Lemmonberrymuffin Builder Application

[Lemmonberrymuffin]

What is your Minecraft username?
Lemonberrymuffin

What is your age?
13-16

In what country are you living?
New Zealand

Where did you first hear about WesterosCraft?
Searched online

What do you like the most about GoT/ASoIaF?
the variety of characters and plots are intoxicating, I love the intense political structure. ( Also Petyr Baelish is awesome )

What is your favorite build on our server?
Hearts home- House Corbray is a old yet poor house, Hearts home captures this beautifully.

Why do you want to join our server?
I wanted to experience Westeros in a cool and fun way



Did you follow the application rules?
You know nothing Jon snow

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey Lemonberrymuffin,

Thanks for your application! I'm glad to see your interest with the server and in helping out with the project.

Overall nice work with the apphouse! You've gotten most of the details down, though there are a couple minor mistakes:

- You need to use the "oak window shutters" block rather than the trapdoor block over the windows.

- The axe stand should be the "thin oak log" block rather than "thatch dark wall".

- Make sure to mix a bit of dirt in with the gravel in the floor of the house, and use the ash/mycelium block in the fireplace.

One of the most important skills for builders on the server is attention to detail, so make sure to be on the lookout for even minor things like these. Otherwise good work though. For subsequent challenge builds, you'll be expected to build original houses of your own design, in the style of specific locations on our server. However, I recommend thinking of it similarly to the application house - except now, instead of simply replicating a house, you should try to replicate particular elements of multiple houses, and synthesize them into an original creation of your own. After each one I'll give some feedback.

For the first challenge build, please make a middle-class house in the style of /warp tortown. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

 

[Lemmonberrymuffin]

Hey, thanks for the feedback here's the house ( I couldn't help myself and built a small village, but still in the same stile.

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey Lemon,

Pretty good work with this - I like that you went and built a whole little village, it shows that you have a good sense of how houses fit in context and all the immersive details that are needed to make a good project.

However, although the overall layout of your village seems pretty decent, the execution doesn't seem to be up to server standards yet, and the houses you made also don't really match the style at the Tor. Like I said, it's important to pay close attention to small details when learning our style - down to the roof shape, house proportions, materials used, window types, etc. Please make sure to take enough time studying the style, and even practicing with a few replications before working on the challenge build (of course, make sure the challenge build is original). While I won't be able to get to everything, here are some of the specific feedback points I have:

- Avoid messy rooves of any kind. That is, don't mix full blocks and stairs randomly - just use stair blocks to get a clean looking roof (even for the thatch). Also, dark thatch isn't used in the Tor style at all.

- The Tor also has relatively flat rooves, using slab blocks, rather than 45-degree rooves with stair blocks.

- The Tor also generally uses a "no-overhang" style, where the rooves don't have an overhang on the gable sides (front & back). This helps make the houses look a bit less top-heavy when viewed from the side (for instance, the house on the left here looks very top-heavy).

- Some of the house proportions seem a bit off - some of the houses are really tiny, while the Tor town houses are usually larger, with two stories.

- Don't use stone blocks for interior furniture (e.g., here). Use wood instead.

- Overall the interiors seem decent, though a bit on the empty side. I recommend studying the interiors more when exploring the server and trying to pick up techniques for better layout and room design.

Also, for future builds, please try to take more images - they should include the house(s) you make from every angle, as well as enough pictures to show all of the interior rooms. I recommend just taking a bunch and then uploading them to Imgur.

For the next challenge build, please make a medium-size house in the style of /warp woodwright, with a yard. Please make sure to study the style carefully, and let me know if you have any questions about anything. Good luck!

 

[Lemmonberrymuffin]

Hey Emoticone,
Sorry for the incredibly over-due reply! you may have seen my 'I'm Back!' post on the forums, which explains my prolonged absence. Luckily every thing has been all sorted out, and I should be back into my regular schedule! I completely understand if the nature of this incredibly late post means that I may have to applicate again
but here we go.

 

[Lemmonberrymuffin]

More photos!

 

[Lemmonberrymuffin]

^^^

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey lemmon,

Welcome back! I can pick up your app again from where you left off, though it may take me a few days to respond, so please be patient (but feel free to ping me if it's been more than 5 days with no response).

Overall this house seems like a nice start; you've gotten the main elements of the Woodwright style down, though I have some feedback on some specific things. Also, it seems like you're missing Optifine at the moment, so you should make sure to install that before doing anything more - follow the tutorial for whichever launcher you're using. Anyways, here's my main feedback:

- Avoid having double-thick rooflines such as here.

- The timber frame pattern on that side also needs a bit of work. You usually want to frame the "plain white daub"/white plaster in small 1x2 or 2x2 areas surrounded by timber frames; if you look at Woodwright houses, you'll see some examples of this. Also, try to avoid having areas of one timber frame type that are too "dense", such as here.

- The interiors look pretty good overall. When using slate rooves though (or other heavy roof materials), make sure to use wood rafters to support the room from underneath (in this case, in your attic). Best way to do this is with wood stairs, half doors, and slabs - take a look at Woodwright houses for some examples.

- Also, avoid bookshelves in ordinary houses (basically anything except for very wealthy manses, castles, or special professions), since most people would not be literate.

- Avoid having "bubble yards", which is where the walls of the yard look like a blob, rather than following a well-defined shape. You usually want your yard borders to be linear segments that conform with the house as well as surrounding houses, roads, or other features.

- Also try to organize the yard into separate plots for growing particular vegetables or herbs (see /warp crops on the server for some ideas), rather than just having a random mix of flowers and vegetables.

For another challenge build, please make a medium-size house in the style of /warp gaunt, with a yard. Let me know if you have any questions about any of the feedback or the challenge style. Good luck!

 

[Lemmonberrymuffin]

Thanks so much for the feedback!
I had a go at the build and took some heavy inspiration from a small house right next to a larger stone homestead.
Anyhow I hope this is up to standards.

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey lemmon,

Great work on this house, it looks like a huge improvement in terms of structure and timber patterns!

Just an important note though, it looks like you're still missing Optifine. You need to follow the guide for whichever launcher you're using here to install it, or else many things are not going to look right.

Otherwise I don't have much feedback to give, you've done a very good job. There is one minor thing: using tables as windows is strictly outdated; you should use the "timber frame window" blocks instead. This was a trend for a short time before the timber frame windows were added; most uses of it have been replaced, but there might be a couple that were missed.

For the next challenge build, please make a medium-sized house in the style of /warp oatown, with a yard. The style here is a bit more complex, so make sure to take your time studying the techniques used for gradients, timber framing, etc. Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

 

[Lemmonberrymuffin]

Heya Emoticone!
Sorry for the late reply the website wouldn't load for some reason. Anyway I think I installed optifine correctly, but enough rambling here's what I built.

 

[Lemmonberrymuffin]

Oops can only attach 10 files

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey lemmon,

Nice work again, you're improving quickly! The interiors in particular are nicely done this time, though I have a bit of feedback to give on the exteriors. Before I get to that, it seems like you're still having some sort of issue with your textures; it could be that Optifine wasn't installed correctly. The way I can tell is (a) the stone slabs here appear unusually bright because they don't have biome shading, and (b) the wattle fence texture on the chair here isn't connecting. I recommend going to the techsupport channel on the Discord and getting this issue sorted before doing any more work.

Anyways, to the feedback:

- The timber pattern needs a little more work, particularly on this side. The vertical timber columns are a little bit too long, which visually makes the upper part of the house feel very elongated and disproportionate. Having some diagonal framing along the roof gable could help with this as well. Something like the pattern on this house could work well, especially since it has similar proportions and roof shape as your house (ignoring the overhang bit).

- It could just be your FOV, but this room feels a bit out of proportion; the area is a bit too big and open given the 3-high ceiling. This can be easily solved by adding some sort of vertical ceiling support in the room to help break up the space.

- Be mindful of the gradient; you always want to avoid having two blocks together that transition harshly (i.e., a big gap in darkness or hue between them). In this case, never use "winterfell granite" next to "small smooth stone brick", always have "small stone brick" between them to transition.

- Quite minor detail, but the material used for 'fancy' fireplaces in oatown should be dark monochrome/vivid sandstone, rather than stormlands brick.

For the next challenge build (once you get the Optifine issue sorted), please make a middle-class house in the style of /warp whiteharbor. The middle-class houses can generally be found in the southwestern parts of the city (within the walls). Make sure to study the gradient techniques with the plaster in this style closely, as there's a particular way you need to do it. Let me know if you have any questions about anything, good luck!

 

[Lemmonberrymuffin]

Hey Emoticone!
Here's what I made, I think I did the plasterwork correctly however I wouldn't be surprised if I made a few mistakes.
I pretty sure that I correctly installed optifine so fingers crossed!
Anyway here's the build.
(Oh and I thought I should mention that one of the walls is two blocks thick, so I could fit things better into the space I had available)

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey Lemmon,

Thanks for being patient; busy week for me.

Overall you did a very good job with this house! I think you mostly got the plasterwork technique down, apart from some nitpicky feedback which I'll get to now:

- I'd suggest making the plaster regions a bit less strand-like, and a bit more blobby. Another way to think about it is that realistically the house would have been fully whitewashed/plastered at some point, but the whitewash would chip and corrode over time, revealing the brick underneath. This process would happen faster on edges and corners that are exposed more to the elements. Here's a quick example of how I'd revise one of the facades (I didn't fully copy the details on the left version, but the right version is my attempt).

- Also as you can see from my quick test, you never want the "faint light grey brick" block to touch the white plaster due to the harsh contrast. Always have some block like white cobblestone between them as a transition.

- Although fence windows are used a bit in White Harbor, they're considered an outdated technique now and should be avoided in newer builds (not anything wrong with your submission, just keep in mind for the future)

- I'd remove the middle bump on the peak of the roof. The White Harbor rooves should just have the slight rise on the ends of the roof.

Otherwise I don't have any issues, very nice work! For the next challenge build, please make a middle-class house in the style of /warp duskendale, with a small yard. Let me know if you have any questions about anything. Good luck!

 

[Lemmonberrymuffin]

Hey Emoticone!
I've also had a hectic couple of days, so I'm sorry for the late reply.
I had a tad bit of difficulty with replicating and grasping the style of the build due to the packed in nature of Duskendale which made me take a few bits of
improv with the house, however I'm pretty happy with the interior.
anyways here's what I made.

 

[Emoticone11]

Hey Lemmon,

Awesome job with this house! The interiors in particular are well-planned and really nicely executed; you've come a long way during this app. My only feedback this time is a fairly nitpicky thing: I'd probably just use all vertical oak wood planks for the gables, since the normal oak wood planks blend in with the roof a bit too much.

Otherwise, I feel like you've nailed this house and will learn more as a probie builder at this stage, so consider yourself approved!

To get promoted to builder, ask a moderator in-game next time you catch one online. The next step is to read over the New Builder guide, found here: https://westeroscraft.com/wiki/guides/new-builders-guide
And also make yourself a probation thread in the probation forum.

You can start building at any open locations on the server - you can find these at /warp build (possibly outdated as people forget to update it sometimes), and also by going to our dynmap and toggling "Open Plot" (if a project lead marked their plots with open plot tags), or otherwise just checking the forums and asking around to see which builds are open (probably your best bet to be honest). Also, you can ask a mod to set you up with a plot in the Test world where you can practice building.

A probie leader should post on your thread within a week or so, give constructive feedback on your houses for the next month, and help be your entrypoint into the server community in general. As sometimes the probie leaders can be busy IRL, I also highly suggest seeking out feedback from project leaders and other online builders. At the end, you'll be made full builder.

Welcome to the team, I look forward to building with you!