Time for me to L2Build

[Drbretto]

I'm looking for some resources to read up on at work.

Here's the deal. Sometimes I can get inspired and build some neat stuff, but for the life of me, I can't build a damn house that looks like a house. I'm wondering/hoping that people know of some good resources for tips for building nice looking stuff. This doesn't even have to be based on mods.

I am specifically NOT looking for design schemes so I can copy someone else's design. I don't learn anything from doing that. I'm just looking for some good ole building 101 to learns some basic principles that I can apply to my own stuff. General architectural advice, minecraft specific tips, etc, all that.

My latest build, specifically, needs a large, cool looking castle tower thing that's fit for a Draconic Evolution energy multiblock, so if we're looking for something specific, it's how to make a convincing castle.

 

[Drbretto]

Found one thing already:

https://minecraft.wonderhowto.com/n...-architectural-design-and-aesthetics-0133074/

I haven't gone all the way through, but it looks like a good place to start. Figured I'd put 'em here in case anyone else was looking for this kind of thing, too.

 

[Inaeo]

For me, I try to pick a style of building, then look at real world examples. Floor plans and pictures of what others have done can help inspire my own process without needing to copy what they've done before.

Castles are great in this respect, as many castles are well photographed, documented, and historied. The details of why they designed a castle the way they have, and an understanding of the technology barriers they faced can go a long way to making your castle have the true feel. Things like buttresses, which are generally optional in Minecraft, were needed to support large flat walls, so taking their spacing into consideration can really sell authenticity.

Generally, I find building with purpose in mind helps reduce the amount of redesign when fitting systems into place. Where you want a tower to house your power storage, the dimensions, including and wiring and access, should be prime concern. Then, once you know how to fit everything inside the space, you can design where that space will live in relation to the rest of the castle (how high a tower, central or offset, etc). What extra support would a tower such as that need if actually constructed? Always be mindful of expansion, both as a building and in tech, being sure to plan in any piping solutions you may need as you go to prevent discouraging redesign and retrofit down the road.

Personally, I like quickly sketching or describing each specific design on separate sheets of paper (I have no artistic talent, so these are usually rough and leave a lot to the imagination still). As things progress, I move the pieces around each other to get a better sense of how the pieces relate to each other and to the whole. As I find pieces that I like connecting, I try to design (sketching again, or at least a basic vision) the junction between them. Rinse and repeat until all of the wanted bits are connected together, noting that sometimes things don't fit nicely, and are best left as sperate buildings.

My biggest hurdle is usually choice of pallette. There are so many options available that my brain goes into vapor-lock and I find myself frozen by indecision. My breakthrough recently has been to just shape it out first, then coming back to "paint" the structure (Botania Wand of the Shifting Crust is great for this) once I can see how the materials will physically interact with each other. It also let's me plug and play pallette choices into the actual shape to compare (shades of wood, style of brick, etc.), making me feel more confident in my pallette choice as I move forward. Once I have the pallette sorted, I can concentrate on building with the right blocks.

I'll try to find some of my old resources on castle architecture at some point. It was more of a history of the parts, but I felt it helped me place components more realistically.

 

[Drbretto]

Where you want a tower to house your power storage, the dimensions, including and wiring and access, should be prime concern.

OK, so I'm taking from this that I should probably build a basic like frame of the shape of the inside of what I'm trying to build first. And I can't believe this didn't occur to me sooner.

Frame it out first, then I can spend some time on the side working on that pallett and a basic repeating design to surround that space with.

This could actually work!

I think I'm going to have to just make as many different stone types as I can and piece them together in a pattern that looks nice. I will definitely study some castle pictures, too. Just for inspiration.

 

[Inaeo]

Not sure if you followed @rhn 's thread in the showcase, but he routinely built pallette rooms underground near bedrock. They were large rooms stacked with a great many building materials. He would go and physically place different blocks beside each other for a preview of what they look like beside each other. It's a lot of work to set up, but if you're going to be building a lot in this world, it will save time in the future.

Also, I found this site that helps break down the parts of a castle and how and why they were used through history. Hope it helps.

 

[Drbretto]

I should definitely check out RHN's thread again, just because that dude got it going on. I was thinking exactly that, though. I have my big ugly batcave pit where I can make a bunch of wall samples and see what looks good before I get up there and start building with no plan. I think that might make the difference. I can't believe it never occurred to me before.

This way, I can still be me, too. I can still experiment with some stuff on the small scale there. I'm actually pretty encouraged now.

 

[Celestialphoenix]

Grian does a lot of tutorials on how to build detailed/good looking stuff.
(from what I remember he gives a fair bit on the how and why of certain things working too)

 

[Nuclear_Creeper0]

Grian does a lot of tutorials on how to build detailed/good looking stuff.
(from what I remember he gives a fair bit on the how and why of certain things working too)

You beat me to it.
But yeah Grian is probably your best bet
Some of the hermits are really good builders like Welsknight. So I would check them too.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Eh, Grian is good, artistically, but he also uses Creative mode almost exclusively, making it difficult to follow through in an actual game. He sees minecraft as a canvas to do art on, which is great, but probably not what you are looking for.

I'd suggest Saice's This Old 9x9 for ideas on how to take simple builds and give them more character.

 

[Drbretto]

Ha, I thought that was going to be the Direwolf video on how to build a 9x9 house, lol

I'm armed with everything I need for now. Gotta master the basics, first. And that first thing to master is the golden ratio. I was reading up on that this morning and everything is coming into place in my head. But, if people have more, by all means, keep on a-postin'. I can always check the out later.

 

[Daihok]

Yea I learned alot from Grian and Jeracraft is another to watch as well I think. My builds arent perfect yet but they are getting better. I actually do better with modern builds. So in this new pack having hard time with some rustic builds.

 

[MikW]

I watched Grian for basic building tips. His videos are basic and easy buildings, and he gives you the building techniques, and encourages you not to copy.

 

[Drbretto]

Ok, I have a little bit of beef with this Grian guy, if that's even his real name.

I started checking them out, like just zipping through a couple of them. Namely his tree and spikes tutorials. And on both, he's using some building tool that does all the work for him. So, it's like, here, to make a spike thing, just aim this wand over there somewhere and it'll happen automatically!

I'm sure there are plenty in the middle without these tools, too. Speaking of those tools, what are they from? Is this something I should consider adding to my pack?

 

[LordPINE]

He is using worldedit, which is quite reasonable seeing as he makes creative builds. You should maybe check out the hermits, like Nuclear_Creeper0 said. They build everything in survival, so they should be a good inspiration.

 

[Drbretto]

Yeah, I'm 100% survival mode. I'll check them out, too.

 

[KingTriaxx]

Welsknight is an absolutely stunning builder, and works mostly in survival.

 

[Cptqrk]

B Double O is a great builder as well. His vanilla world is a sight to behold for sure.

 

[Inaeo]

I nearly forgot. If you're into Twitch streaming, Slinned has a regular show where he builds massive structures in Vanilla survival. His pallette choice doesn't always suit my tastes, but he puts together some truly impressive looking builds.

 

[Drbretto]

I'll probably take a look at these videos at some point just to admire their work. But not until after this weekend's build. I'm intrigued by that worldedit thing Grian was doing. That could be neat for some future world I run.

But generally speaking, I like to just learn the fundamentals and let things happen rather than learn specific techniques others have come up with. I admire their skill, and I've definitely gotten a design or two online when I was stuck on something. It's kind of like a cheat code, sorta. I'm the weirdo here, I know it

I think I got exactly what I was looking for by skimming an article on the use of the golden ratio throughout architectural history. A few sample photos pointing it out with little boxes, and suddenly the whole thing's pretty much going to design itself. I can't wait to see what happens, lol