A custom brick set of your dog, from one photo.

If you have ever looked at a LEGO® dog and wished it were your dog, this guide is for you.

LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse Nooks. Nooks kits are custom brick sets, not official LEGO® sets.

Most dog-themed sets hand you a dog, usually a generic retriever or a cartoon puppy. A custom set is your dog: the lopsided ear, the white sock on one paw, the head tilt every time you speak.

Nooks designs a brick set of your dog from the photos you send. Here is what goes into one, and how to get the best result.

→Corgi2,114 parts · 29 × 22 × 42 cmSee the set →→Beagle5,395 parts · 22 × 75 × 65 cmSee the set →

What makes a dog look like your dog

When people see a brick-built dog, they recognise it from a handful of things:

• The silhouette: ear shape (pricked, folded, floppy), muzzle length, body length, tail carriage.
• The markings: a blaze down the face, a saddle on the back, spots, a white chest or socks.
• The pose: sitting up, lying down with paws crossed, mid-zoomie.
• One personal detail: a tongue that is always out, a favourite bandana, a grey muzzle.

The designer works from your photos to get these right, since they are what make the model read as your dog from across the room. Breed matters less than you would expect. Mixed breeds work just as well, because the model follows the dog in the picture rather than a breed standard.

The photos to send

Send two or three photos if you can:

1. A side view of the whole dog, standing or sitting, so the proportions are clear.
2. A front view of the face, at the dog's eye level, so the ears, eyes and markings show.
3. The pose you want, if it differs from the others: curled up in their bed, for example.

Daylight near a window beats flash. Avoid photos where the dog is mostly hidden behind something. And tell us in a few words what matters: "keep the one up, one down ears". More tips are in the best photos for a custom brick set.

How big is it?

Custom sets are designed to suit the subject, and the price is the same whatever the size. Our demo dogs range from a desk-sized sitting corgi of about 2,100 parts to showpiece dogs of over 5,000 parts. You see your design in 3D, with its part count, before you approve it.

Is it hard to build?

A gift for dog people

A brick set of their own dog is one of the few gifts a dog owner who "has everything" does not already have. It works for:

• Christmas and birthdays, especially for adults who build sets already.
• A new puppy, as a keepsake of how small they were.
• Remembering a dog who has died. Our guide to a brick-built pet memorial covers that gently.

Looking for more ideas? See our gifts for dog owners guide.

Design with your agent

Connect a compatible agent through the connection guide. Bring a clear photo and describe the details, size and parts budget you want. Your agent can work on the same project you open in the Nooks workbench.

Preview and check

Inspect the model from several angles, review its validation results, and ask your agent to revise it. A design still needs your review before you source parts and build it.

Your manual and parts list

Export the digital step-by-step manual, parts list and BrickLink wanted list from the workbench. The manual follows the saved design; keep the exports together so the parts and steps match.

Estimate and buy parts

Upload the wanted list to BrickLink to check seller prices, availability, shipping and taxes.

Download the wanted-list XML and upload it to BrickLink to choose sellers and buy parts directly. Nooks provides the digital design tools.

Questions