A Quiet Moment at the Atelier

[SarahJoy]

Siedna takes a break from construction of the Atelier to spend a bit of time with Calder, her Belville mastiff.

The Belville Mastiff is a rare, ancient breed of dog, bred and trained by Ruadhi artists to serve as loyal companions and protectors. Over time, they've become a symbol of Atelier Ruadh and its artists throughout Historica. (For the purists: yes, that dog is actually a LEGO-produced piece. It's from the old Belville sets.)

Just a small, simple build, for now. While I was working out the proportions of the Atelier, I wanted to check the scale of the building with a minifigure, and ended up with this little scene.

The building itself is still very much a WIP. It's loosely based on a local Art Deco building built in 1931, but I think this version works nicely here in GoH. I've proportioned the building to somewhat fit the golden ratio.

As always, comments and constructive criticism are most welcome!

Edited September 19, 2014 by SarahJoy

[Lord Vladivus]

Nice! What's the golden ratio though?

[SarahJoy]

Thanks Lord Vladivus! Good question; I probably should have clarified.

The golden ratio, also called the golden mean and the golden section, is the ratio of 1:1.618 (approximately). It's found throughout nature, for example in nautilus shells, face proportions, and more. It's often used in art and architecture, for example, the Parthenon and the works of Le Corbusier. The spiral/rectangle overlay in red, in the second picture, is a graphical representation of the ratio.

Edited September 19, 2014 by SarahJoy

[Simon_S]

Cool build, especially that you made it fit the golden ratio.

@Vladivus: Before we got the ISO paper formats (DIN A4 & co.), the golden ratio was the standard of the aesthetics for a long time. You can also see it in older books, that's why they left a part on the top and on the bottom blank ;-).

[cesbrick]

Very very cool! Nice build! First time I heard about the golden ratio was on The Davinci Code book!

[IenjoyLego89]

Nice build :) very smart calling it a belville mastiff considering it's a belville piece :) first time I've ever heard of the golden rule, thanks for enlightening me :)

[SarahJoy]

Cool build, especially that you made it fit the golden ratio.

Thanks Simon!

Very very cool! Nice build! First time I heard about the golden ratio was on The Davinci Code book!

Thank you! The Da Vinci Code was a fun book, wasn't it?

Nice build :) very smart calling it a belville mastiff considering it's a belville piece :) first time I've ever heard of the golden rule, thanks for enlightening me :)

Thanks! Yeah, It's not the most original name for the breed.

Edited September 19, 2014 by SarahJoy

[Kai NRG]

Nice little build, the architecture, though simple, looks really good. Nice use of the golden ratio as well!

[Jakorin Swiftsword]

Nice WIP! Looking forward to seeing it completed.

[mccoyed]

Nice work. The mastiff makes me think about Dragon Age Origins which is awesome. I miss that game. Can we get a closer shot/elaboration of what you did with Siedna's leg area? Just curious if what I think I'm seeing, in terms of parts, is what I'm actually seeing. :P

And oh man. First time I ever heard of the Golden Ratio was a movie called Pi. My wife will reference it every so often when she's doing art.

Edited September 19, 2014 by mccoyed

[LordDan]

Nice use of the Belville dog, and cool scene. Its really cool to see the golden spiral used with lego!

[-Carson Haupt-]

Nice! I like the idea of incorporatimg the golden ratio.

[SarahJoy]

Nice little build, the architecture, though simple, looks really good. Nice use of the golden ratio as well!

Nice use of the Belville dog, and cool scene. Its really cool to see the golden spiral used with lego!

Nice WIP! Looking forward to seeing it completed.

Nice! I like the idea of incorporatimg the golden ratio.

Thanks y'all! I'm glad you're digging the golden ratio.

Nice work. The mastiff makes me think about Dragon Age Origins which is awesome. I miss that game. Can we get a closer shot/elaboration of what you did with Siedna's leg area? Just curious if what I think I'm seeing, in terms of parts, is what I'm actually seeing. :P

And oh man. First time I ever heard of the Golden Ratio was a movie called Pi. My wife will reference it every so often when she's doing art.

Thanks! I'm not familiar with Dragon Age Origins, but I do know Pi. Brilliant movie that I never want to see again.

I hope this picture answers your question:

It's a brick-built skirt, using a jumper plate to add some range of motion. The regular minifig skirts are so clunky and un-poseable. My workaround can look a bit wonky from the side, but let's say she's wearing a very blousy shirt and a very slim skirt.

[Kai NRG]

If you used two or three jumpers instead of just one it might look a bit better from the side; example (perhaps slightly overdone!).

[SarahJoy]

If you used two or three jumpers instead of just one it might look a bit better from the side; example (perhaps slightly overdone!).

Good idea, Kai! I'll have to try that.

[Scaevola]

Nice scene, the atelier looks promising so far

[soccerkid6]

Very cool architecture and the few cheese slopes and grass stalks break up the landscape nicely

[Kayne]

Very cool build Sarah! It just got real in here now, if we're using the Golden Ratio. I'm not sure I can keep up with that much forethought! I usually just start laying bricks and see what happens

[Gideon]

Nice proportions of the build and interesting fig design!