Zarcania Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) Chapter 1 is there. Story of Ava, chapter 2. It took him several years to scratch all the names on the list... He went through all Mitgardia to "complete" his list as he used to say... He came back from one of his travels and told me that he got the final clue to reach the destination of his quest thanks to a young girl. She was only six... I didn't asked how he got this clue. As usually, he stayed one or two days before leaving again... When he left our house for the last time, he explained us confusedly that he now knows where the source of all his problems lies. He can now face and destroy it. The vortex is now reachable in the ruins north of Arnarvhall. He turned back and it was one of the lasdt time we see each others... Extract from the memories of Achille, woodman of Mitgardia Comments are welcome of course. :-) I am still struggling with pieces... The vortex needed to be improved but I didn't found how. Edited February 3, 2021 by Zarcania spelling Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kai NRG Posted February 1, 2021 Quite a neat idea with a solid color for the vortex! I actually really like it - as also the pattern you have going. One tip, you have some odd shadows crossing your build - I try to shoot in the great outdoors under shade, where lighting comes pretty evenly from all sides. Alternatively, you can try a lightbox and indoor setup - it doesn't have to be fancy to work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtooker Posted February 1, 2021 Fun MOC and story, though I did need the story to understand the MOC (particularly the portal). I'm not sure if the rider has already gone through the portal, or if the snake is preventing him from getting through - perhaps if the rider was coming out of the portal or the snake was between the portal and the rider it would be clearer. The bridge is my favorite part. The positioning of the horse and rider is also well done. I'll leave some comments on grammar (inline): 55 minutes ago, Zarcania said: It took him several years to scratch all the names on the list... He went in though all the part of Mitgardia to "complete" its his? list as he used to say... He came back from one of its his travels and told me that he got the final clue to reach the destination of his quest thanks to a young girl. She was only six... I didn't asked how he got this clue. As usually, he stayed one or two days before leaving again... When he left our house for the last time, he explained us confusedly that he now knows where the source of all his problems lies. He can now face and destroy it. The vortex is now reachable is in the ruins north of Arnarvhall. He turned back and it was one of the lasdt times we see saw each others... As far as the vortex, I was not sure what it was until I read your text (though a vortex was my assumption). Perhaps rotating it a bit so it isn't square with the opening? The colors are great - they do not look natural. Other comments or suggestions are hard given piece limitations. I would use a few more slopes in the portal's 'door' way, perhaps some round 1x1 tiles/plates for rubble around it. Having the vines growing on the wall works well though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grover Posted February 2, 2021 Nice job! Your lighting here is much better than the first MOC. The all white backgrounds help a lot. Photography is a steep learning curve, but you'll get there. I still struggle with mine after 4 years of trying! I really like the way you've layered the sand at the edge of the water. Something to keep an eye on as you accumulate parts are wedge pieces. I find them infinitely useful for smoothing over edges that otherwise get 'pixellated'. The tree is fun, and you've done a good job keeping all the olive together, with the brighter green on top, so it looks like some new growth, which makes sense. The run down fortress walls look good, and the vortex/portal really stand out, which is nice. I like the vines, they give a good sense of time. The bridge is good, and I like the horse posing, too. I'm very interested to see where this story goes! Keep up the good work, and don't worry, your brick collection will build up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zarcania Posted February 3, 2021 On 2/1/2021 at 11:15 PM, Kai NRG said: One tip, you have some odd shadows crossing your build - I try to shoot in the great outdoors under shade, where lighting comes pretty evenly from all sides. Alternatively, you can try a lightbox and indoor setup - it doesn't have to be fancy to work! Thanks, Leaving in the North of France, currently, even outside, light is... minimal :-) I think I will try to make something with LEDs in a box. On 2/1/2021 at 11:29 PM, jtooker said: Fun MOC and story, though I did need the story to understand the MOC (particularly the portal). I'm not sure if the rider has already gone through the portal, or if the snake is preventing him from getting through - perhaps if the rider was coming out of the portal or the snake was between the portal and the rider it would be clearer. The bridge is my favorite part. The positioning of the horse and rider is also well done. I'll leave some comments on grammar (inline): As far as the vortex, I was not sure what it was until I read your text (though a vortex was my assumption). Perhaps rotating it a bit so it isn't square with the opening? The colors are great - they do not look natural. Other comments or suggestions are hard given piece limitations. I would use a few more slopes in the portal's 'door' way, perhaps some round 1x1 tiles/plates for rubble around it. Having the vines growing on the wall works well though. Thanks for spelling, modifications made (english class start to be far from now... Yeah, you are right, it is not self explanatory... I had the story in mind when building so it was "natural" for me. I should have a look to see if it speaks by itself. As far as the vortex is concerned, I would like to improve it clearly because I liked building it. Perhaps going into several layers could be a good idea to reinforce the vortex effect... And seen from the side with plate could give some more finesse to the thing, which currently, lets' face it, it is bit gross. I discovered afterward that the legs of the horse are moving... On 2/2/2021 at 8:01 AM, Grover said: Nice job! Your lighting here is much better than the first MOC. The all white backgrounds help a lot. Photography is a steep learning curve, but you'll get there. I still struggle with mine after 4 years of trying! I really like the way you've layered the sand at the edge of the water. Something to keep an eye on as you accumulate parts are wedge pieces. I find them infinitely useful for smoothing over edges that otherwise get 'pixellated'. The tree is fun, and you've done a good job keeping all the olive together, with the brighter green on top, so it looks like some new growth, which makes sense. The run down fortress walls look good, and the vortex/portal really stand out, which is nice. I like the vines, they give a good sense of time. The bridge is good, and I like the horse posing, too. I'm very interested to see where this story goes! Keep up the good work, and don't worry, your brick collection will build up! Thanks ! I try to look at Minecraft environments and rivers that seems fluid with only bricks without slopes. I found them inspiring to avoid the pixel problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrcp6d Posted February 4, 2021 16 hours ago, Zarcania said: Perhaps going into several layers could be a good idea to reinforce the vortex effect... This is a potentially cool idea really. Lower each full revolution a plate as you go towards the center and see what happens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
