Botanical Gardens WIP

[Kai NRG]

First off, I'm redoing the whole post. (So go ahead and read it all.) Second, thanks to everyone who gave me comments/advice during the WIP stage! And I probably would have sized it down a bit except - the plates are glued to the bottom. So that was pretty much out. Sadly, there were a lot of great ideas I wasn't able to do, and the entire thing probably still looks a bit spread out - but, after all, that's my idea of a garden. Anyway, without further ado, take a stroll!

A closer photo (what a pity I got my shadow in this one!):

I barely had enough to manage this:

And of course, the pond - plus a wheel with the guild flags on it (and I didn't forget Valario!). I'm using dark red as the color for the Universty. Mainly because I just have one dark blue (though that will change!):

One of the professors is conducting an experiment:

And one of the two gardeners:

Oh, and don'f forget the student!

Naturally, there are several statues located throughout:

And a few other things that just can't be forgotten:

There are also several more pictures here - plus (some of) the WIP photos, if you're interested in them:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gid617/sets/72157631614668494/

Edited October 27, 2012 by Kai NRG

[soccerkid6]

Seems you're off to a good start! The little details you have built so far are excellent: especially the pond, painting, and model of a castle

You might want to consider sizing it down some, unless you have lots of pieces. I think the statues do look rather modern, maybe try something brick built?

Overall it's looking good

[Ecclesiastes]

An interesting idea and some fun things to look at like the fountain, the scroll and I really like the painting.

But I really think you should clean your baseplates! Just water, a sponge, five minutes and your moc will be much better to look at!

Edited September 14, 2012 by Ecclesiastes

[Kai NRG]

Seems you're off to a good start! The little details you have built so far are excellent: especially the pond, painting, and model of a castle

You might want to consider sizing it down some, unless you have lots of pieces. I think the statues do look rather modern, maybe try something brick built?

Overall it's looking good

I personally don't have so many pieces, but I'm building it with the help of some friend's pieces (not just their time), so I think we should have enough (plus, the green 32x32's are glued to the bottom white table top - yes, before I take the final picture I should probably clean it! - so I don't think I could avoid the size easily). Thanks for the bruck-built statue suggestion, that's a great idea!

[Gabe]

Nice work Kai, you are off to a good start on this. The idea of a botanic garden is an awesome one, and i really like the deatils like the fountain, the small painting and architectural model. (The scroll looks cool too!)

The main problem you have atm is that everything is way too spread out - even with the elements you plan to add, i suspect it will end up looking quite empty and unfinished. I would suggest cutting the size by at least half to begin with, and consider a bit more how the dfferent sections that you have will interact with each other. For example: You might have someone trying to shoot a tuneless lute player by the fountain from the belltower - in your layout, this wouldn't be very apparent as everything is far apart, whereas if you squashed things up a bit, you could show that scene quite effectively. (*ahem* If you wanted to, of course! )

Anyway, sorry for letting my tongue run away with me... it's certainly good to see the university underway at last, i look forward to seeing where you take this next!

[NiceMarmot]

I like the botanical garden idea! Perhaps you could try to include examples of all sorts of different plants and trees, even making some really unusual brick-built ones. Since this is in Petraea (I think), perhaps a cactus garden would be appropriate?

As others have suggested, it might be too big or spread out. If you have a fair amount of landscaping pieces, then it won't look too spread out. Since you don't have any more flowers, I'd suggest making some trees and/or bushes. You could also put down brown or tan plates to make paths. Since it's Petraea, in the middle of the desert, a large expanse of grass might be a bit unlikely, so some of it could definitely be "paved" with stone or something. You also might want to put down some green plates of varying sizes to give the grass a bit of texture and slope.

If you're looking for another structure to fill up space, you could put in a small hut for the gardener/landscaper.

[Kai NRG]

I like the botanical garden idea! Perhaps you could try to include examples of all sorts of different plants and trees, even making some really unusual brick-built ones. Since this is in Petraea (I think), perhaps a cactus garden would be appropriate?

As others have suggested, it might be too big or spread out. If you have a fair amount of landscaping pieces, then it won't look too spread out. Since you don't have any more flowers, I'd suggest making some trees and/or bushes. You could also put down brown or tan plates to make paths. Since it's Petraea, in the middle of the desert, a large expanse of grass might be a bit unlikely, so some of it could definitely be "paved" with stone or something. You also might want to put down some green plates of varying sizes to give the grass a bit of texture and slope.

If you're looking for another structure to fill up space, you could put in a small hut for the gardener/landscaper.

Thanks, those are some great ideas (especially the paths and stone - I have a lot of bricks that would work well for that)!

I think I've solved my pavilion roofing problem; I'm going to use round 1x1 plates (three on top of each other) and 1x2 bricks to create a domed effect (hopefully) alternating red with trans red and white with clear. I mentioned this before, but although sixing it down would make the build a lot easier, the plates are actually glued to the bottom. So while I could use just half, there would be a wide expanse of grass to one side anyways. I've also started a brick-built statue of Dextrus Flagg I'm planning on placing towards the left of the pavilion, so that will be another space-filler (if I get it done, that is ).

Thanks everybody for the feedback!

[soccerkid6]

I really like how you have used the round tower technique for the tower and roof of the pavilion As I've said before the microscenes are excellent

[Mike S]

Nice job! You have some great elements here... the fountain, the pavilion, and the artwork/sculptures to name a few.

[Kristel]

There are some great details in here, like the statue, fountain, painting and the minifigs doing their things. I also like how you have done the bell tower and the roof on the main structure looks fantastic.

I think it would benefit from all these details being more closely connected, maybe with some more greenery? It is a little spaced out at the moment. I wonder what it would look like if you kept all the things you have now, but use only the first half of the baseplate space?

[de Gothia]

Many great little details to look at! A great idea with the Garden as well!

I agree with the rest about the size though

[Kai NRG]

Thanks guys! Again, at least 32x64 would probably have been shaved off except for the fact that the plates were glued to the bottom. Regardless, I'm glad you guys like the details!

[Niku]

It has a really good overall look, I would try to add more vegetation, and flowers, as it is, is already fine, but you could make it more greener.

Good job Kai.

[Abu Dun]

I really like this idea, I reckon it's supposed to be a part of the Petrea University? The detailing is really good and I like how it feels like an active place with all the different figs going about their different jobs

As Niku already pointed out, it seems to somewhat lack flowers and plants, though, so there could be some more added to the scenery.