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[Admiral Ron]

98d
The Admiral is attempting to bribe a member of Parliament.





"An excellent gem, your offer seems lucrative after all"
"Just remember your side of the deal"




A bluecoat spy? an informer payed by Parliament? or a redcoat trying to do the right thing?


By the way, that is an armchair behind him :)

This post has been edited by SlyOwl: 02 December 2009 - 09:35 PM

[Captain Blackmoor]

Bribing the government aye?
I like it thus far, but there are some things which could be improved. So here we go!

- Paper money didn't exist in the time of pirates, perhaps some coins or gems are better.
- Instead of the prefab castle walls try to make a decent wall with some nice detail in it. A window for example.
- I notice a black thing beneath the turkey leg, I don't know what it is but it looks a bit strange to me.
- A nice lamp at the ceiling would be nice too.
- A square roof that matches the 8x8 plate below.

Good luck at the contest!

[MetroiD]

Ron, I don't want to sound negative, but this entry is perhaps a tad bit too reminiscent of Vladimir Leonov's Peace Treaty, don't you think?

In order to enhance the originality of this one, I would suggest a different setting for your otherwise cool idea. If it is a member of the parliament that is being bribed, then why don't you have the minifigs situated in a parliament house for example, as opposed to a fort? That way, you could also make use of specific items which we would probably only see in your MOC - a great way to make it stand out!

Furthermore, even though your idea is nice, I believe it needs something to be added to it in order to really fullfil its potential. The way I see things now, you could as well be having that minifig paying the other one off for some meat and a random map... Politics would hardly come to mind by the looks of the scene. I would suggest following Cap'n Blackmoor's idea and using a treasure chest with actual coins as the bribe - it would look much more lucrative and by combining it with the proper expression/face on the bribing minifig's face, it could have a great effect. As to what precisely the bribe is about - you could retain the map since those were quite important back in the days of piracy, just try to build on that a little bit, so that its value is really comprehended.

Last but not least, you could try improving the quality of your photos since for the most part they are rather blurry. If your camera has an option for close-up shots, you might want to use that - otherwise, you could just try to take the picture from a bit further off, so that the details come out a bit clearer. Using proper lighting could also greatly enhance the visibility of the lower floor - even though it is not too covered up or dark.

Good luck in the contest :)

[Admiral Ron]

Oh dear! I didnt even know about the existence of that vig! Ok, I will begin a new construction, perhaps in an office, or somewhere else. Thanks for all the input!
When I rebuild this one, should I remove this thread? or just add it at the bottom?

This post has been edited by Admiral Ron: 05 October 2009 - 11:10 PM

[MetroiD]

That's the good thing about input Ron I never said you copied it or anything, I just think that your idea is original enough for you to add your very own and instantly recognizable unique twist to it

As to uploading - you can just edit your first post when you're done with updating the vignette! Have fun and let those creative energies flow :)

Oh, and I just had a notion - the East India Company had quite a reputation for bribing government officials back in the day... You could draw some creative inspiration from the stories about them! Good luck mate :)

[The Alchemyst]

A simple small entry.

I'd change the bottom flooring to smooth tiles, just to get a better look.

The photography is tilted and slightly blurry. If you haven't already, join The Reviewer's Academy here on EB. They have some really great tutorials on Photo Taking.

The outer wall is a little plain. The fish also looks a bit out of place. If you're going to keep the fish, I'd add some more detailing throughout. A mixed shade of grays to get a rocky tone going could work. The black from the tiles definitely stand out, and not in a good way. Instead of using 2x2 plates near the end, try using 1x2s there so the black doesn't show up in the walls.

I do like the minifigs. The grin on the Parliament member is slightly evil looking and fitting.

I'm not sure if I like the chicken leg on the table. It's covering the map/document and looks kind of silly .

Overall, I like the idea, it's unique, but the execution and photography could be better. Work on it!

Good Luck!

EDIT: And yea, it reminded me of Vlad's entry as well. :P

[-TA-]

This post has been edited by The Alchemyst: 06 October 2009 - 12:44 AM

[Admiral Ron]

Thanks for all the input, please tell me how to make my second version better!

[Bricknave]

The second version looks absolutely magnificent! I admire the sophisticated techniques you used to construct the chandelier and windows! I also admire the checkered floor!

My only dislike about this vignette is very tiny; I dislike the yellow gem being next to the pink gem, as the yellow gem is very bland in color. I would prefer a sapphire being next the the pink gem. Although, this one little suggestion is possible to do without.

This post has been edited by Bricknave: 07 October 2009 - 12:36 AM

[MetroiD]

A wonderful improvement there, Ron!

The chandelier is a brilliant idea - my only suggestion is that you could try and add something reminiscent of candles to it, so that it looks more like a 16th century chandelier - after all, they didn't have electricity back then and gas lamps were used mostly outside the houses... So adding a couple of round trans-yellow cones (Peeron's having troubles again :/) could help give it a more authentic look. Which brings me to another idea regarding your lovely MOC - why don't your tamper with the lighting a bit in order to give it a darker, gloomier look? If you do put candles on that chandelier, you could afterwards use some simple photo editing tool to "add" lighting effects to those and then leave the rest of the room a bit darker - that might give this one an even stronger feel.

[Admiral Ron]

Hm... thats a good idea, I should try that, i just need to figure out how to make a lighting effect, any ideas? Because the only photo editing thing i have is microsoft picture express it or something by that near name.

This post has been edited by Admiral Ron: 07 October 2009 - 01:18 AM

[MetroiD]

Hmmm, in that case perhaps you should leave it as it is (after the inclusion of candles, that is ), in order to avoid having to deal with new software... Otherwise, I would recommend Corel PhotoPaint or Adobe PhotoShop for photo editing - you COULD however use a bunch of other photo management programs, such as for example ACDSee, that also offer the option to add basic effects to your photos.

In any case, this one looks very nice already :)

[badboytje88]

A nice idea and a nice MOC, there are some things I'd change:
- The walls don't need te be grey. Most imperial officers and admerals were quite rich. Their office would have very expencive wallpaper. If you were to stick with the grey castle wall, then I'd only change the colour. You used dark grey and grey. I'd pick one of these colours instead of both.
- I would change the colour of the fences you used as window. Just to add a little colour and suggest that they are made of wood in stead of bricks. Since the brick wall is grey and the window shutters are grey, this to me suggest them being made of the same material (hope you understand what I'm trying to say)
- I like the addition of a chandelier, but this one looks a bit to modern for my taste

~Badboy

[Hound Knight]

Interesting entry, it's not something I would've thought to do.

Captain Blackmoor, on Oct 5 2009, 05:57 PM, said:

- Paper money didn't exist in the time of pirates, perhaps some coins or gems are better.

Actually the British started using paper money during the Napoleonic wars (according to the Hornblower books anyway).

[Admiral Ron]

I will begin my 3rd attempt soon, I just need to scrounge some bright bricks for the walls, thanks again for all the input!

[MetroiD]

Yet another great improvement from you - great job, you seem to be progressing in leaps and bounds here :) I'm happy to see you included some actual candles on top of the chandelier - and that magnifying lens looks brilliant! The walls are also looking very nice now - not overly colourful or too plain, just perfect. The only thing which I believe could still be improved is the top of the vig - you could perhaps try and build an actual roof? Or include a second story (storie AND story? ) In any case, I must admit that to me those two big plates just don't look good enough there and kinda ruin the whole great impression of the vig. If you have the bricks for that, you could include a second (smaller) scene on the 2. floor or you could just come up with some kind of catchy roof structure...