The five finalists for LEGO BrickLink Designer Program Series 9 have been revealed, but one designer has come under fire for allegedly using AI.
MarinBD’s Sleepy Dragon Inn is one of the five finalists for LEGO BrickLink Designer Program Series 9, the fan-centred platform that picks fan-designed builds to be made into real sets that the community can buy. Now that the finalists have been picked by the BrickLink team ahead of going into crowdfunding in October 2026, more light is being shed on the designs.
That has led some LEGO fans to allege that French fan designer MarinBD has seemingly used generative AI on the logo and some of the stickers included in the mock-up design.
"Sleepy Dragon logo/sticker looks AI-generated…" speculated spartan-sheep on reddit, while Epiknis303 commented further down the same thread: "Wild how you can design a beautiful tavern build and then completely do a 180 and use AI design for your logo. It's not that hard to get it right."
On the other hand, others, although either agreeing that the designs could be AI-generated or that you can't tell, also argue that it doesn't really matter.
"This might get some hate, but using AI for a logo for something like this is fine," reasoned SomerenV. "It's a concept, not a final product. The only critique I have in terms of the logo is that it looks too bland, but it sort of fits."
Indeed, it's worth pointing out that even if AI was used to create the stickers or the logo, these elements would likely be refined by the LEGO Group and BrickLink as part of the production process anyway. A talented LEGO builder or designer wouldn't necessarily be good at graphic design, and using AI to create stickers doesn't mean the rest of the design is any less impressive.
However, if generative AI was used, many in the LEGO community have shared strong feelings about the ethical considerations surrounding it, as we've seen in the past when official LEGO designs made by a third party included AI. As it stands, BrickLink's submission guidelines don't include any specification around AI.
Thank you for supporting the work we do at Brick Fanatics by buying your LEGO using our affiliate links! Keep an eye on our dedicated Black Friday page for all the latest LEGO deals and promotions.
Comments
Be the first to comment!