Direlda

I went looking through this thread different tree techniques and found a few that inspired me (I believe the one that inspired this tree was over here, but the images aren't loading for me right now, so I can't be sure...). And then I went to the closest LEGO store and found what sort of foliage they had in the PAB wall. They didn't have any of the leafy limb elements, so I didn't have as many of those as I would have liked, but they did have the palm leaves and grass elements, so I decided to get some of those and see if I could make anything with them that would work. Thanks! ^^ Glad you found it amusing. ^^ It was very helpful. And I appreciate all of the tips! I haven't really done much photography of LEGO, so it's good to know that taking pictures of the bottoms of bricks should be avoided. Thanks! ^^ I was trying to figure out how I would make a target and noticed that the round frames for the windows on the Bag End set would fit perfectly around the round 2x2 plates I had. My problem now is trying to figure out how to make stands for them, since I don't have enough parts to make trees for each target in phase 2. Thanks! ^^ I wasn't happy with just the grass piece at the top of the tree so I rummaged through my pieces and found the green cone, which helped. And then I saw Bilbo's garden and raided it for a carrot. I'm glad it turned out well! I put the rat and plant in to make up for the fact that I didn't have enough white pieces to fill in all the gaps--the number of LEGO pieces at my disposal is not that large--so I'm glad they worked well. But next time I will definitely try to work in a border or at least not have any gaps. And the part underneath the archer was tricky, as I tried to make it fit, but the gap between the SNOT part and the studs-up part where the archer was wasn't big enough to allow for another plate (which is strange, since I was able to get the SNOT part to fit perfectly around the tree-well). Thanks for all the inspiration you've provided! I'll study those before I work on phase 2. Yeah, next time I probably won't have a snowbank curve quite so much (if at all), as the gaps bothered me, too. I'm surprised that I'm the first to use it in AoM. We can pretend that it's a tie! As for those bricks, I'll probably have to consider getting some of those, as I don't think I have any at the moment and they do look rather useful for making snowdrifts. Thanks for the inspiration! ^^ Thanks! ^^ I'm definitely planning on following SK's advice.

I love how most of the rowers seem to be older men! And the water is fantastic, especially in the first shot with the way the light interacts with it. As far as photo editing software goes, GIMP is free. If I find time between writing a short story, editing a novel, and working on AoM, then I'll perhaps contribute a ship.

AoM Archery Phase 1!

Builds AoM Archery Phase 1 - Winter Practice -- Landscape Design: Trees (first of three techniques) [approved] and Landscape Design: Snow and Ice [approved] Pending Credits N/A Approved Credits Landscape Design: Trees (first of three techniques) Landscape Design: Snow and Ice Degrees Landscape Design Apprentice

I would like to claim the following credits: AoM Archery Phase 1 - Winter Practice Landscape Design Snow and Ice Trees (first of three techniques)

Wymond took aim at the target. His winter was not as quiet as he had hoped. For while all of the painters who had disturbed him over the summer had returned home to Avalonia, the painter who had started Wymond's troubles had returned. His paintings of a Mitgardian warrior weren't selling as well in Avalonia because of all the paintings his fellow painters had done of the same subject. So he had journeyed far from his warm home to try and paint Wymond in situations that none of the other painters could rival. The arrow struck the target, causing some more snow to fall off the tree. He was glad the painter had tired of asking him to shoot icicles off the tree. "I've been thinking," the painter said. "I can take you down to the village as soon as I've gathered my arrows," Wymond said. "You must be cold." "That's very kind of you to stop your practice for my sake, but this hood has been doing wonders for me." The painter cinched up the hood tighter around his face. "I've realized what you need to do to get me a unique painting--start an archery school." Wymond was speechless for a few moments. For once he liked the sound of the painter's suggestion. All he had to do was train some people from the nearby village for a little while and then he would be free of the painter. What could possibly go wrong? Wymond takes aim while the painter waits to be struck by inspiration. How I got the snowbank to curve. The snowbank, I feel, could use some work, so I would appreciate suggestions for future snowbank building. It was a pain to get the "arrow" to stick in the target, especially since the tree well was hard to fish it out of when it fell in. This is probably my favorite of the shots I took. This used up almost all of my white bricks and tiles! So it'll have to be deconstructed before I can build anything else involving snow, but I'll hold off on that for a few days unless anyone wants me to take any more pictures. I'm quite pleased with how most of this turned out, especially since it was my first major use of SNOT. To the Avalonians viewing this: I invite you to suggest names for this elven Avalonian painter who has made life interesting for Wymond. I will choose the one I like most. ^^ I'd also like to claim the following University of Petraea credits: Landscape Design: Trees (first of three techniques) Landscape Design: Snow and ice

And if you can't get better light, as Gideon suggested, perhaps because of rain, then using a tripod (or stable surface) and slowing down the shutter speed will allow for more light to enter the camera. The nice thing about digital cameras is that you are able to check the shot you just took and adjust settings if it didn't quite turn out right (and you can change the ISO between shots without having to finish a roll of film!). I would try between ISO 400 to ISO 800 and experiment until you get some good pictures. I like to use the manual mode on my DSLR, since that allows me to tweak everything to get it just right, but it takes some practice to know what you need to adjust to make the shot better. If you have any questions about using your camera, I'm willing to do my best to answer them!

This is fantastic! I like the aesthetic of it. ^^

I can help with maps if need be. Cartography is a hobby of mine and I have plenty large rolls of paper to sketch out on. Here is an example of my work. Rough Fantasy Map by Direlda, on Flickr

I love the perspective on this! The image seems to be a bit grainy, which could be the result of using a rather high ISO. High ISO is good for low-light situations, but the higher the ISO, the more noise (aka grainyness) you have in the picture. If you have a tripod and can manually adjust your shutter speed and ISO, you can try lowering the shutter speed to compensate for using a lower ISO (I did this on my A Summer Shelter MOC; f/10 at 1s with ISO 500, though your numbers would vary based on light conditions). If you don't have a tripod, then bracing the camera against a non-wobbly, flat surface, such as a table or car hood, can be used as an alternative.

This is fantastic! It's going to take me a long time before I have enough pieces to attempt anything on this scale. But you have provided me with inspiration for the future! \^o^/

I think I got the page loading time issue sorted out with my freebuild, A Summer Shelter.

A Summer Shelter | Direlda | Mitgardia AoM Archery Phase 1 -- Winter Practice | Direlda | Mitgardia | Age of Mitgardia

I've edited the post and it seems to be loading much faster (I think it was my attempts to resize the images using code that caused issues). If it is still loading rather slowly, let me know and I can continue fiddling! While I'm not a trapper, I have put together shelters like this and spent the night in one. I'm glad you like it! ^^

Wymond the Fox shifted on the stump as he finished cooking a trout over the coals. “I can’t believe that Avalonian painter tried to adjust the way those elk were holding their heads. I have enough to worry about without needing to save painters from their absurdities.” He inspected the trout and decided it was ready. As he was tearing into the cooked fish, Wymond heard the cracking of twigs and labored breathing. He stamped out his fire. Before Wymond could crawl into his shelter a portly man crashed through the underbrush. “It better snow early this year,” Wymond muttered, “I can’t stand any more painters.” The painter, oblivious to what Wymond was saying, began setting up an easel. Wymond put on his best grimace. The more frightening he looked in the paintings sold in Avalonia, the fewer painters would come looking for him; at least, that was his hope. Wymond's campsite. Cooking fish over the coals. His trusty axe. The lean-to. Since I mainly do photography of nature and cities, I would appreciate suggestions on creating a good backdrop for taking pictures in addition to any other suggestions you have!

Very amusing! ^^ Makes me think of what happens when you anger the chickens in one of the Legend of Zelda games.

Wymond the Fox has returned from wandering the deep wilds of Mitgardia and wishes to pledge his services to the guild once more. He is at home in the wilderness having served as a guide through the various mountain ranges and having kept watch over a section of the wild near the southern border. Wymond prefers stealth and cunning to battle, though he can stand his own in a fight if the need arises. Now that I'm around a larger portion of my Lego collection, I hope to be able to build more and better than I did for the previous Book of Historica and to learn from the amazing builders in Historica.

Dispatch to the Jarl In my last dispatch, I mentioned my meeting with the strange painter. I would have finished my tale had I not run out of parchment and needed to barter for it from the next group of travelers I came across. Now that I have parchment again, I shall finish my telling. A few days had passed since I had encountered the painter. A spate of warmer weather had caused some of the snow in the lower woods to melt. While this proves beneficial to the farmers in the valleys, the thaw proves dangerous here in the wilds. Streams and creeks swell with snowmelt. Avalanches become more likely to occur, especially if it rains at higher elevations. And various beasts and humanoids that had been slumbering for the winter wake hungry and irritable. I was skirting around the lair of one such creature, a lone reptilian humanoid, when I noticed a peculiar path that had been blazed through the wood. The underbrush was broken and trampled as if something heavy had been dragged through. I crept along the path until I could see the small pond near the mouth of the lair. The painter’s easel was set up on a rock outcropping overlooking the pond. He was down near the pond and appeared to be trying to find a good angle to paint from. I was about to leave when I noticed a fish carcass lying in the snow near the base of the tree next to the pond. Fingering the haft of my ax, I picked my way down towards the pond. A roar broke the stillness. The painter backed up and stumbled over something, falling to the snow. I ran as fast as I dared over the snow and ice. As I got closer, I could see the reptilian trudging through the snow. It was wielding a halberd. I made it just in time to block the reptilian’s blow with my shield. It was still sluggish from having been in hibernation, so it didn’t react as quickly or with as much ferocity as it could have, for which I was fortunate. The fight ended after I threw the reptilian off balance with a succession of shield bashes. It moved to block just a little too late. With the reptilian dead, I turned to face the painter. He was brushing the snow off his tunic. He started to babble on about how magnificent the battle was and how indebted to me he was, but I cut him off. I asked him if he was going to keep wandering through the wilderness dragging his easel with him like a fool. He seemed a little hurt by that, but answered affirmatively. I could have left him there to his silly notions in the hopes that he would stay out of trouble. I could have, but I didn’t want him accidentally triggering an avalanche or provoking the Drow. So I allowed him to follow me. It took me a few days to get him not to talk almost constantly about getting me to pose heroically or go off to fight a bear so he could capture it in a painting. And I sometimes wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to let him get killed by the reptilian, but he does do a good job of gathering firewood. ~Wymond ----------------- I realize that this isn't exactly soon after I posted the first part... Teaching-related distractions arose (namely students asking for a review of a new draft of their final project the weekend before it was due). But here it is and comments/critiques are welcome! ^.^

Dispatch to the Jarl Before I pledged my allegiance to you, I had been watching over untamed regions of Mitgardia. I have shepherded lost travelers back to the roads, discouraged unfriendly incursions with a well placed avalanche (taking care to avoid killing anyone, if possible), and discovered several unwatched routes through the mountains. I would have continued unaligned had it not been for the signs of a gathering storm. The Drow are twice as active on the southeastern borders as they have ever been in the many years I have watched them. And there are ominous rumors of a foe with powerful elementals at his command. I have not the resources to maintain the balance in the wild if either of these decides to march through. Thus, I have pledged my allegiance to you and will provide you with intelligence on the happenings in the wilds so that Mitgardia may continue to be filled with life and light. I have wandered the wilds of Mitgard for many years and have seen sights that would leave men speechless and some that would cause ordinary men to quake in their boots. But never before have I encountered something quite like this in the wilderness. While in the foothills of the Mitgardian Peaks, about a day’s march from the road leading through one of the guarded mountain passes, I met a strange traveler. He was an elf from Avalonia, but that wasn’t what was strange. Elves and Avalonians like to visit this time of year and I had, a few days earlier, given directions to a party of Avalonians who had become lost while trying to find a lake. He was a painter, though that wasn’t so strange; many painters try to capture views of the mountains in their paintings. No, what was strange was that he had lugged his easel into the wilderness with him. All of the other painters I have met would sketch in a small book what they saw and then paint in a studio. I queried this painter about what he was doing and where he was sheltering. He ignored me until I came up to him and blocked his view of the forest and lake he was painting. As soon as he took notice of me, he wouldn’t stop babbling on about how his life’s dream was to follow a warrior around and paint his exploits. He asked me an innumerable amount of times if he could follow me. I nearly hewed his easel into several pieces because of his inability to heed my refusal of his request. Fortunately he finally seemed to get the idea that I did not want him following me. After receiving several vague replies to my inquiries, I set out from that place. I figured that would be the last time I would see him. I was mistaken… ------------------------------------------------- I welcome any comments! Please note that I only have access to a small portion of my Lego collection at present (the rest is in another country ). I have done my best using what little I have. The general lack of pieces has forced me to be creative in my building. So while I would have liked this to be perhaps a little larger or more detailed, I will have to live with what I've got. Part 2 will be coming "soon" - I've built the MOC for it and taken pictures, but am still writing up the bit of narrative to go with it.

This is a beautiful crane! ^.^ I love the detail and aesthetics of it.

That's a really nice arch! And I am greatly amused by the knights running in circles around the tree. Makes me wonder how they got into that predicament in the first place.

That's a scary-looking beastie. I hope it's coldblooded so that it wouldn't be able to survive a trip up into Mitgardia! I'm interested to see what happens next.

This looks great! The garden out back is a nice touch. And the shop has a nice selection of goods. I feel sorry for whoever buys the boat and has to get it out the door!

I like the history you created for this MOC. And it looks pretty cool, too! There are a lot of details that I wish I could see better, but that's the camera's fault. As far as cameras go, I personally use a DSLR because I grew up with a film SLR camera and know how to take pictures on full manual settings. But since DSLRs are generally more expensive than point-and-shoot cameras, you'd probably be better served by a point-and-shoot camera. I've mainly used Nikon cameras and can vouch for their quality. I know Canon also makes good quality cameras, so either of those two brands would be good to research. Finally, getting a small tripod might be a quick fix to some of the blurriness, since some blur is caused by the "camera shake" that occurs because our hands move ever so slightly when we are holding them "still," which isn't a problem for wide-angle shots, but gets more and more pronounced the farther you zoom in or the longer the shutter is open. Having a tripod can allow you to get away with not having the flash turned on, which is nice when the lighting is a little too dark but a flash would cause unwanted glare.

I like the handmade sails - their weathered look makes the ship feel like it has been used for many years. They are a very nice touch. And the ship looks rather like what it was designed after, so I say you did a great job!