Brickspace Dictionary: Vignette

Vignette (n.) (Vi·gnette)
A vignette (pronouned 'Viñett') is , put very basically, a small Lego creation that expresses a scene, usually played out by minifigs.

The word 'vignette' means, according to the Oxford American Dictionary,

"A brief evocative description, account, or episode"

Put in layman's terms, the word vignette means a small scene that expresses a moment, a freeze-frame in time.

Lego vignettes are very popular, and there are many MOCers who build only vignettes. Vignettes have become a playground for SNOT techniques, as you can be much more creative with Ss (Studs on side) rather than St (Studs on top). This, as productive as it can be, has caused havoc amongst the Lego Online Community.

I remember having a heated discussion on a MOCpages  group about what should be the border between vignettes and their counterparts dioramas. After much discussion, we came onto this decision:

"A Vignette can fall under three categories. If it is on an 8x8 or smaller base,  regardless of height or SEs (SE = Significant Event - a large event happening, and many events happening to one minifigure still counts as 1 SE so long as they do not affect outside minifigs or other SEs), it is a vignette."

" If it is on an 8x8 to 16x16 base, it should have no more than 3 SEs to be considered a vignette."

"If it is on a base larger than 16x16, it must have only one SE to be considered a vignette. Any more and it is a diorama. "

Even with these SE rules set out by Shannon Young, Makuta Bane, me and others in the 'Vignettes' group on MOCpages, the line between Vignettes and Dioramas is always fluctuating.

Thanks to Makuta Bane and, ultimately, Shannon Young for helping refine the definition of Vignette, and aiding me in my eternal quest to persuade them it's not just about size for a Vignette.

More Dictionary articles ☛