[SoNE Ep. XIV] Chandrila - A Scent to Remember

[Kodan Black]

I had been sitting in the mess hall when a female officer had walked past me and I could smell her perfume. It was pleasant and somehow familiar, but I couldn't place it. I tried to think of where I might have come across the scent before but nothing seemed to spring to mind. I decided to try and not think about it and hope that my subconscious would bring me the answer so I wouldn't have to have it gnawing away at me.

Later that evening before bed it suddenly hit me: the floral notes reminded me of my time on Chandrila. I hadn't thought much of that time in my life for a while. My family's path there was somewhat long and circuitous. My father had been a manager at a cargo transport company and we had been living comfortably and secure. The transport company was smaller and prided itself on service, plus the owner insisted on following Empire rules. He instructed all employees to cooperate when asked and as a result the company was rarely bothered by the Empire. This sterling reputation was sadly, also the downfall of the company.

Rebels had mistakenly derived from the situation that the company was either an Empire front or a complicit agent of the Empire and shipping goods for the Empire. Despite this not actually being the case the Rebels raided a main warehouse and finding nothing of use to them set fire to the warehouse to cover their tracks. The loss of goods was covered by insurance but the subsequent rate increase was too much, especially combined with the loss of confidence from customers. The business had to close and in short order our financial situation became more precarious.

My father struggled to find any work and certainly nothing of the same pay. He became depressed and didn't want to go outside. Our constant need for help from friends further drove him to sadness. Finally my mother took control of the situation and declared that we were going to move to Chandrila to stay with her sister.

Aunt Elisa and Uncle Max were alone on Chandrila having never had kids. Their house was large and they led a very good life. They were more than happy to have us come and live with them. Looking back I think that secretly Aunt Elisa wanted kids but since Uncle Max wasn't very patient with small children she was glad to have me there. I almost thought of her as a second mother.

Chandrila was known for appreciating nature and their house had a spectacular courtyard out back. There were flowers of all varieties and grass. The air always smelled so fresh and even a slight breeze would bring the bouquet of floral scents into the house. I especially loved the fountain out back. It constantly sprayed water up and made such a calming bubbling sound. My aunt prided herself on her garden and she would often come out and watch me play out back. I think she was never so happy as being in her garden "alone" with me.

It was such a simple time and one where I didn't worry about Rebel ambushes. I dreamed of being a space pilot, ignorant of the harsh realities. My time on Chandrila had reflected the reputation of the planet: paradise.

For more pics:
 

Spoiler

 

Edited March 14, 2017 by Kodan Black
Forgot 2 pics

[VaderFan2187]

[Cody Startale]

Veeery nice looking! I also like the Chandrila planet a lot, one of my favorite EU planets!

[Forresto]

Brilliant use of the dome on the fountain to create the water bloom effect! The villa/home seems so serene, it will be good for an officer's barracks when the planet is liberated 

In all seriousness really nice story, I look forward to more!

[goatman461]

I really like the depth of the hallway and structure of the building. It feels very open and representative of a culture appreciative of a nice climate and the touches of color are great. But, I think the vegetation/flora could use some work. It's just not enough to have green plates represent grass (or whatever would be underlying a flower bed), whether it's suppose to be completely flat or not. Also, just like slopes don't have to be used for every sloped wall, it's much more interesting to get away from LEGO grass/flowers being the only thing that can represent flowers, especially on an alien world. 

When I look at my builds I try to find places where I can fit in some NPU or new technique that can catch a lot of attention. To me, those flower beds could have been a great spot to make the build really interesting and completely blow the judges away. It also wouldn't hurt to do some background removal and color correction to make the scene pop.

[Kodan Black]

Fair points. I recently got a photo tent, so hopefully once I get used to that it will help some with the lighting and make the background less noticeable.

The plants were tough as I realized the layout I had meant they had to be short or they would end up blocking. Which I already had painted myself into a corner a bit based on some of the design choices I'd made with the overall concept which turned out how I wanted but posed a challenge to make things easily photographed. I haven't done a lot of brickbuilt flora and in part it is because a lot of what I see I don't like -- the bricks stand out too much for me. I probably put too much into the building and not enough into the greenery. Then again, I had more of an idea on that so it isn't too surprising. The green plates weren't terribly inspired, but I was trying to go for a very well manicured grass effect and I'm not sure how much more refined I could get at this scale. I didn't want to do tiles as it would then feel a little too flat. Even the width of the stalks on the flower pieces seems too wide for grass blades so I'm not sure what else would be available.

There really was very little to go on for Chandrila but the pics mostly made it seem vaguely Earth-like so I didn't want to go all Felucia crazy or anything. Good feedback though all around. I like doing the various SoNE and AG challenges as it often pushes me out of my comfort zone which is the only way to really learn. I liked how the house turned out and the little stone benches and the fountain. The landscape was certainly the weak point of it. Oh, and I liked my curtains. Though in retrospect they were hard to see, which is why I added a couple extra shots that showed them off.

Edited March 21, 2017 by Kodan Black

[goatman461]

I noticed the curtains, they look great. Maybe for the grass you could do a steep hill in green plates to give it some interesting depth, then a couple of small trees or bushes made from battle droid arms growing out of the side. The building to me looks like it would have a nice, windy view, so I picture it on top of a hill or cliffside

[Kodan Black]

Yes, elevation change is something I need to work on. I tend to build flat.

[Tariq j]

Very good work, I like the way you've done the fountain.