Of Dragons and Druids, Ch. 2: The Library of Druidham [Avalonia Task 1: Part 1]

[Henjin_Quilones]

Of Dragons and Druids, Ch. 2: The Library of Druidham

A freebuild for Avalonia

Also a build showing part of the army of Druidham, fulfilling Task 1 for Avalonia

 

"I know it is here somewhere," muttered Henjin Quilones as he reached towards the shelf from the narrow wrought-iron ladder. "We have The Book of the Invisible Sun, and it should be somewhere over here."

"Try a bit to the right, Henjin," offered Gree helpfully. 

"Keep it down, Daddy," shushed Emmalie from where she stood near Thorra's chair. "Fangort is telling a story of the Enchanted Forest."

"What happened next?" asked Thorra, listening intently to the Grent's story. "How did you escape?"

"Well, you would not believe it, but a family of Werecoons came out of the hollow log and began to attack the lumberjacks!" said Fangort excitedly. "And then we came to live here, all of us."

"Oooh! How exciting!" clapped Emmalie in delight. 

Meanwhile, Reyska was talking to Korra, the Kolgari elf who had joined the Druids when she and her twin sister had arrived at Druidham. Keryyna was now a dragonrider, but Korra was explaining to Reyska how the two of them planned to return to the Sunken City someday. 

"There are very few ways into the Sunken City, all of them guarded closely by the Kolgari. But it is worth the visit, let me tell you. You think the flora around here is vibrant? It is nothing compared to the hidden realm of the Kolgari."

"So why did you leave?" asked Reyska. "It sounds lovely!"

"Well, it's complicated, but to start..."

Kaigar was talking to M'chungaji, the traveling human from Mwamba who had joined them on their journey, by the window. Afternoon light was shining brightly upon the texts upon the table in front of them. 

"Henjin thinks the lost shrine of the Druids has to be somewhere in this part of the Isles, but Galaria and the other riders say that they have seen no sign of it from the air," Kaigar was saying. "I think we need to go on foot."

"Druids are probably better suited to finding the shrine than dragonriders, even if they are all elves," said M'chungaji. He was mistrustful of most elves, having had a bad experience in his youth on the streets of Bandari with a proud elf lord. 

"Then I suppose we had better arrange for some journeys to be made," responded Kaigar, pushing back his chair. "Let's get going."

 

 

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More pics:

Spoiler

I know this is a bit unconventional for a Task 1 entry, but I first took pictures of some figs on a stand and then decided that it was not exciting enough. So I built the "army" of the Druids in a more natural setting. Part 2 of Task 1 will be to show the dragonriders in a room of their own, probably sans-dragons for space reasons. The original picture is here:

From left to right we have Reyska, Thorra, Emmalie Quilones, M'chungaji, Henjin Quilones, Kaigar, Gree, Fangort, and Korra. They are the Druids of Druidham, Guardians of the Druidi Temple of Avalonia. 

 

C&C welcome. @Kai NRG, I tried to cover up the back, but in a few places light still shone through. Oh well! Maybe next time I'll get it perfect. 

[TheLordOfBricks]

Excellent! You've been nailing these indoor scenes recently, the clean look with excellent details and lighting! I now need to get a Teen Groot. ;) Keep it up!

[Muakhah]

This is a wonderful looking library with so many amazing details and those windows again looking awesome.

Did you sprinkle dust in the floor too to get that dusty library vibe? Because I think this is the only set of photos where a bit of dust made it look better!

[zoth33]

Lovely library.  I like the way you did the pictures, has a movie quality feel to it.  The library itself has some nice details with the ladder and the windows to let in the light.  I like the large chairs.  The fire is wonderful.  The story is fun and the figs are awesome.  Great job.   

[Grover]

The lighting is brilliant.  I love the fireplace, the small statue on the shelf, really the whole thing.  The lighting on the plant on the hidden pic is awesome.  The story that went with it is great too.  I am curious why the rafters don't connect to the roof, although perhaps the crossbeams only support the walls to each other.  Lovely use of the hogwarts windows and the wands still attached the sprue, too.  Great work!  I really enjoy looking at your builds while reading the story, then going back and looking at all the little details again.  Well done!

[The Stad]

Your lighting is spectacular, especially the glowing fireplace. I love the way you did the rafters for the ceiling, and all of the artifacts and clutter on the shelves really bring the scene to life. But of all the many details, my favorite might have to be the Grent named Fangort (a comical tribute to two series that have been very influential on much of our storytelling around here).

[The_Nev]

You've done really well with this build, especially the lighting! Everything looks so natural, well done! A great way to introduce us to your characters, I can't wait to hear more about them!

[Ayrlego]

It is a great build with lots of detail but I think it is the lighting that really steals the show here! The way it streams in the windows and highlights the roof beams is simply phenomenal. Such a fitting setting for your druids. I do like that you included the original photo as the great minifig combos are easy to overlook in the main build. Fantastic job!

[deraven]

Fantastic!  Such great lighting and atmosphere to begin with, and then so many great details throughout.  Great roof/rafter work, and that fireplace with the statue above and the microfigs down at the hearth (and well-lit fire) definitely caught my eye.  Great build!  

[Basiliscus]

As others have mentioned, the lighting here is top notch - the windows, the fireplace, it all adds atmosphere we don't normally see in LEGO MOCs, and adds a lot of depth especially for an interior build.

The architecture is basic, but it doesn't really matter, because all the little details make the scene come alive - the books, the ladder, the chairs - and the story helps tie it all together.

Great work!

[W Navarre]

This is sweet!  I love how clearly it is the same building as the other interiors you made for Druidham. You made a very comfortable and quiet ambiance too, suitable! 

Edited November 13, 2018 by W Navarre

[Kai NRG]

Another lovely interior HQ, great job on the windows again and the fireplace and the light set the ambiance of the build very nicely.  The rafters look splendid, and I also really like the built in bookshelves!  Great chairs too, the look comfortable but also elegant.  One note though - while the lighting is very effective, it might have been nice to see the shadows lightened just a touch in some of the pictures; I feel like in real life, if you were in a room lit by afternoon sun, you'd be able to see into the corners (and the fronts of people standing against the light) a little better... your eyes would adjust to it in a way they can't on a computer screen.

11 hours ago, Henjin_Quilones said:

C&C welcome. @Kai NRG, I tried to cover up the back, but in a few places light still shone through. Oh well! Maybe next time I'll get it perfect. 

  Good caveat because if I had noticed I would have pointed that out.   Although I probably wouldn't have noticed, it's hard to see especially given the light coming in from the windows!

[W Navarre]

12 hours ago, Henjin_Quilones said:

I tried to cover up the back, but in a few places light still shone through. Oh well! Maybe next time I'll get it perfect.

I would actually say that in moderate amounts it doesn't matter at all.  It's natural that there would be a few cracks in the wall, and that some light might sneak in, in a scene like this. But, when it's something like a wall of rock, or a room with walls not facing the exterior, then it would be more important not to have white shine though, and corners also are important, sometimes a huge white streak sneaks in that really looks bad.  

[Garmadon]

Wow!  Somebody's really learning to master interior lighting here!   Excellent build and fantastic lighting, Henjin - really nice use of smooth lines and arches throughout as well!  Goes to show that excessive texture and greebling are not at all necessary for a great scene!

[Henjin_Quilones]

17 hours ago, TheLordOfBricks said:

Excellent! You've been nailing these indoor scenes recently, the clean look with excellent details and lighting! I now need to get a Teen Groot. ;) Keep it up!

Thanks! I have been enjoying making all-LEGO interior shots and experimenting with different lighting approaches, trying to get it right. 

16 hours ago, Muakhah said:

This is a wonderful looking library with so many amazing details and those windows again looking awesome.

Did you sprinkle dust in the floor too to get that dusty library vibe? Because I think this is the only set of photos where a bit of dust made it look better!

Thanks! I noticed the dust during my first set of pictures, which were discarded, but ultimately decided it added something to the library vibe and chose not to dust! It is not deliberate, per se, as I did not add dust that did not already land on the surface, though. 

16 hours ago, zoth33 said:

Lovely library.  I like the way you did the pictures, has a movie quality feel to it.  The library itself has some nice details with the ladder and the windows to let in the light.  I like the large chairs.  The fire is wonderful.  The story is fun and the figs are awesome.  Great job.   

I have been trying for a more "artsy" feel to my build photography, trying to move from just a build to an experience. I am glad it seems to be working. 

15 hours ago, Grover said:

The lighting is brilliant.  I love the fireplace, the small statue on the shelf, really the whole thing.  The lighting on the plant on the hidden pic is awesome.  The story that went with it is great too.  I am curious why the rafters don't connect to the roof, although perhaps the crossbeams only support the walls to each other.  Lovely use of the hogwarts windows and the wands still attached the sprue, too.  Great work!  I really enjoy looking at your builds while reading the story, then going back and looking at all the little details again.  Well done!

Thanks, Grover! There are eight busts on the shelves, mostly on the topmost shelf under the arches, but I think it is something that classy libraries have, busts of famous people and whatnot. The rafters are meant to connect the walls, rather than the roof, though it does play some role in that, too. At one point there were supposed to be small upright columns connecting the horizontal beams with the roof above, but I scrapped those for the aesthetics, as it got too cluttered. The wands on sprues are wonderful, and I used a black one here for fire pokers and two brown ones for chair backs. 

15 hours ago, The Stad said:

Your lighting is spectacular, especially the glowing fireplace. I love the way you did the rafters for the ceiling, and all of the artifacts and clutter on the shelves really bring the scene to life. But of all the many details, my favorite might have to be the Grent named Fangort (a comical tribute to two series that have been very influential on much of our storytelling around here).

Thanks! The fireplace is two light bricks shining horizontally through some trans-orange and trans-yellow plates, which shines up through the fire pieces, too. It is a nice effect, I think. I love both Tolkien and Marvel (as well as many other nerd things) so I let it shine through in my story, too. 

15 hours ago, The_Nev said:

You've done really well with this build, especially the lighting! Everything looks so natural, well done! A great way to introduce us to your characters, I can't wait to hear more about them!

I am glad it looks natural, as I did not supplement the light with anything but the windows and the fireplace, trying to make it look as much like a real room as possible. Thanks!

13 hours ago, Ayrlego said:

It is a great build with lots of detail but I think it is the lighting that really steals the show here! The way it streams in the windows and highlights the roof beams is simply phenomenal. Such a fitting setting for your druids. I do like that you included the original photo as the great minifig combos are easy to overlook in the main build. Fantastic job!

Glad you like the fig combos, too, as they took a while to decide on on their own. The lighting was fun to play with, as well. 

12 hours ago, deraven said:

Fantastic!  Such great lighting and atmosphere to begin with, and then so many great details throughout.  Great roof/rafter work, and that fireplace with the statue above and the microfigs down at the hearth (and well-lit fire) definitely caught my eye.  Great build!  

Thanks! I was going for "peaceful library" atmosphere, so I am glad it worked. 

12 hours ago, Basiliscus said:

As others have mentioned, the lighting here is top notch - the windows, the fireplace, it all adds atmosphere we don't normally see in LEGO MOCs, and adds a lot of depth especially for an interior build.

The architecture is basic, but it doesn't really matter, because all the little details make the scene come alive - the books, the ladder, the chairs - and the story helps tie it all together.

Great work!

I agree that I did nothing especially innovative in the building, but I think that striving for the "next big thing" in parts usage is oftentimes a vain pursuit. The building itself is intended to be brand new, so there should not be any visible decay yet, and it was built with the help of expert dwarven stonecutters, so it should not be sloppy. Clean lines and smooth walls will dominate my builds of Druidham for that very reason. Hypertextured surfaces are not typically my thing, with a few exceptions here and there. It is the human details that I want to master, to create the atmosphere, the feel, the homeyness - and light is a big part of that. Thanks for your words!

8 hours ago, W Navarre said:

This is sweet!  I love how clearly it is the same building as the other interiors you made for Druidham. You made a very comfortable and quiet ambiance too, suitable! 

Thanks, I definitely want to keep a sense of continuity throughout my interiors. Glad you like the ambiance, too!

6 hours ago, Kai NRG said:

Another lovely interior HQ, great job on the windows again and the fireplace and the light set the ambiance of the build very nicely.  The rafters look splendid, and I also really like the built in bookshelves!  Great chairs too, the look comfortable but also elegant.  One note though - while the lighting is very effective, it might have been nice to see the shadows lightened just a touch in some of the pictures; I feel like in real life, if you were in a room lit by afternoon sun, you'd be able to see into the corners (and the fronts of people standing against the light) a little better... your eyes would adjust to it in a way they can't on a computer screen.

  Good caveat because if I had noticed I would have pointed that out.   Although I probably wouldn't have noticed, it's hard to see especially given the light coming in from the windows!

Thanks, Kai! The chairs were an addition I made to try and make the space comfortable, but as you said, still elegant. 

I see your point about the light, and I think what my build is missing that a real room would have is the other walls to bounce some light back onto the scene. A back wall and side wall would give the reflected light that would make the fronts of the people more visible. I did no photo editing besides cropping for the pictures; this is how they came from the camera, and I liked it, so I did not lighten anything up. Next time I'll experiment with a sheet of cardboard or a LEGO wall out of shot to reflect some light back into the scene to see if it fixes the problem a bit. 

4 hours ago, Garmadon said:

Wow!  Somebody's really learning to master interior lighting here!   Excellent build and fantastic lighting, Henjin - really nice use of smooth lines and arches throughout as well!  Goes to show that excessive texture and greebling are not at all necessary for a great scene!

Thanks, Garm! As I said above, smooth surfaces and clean lines are the defining aesthetic of Druidham; nothing hypertextured for me here! I've gotten to the point where super-textured castle builds are almost a dime a dozen on Flickr and too boring now, unless perfectly executed. And it would take away from the scene!

[soccerkid6]

One of the prettiest medieval interior builds I've seen Your lighting efforts have certainly paid off!

I like your approach to the library shelves, with them built right into the walls as well The clean architecture is lovely, and I agree that it's nice seeing not so hyper textured castle builds! Personally I feel like the abundance of texture can often lead to less detail in a model, as people rely on the texture to make a building interesting, instead of adding different architectural features and more interesting layouts.

You have plenty of good furniture designs on display, and the skeleton leg fireplace grate is excellent

Any particular reason you didn't use all standard bricks for the rafters?
 

[adde51]

Really stunning shot and the lighting is top notch! The height of the room works great and even though the walls are fairly ”basic”, it somehow feels appropriate for the whole scene. Having the shelves in the wall also works very well as it does not take over, but rather it makes it a bit more interesting to look at. Overall a very nice build with excellent presentation. Great job man  

[en_zoo]

My my my! Check out the spot HQ&Galaria got themselves! So spacious (hight of the walls, shelves into the wall) and bright (love the iondows.. do I really have to comment on the lighting??), with all that nice stuff (armchairs, fireplace..). What a nice spot for their children to grow up, too, with such variety of characters bringing together their different experiences! Definitely much better than the gramps' hole, all tradition and his stuffy rules!

[Henjin_Quilones]

On 11/15/2018 at 8:09 AM, soccerkid6 said:

One of the prettiest medieval interior builds I've seen Your lighting efforts have certainly paid off!

I like your approach to the library shelves, with them built right into the walls as well The clean architecture is lovely, and I agree that it's nice seeing not so hyper textured castle builds! Personally I feel like the abundance of texture can often lead to less detail in a model, as people rely on the texture to make a building interesting, instead of adding different architectural features and more interesting layouts.

You have plenty of good furniture designs on display, and the skeleton leg fireplace grate is excellent

Any particular reason you didn't use all standard bricks for the rafters?
 

Thanks, SK! High praise indeed. I agree totally about the texture thing, and it really isn't my style or taste, though I can dabble in it occasionally. 

What do you mean about the rafters? I used the round columns because I thought it gave an attractive bit of detail, rather than just 1x1 square elements. I started with the round columns, actually, and went from there on the last Druidham build, and re-used them with slight changes here. The layers of 1xn plates and tiles above the columns is there for structural integrity, as the whole thing is pretty sturdy - the rafters are only connected on one side of the build, but hardly sag at all. Hopefully that answered your question!

On 11/15/2018 at 5:45 PM, adde51 said:

Really stunning shot and the lighting is top notch! The height of the room works great and even though the walls are fairly ”basic”, it somehow feels appropriate for the whole scene. Having the shelves in the wall also works very well as it does not take over, but rather it makes it a bit more interesting to look at. Overall a very nice build with excellent presentation. Great job man  

Thanks, I thought having the shelves in the wall would be an attractive feature, and people really like it, it seems. The "basic" feel is intentional, to a degree, because it is supposed to be a brand-new castle, so it needs to be shiny and squared off at the corners, rather than tumbled down and cracked. 

On 11/17/2018 at 5:18 PM, en_zoo said:

My my my! Check out the spot HQ&Galaria got themselves! So spacious (hight of the walls, shelves into the wall) and bright (love the iondows.. do I really have to comment on the lighting??), with all that nice stuff (armchairs, fireplace..). What a nice spot for their children to grow up, too, with such variety of characters bringing together their different experiences! Definitely much better than the gramps' hole, all tradition and his stuffy rules!

Thanks, en_zoo! HQ definitely moved up in the world, I think. The Elves of Mwamba were excessively generous when they left there, for a variety of reasons (including taking away an unhappy Elf princess to greener pastures), and they have had good fortune when it comes to attracting new citizens to their nascent realm. Of course, Druids and dragonriders have their own rules and traditions, too--some even stuffy, perhaps--, so it is not all liberation and such. Way better than Hesperia, though!