Someone recently did a good rendition.
This person may have done it freehand, but I can also imagine that is probably softare that can figure out how to fill the 3d volume with standard size legos. Still it looks like the resolution is 1x1x1.
So I suppose this question depend on whether that software exists, but if it does, does it also take into account the use of the angled peices of lego that exist, when the surface is in a specified range of “closeness?”
Also has anyone written any software to map these fullsize lego models into motion video? Take this video from the white stripes
http://www.ifilm.com/video/2422360
but done in the same scale as the 3CPO from above?
I don’t know if any software exists specifically for lego, but the concept of mapping 3D objects as discrete 3D pixels is quite established (3D pixels are called ‘voxels’), so I bet there’s software out there that could do 90% of the work.
You should propably see this.
I know Bram Lambrecht - he is freaking awesome.
You could ask this Andrew Lipson character for suggestions. He does what you’re talking about, except that he seems to do all his own programming. For example see his description of how he built Rodin’s Thinker in legos.
http://www.andrewlipson.com/thinker/index.html
This program doesn’t answer your question at all (I think), but I will mention it since I found it while poking around lego sites:
http://www.ldraw.org/
LDraw™ is an open standard for LEGO CAD programs that allow the user to create virtual LEGO models and scenes. You can use it to document models you have physically built, create building instructions just like LEGO, render 3D photo realistic images of your virtual models and even make animations.