WEEKLY NEWSLETTER (Nov 03): Collection of Realistic Building tips!

“This post applies to the 0.1% of people that build or savour realism”. Starting out nerdy:

MY FAV WORLD EDIT COMMAND MODIFIER: “-m”

The “-m” literally stands for Mask, and offers a multi-purpose way to selectively copy and paste blocks in your selection, like a built-in //gmask (global block mask). Since it starts with a “-“, it goes at the end and modifies how the command works:

For example, //copy your build, but //paste -am stone. This will only paste stone, and not paste air. This allows you to overlap a paste onto an existing build without breaking a sweat (or the builds).

You can reverse things with a “!”, such as //paste -m !stone. This will paste everything EXCEPT stone.

BUILD HIGHLIGHT: DENNIE MOK’S HONG KONG

Everything about Dennie Mok’s builds is immaculately presented – from the clean builds, the elaborate elevation renders, to the extensive post layout showing her passion for HK architecture.

“I’m an absolute enthusiast of functionalist architecture, and I’m especially into those boxy structures. Public buildings, such as those rental apartments and standard schools are among my primary interests. For me, this kind of building looks so clean, so lovely, so modern and so functional.”

“Together with my unquestionable love for my hometown and my little habit to share my findings with others, I decided to publish these projects here on PMC so that more people around the world can have a vivid glimpse of Hong Kong’s model of functionalism and appreciate all those crazy ideas behind it.”

“Le Corbusier is the master that I admire the most. His famous maxim “A house is a machine for living in” has always been my major inspiration to perceive Hong Kong’s public housing models.”

Dennie Mok
3/1/2023

BUILD BETTER REALISTIC FURNITURE & INTERIOR

LAYOUT:

• Get inspired by real interiors and real layouts: to create a space that makes sense for its use.
• Don’t forget service infrastructure e.g. elevators & blocked off maintenance floors in tall buildings.
• Focus on the most important areas and make them draw attention away from emptier filler spaces.
• Going for a larger scale (4-5 block tall interiors) works best to allow immersive scale and detail.
• Fill the entire room – in 3D, not just 2D: e.g. add ceiling lamps made with an end rod & trapdoor.

TEXTURE:

• Keep tabs on the amount of colors & materials – keep things flowing in a consistent clean way.
• Modern walls – keep them simple, but texture them to add floor/ceiling trims, in-wall paintings.
• Other wall details: an in-wall TV from black concrete, tripwire coat hooks, ladder & trapdoor art.
• Modern floors – Break up the floors with inset carpets, or even a sunken couch area with slabs.
• Modern ceilings – plain diorite, quartz or calcite, combined with a wall trim, makes a good base.

FURNITURE:

• Welcome to reality: drop the fantasy and add toilets, wardrobes, large custom beds, mirrors?!
• Keep it thin: e.g. Use trapdoors, not slabs. This goes for realistic building exterior detail as well.
• Rethink shapes: e.g. Real tables aren’t a massive thick cube. What are you trying to represent?
• For large interiors, be wary of entities disappearing at a distance (banners, item frames, signs).
• If filling up multiple flats, you can reuse the same hotbar to quickly make e.g. multiple kitchens.

DETAILS:

• Add small lifelike touches: a chair that’s pulled out further from the table, a window clothes line.
• Other small details – door thresholds, doors in general, stair railings, walk-in closet storage etc.
• Don’t be afraid to go wide e.g. a 2 block deep kitchen counter, with space for intimate details.
• Nature is always a nice modern touch – potted flowers, leaves on shelves, a larger moss planter.
• An eye of ender in an end portal frame, with a leaf above, provides a unique solution for a plant.

OLD BUT GOLD: “THE BUILD PROCESS” SERIES

This is a set of 3 posts from late 2023, which details the “city build process” basics alongside images!

The Build Process Part 1 | Make better city buildings

The Build Process Part 2 | Building realistic interiors

The Build Process Part 3 | City planning and districts

As for block palettes, I always recommend this – it’s still neat & here to stay: https://blockcolors.app/

In other news

The Minecraft launcher now features Halloween tricks & updates like floating buttons and spooky Endermen and noises! Also, Mojang had a severe daylong multiplayer outage. Right after the Amazon Web Services, haha...