Challenge I: Grahark [Guild Ch 2D]

[narbilu]

  

Deep in the dry fields of the Wastelands a selection of skilled hunters started to build a settlement, not far from their native towns. The Sand Orcs decided to make a trading post, which they call Grahark, near the road connecting the mountains on the east with the Gnomish towns on the west coast.

Walls of stone and wood, tents, housing, chicken farms and storage, all which is needed to successfully build a tribe.

    

The Khaor family and Bran’s old friend Jacob Nion invested in this settlement by supplying knowledge and materials as well as a helping hand to speed up the process. Throll is dedicated to open up this post by the end of summer, so the new natives can inhabit their homes before the cold winter nights fall.

[Basiliscus]

Really nice entry @narbilu! Love the use of the sail pieces as tents and with them surrounded by bones it looks suitable Orcish.

I like the idea of having different orc tribes, so the "Sand Orcs" seems appropriate. I can imagine there are lots of other tribes in the western half of Varlyrio - I have a few orc minifigs I've been creating which I will share soon.

Overall you've done a good job of integrating the dark tan and reddish brown on the ground, it gives a good impression of churned up earth where the builders have been working. However, I do feel it could benefit from some more 1x1 plates and wedge plates to blend it in a bit more naturally, some of the transitions are a little abrupt.

Overall it's a very impressive entry and I'm glad to be sharing a guild with you (when I get round to posting my sigfig that is )!

[W Navarre]

This is a great encampment! I like the sand wall and the wood battlements! 

[mlongworth]

Love the sails and bones and all the little details. I think the landscape could use some more detail but still a great moc. 

[mccoyed]

This is great. Love that we're seeing some "Wastelands" stuff finally. If I had one criticism it would just be that a few splashes of color here and there would probably improve the build and add some interest. The earthy tones are appropriate but make the build a little drab for something that should be kinda hopeful and exciting.

[Henjin_Quilones]

This feels very orcish, and I am glad that you are creating more orc cultures out in Varlyrio. It seems such a travesty that that particular race gets so much neglect despite featuring so prominently in the events and lore of Historica, outside of @Blufiji, that is. So this is lovely. It conveys the sense of being built very nicely, especially those tents made of ragged Ewok glider-wings and the wall of sandstone going up. Is the idea that the orcs are going to encircle their whole town with the wall of stone, or are they going to have the more crude wooden palisade wall around part of it, too? I imagine the sandy wastes of western Varlyrio to be a rather dangerous land where one must keep out threats. My only real critique is that everything seems quite flat, which is visually not very interesting compared to some varied terrain. Of course, many towns and settlements choose flat land, so it makes sense, but visually I think more height variation throughout the build, both in terrain and in buildings, too, would liven it up a bit. It is a great build nonetheless. I look forward to seeing some more!

[zoth33]

Great little scene.  I like all the different types of buildings going up.  I like the use of the horn pieces as structure.  All the figs doing different things is neat.  The sand and wood is a nice combination.  

[halixon]

Love the orcish feel of the build! And I definitely get the sense of construction, so I'd say you did great in that! 

Edited October 3, 2018 by Windusky

[Gideon]

Great to see the tribal side of Varlyrio being fleshed out like this!
There are several really nice details here which I like a lot, particularly the bone structure.

I agree that the ground seems a bit too flat however, maybe some slight changes in elevation and/or details like some more vegetation spread around would have matched the excellent details of the structures.
Another suggestion for improvement is to move the camera further away from the build and zoom in instead, with these perspectives the closer parts of the build to the camera get "magnified" quite a lot compared to the parts further away from the camera.

[Grover]

Very cool idea with the orc town.  It has a great feel, like it's an encampment that is slowly taking shape into something more permanent, but the orcs' method of building isn't as organized as some of the human settlements.  The bones, tattered tarps, and the color choices are all great.  The flat plains may be unrealistic in parts of mitgardia or avalonia, but I think they fit really well in the sandy wastelands.  Great job!

[soccerkid6]

Excellent choice of colors for the wastelands The tents fit well with the orcish style, and I really like the look of the tan 2x2 boat tiles and white dinosaur horn assembly.
Do you plan to show the finished trading post in another build in the future?

[Rogue Angel]

Excellent portrayal of the wastes of Western Varlyrio!  You use multiple build styles here, but even though your structure are built to look more rough, it still looks like a uniform settlement.  I really like the rounded tan wall beneath the bone spikes, the nice variety of the wooden barrier across the corner of the build, and the way you incorporated the ewok wings. 

[Gabe]

Lovely scene Narbilu, very different to your Elvish settlements! It really has the atmosphere of a temporary camp, but also has a very authentic 'lived-in' feel to it.  The sail tents create some lovely flowing shapes - the low curved wall made out of dino tails and boat studs would have to be my favourite part!