How To Improve Your Builds
Building is a massive part of Minecraft, but not everyone knows how to put together a beautiful and well thought out build. However, there is no need to worry! Here is some advice to make sure you can level up your next build.
Inspiration & Time
You can't start a new project without an idea, so the first step to crafting an awesome new build is to get inspiration for what you are going to do. Inspiration may come in a lot of different forms, such as:
- Searching & viewing what other people have built
- Looking at IRL versions of what you want to build
- Watching a tour of someone's world
It is important to make sure you are getting inspiration from this and not just directly copying what you see, I promise it is much more rewarding!
Once you have inspiration you need to think about if you are going to finish the project, and figure out a scale that will allow for you to finish it. While building can be fun at first, you may start to become bored of the project over time and get burnt out - therefore never finishing the project and leaving it half complete. So, to avoid this, make sure to consider doing the following:
Palette & Gradients
Okay so you have built a magnificent castle but it just looks... plain, or maybe it looks a little boring? Well, don't worry! Majority of the time, the issue comes down to you using a small palette - if you use the same block for everything then it is going to all blend in together - so try adding more blocks that work well together in there and watch the build spring to life.
Contrasting colors is also an amazing way to bring more life to a build, try using colors that contrast the rest of the build. For example, if you was building a fantasy castle there is likely going to be a lot of greys so if you use a bright color such as blue or green for the roof then it is going to make the roof pop a lot more and make the build look a lot more lively.
A gradient is an interesting way to bring not only more texture to a build, but also bring more story and detail to a build with little effort. By blending blocks together you can give a build an aged look, and add so much more detail to a simple flat wall.
Texture
Texture links in a lot with using a good palette and gradients in a build, but it is still very hard to master and should be thought about when making a build.
We can all agree that a simple wall is never fun to look at, so try and limit how many you include in your builds. When you have a large, boring, flat wall try and add something to make it stay interesting. Some good ways you could do this, is by:
- Adding a gradient to the wall
- Add more depth to the walls by using stairs, or bringing the wall out on parts
- Add vines/greenery when it fits
- Using different variants of the same block
The texture is what can make, or break, a build - so make sure to always keep it in mind!
Depth
As said above, no one wants to look at a flat wall! Making sure you are adding shapes and adding parts of the build that don't follow traditional shapes is important when avoiding a big box. You don't have to have wavy walls for an interesting build though, you can also used glass panes as these are going to add more depth to a build than glass blocks. You can also use stairs in walls to give the impression that a bit of the wall has been chipped away!
Make sure to be creative with how you add depth, while you don't want a boring box you also don't want a shape that becomes too much for the eye.
Surroundings
You can build the perfect house, and have all the details just right, but if the surroundings don't match then it is never going to look right. So making sure the biome you build in and the surrounding terrain fit the build is an important step in ensuring your build is the best is can be! For example, if you are wanting to build a hobbit hole style house that has a lot of brighter wood then you aren't going to want to build it in a desert. Instead, you might want to consider building it in a jungle or plains biome.
The second thing you want to consider about the surroundings is the terraforming. A build might look perfect but if you haven't changed the surroundings then the build is likely going to stick out like a sore thumb. Adding more greenery, water, animals, etc to the surrounding and sometimes on the build itself is going to make the build look like it belongs there and also makes it look like the build has more history behind it.
Alternatively, you can also do the opposite of this and remove a lot of the surrounding greenery to fit the theme of the build. For example, if you are building a modern house then you are likely going to remove the natural aspects of the land and replace it with more man-made stuff like roads and buildings. This is going to make the house look like it belongs where it is and therefore blend it in with the surroundings more.
Make your home look at home with its surroundings!
And The Final Tip...
Just have fun! While these tips can help you improve your builds and become a quality builder, that doesn't mean you have to follow them. Minecraft is a game, and should be treated like so. While we all might get caught up with trying to make the best next build, that isn't what everyone has to do - making sure you are having fun with what you are doing and you are actually enjoying the game is more important than having a beautiful world.