Building inspiration?

I was wondering how do you all plan on these mega amazing beautiful builds anytime that I tried to visual what’s in my head and don’t come out right.Do you guys just draft up an idea by drawing it out like I’m curious to see how you guys come up with some really cool builds. I’m going for a medieval town/city and anytime I see somebody’s massive medieval builds.They are jaw droppers you all do amazing jobs with the very large medieval buildings and structures :clap:t2:

7 Likes

I usually search the web after i come up with a theme. Then the hard part is picking the colors lol.

6 Likes

I’ll look at Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration- even when I have no idea what I’m looking for- you can usually find yourself down a rabbit hole and end up with a hundred screenshots of ideas to make your own :sweat_smile:

6 Likes

MagicaVoxel works great for designing builds, might help with the visualization of your projects.

5 Likes

Most of the time I wing it. But sometimes I find it good to draw a really simple drawing. Or do a top down drawing of what’s going where. I have found images on google or Instagram for reference as well. If you’re building with someone else the drawings are great for other people to visualize what you’re thinking.

I’ll try and find a link from post your screenshots with one of my lame sketches.

4 Likes

Build what my brain sees…

This comes with the difficulty of trying to build what me brain sees several different ways (with a lot of failures and it can change as i try to build it…

One thing i should say when you are building expect you won’t get your “new” design first try… expect you will rip it all down from several to many many times.

Creating depth in a wall requires more then one layer… (some of my walls are actually 3 or more layers thick).

Go bigger for details…. And expect a massive amount of chiseling and detail work…

Like my Terra Nova build the outer walls are 3 plots high and as it goes up 1 plot it goes from 1 layer to 3-4 layers thick…
The hub walls are 4layers (if im not mistaken [sewer, corruption, sand and brick edge/portal]).
Lower lvl wall are just 2 layers.

Anyway to go back on topic of inspiration I usually build what my brain sees, guess my brain picks up stuff here and there and archives it and does ding ding ding when it must…

3 Likes

I like circles but most of the time I free hand everything my motivation is from walking around a seeing everyone’s build and saying to myself I can do that and go bigger :laughing:

4 Likes

If we’re talking inspirations, for me it’s a combination of seeing the cool builds of others + the cool places I’ve been to in multiple games. Sort of you want to re-live on those places and capture those emotions that evoked within you, but this time, it is you who have the over all control and do as you see fit. ^^

Once the inspiration is set, I go over reference materials online from real houses and screenshot of those games I’d like to based my build upon. It’s just a reference though. While building, you’ll notice that you’re limited by the game’s mechanics but at the same time, more powerful due to the game’s mechanics as well. That’s the point where you just wing it and build things as see fit. This is the point where your creativity kicks in. The challenge to make a build that is pleasant as the game allows you to do. :blush:

Tools such as Magika Voxel is good for planning and layout but for the actual design, I feel like they limit you to the finer details that the game can do. I did this before. It looked good in the magika voxel but when made in game, it’s not bad but it’s just… I think the term is bland. You can further refine it with chisel but some times it just won’t be enough. Add to the fact that when I’m in magika voxel, the builds in game turns out monstrous in size compared to what I imagine haha.

6 Likes

I’ve always gone freehand. I see a spot, feel a thing, start placing blocks.

Sometimes it works out great, sometimes - not so much.

:man_shrugging:

6 Likes

I have a whole process.

  1. Have a simple idea like “a wizard made a tree with crystals”
  2. Let that idea steep in my head for a while, letting it evolve into something else.
  3. Coalesce the idea into a location with a narrative.
  4. Let that narrative steep in my head a while, making sure I understand what the location is and why it’s there.
  5. Build a mental sketch of the structure(s) involved, usually referencing various images on google.
  6. Build some prototypes on a creative world, making sure I’m building with colors that are reasonable to acquire
  7. Start the actual build!
  8. Realize that whatever I had in mind was partially impossible, iterate on it, building out solutions to the problems I come across whenever I’m falling asleep or on a long drive.

Eventually I either give up or finish the build.

8 Likes

Adjusted to feel more truthy (for me).

4 Likes

YES, YES, YES! I so hate this part.

4 Likes

I mostly wing it. It really just comes down to practice and testing color combinations as well as research.

But one way that helped me lots in the past was to take a lot of photos of alleyways or other cool features while I was traveling etc. This gives me a visual direction of what I want to build as well as how colors matches together.

Research and planning is key. Like in my castle build series. I tore down my initial outlines due to poor planning. Now the end result is much better. I googled a lot of castles and the history of castles, researched what kind of people lived there, what kinds of rooms there were and so on.

Also, there are so many great builds on youtube from Minecraft players. While you can definitely use those designs, I would rather say use them as examples and don’t straight copy them, this way you will learn to build similar styles as great builders but since you don’t straight up copy, you will actually learn the skill of building. But it takes a lot if time, and just like any skill, it’s all about practice. And don’t be in a rush, it takes time to create something great!

Additionally, I always make an outline of the frame first with any block really, that helps me visualise much better. As I have a series on it, shamelessly going to plug myself here but here is an example how I’ve gone about doing it.

And in general, if you are bored, you can watch the entire series because I pretty much explain all my reasons for why I did something. :sweat_smile:

7 Likes

I search Pinterest for cool architecture, and it jjst grows from there. My builds are smaller though… and mediocre at best. Lol.

7 Likes

I tend to search for inspirational images online, calculate the ratio in my head (each block is a meter, a gate without a doorframe which is 3+ blocks wide needs a height of atleast 4 blocks to walk through to look right), do some rough measurements with blocks for orientation and then wing it :smiley:
Sticking to the original image might not always be the right choice due to the limitations (max height, block shapes etc) but they’re good to get proportions right and catch a specific feel to the build. They can also help you understand which colors pair well together but it’s likely that the palette doesn’t fit to your world. Try getting different references and mix them together to get your own twist to it.

I outline structures on the ground (actually sometimes I even do those outlines in the ground since they’ll be covered with the correct blocks afterwards by doing so), create rough simple shapes (starting with outlines only to get a feeling for the size, then fill the walls) and then slowly reshape them and add layers in front and behind.
I’m doing floors one by one and if I have the same kind of room multiple times I copy over the current floor to the other room before I start the next floor so it’s not that hard to remember what and how I chiseled each part.

I more or less documented my latest build with screenshots in the “What did you do today” thread since I post an update almost every single day.
You can also see the outlines I do in the screenshots there:

8 Likes

start with a good floorplan, make sure there is enough room for everything, but avoid making things too big ( double walls (interior different than exterior, architecture elements like pillars and cornices sticking out of the wall on both sides to add depth)
chose a good paltette, use slight texture and color variations for every material

8 Likes

I don’t build very big. For me it’s the details. I’ve been building in voxel games a very long time. My desktop is covered with images from the internet, screenshots from movies, games, websites. Photos of places for natural panoramas or closeups of architectural bits. I have a folder with 730 subfolders that has been with me through at least 4 pcs. I update a stick drive every once in a while to catch new additions.

Once I get an idea of what I might build, I scour those folders, listen to music to get in a creative mindset. Decide where to build. And I totally agree that picking what colors to use is the hardest part. For Boundless I then go on a hunt for those colors. From base blocks to plants, deco items, anything I think I might conceivably use. I stack chests to add those items. And keep pouring through files to get more details.

Once I’m building it’s a flow of what feels right. Does it look good, if not what other materials would make it more interesting. So I experiment with things I wouldn’t normally use.

After the build is pretty much done, I go back and do detail work. A lot of times I rip out entire sections or I get another idea that pushes that build in a slightly different direction.

Lighting and nature are last. I add a LOT of lighting, usually hidden and slap plants anywhere I think they’ll look good.

Even after the fact I tend to be wandering past an old build, then go back and tweak something because I’ve learned a new way to use something or have been shown a different way to use, say chisels.

No build is ever ‘done’ to me. There can always be something new and interesting added or modified.

5 Likes

@ginabean

Your builds far surpass mediocre. The house you built on HSE is decorated tastefully. Not to mention some of the builds you had on trior! I actually found some videos on YouTube that have me running around old illn and there was some beautiful work done there.

Back on topic most of my inspiration comes from within. I always try to one up myself or make shapes that will allow for many layers.
I’ve given this advice before. Example
Instead of building one big box build a bunch of smaller boxes joined together, random formation, different sizes and heights then add layers and add roofs etc to bring them all together. I’ve come up with some pretty neat designs this way. I have no idea what it is when I start sometimes but just go with it and see what happens.

7 Likes

Excellent suggestion!
I am in awe of anyone that can lay down a foundation and build a detailed … well , anything.

And I have to agree with you on Ginabean. As well as a list of others who claim they don’t seem to think much of their building style. That includes you Shadykatt.

I have a server on another game titled “Inspiration Revisited”. It basically means that all the builds I’ve personally done on that server were a culmination of lessons learned through others.

I just love this community of creators :slight_smile:

5 Likes

Thanks @AdoraLupinatu I am my own worst critic. Ive redone builds multiple times and even then I’m not always happy.

That’s a great idea the inspiration server. I feel like boundless is that. We are all inspiring each other in some way. :hugs:

3 Likes