Book IV Prelude Challenge: Category A: Per the Bard's Cabin

[Ben S]

It is widely known, or at least supposed, that bards are sociable individuals who love wandering through noisy places and entertaining crowds. That is also true for Per the Bard, who roams all across Mitgardia, living in taverns and inns throughout the year — but he also misses the silence and tranquility of the wild north.

He was born in the far northern Mitgardia, chilly and silent, which explains his longing for peace and quiet. Once a year, in summer (or what might be called summer, since in northern Mitgardia it lasts only a few weeks), he returns to his homeland, where he owns a small cabin near a lake. There, he rests from his busy year, enjoying the calm of the northern lands and the close contact with nature and wildlife, while writing and singing new songs to add to his repertoire. For a change, his audience is not human but the wild animals that inhabit the forest — though occasionally he visits the Frostwatch Keep, an ancient Mitgardian fortress nearby, where he and his songs are always welcomed.

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

Nice free-form base and cool snow features! Smoke combination with those two parts are good as well. Nice build!

[Gideon]

Lovely setting, with a lot of nice details telling small stories in themselves 
The sand green works very well with the snow and wooden details, and the uneven rock base looks great!

A photography nitpick (it is GoH after all, so I need to start finding some positive constructive feedback for builds I comment on again?) is that it would have been nice ta also have the front of the build a bit more in focus.
Either by using a smaller aperture, moving the camera back a bit more and zooming in or by putting the focus point a tad closer to the camera (or a combination of these).

[Ben S]

@T-86(swebrickLUG) @Gideon Thanks guys! 

On 8/31/2025 at 5:39 PM, Gideon said:

A photography nitpick (it is GoH after all, so I need to start finding some positive constructive feedback for builds I comment on again?) is that it would have been nice ta also have the front of the build a bit more in focus.
Either by using a smaller aperture, moving the camera back a bit more and zooming in or by putting the focus point a tad closer to the camera (or a combination of these).

Yeah, thanks for the tips. I actually struggled a lot with that and made several attempts, but I don't have much photography knowledge and couldn't get the focus right. I'll keep those tips in mind next time, maybe I'll also look into some courses on the subject.

[Garmadon]

This is a lovely little build, the rockwork and little cabin are great, and honestly this is one of my favorite uses of those sand green leaves I've seen in a build ever!   Excellent choice of background color too, haha - looking forward to more of Per the Bard's adventures!

[LordDan]

Lovely cozy cabin! The roof technique and fishing setup are great!

[Seagull King of Vaughan]

Classic Mitgardian style! The snow works very well – you have all the round parts I’m missing!

I also like the dock with the offset plates to create a gap. I will definitely take that for a future build of mine.

[jtooker]

Great use of the sand green and white limb elements.  The log cabin design works well with that pre-fab door.

[LettuceBrick]

Nice snowy atmosphere!

[mrcp6d]

Really well executed MOC!  Nice use of the newer curved elements at the edges of the base and the trees & snow are well done--instantly reads as Mitgardian.  

[Kai NRG]

Really sweet little build, fun twist on the challenge making this the bard's getaway spot, lovely snow on the landscape too.

I never have loved log bricks for walls, it kind of looks like the house is built of vertical logs which is like no house I've ever seen.  You could try laying them sideways sometime!  On the other hand, I really like the stonework at the base.

[Ben S]

@Garmadon @LordDan @Seagull King of Vaughan @jtooker @LettuceBrick @mrcp6d @Kai NRG Thank you guys! 
 

On 9/1/2025 at 6:52 PM, Garmadon said:

This is a lovely little build, the rockwork and little cabin are great, and honestly this is one of my favorite uses of those sand green leaves I've seen in a build ever! 

I actually took it from the Horizon Adventures game. I haven't played it, but I found a lot of inspiration there lol, it has a lot of well-done scenery. 

On 9/3/2025 at 2:11 AM, Kai NRG said:

I never have loved log bricks for walls, it kind of looks like the house is built of vertical logs which is like no house I've ever seen.  You could try laying them sideways sometime!

Yeah, I initially was thinking of doing that, but I couldn't get the result I wanted in such a small house. This time, I did something like that, if you want to see:

 

[Grover]

Very nice!  I like the incorporation of the sand green into the col, snowy Mitgardian climate where it appears more like lichen, and I like the light blue background that gives a colder feel.  It's a little out of the ordinary for a bard to prefer solitude than a crowd, but I liked the out of the box thinking.  The smoke rising from the chimney is quite nice, and I like the irregular base.  Some of the darker browns got a little lost together due to the darker exposure, but this is quite challenging to photograph.  I like the rat peeking around the corner and the new CMF sparrow in the nest.  I would have liked to see a few more shots of this build to appreciate it from various angles, although the shot you have is nice.  Keep up the good work!

[Ben S]

On 9/16/2025 at 12:49 AM, Grover said:

Very nice!  I like the incorporation of the sand green into the col, snowy Mitgardian climate where it appears more like lichen, and I like the light blue background that gives a colder feel.  It's a little out of the ordinary for a bard to prefer solitude than a crowd, but I liked the out of the box thinking.  The smoke rising from the chimney is quite nice, and I like the irregular base.  Some of the darker browns got a little lost together due to the darker exposure, but this is quite challenging to photograph.  I like the rat peeking around the corner and the new CMF sparrow in the nest.  I would have liked to see a few more shots of this build to appreciate it from various angles, although the shot you have is nice.  Keep up the good work!

Thanks @Grover! As always, I appreciate your kind feedback! Lichen is exactly what I had in mind. I somehow need to improve my photographic skills, haha. 

[Eyrezer]

Lovley wee build. I like the dynamic pose of the fish on the line and the splash

[Ben S]

On 9/22/2025 at 7:44 AM, Eyrezer said:

Lovley wee build. I like the dynamic pose of the fish on the line and the splash

Thanks! Glad you liked it!