[Old Thread] Creative Build School

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"Because we're painting a canvas here, and this is just the first few strokes."

That is a good way of putting it. I never thought about building like that. I have always built bunkers underground from a grey palette of stone and stone bricks. These bunkers are basic and kinda boring. Back when I was just focusing on the survival aspect of the game they were enough for me. Not too long ago I began to build on the surface. However, I hate everything I build and often tear down/rebuild repeatedly. Seeing how you transformed the area around the house and reading what you were thinking while building has given me a bit of insight as to what a good builder is thinking while creating something cool. I feel inspired to stop playing it so safe with my builds and to just jump in and build what I want to see. Goodstuff, thanks :)
 
TimePilot said:
"Because we're painting a canvas here, and this is just the first few strokes."

That is a good way of putting it. I never thought about building like that. I have always built bunkers underground from a grey palette of stone and stone bricks. These bunkers are basic and kinda boring. Back when I was just focusing on the survival aspect of the game they were enough for me. Not too long ago I began to build on the surface. However, I hate everything I build and often tear down/rebuild repeatedly. Seeing how you transformed the area around the house and reading what you were thinking while building has given me a bit of insight as to what a good builder is thinking while creating something cool. I feel inspired to stop playing it so safe with my builds and to just jump in and build what I want to see. Goodstuff, thanks :)
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All of this made me so happy ^^
 
Toonies said:
I'm commandeering this thread for a hot minute, in the name of the Melon Vikings

Kidding! We're not doing that here. We're here to talk about the algebra of Minecraft, the thing you either love or hate.

Terraforming.

TcmximY.png


For the past few weeks people have been like, Hey, Toons, nice floating house. GEE THANKS IT'S FLOATING FOR A REASON MMKK. And it is, and that reason is: This is where I wanted to put it. So that's what I did. Because I can. Because this is Minecraft, and I can turn the terrain into whatever my fabulously chilly heart desires.

This picture looks weird. The house looks Gigantic and the hill behind it looks dwarfed. And that's ok. Because we're painting a canvas here, and this is just the first few strokes.

B344n2W.png


Oh Yikes, it looks worse from the other side. Big yikes. But that's ok. You know why? Because it's Minecraft, and the blocks do what you tell them to, not the other way around. Let's get painting.

XlhZHKr.png


Boom. More paint. I've piled snow on the left side of the house. My thought process here is that when the wind is blowing, with the house wedged up tightly against the hill, this is where the snow would gather. The platform? Stone. It's cold here (I'm revamping the Frozen Tundra biome) so no dirt. Away with the dirt. Dirt's a warm block, we don't want dirt. The platform? No specifications. No measuring, no numbers, no counting. Just placing blocks, stepping back, and having a look.

So how's the other side look?


lvSQ53J.png


:eek: FIX IT!

jKjDfko.png


Wabam. Again, no counting, just placing blocks. We're painting with blocks here. Think in strokes, not straight lines drawn with a ruler. It's a hill, in a rough environment, it doesn't need to be perfect, and neither do you. This side drops into a dried up riverbed, so it was a bit steep, but I've simply run it into the other side, cutting through the river, because this is my canvas and I can do whatever I want. (We'll come back to the river later.)

Wi04uvO.png


Terrain palette. We don't want just a stone platform. Sure, it's better than a floating house, but it's boring. It's a Frozen Tundra. There's snow. Make snow drifts. In a desert? Sand drifts. Swamp? Mud. Use rocks, use wood, use leaves, use kelp, use hay, use ice. USE EVERYTHING!! Clutter it up, make it messy, paint over your build (Be brave! You can do it!) So that's just a few blocks, still kind of boring. What else can I do?

O4sb6A9.png


MOAR SNOW! AND FIRE! Working with snow allows me to use the snow layers. They'll melt close to light, but I don't give two doinks about safety. A few burning braziers, a wonky cobble step, and a bunch of snow layers have transformed this from a floaty house to something that looks lived in (It isn't, it's stone cold empty. But it sure looks pretty.)

So, that frozen, dried up river...?

K4xK2j3.png


Blocked off and painted over it. With nowhere to go, maybe the water sloshed up and froze. Whatever your read on it, a boring, narrow, grassy cut in the landscape has been repainted to fit into my build. Because it's mine, and I can put the blocks wherever the heck I want to.

@Rosleen 's terraforming class was fantastic, and the techniques were all ones I applied here. I wanted to post this an alternative example, a demonstration with some different blocks, to convey a different scene and temperature. Also as encouragement not to let the terrain dictate where and what you build. Our first instinct is to flatten, but don't be afraid to go in the opposite direction and just build in the air. Create your own terrain. Paint it.

fBVA7GI.png


Our outcast, floaty house now fits snugly into the Frozen Tundra. From drab to fab.

If you want a closer look, feel free to visit me in NW. Preferably when I'm not there. ;)
Click to expand...

 
arctoa said:
@Toonies That came out great, good work. I'll have to come look at those burning braziers, for starters.
Click to expand...

They're a cauldron with a slab on top of it. Light all four sides of the slab on fire.

Fair warning, they're very dangerous. The hit box on the fire is wide and you don't have to get too close for it to light you on fire.

But they sure do look nice. :P

TimePilot said:
"Because we're painting a canvas here, and this is just the first few strokes."

That is a good way of putting it. I never thought about building like that. I have always built bunkers underground from a grey palette of stone and stone bricks. These bunkers are basic and kinda boring. Back when I was just focusing on the survival aspect of the game they were enough for me. Not too long ago I began to build on the surface. However, I hate everything I build and often tear down/rebuild repeatedly. Seeing how you transformed the area around the house and reading what you were thinking while building has given me a bit of insight as to what a good builder is thinking while creating something cool. I feel inspired to stop playing it so safe with my builds and to just jump in and build what I want to see. Goodstuff, thanks :)
Click to expand...

So glad to hear this! :D Nothing ever has to be perfect, and it took me a long time to get to this point with my minecraft builds. I used to feel just like you, and the best thing to do is like you said, just jump in and build. Stop being so critical, and look at every build not as something you hate or needs to be destroyed, but as a step you took toward improving. :D
 
Toonies said:
So glad to hear this! :D Nothing ever has to be perfect, and it took me a long time to get to this point with my minecraft builds. I used to feel just like you, and the best thing to do is like you said, just jump in and build. Stop being so critical, and look at every build not as something you hate or needs to be destroyed, but as a step you took toward improving. :D
Click to expand...

This is pretty good life advice too!
 
Toonies said:
Nothing ever has to be perfect, and it took me a long time to get to this point with my minecraft builds. I used to feel just like you, and the best thing to do is like you said, just jump in and build.
Click to expand...
This is something I need to work on, too. I obsess over wanting something to look nice and put all my energy into planning...and very little actually winds up being built.
 
Katalaeia said:
This is something I need to work on, too. I obsess over wanting something to look nice and put all my energy into planning...and very little actually winds up being built.
Click to expand...

I do the exact opposite, I just go nutty with blocks, then have to step away from it to see if what I did actually looks good xD
 
INTERIOR DESIGN
BUILD SCHOOL ON SATURDAY 2nd OF MARCH at 20:00 CET.​

1361

It is most certainly time for our third build school! And possibly we'll do many more in the future!

@Taimimimi & @Likliksnek are hosting it, and I am personally very excited to be taught by some of the best MC interior designers I've ever met!

The location will be the HO Creative server, so be sure you are white listed to log onto it, before hand.

Please sign up before saturday, so we know how many people we'll be entertaining :)
Please sign up before saturday at 3pm CET here.

Attendees:
Rosleen
Toonies
Katrida (If Shanks will let her out of her cave)
Amaris
MotherOfDiamonds
Hello1986
CelticKev2k4
RockCandy
SafetyMoose
MGAlexis
 
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