# Marilyn Monroe portrait using 1521 Rubik's cube



## john louis (May 31, 2009)

Dear cubers

I made a portrait of Marilyn Monroe of size 7 feet* 7 feet using 1521 Rubik's cube in 15 hours spread over 2 days.

You can watch the video here. It runs for 1 min 53 sec.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCWAC_1W8II

Plz let me know , if you like it and post your comment.

J.Bernett Orlando


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

a "Prodigy" did that? Almost anyone on this forum could do it in the same amount of time if not less.


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## jacob15728 (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> a "Prodigy" did that? Almost anyone on this forum could do it in the same amount of time if not less.



I think the point isn't that he did it with cubes, it's that he had the artistic talent to make a portrait. Very impressive, although I doubt OP is the one who actually did it.


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## Escher (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> a "Prodigy" did that? Almost anyone on this forum could do it in the same amount of time if not less.



And? He can still be (what I consider) a prodigy nevertheless: look at the link.



jacob15728 said:


> jcuber said:
> 
> 
> > a "Prodigy" did that? Almost anyone on this forum could do it in the same amount of time if not less.
> ...



'John Louis' is the name of Bernetts dad. 
http://www.speedcubing.com/events/unofficial/chennai2005.html


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## Sa967St (May 31, 2009)

That's awesome. During the next few months, Eric Limeback and I will be making some images using cubes too .


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## jacob15728 (May 31, 2009)

Escher said:


> jcuber said:
> 
> 
> > a "Prodigy" did that? Almost anyone on this forum could do it in the same amount of time if not less.
> ...



That's very interesting. They must have savant abilities.


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## Escher (May 31, 2009)

jacob15728 said:


> That's very interesting. They must have savant abilities.



No no no no no. Savant abilities are almost exclusively a result of or partnered with serious disabilities.
I presume that they both have a high level of intelligence and a good work ethic.


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## john louis (May 31, 2009)

Dear Cubers,
I think I have not introduced myself properly before posting this thread. As I am U18, I used my dad's log in address with his permission. 
I am a 13 year old cuber from India. my performances are here

http://www.worldcubeassociation.org/results/p.php?i=2006ORLA01

J.Bernett Orlando


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

Just so you know, I didn't mean to say you weren't a prodigy, I was just saying that almost anyone on this forum could do it as well. I still think it is extremely cool, as I wouldn't have had the patience t do it. Did you plan out the portrait before making it, or plan each indavidual cube before doing it?


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## Ellis (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> I was just saying that almost anyone on this forum could do it as well... I wouldn't have had the patience t do it.


Why speak for everyone else when you say that you couldn't do it?


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## PatrickJameson (May 31, 2009)

Bernett Orlando has always been one of my cubing idols. I saw this a while ago on some website. Very nice


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## Kian (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> Just so you know, I didn't mean to say you weren't a prodigy, *I was just saying that almost anyone on this forum could do it as well.* I still think it is extremely cool, as I wouldn't have had the patience t do it. Did you plan out the portrait before making it, or plan each indavidual cube before doing it?



I've heard a lot of dumb things on this forum, but that one might take the cake.


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## john louis (May 31, 2009)

It was fun doing it and I enjoyed it. As you rightly pointed out no genius is required and any cuber can do it. 

I did it in Feb-2009 and just thought of sharing with fellow cubers and hence posted it here. 

I would like to share few more (not related with cube) based on the response here. 

J.Bernett orlando


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## john louis (May 31, 2009)

Planned the whole thing at the outset for all the 1521 cubes.

The cubes were not branded one. It was very hard and i broke more than 100 cubes in the process. That is why it took 15 hours. Otherwise it could be done in less than 10 hours.

J.Bernett Orlando


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## daeyoungyoon (May 31, 2009)

Very nice. Lots and lots of cubes


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## rahulkadukar (May 31, 2009)

Well where did you get so many cubes


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## person917 (May 31, 2009)

1521 3x3 cube solving marathon!


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## john louis (May 31, 2009)

rahulkadukar said:


> Well where did you get so many cubes



The organizer of the event supplied it. They bought it somewhere in Chennai for Rs 20 each.


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## john louis (May 31, 2009)

person917 said:


> 1521 3x3 cube solving marathon!



I think it is cube scrambling marathon rather than cube solving marathon :confused:


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## Dene (May 31, 2009)

That was beast!


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## person917 (May 31, 2009)

john louis said:


> person917 said:
> 
> 
> > 1521 3x3 cube solving marathon!
> ...



Well after you're done and you have 1521 cubes scrambled. That's what the 1521 solving marathon begins. 

Unless the picture was kept in it's position then no solving marathon


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

Ellis said:


> jcuber said:
> 
> 
> > I was just saying that almost anyone on this forum could do it as well... I wouldn't have had the patience t do it.
> ...


I could do it, but I never will because I have almost no patience.


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## Ellis (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> Ellis said:
> 
> 
> > jcuber said:
> ...



.....

Yes, it takes patience to do something like this. Patience which you admit to not having. You couldn't do something like this if you didn't have the patience, that's the point. I don't see any reason to downplay something that's remarkable and takes a huge amount of patience and determination. Don't say almost anyone here could do it if you haven't done it yourself. I know I couldn't do it just because I don't have that level of determination and I'm sure a lot of people on here don't.


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## Deleted member 2864 (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> Ellis said:
> 
> 
> > jcuber said:
> ...



Could you REALLY? if you lack the patience, than you couldn't do it. I believe it's more:
"I *COULDN'T* do it because I lack the patience and the creativity to do it unless I learn to exercise my patience."

Seriously, it takes skill be able to assemble it, but looking at a picture and taking it to it and divide the picture up into square "pixels" is a whole other thing.

Darn it... Ellis beat me =D


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

OK, If someone is willing to send me 1000+ cubes, I will do something similar.


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## Deleted member 2864 (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> OK, If someone is willing to send me 1000+ cubes, I will do something similar.



...what happened to your patience issue?

*prepares for a flame war*


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

aznmortalx said:


> jcuber said:
> 
> 
> > OK, If someone is willing to send me 1000+ cubes, I will do something similar.
> ...



Sorry, I forgot you would have to wait 2 years for me to finish it.


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## Ellis (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> aznmortalx said:
> 
> 
> > jcuber said:
> ...



That's not at all the same thing then is it?


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

It still is making a picture from cubes, but not in the span of time it took him.


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## Escher (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> It still is making a picture from cubes, but not in the span of time it took him.





jcuber said:


> a "Prodigy" did that? Almost anyone on this forum could do it in the same amount of time if not less.



i assume you arent almost anyone then.


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

I have the _ability_ to do it, but not the patience.


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## Kian (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> I have the _ability_ to do it, but not the patience.



wrong. the ability to do so requires patience. you should really just give up your point and stop arguing, you're wrong.


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## Ethan Rosen (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> I have the _ability_ to do it, but not the patience.



If you think you have the ability, please just explain the process. How would you turn a bunch of cubes into a picture of Marilyn Monroe if you had infinite cubes, time, and patience?


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

Do I have a picture (to model after), laptop (with the picture on it) and paper/pencil?


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## Ethan Rosen (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> Do I have a picture (to model after), laptop (with the picture on it) and paper/pencil?



You have whatever you think you need


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

OK, I put the picture in photoshop, then break it up (using lines) into what will be cubies. I then cut and paste each indavidual "cube", and make a mosaic (paper). Then, one by one, I "solve" each cube to match one in the picture, and assemble them to form something like what he made.
EDIT: I believe this is similar to the process used in making most cube mosaics, and I hope I explained well enough to understand.


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## Ethan Rosen (May 31, 2009)

Nope, you will get nowhere by doing that


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

What? I thought you are asking me how I would make the cube mosaic, right? That is the process I would use (split original picture into "cubes", print, solve cubes into state nessecary and assemble them in the correct order).


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## Ethan Rosen (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> What? I thought you are asking me how I would make the cube mosaic, right? That is the process I would use (split original picture into "cubes", print, solve cubes into state nessecary and assemble them in the correct order).



I'm sure that you would do that, but you wouldn't get even close to what you wanted


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

Why? I just want a mosaic made of rubik's cubes (based on just about any original photo).


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## Ethan Rosen (May 31, 2009)

I'm sure that is what you want, but your method would make something that just looks like random spurts of color


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

I would have to select colors to replace those not on the cube, If that is what you mean.


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## Ethan Rosen (May 31, 2009)

That is not what I mean. You clearly have no idea how people make cube art, so stop saying you have the ability.


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## qqwref (May 31, 2009)

Very nice job Bernett! I agree that something like this does not require exceptional cubing ability or intelligence, but I have great respect for your patience.

I would like to try something like this some day, although perhaps with a bit fewer cubes. It looks like it could be very fun.


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

Ethan Rosen said:


> That is not what I mean. You clearly have no idea how people make cube art, so stop saying you have the ability.



Did he make the plan himself? If so, I couldn't do it because I have NO artisitc ability whatsoever.


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## Ethan Rosen (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> Ethan Rosen said:
> 
> 
> > That is not what I mean. You clearly have no idea how people make cube art, so stop saying you have the ability.
> ...



I would highly doubt he did that using just his mind. Either way, you still have yet to back up your claim that you know how to do it.


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

OK, I don't know how to do it, explain it to me.


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## Swoncen (May 31, 2009)

But I think he's right in saying that it's not so hard to do once you have the cubes and some (or alot of) time.

I would do it this way.

- resize the digital image into a resoultion like 84x63 (whatever the ratio of the image is. In that case there are 28*3 x 21*3 pixels which requires 588 cubes.
- determine the most similar color for each pixel with the colors on the cubes.
- print the result in some way you'll find it easy to scramble your cubes then.


I could write a tool for that if you want.. anyone could make a mosaic then..


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

Umm, that is kinda EXACTLY what I was saying, I'm just not good at explaining it.


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## Swoncen (May 31, 2009)

yeah I understood your explanation =)


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## Ethan Rosen (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> Umm, that is kinda EXACTLY what I was saying, I'm just not good at explaining it.



For simplicities sake lets say that the size of a side of a 3x3 is 3 inches. That would make each square one inch. He had 7x7 feet to work with, meaning that he would need each side of the perimeter to have 84 squares. He would then need to put the picture into photoshop and resize the picture to be 84x84 pixels, and use some photoshop effects to make each picture one of the six colors on a cube. Print out, solve, and assemble. Note that this is much more accurate than separating them with a pencil.


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

I told you I can't explain anything .


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## Ethan Rosen (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> I told you I can't explain anything .



But what you said wasn't even close


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

I forgot to use example numbers (such as pixel hxw and such, swoncen understood it).


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## Swoncen (May 31, 2009)

Why are you so mad at jcuber? He just said that it's not a big deal and it sure isn't. Great respect to the one who did this anyway..


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## Ethan Rosen (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> OK, I put the picture in photoshop, then break it up (using lines) into what will be cubies.



How is that even remotely similar to what I said? 
Anyway, you still need to secure a place to do this, find a sponsor for 1000+ cubes, and then spend an entire day doing this. Good luck.

Edit:


Swoncen said:


> Why are you so mad at jcuber? He just said that it's not a big deal and it sure isn't. Great respect to the one who did this anyway..





jcuber said:


> a "Prodigy" did that? Almost anyone on this forum could do it in the same amount of time if not less.





jcuber said:


> Just so you know, I didn't mean to say you weren't a prodigy, I was just saying that almost anyone on this forum could do it as well. I still think it is extremely cool, as I wouldn't have had the patience t do it. Did you plan out the portrait before making it, or plan each indavidual cube before doing it?





jcuber said:


> I forgot to use example numbers (such as pixel hxw and such, swoncen understood it).


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## jcuber (May 31, 2009)

I'm not going to do it unless someone sends me the cubes I need. Kind of like the fact that the person who did the mosaic in this thread was given the cubes.


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## person917 (May 31, 2009)

The cheapest I've seen a cube was 1.79, I would want to try it but it gets expensive.


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## Ethan Rosen (May 31, 2009)

jcuber said:


> I'm not going to do it unless someone sends me the cubes I need. Kind of like the fact that the person who did the mosaic in this thread was given the cubes.



It didn't seem to me like he was given the cubes. It seemed to me that he worked to become incredible, and then used that ability to find a sponsorship. Good luck with that.


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## Swoncen (May 31, 2009)

I would make a mosaic of any picture you want if you send me the cubes. 1000 might be enough. =)


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## john louis (Jun 1, 2009)

jcuber said:


> I'm not going to do it unless someone sends me the cubes I need. Kind of like the fact that the person who did the mosaic in this thread was given the cubes.



You need not do anything to prove a point to anybody. One should enjoy doing it and have fun. I think, you are few days younger than me. Just enjoy here. My very purpose of posting this video here is (1). I learnt a lot in this forum (2). I am inspired by many in this forum (3). My posting may be an inspiration for at least one in this forum. 

A creative art director helped me. I just scrambled each cube in such a way to make the picture of marilyn Monroe. It is as simple as icing a cake. I enjoyed every moment of it. 

J.Bernett Orlando


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## Lord Voldemort (Jun 2, 2009)

jcuber said:


> a "Prodigy" did that? Almost anyone on this forum could do it in the same amount of time if not less.



.... wow

@ Bernett Orlando - That's really cool! And you even got advertising for that!


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## AvGalen (Jun 2, 2009)

I think Bernett really fits the definition of a prodigy. He is young and has a trainer/coach/mentor that helps him develop his skills. Having friends like Stefan and Ron doesn't hurt either.

And for anyone that doesn't remember: http://www.worldcubeassociation.org/results/c.php?top3=Top+3&competitionId=WC2007
He is the current world champion on 5x5x5 blind and was the runner up on 3x3x3 multiple blind. He also held the new 3x3x3_mbf world record this year.

But most importantly in this case: He became famous enough in India (about 1.2 billion people there) to get a sponsor to supply him with the means to do this. He also has the cubing and mental skills to sit down and actually do this AND have fun all at the same time

Congratulations Bernett. I really enjoyed this video and I hope to meet you again in the future


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## john louis (Jun 2, 2009)

AvGalen said:


> I think Bernett really fits the definition of a prodigy. He is young and has a trainer/coach/mentor that helps him develop his skills. Having friends like Stefan and Ron doesn't hurt either.
> 
> And for anyone that doesn't remember: http://www.worldcubeassociation.org/results/c.php?top3=Top+3&competitionId=WC2007
> He is the current world champion on 5x5x5 blind and was the runner up on 3x3x3 multiple blind. He also held the new 3x3x3_mbf world record this year.
> ...



Thank you Arnaud. Indeed, I am becoming popular in India as I already won 4 official championships in India and the youngest competitor as well. Both electronic and print media covers me doing anything nowadays. 

Very recently, I launched the world's largest jigsaw online puzzle along with a Bolllywood super star Rahul Bose. 

http://events.nowrunning.com/event/...orlds-largest-online-puzzle/22754/gallery.htm

http://www.funonthenet.in/forums/index.php?topic=132506.0

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/2847/power-puzzles.html

Interestingly, my sister is leading the contest way ahead of others and I am not eligible as I am under 18. You can visit the puzzle here www.stay-sharp.in . Unfortunately only Indians can compete to create a new world record(Guinness record). This puzzle consists of 25,000 pieces compiled into 1000 blocks and each block contains 25 pieces. More than 50,000 Indians are solving it already. 640 blocks are solved in 5 weeks. In another 3 weeks, the contest will be over. 

If I get sponsorship, we will meet in Germany in oct. I am not cubing much nowadays as i have to study a lot in school. I am 13 now. 

Very soon, cubing will be a big sport in India. You have to travel all the way to my country one day very soon!!!!!!

J.Bernett orlando


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## AvGalen (Jun 2, 2009)

India and more of Asia was on my list for this year because of the WC that was going to be there. I have moved them to 2010 for now.

I hope you get sponsorship for WC 2009. You are a defending champion you know! If you need any help (and Ron and Stefan are too busy) just contact me


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## Harris Chan (Jun 2, 2009)

To Bennett: I hope that we can see each other again! 



Sa967St said:


> That's awesome. During the next few months, Eric Limeback and I will be making some images using cubes too .



Hehe, my school's art department was thinking of doing something similar as well. They asked me to find where to buy mass bulks of cubes for the cheapest price. All I could think of were the dollar store cubes (especially on DX, which with mass order it'll lower the rates, and free shipping. But I don't know they'll like doing online orders..).


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## qqwref (Jun 2, 2009)

From http://events.nowrunning.com/event/...orlds-largest-online-puzzle/22754/gallery.htm:

"Bernett Orlando, current world champion in solving 555 professor cubes blindfolded."

You solved 555 5x5s blindfolded? I am VERY impressed


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## john louis (Jun 3, 2009)

qqwref said:


> From http://events.nowrunning.com/event/...orlds-largest-online-puzzle/22754/gallery.htm:
> 
> "Bernett Orlando, current world champion in solving 555 professor cubes blindfolded."
> 
> You solved 555 5x5s blindfolded? I am VERY impressed



Thank you so much Michael. You have a fantastic time in 444 and 555. It is amazing. Congrats.
I am very much eager to learn a method to solve a 555 in sub 80 sec and 444 in sub 50 sec. My best 555 single solve is 1 min 46 sec in world championship and best avg is 1 min 49 sec so far. My best 444 single solve is 49 sec and avg is 64 sec.
My time is center - 35 sec,
Edge pair up - 50 to 60 sec
333 - 20 sec

My method is centers (2 opposites, 2 adjacents and last 2 adjacents)
Edge pair up - Horizontal slicing
333 (CFOP)

Could you plz help me improve ?

J.Bernett Orlando


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## john louis (Jun 3, 2009)

I hope you get sponsorship for WC 2009. You are a defending champion you know! If you need any help (and Ron and Stefan are too busy) just contact me[/QUOTE]

I will soon contact you Arnaud. I need your help. I still enjoy looking at the photos we took together in Dutch Open and World championship. My dad told me that you are a good teacher too.


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## john louis (Jun 3, 2009)

Harris Chan said:


> To Bennett: I hope that we can see each other again!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



All the very best Harris. Instead of depending an art department, you can get the help of a computer expert to give you the pixels in the form of 3*3 squares of any picture you choose. It would be easy for you to just scramble each cube and place them in such a way to make the desired picture. It is not challenging but real test for your patience and determination. Of course, you can make the process of doing it fun filled in many ways.

Even a non cuber can do it just by pasting the stickers !


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