I am not an inexperienced builder, although I mainly like working with redstone, but I have never built anything really huge and epic (See giant castles, giant Minecart stations, huge elaborate bridges, boats, etc.)
My question is to veteran epic builders:
How do I START when building something epic? Do I make a plan and if so is there some program I can/should do this in? Or do I just have to start and edit on the fly?
Some of the timelapse builds I have seen online look way to perfect to be thought up while it's being built.
Most people myself included draw what they want first or find in image of what they are trying to create...after that it's one block at a time my friend.
Honestly, I myself am a pre good builder, nothing epic though like them timelapses or as huge but I find pictures of what I want to build (After spending ages trying to find a location) and then I build it (usually small scale :sad.gif: ) and plan as i go
There are a few things you can do to get started on a Minecraft project, but keep in mind that your ‘vision’ will never actually be what is in your head. Here are a few steps on how I start a project.
1. Determine your symmetry. Begin by deciding whether you want your doors to be three blocks wide or two. This may seem trivial, but believe me; if you have a building full of three blocks wide and two block wide doors then the thing is going to look uneven in places (windows set in corners for example.) Once you choose, the next step comes easy.
2. Even or odd? If you’ve seen houses without drywall, you may notice there are columns of wood equally spaced vertically from the base that support the next floor/roof. Before building a structure, it is important to build these columns first, and then fill in the space between them. This ensures your house won’t have corner windows and the rooms are spaced evenly. By filling in the space between the columns last you won’t risk wasting time if you miscalculated. But the space between the columns should follow suit with the width of your door. This ensures that your house will stay mirrored evenly. Just note that if you choose even, your building will generally reject any pattern that is odd (single column of window panes look bad for example) and vice versa. Once you determine which you can move on to the next step.
3. Molding design. Flat walls look bad, they just do. In a game where physical texture is non-existent on the majority of blocks, it is important to resist using flat walls. Columns lining the outside, windows sunken in, or even a row of blocks horizontally suspended look much better than a flat wall. Generally, because of this, it is best to use extra thick outer walls. Single flat walls on the inside of a building as room dividers are almost unavoidable if you want to efficiently use space, but outer walls should always have a design or pattern that draw attention. Fences are your friends!
4. Doodads. In the majority of games, doodads are the tiny space-wasters that keep a room interesting. Book shelves, fences, paintings, rugs, chairs, tables, etc… are all examples of doodads. Lining the outside of a house with a fountain or two and a garden can really open up the outside of a building and draw attention away from the repetitive pattern of the structure.
5. Big squares are bad! Don’t make a big square structure, unless you compensate for it with amazing tiers of roofing. Corridors and hallways leading out to separate sections can really help you in this endeavor. But in the end, a large rectangular/square castle with flat walls tends to put people to sleep – and often does injustice to how the inside of the castle looks. Also, just as big squares are bad, so are big circles, no matter how amazingly round they may be.
6. Open space and light. Keep these in mind when designing a structure. Always allow for windows and equally spaced torches. Nothing says “rushed’ more than a house with torches randomly spaced around it. I tend to try and place torches with three blocks of empty space between them. You don’t need that much light and it tends to look awkward if you decide to put a lone painting in a row of torches. Also, avoid too large of rooms without anything in the middle. Always fill them some way to allow a good excuse for a torch. The large dark center of a room always turns into a nightmare of zombies, skeletons, and creepers.
7. Finally, roofing! I personally do the roofing second, after the foundation, mainly so I know how dark a room is before I really sink my teeth into it, but holding it off until last is safer because any screw ups in design often require a re-roofing as well. Steps for roofs look cleaner, but keep in mind that it is a nightmare sometimes if you can’t fly. Half-blocks are great as well, but often they look too flat. Just make sure to have intricate designs in roofing. Large slopes that seem to go on forever look shabby and generally waste space. Towers and open-floor rooms with windows can help a lot.
As a final tip, make sure you have rooms at least three blocks tall. Squished rooms detract from what the room feels like and limits what you can put in a room. I usually have a system of
o Molding block (block type A )
o Two window-space blocks (block type B, and window pane)
o A cap block on top of that. (block type B )
o Roof block (block type C ) (Floors extend off of this)
o And repeated with another molding block.
This design is four blocks tall, allowing for amazingly open rooms.
And that’s what I do to start up a structure. Just remember to measure things accurately. If it helps, start by making a grid of blocks spaced evenly away from each other – either two or three blocks away from one another and then hollowing out the sections you wish to make rooms. I find it always produces nice evenly-spaced rooms with intricate designs.
Oh, and building on water is a good way to make a large structure. Nothing sucks more than trying to add a room but a mountain is in the way. Also, you have the possibility of a dock.
The best way to make an amazing structure is through method; for me at least.
Here's one of my buildings under construction
It is square, but like I said, roofing can help that.
And another shot of the whole complex
Sorry if it is a bit dark :tongue.gif:
Notice the roofing designs I mentioned. The wood looks a little iffy, but the shapes make it look interesting.
There are a few things you can do to get started on a Minecraft project, but keep in mind that your ‘vision’ will never actually be what is in your head. Here are a few steps on how I start a project.
1. Determine your symmetry. Begin by deciding whether you want your doors to be three blocks wide or two. This may seem trivial, but believe me; if you have a building full of three blocks wide and two block wide doors then the thing is going to look uneven in places (windows set in corners for example.) Once you choose, the next step comes easy.
2. Even or odd? If you’ve seen houses without drywall, you may notice there are columns of wood equally spaced vertically from the base that support the next floor/roof. Before building a structure, it is important to build these columns first, and then fill in the space between them. This ensures your house won’t have corner windows and the rooms are spaced evenly. By filling in the space between the columns last you won’t risk wasting time if you miscalculated. But the space between the columns should follow suit with the width of your door. This ensures that your house will stay mirrored evenly. Just note that if you choose even, your building will generally reject any pattern that is odd (single column of window panes look bad for example) and vice versa. Once you determine which you can move on to the next step.
3. Molding design. Flat walls look bad, they just do. In a game where physical texture is non-existent on the majority of blocks, it is important to resist using flat walls. Columns lining the outside, windows sunken in, or even a row of blocks horizontally suspended look much better than a flat wall. Generally, because of this, it is best to use extra thick outer walls. Single flat walls on the inside of a building as room dividers are almost unavoidable if you want to efficiently use space, but outer walls should always have a design or pattern that draw attention. Fences are your friends!
4. Doodads. In the majority of games, doodads are the tiny space-wasters that keep a room interesting. Book shelves, fences, paintings, rugs, chairs, tables, etc… are all examples of doodads. Lining the outside of a house with a fountain or two and a garden can really open up the outside of a building and draw attention away from the repetitive pattern of the structure.
5. Big squares are bad! Don’t make a big square structure, unless you compensate for it with amazing tiers of roofing. Corridors and hallways leading out to separate sections can really help you in this endeavor. But in the end, a large rectangular/square castle with flat walls tends to put people to sleep – and often does injustice to how the inside of the castle looks. Also, just as big squares are bad, so are big circles, no matter how amazingly round they may be.
6. Open space and light. Keep these in mind when designing a structure. Always allow for windows and equally spaced torches. Nothing says “rushed’ more than a house with torches randomly spaced around it. I tend to try and place torches with three blocks of empty space between them. You don’t need that much light and it tends to look awkward if you decide to put a lone painting in a row of torches. Also, avoid too large of rooms without anything in the middle. Always fill them some way to allow a good excuse for a torch. The large dark center of a room always turns into a nightmare of zombies, skeletons, and creepers.
7. Finally, roofing! I personally do the roofing second, after the foundation, mainly so I know how dark a room is before I really sink my teeth into it, but holding it off until last is safer because any screw ups in design often require a re-roofing as well. Steps for roofs look cleaner, but keep in mind that it is a nightmare sometimes if you can’t fly. Half-blocks are great as well, but often they look too flat. Just make sure to have intricate designs in roofing. Large slopes that seem to go on forever look shabby and generally waste space. Towers and open-floor rooms with windows can help a lot.
As a final tip, make sure you have rooms at least three blocks tall. Squished rooms detract from what the room feels like and limits what you can put in a room. I usually have a system of
o Molding block (block type A )
o Two window-space blocks (block type B, and window pane)
o A cap block on top of that. (block type B )
o Roof block (block type C ) (Floors extend off of this)
o And repeated with another molding block.
This design is four blocks tall, allowing for amazingly open rooms.
And that’s what I do to start up a structure. Just remember to measure things accurately. If it helps, start by making a grid of blocks spaced evenly away from each other – either two or three blocks away from one another and then hollowing out the sections you wish to make rooms. I find it always produces nice evenly-spaced rooms with intricate designs.
Oh, and building on water is a good way to make a large structure. Nothing sucks more than trying to add a room but a mountain is in the way. Also, you have the possibility of a dock.
The best way to make an amazing structure is through method; for me at least.
Here's one of my buildings under construction
It is square, but like I said, roofing can help that.
And another shot of the whole complex
Sorry if it is a bit dark :tongue.gif:
Notice the roofing designs I mentioned. The wood looks a little iffy, but the shapes make it look interesting.
THATS AMAZING BUTT I HAVE TO MUCH OF A LIFE TO MAKE THAT SORRY BUT GOOD IDEAS NOT MY POST BUT YOU HELPED ME OUT!!
I am not an inexperienced builder, although I mainly like working with redstone, but I have never built anything really huge and epic (See giant castles, giant Minecart stations, huge elaborate bridges, boats, etc.)
My question is to veteran epic builders:
How do I START when building something epic? Do I make a plan and if so is there some program I can/should do this in? Or do I just have to start and edit on the fly?
Some of the timelapse builds I have seen online look way to perfect to be thought up while it's being built.
Any tips for a new epic builder?
1. Determine your symmetry. Begin by deciding whether you want your doors to be three blocks wide or two. This may seem trivial, but believe me; if you have a building full of three blocks wide and two block wide doors then the thing is going to look uneven in places (windows set in corners for example.) Once you choose, the next step comes easy.
2. Even or odd? If you’ve seen houses without drywall, you may notice there are columns of wood equally spaced vertically from the base that support the next floor/roof. Before building a structure, it is important to build these columns first, and then fill in the space between them. This ensures your house won’t have corner windows and the rooms are spaced evenly. By filling in the space between the columns last you won’t risk wasting time if you miscalculated. But the space between the columns should follow suit with the width of your door. This ensures that your house will stay mirrored evenly. Just note that if you choose even, your building will generally reject any pattern that is odd (single column of window panes look bad for example) and vice versa. Once you determine which you can move on to the next step.
3. Molding design. Flat walls look bad, they just do. In a game where physical texture is non-existent on the majority of blocks, it is important to resist using flat walls. Columns lining the outside, windows sunken in, or even a row of blocks horizontally suspended look much better than a flat wall. Generally, because of this, it is best to use extra thick outer walls. Single flat walls on the inside of a building as room dividers are almost unavoidable if you want to efficiently use space, but outer walls should always have a design or pattern that draw attention. Fences are your friends!
4. Doodads. In the majority of games, doodads are the tiny space-wasters that keep a room interesting. Book shelves, fences, paintings, rugs, chairs, tables, etc… are all examples of doodads. Lining the outside of a house with a fountain or two and a garden can really open up the outside of a building and draw attention away from the repetitive pattern of the structure.
5. Big squares are bad! Don’t make a big square structure, unless you compensate for it with amazing tiers of roofing. Corridors and hallways leading out to separate sections can really help you in this endeavor. But in the end, a large rectangular/square castle with flat walls tends to put people to sleep – and often does injustice to how the inside of the castle looks. Also, just as big squares are bad, so are big circles, no matter how amazingly round they may be.
6. Open space and light. Keep these in mind when designing a structure. Always allow for windows and equally spaced torches. Nothing says “rushed’ more than a house with torches randomly spaced around it. I tend to try and place torches with three blocks of empty space between them. You don’t need that much light and it tends to look awkward if you decide to put a lone painting in a row of torches. Also, avoid too large of rooms without anything in the middle. Always fill them some way to allow a good excuse for a torch. The large dark center of a room always turns into a nightmare of zombies, skeletons, and creepers.
7. Finally, roofing! I personally do the roofing second, after the foundation, mainly so I know how dark a room is before I really sink my teeth into it, but holding it off until last is safer because any screw ups in design often require a re-roofing as well. Steps for roofs look cleaner, but keep in mind that it is a nightmare sometimes if you can’t fly. Half-blocks are great as well, but often they look too flat. Just make sure to have intricate designs in roofing. Large slopes that seem to go on forever look shabby and generally waste space. Towers and open-floor rooms with windows can help a lot.
As a final tip, make sure you have rooms at least three blocks tall. Squished rooms detract from what the room feels like and limits what you can put in a room. I usually have a system of
o Molding block (block type A )
o Two window-space blocks (block type B, and window pane)
o A cap block on top of that. (block type B )
o Roof block (block type C ) (Floors extend off of this)
o And repeated with another molding block.
This design is four blocks tall, allowing for amazingly open rooms.
And that’s what I do to start up a structure. Just remember to measure things accurately. If it helps, start by making a grid of blocks spaced evenly away from each other – either two or three blocks away from one another and then hollowing out the sections you wish to make rooms. I find it always produces nice evenly-spaced rooms with intricate designs.
Oh, and building on water is a good way to make a large structure. Nothing sucks more than trying to add a room but a mountain is in the way. Also, you have the possibility of a dock.
The best way to make an amazing structure is through method; for me at least.
Here's one of my buildings under construction
It is square, but like I said, roofing can help that.
And another shot of the whole complex
Sorry if it is a bit dark :tongue.gif:
Notice the roofing designs I mentioned. The wood looks a little iffy, but the shapes make it look interesting.
gargamel: http://www.gamefront.com/files/22576198/gargamel Converted.zip Glacier: PM Me