Valholl Chapter II (WIP)

[kabel]

So it's been said several times, that GOH is all about improving skills. So here I've got a question. I'm currently working on an extension of my Valholl moc and got stuck with this building. Somehow I'm not satisfied with it (it seems to simple) and was wandering whether I could get the one or the other advise on how to improve this building. I ran out of ideas.

[Zach Mills]

So it's been said several times, that GOH is all about improving skills. So here I've got a question. I'm currently working on an extension of my Valholl moc and got stuck with this building. Somehow I'm not satisfied with it (it seems to simple) and was wandering whether I could get the one or the other advise on how to improve this building. I ran out of ideas.

I really like this building! I can see a bit of a lip just above the door. I think it would look quite cool if you continued that all the way around, and then swapped out the majority of the gray above it for black.

Do you by chance have a Flickr account? I would love to favorite this picture, for future reference.

[mephistopheles]

Try to add more decorations that jump of the wall.

For example you could add a brown tile below the windows that jump of the wall thus creating a windowsill. Or you could add a chimney to one of the sides of the house. This way it won't look so flat. You can insert 1x1 modified bricks with one stud on the side into the wall to attach all kind of stuff.

My 2 cents.

[Balthasar]

I think the wall-texture and the door on your building are magnificent.

The problems in my eyes are the windows and the roof.

Making the building more interesting would be by working on the design of your windows. Someone who's good at window design on smaller buildings is De Gothia. Go to the GoH building index and take a look some of his buildings, like this one:

The other issue is the roof. The side is to blocky. You should cover the side of the roof tiles. You can do this by adding a beam to side, like Cij Daoke does in this building on the left (also a round roof, like yours):

or making the roof shorter and cover the side of the roof tiles like this (again from De Gothia):

I hope this helps!

[Captain BeerBeard]

The main problem is the roof on the side's of your building. Your building look's good. Look on Derfel's guide to get an idea for the roof ends. If you don't see a soultion there, I'll send you a picture.

[Blaze]

I like it! But I would recommend to use a different color for the first floor and built more offset, for example the entire first floor one stud wider than the base floor, or try to build windows offset so the house doesnt look so flat. For a different color you could use White with Brown effects which could be wood.

And if youre building a large city I would suggest adding a lot of different small buildings. Otherwise it can become rather reppetitive. Keep up the good work!

[kabel]

thanks guys, some great suggestions already,I appriciate this. I'll keep you updated.

[NiceMarmot]

I'd say the end of the roof is the first priority. Make it extend a stud or two past the end of the building and add a beam along its edge (see Derfel's guide), or make it end before the edge of the building like in the picture from De Gothia above. BTW, I think getting roofs right is one of the hardest parts of making LEGO buildings.

Then you can work on greebling up the window treatments if you want, or adding more texture to them.

[kabel]

so I worked in some of your suggestions, of course it's still under construction

front:

back:

[bartjuh]

so I worked in some of your suggestions, of course it's still under construction

front:

I really like the frontdoor! I look forward to see the final result!

[soccerkid6]

Looks much better keep on building

[Rogue Angel]

I really like the windows, and the way you've utilized the different colors to show more of a patchwork. I agree that the only thing that needed work was the roof, but you've done a nice job with it on the 2nd pic. You can either utilize some reverse slopes under the roof slopes (which can lead to a very thick roof) or maybe put plates parallel on the end of the roof piece, with the sides parallel to the angle of the roof. I like the addition of the balcony!

[Ecclesiastes]

Looking great kabel! Especially the blacony is a great addition.

[kabel]

Thanks for all the comments, this really helped a lot. Actually the entire chapter has been done by now, I'm just waiting for a little sun to show up though. So I can finally take pics that do the moc justice. But anyway, here's the house put into it's final position:

[Gabe]

Great work on refining this building Kabel, the addition of the balcony looks great and was an effective way to break up what was before a rather featureless wall. I like the creeper on the other end of the building too. I look forward to seeing the entire chapter!