, and instruction manual development. In 2005 he co-wrote Rahi Beasts with Greg Farshtey.
Lars Krogh Jensen
Lars Krogh Jensen is a LEGO set designer who began working with the LEGO Group in 1992 and has worked on themes including BIONICLE and Technic. He is credited as a master builder in BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui and as an original character designer in BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows.
Michael T. Jeppesen
Michael T. Jeppesen is a LEGO Set Designer. He began work as a LEGO Technic set designer in 1996 and went on to work on LEGO Mindstorms and BIONICLE, designing sets such as Kardas. In 2008 he took part in a number of BZPower interviews. Currently he is back working on the LEGO Technic design team.
Jan Kjær
Jan Kjær is a graphic designer and cartoonist who worked on freelance cartooning, storyboarding, and concept art for LEGO for 15 years. He directed and wrote storyboards for various BIONICLE animations during that time, including the Glatorian Commercial. He also worked with Christian Faber on the design team for BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui. Prior to BIONICLE, Kjær collaborated with Christian Faber in 1995 on an early concept for a hypothetical ball-joint-based LEGO Technic action figure line called Cybots.
Ray Kryssing
Ray Kryssing is an artist who served alongside Randy Elliott as inker for the BIONICLE comics from Powerless! to Seeds of Doom, after which Elliot solely held the position. For this reason, he is cited as one of the illustrators of BIONICLE 2: Challenge of the Rahkshi, along with Richard Bennett.
Daniel Lipkowitz
Daniel Lipkowitz joined LEGO as a writer and proofreader for LEGO.com and a beta-tester for the Mata Nui Online Game. He is the original creator of many of the LEGO Magazine models appearing prior to 2008,[8] including the Mata Nui Cow, Dikapi, Kirikori Nui, Ranama,[9][note 1] Protodax,[10] Toa Jovan,[10] the Caravan Crawler,[11] the Zyglak,[8] and the Manutri.[12] He also helped to write content for the LEGO Club Magazine and LEGO Brickmaster Magazine. He has also worked on the LEGO Company's Exo-Force and Star Wars franchises, and has an account on BZPower under the name Swiftone.
Duane Loose
Duane Loose was the art director for BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui and was featured in an interview published in BIONICLE 20: Struggle in the Sky.
Peter Mack
Peter Mack was the founder of Templar Studios, creators of the Mata Nui Online Game and its sequel, as well as the Bohrok and Vahki animations. He graduated New York's School of Visual Arts in 1994, and founded Templar in 1997. He has almost 25 years of game experience under his belt, most of which was spent at the company he himself founded. While he is no longer active at Templar, he is now a full-time producer at Saber Interactive.
David Maddin
David Maddin was the composer for Quest for the Toa and The Legend of Mata Nui.
David Maddin graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Music Composition. He has composed numerous scores for films and video games throughout his time in the industry; from 2000 to 2003, he composed scores for Saffire, including their title Barbarian, as well as the studio's two BIONICLE titles, Tales of the Tohunga/Quest for the Toa and The Legend of Mata Nui. Alongside this, David has also worked as a music journalist for Squidco and eCommerce Specialist at eBay. He currently works as a QA Specialist and Serum Master for Willis Towers Watson, as well as leading Pre-Flood Music.
Merlin P. Mann
Merlin P. Mann is the screenwriter for all 2015 animated content, including the BIONICLE Webisodes and 2015 Character Animations.
Cerim Manovi
Cerim Manovi is a set designer for the LEGO Group. He was one of the three inventors of the Character and Creature Building System which debuted in the Hero Factory theme in 2011. He later served as the design manager for the 2015 BIONICLE reboot. He attended New York Comic Con in October 2014 and participated in the panel where the BIONICLE reboot was announced. His favorite two sets from the first wave of the reboot are Kopaka - Master of Ice and the Protector of Jungle.
Dave Max
Dave Max is a concept artist who worked on BIONICLE: Mask of Light, BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui, and BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows. He was tasked with adapting the BIONICLE toys into more lifelike forms for the screen, as well as designing the settings for certain scenes.
John McCormack
John McCormack is a former art director from the U.S.A. LEGO office in Enfield, Connecticut, and a creative manager for the IP Novelty Development Team. His first work for the LEGO group was in a handful of different jobs, and he came to be known as the "Co-Pack King". Today his work focuses specifically on designing packaging and other marketing materials for the LEGO Star Wars theme. He was one of the illustrators for BIONICLE: World, for whom the Order of Mata Nui member Johmak was named.
David Molina
David Molina was the director for BIONICLE: Mask of Light, BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui, and BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows, and is a part of the Creative Capers Entertainment company. He has also directed several promotional videos for BIONICLE.
Brian Nielsen
Brian Nielsen is a BIONICLE Generation Two concept designer and model designer. He designed the sketch model for Onua - Master of Earth. He previously worked as a model designer for LEGO Hero Factory.
Justin Luchter
Justin Luchter was the composer for Templar Studios.
Justin Luchter was interested in music since childhood. He was a cellist and pianist at a very young age, and quickly gained an interest in synth music. He went to college initially intending to be a producer before meeting with Peter Mack, one of Templar Studios' founders, and becoming a composer. He worked at Templar Studios for a number of years, notably during the production of the Mata Nui Online Game. For both the game and its sequel, he did all the sound work, including all sound effects and cutscene audio, as well as composing the soundtracks. He still makes music for video games to this day, and currently runs and owns CentralCentral.
Lars Lusenberg Nielsen
Lars Lusenberg Nielsen is a LEGO set designer who has worked on product ranges including preschool, BIONICLE, and Clikits. He helped design various BIONICLE sets in 2005 and is credited as a master builder in BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui and as an original character designer in BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows. He left his job with the LEGO Group in 2007.
Erland Refling Nielsen
Erland Refling Nielsen is a BIONICLE part designer. He helped to engineer such parts as the Kanohi Crast, Gresh's helmet, and the Kanohi Hau for the 2010 Tahu set. He was a part designer for the LEGO Hero Factory line, BIONICLE's successor launched in summer 2010.
Patrick Boivin
Patrick Boivin is a freelance stop-motion animator. He created a series of short animations promoting the BIONICLE Stars sets for BIONICLE.com.
Peter Pantazis
Peter Pantazis is an artist who served as colorist and separator for the BIONICLE comics from Triumph of the Toa to Fractures.
Christoffer Raundahl
Christoffer Raundahl is a design manager and long-time BIONICLE team member who works in the set department. Before BIONICLE, he helped design the Slizer/Throwbots sets which paved the way for LEGO "constraction" (buildable action figure) themes. He helped design many early sets including Tahu, Kopaka, the Bohrok, and the Bahrag. He also helped design the Toa Mahri sets, of which his favourites are Kongu and Hewkii.
He was also the Character Design Consultant for BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui and BIONICLE 3: Web of Shadows. In 2008 he took part in a series of BZPower interviews, where it was revealed he has been working very closely with the design team for the fourth BIONICLE movie. He was one of three designers who created the Character and Creature Building System which first appeared in the 2011 Hero Factory sets. He acted as a consultant during the development of the 2015 BIONICLE reboot.
Mads Riis
Mads Riis is a BIONICLE set designer who began work on BIONICLE in 2001 and continued through 2005. He helped to design the original Kanohi models.
Christoph Röttjer
Christoph Röttjer is a BIONICLE Set Designer responsible for designing Gresh, among other sets. In 2008 he took part in a series of BZPower interviews. He later helped to develop the LEGO Hero Factory theme from 2010 to 2014, including developing the Character and Creature Building System that first appeared in the 2011 LEGO Hero Factory sets. He also worked on concept direction for the 2012 LEGO Super Heroes constraction sets, and served as the creative lead for the 2014 LEGO Legends of Chima constraction sets. He now works as a designer for BIONICLE Generation Two.
Zdenko Santini
Zdenko Santini is an Art Director for the advertising agency Advance. He was creatively involved in the development and marketing of the 2015 BIONICLE reboot.
Fiona Simpson
Fiona Simpson was the editor for the BIONICLE Scholastic line, overseeing the series starting in 2003 until stepping down from her position after the completion of the 2009 novels. She was responsible for bringing Greg Farshtey on as writer of the novels, allowing him much leeway in the his direction. At points when sales began dropping, she continually fought to keep the novel series going.[13]
Alex Sinclair
Alex Sinclair is an artist who was employed as the colorist for the comics The Coming of the Toa and Deep into Darkness.
Torben Skov
Torben Skov is a LEGO model designer who has worked for the company for 25 years and was on the BIONICLE team for over two years. He has designed many LEGO sets, including the Piraka Stronghold. His other design credits include LEGO Town (in which he created the fictional Octan gasoline brand) and LEGO Legends of Chima, among many others.
Robin Smith
Robin Smith is LEGO General Counsel and head of the Legal Department in the American office. During BIONICLE's early development, she lobbied the designers in Denmark to include a female character in the line, leading to the creation of Toa Gali.
Andre Sang-Tae Stenbryggen
Andre Sang-Tae Stenbryggen is a BIONICLE Set Designer who in 2008 took part in a number of Set Designer interviews conducted by BZPower. He went on to design for LEGO Hero Factory.
Alastair Swinnerton
Alastair Swinnerton is a freelance UK author and writer/producer known for his involvement with BIONICLE which he co-created with Bob Thompson, Martin Andersen, and Christian Faber. Swinnerton was hired by LEGO to write the original 2001 Story Bible, from which the story would be based, and was notably responsible for introducing a Polynesian influence to the story. He brought his interests in Manga and Mythology to the BIONICLE story and also helped write BIONICLE: Mask of Light.
Alastair has been writing and creating animation since the late 1980s, and was the co-creator and co-writer of The Baskervilles. He is still writing for other people, as well as developing his own novels including The Multiverse of Max Tovey and The Flying Monk.
Lars Thorstensen
Lars Thorstensen is a former Graphic Designer and Art Director for the advertising agency ADVANCE. His work with graphic design and 3-D illustration includes work for LEGO, including the design of the Arena Magna. He now works as a freelance designer.
Lars Thygesen
Lars Thygesen is a BIONICLE Set Designer and previously a designer for LEGO TECHNIC. During his time with BIONICLE he helped design the Rahkshi, which he is most proud of. In 2008 he took part in a series of BZPower interviews.
Niek van Slaagmat
Niek van Slaagmat is a LEGO set designer. As an intern, he worked on BIONICLE's second generation, and helped design the final Makuta model for The Journey To One. Since becoming a full employee, he has incorporated BIONICLE references into his set designs.[14]
Nico Vás
Nico "Nick" Vás is a Senior Designer at LEGO. He has also worked on BIONICLE's second generation, helping to design the final Makuta model for The Journey To One. He is the primary designer for set 40581 BIONICLE Tahu and Takua.[15]
Corvin Stichert
Corvin Stichert is a LEGO set designer. He helped design the final Makuta model for The Journey To One during BIONICLE's second generation.
Jes Vestergaard
Jes Vestergaard is a BIONICLE Set Designer who created, among others, Strakk. He has taken part in a series of Set Designer interviews conducted by Kelly McKiernan of BZPower. He continued as a set designer for LEGO Hero Factory, the theme that replaced BIONICLE in summer 2010.
Christian Vonsild
Christian Vonsild is a LEGO BIONICLE Set Designer. He designed the Kopaka - Master of Ice and Skull Scorpio sets for the 2015 BIONICLE range. He also designed buildable figures for LEGO HERO Factory and LEGO Star Wars.
Uwe Wabra
Uwe Wabra is a LEGO set designer who has worked on themes such as LEGO Racers, BIONICLE, and LEGO Technic. He is currently on the LEGO Technic design team.
Tony Wedgwood
Tony Wedgwood is the narrator for Barraki: Creeps From the Deep, BIONICLE Legend, BIONICLE: Phantoka, BIONICLE Battle, BIONICLE Toa Team Movie, the BIONICLE Retrospective, BIONICLE: Toa Mahri, The Rise of Mata Nui, The Rising, and The Truth.
Dave White
Dave White has illustrated several items for the LEGO Group, including comics for LEGO Club Magazine and the box art for some sets. He was the illustrator of the LEGO Club Magazine comic Secrets of Bara Magna!, as well as BIONICLE: Challenge of Mata Nui, a book for young readers released in 2009.
He has also illustrated comics for the LEGO Group's Knights Kingdom and EXO-FORCE themes.
Ashley Wood
Ashley Wood is a comic artist who illustrated an exclusive The Coming of the Toa variant cover for the 2003 San Diego Comic-Con.
Christian Zanier
Christian Zanier is a BIONICLE illustrator, known for his work on the exclusive Graphic Novel 6 comic Hydraxon's Tale, as well as two of the three stories in Graphic Novel 8, The Exile's Tale and Fall and Rise of the Skrall.
Zanier has also done work for DC comics, illustrating several Angel graphic novels.
Wolff Niemann
Wolff Niemann is a LEGO set designer who worked on early BIONICLE models.[16]
Michael Rose
Michael Rose was the art director on BIONICLE: Mask of Light.[17]
Christopher Woollett
Christopher Woollett was a concept art and element designer who worked on BIONICLE during the development of the 2007 and 2008 product lines.[18]
Reine Mårtensson
Reine Mårtensson is a translator who wrote the Swedish localizations of BIONICLE: Mask of Light, The Official Guide to BIONICLE, and BIONICLE: Collector's Sticker Book.[19][20][21]
Thomas Bred
Thomas Bred was a LEGO set designer who worked on Hero Factory and the second generation of BIONICLE, designing the sets 44024 TUNNELER Beast vs. SURGE, 44027 BREEZ Flea Machine, 70778 Protector of Jungle, 70784 Lewa – Master of Jungle, and 70793 Skull Basher.[22][23]
Jim Salicrup
Jim Salicrup is the editor-in-chief at Papercutz. Salicrup provided the afterwords of several Papercutz's BIONICLE series of Graphic Novels.
References
Notes
External links
- BZPower Set Designers Q&A Part 1
- BZPower Set Designers Q&A Part 2
- BZPower Set Designers Q&A Part 3
- BZPower Set Designers Q&A Part 4
- David Bird's Website
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