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In lugnet.castle, Mark Sandlin writes:
> Thanks for the suggestions, Pawel! Even though your post was geared toward
> Castle folk, I think there are enough good pointers in here, to crosspost to
> .build. These suggestions can benefit anyone, IMHO.
>
> in article G76xzE.ELB@lugnet.com, Pawel Nazarewicz wrote:
>
> > I'm sure I'm not the only one that has been in one of those. They tend to
> > last anywhere from a day to six months to maybe even longer. The questions
> > is: What can you do about them once they are there? I have been through
> > enough of them to accumulate a few ideas from personal experience. These
> > are some of the things that worked as a pick-me-up for me:
> >
> > 1) Get Detail Oriented. What I mean here is build something simple. Like
> > a normal house. Or an Inn. Or a ... forest meadow. Now - start thinking
> > about details ... does the house have
> > a creek running right by it? Should there be flowers? Different
> > elevations? Who lives there? Why does he or she live there? Does the house
> > have everything it needs - a bed, a table, a kitchen? Where is the house?
> > In a village? A part of a castle? If it's a village, what else does it need?
> > A well? A barn? If it's a castle, what part of the castle is it in?
>
> Yeah, many of my MOCs have gone from mediocre to good simply because I added
> small details.
>
> >
> > 2) Take It Easy. If you are building something huge, like a castle, it's
> > easy to get burned out. Do something simple at first - like barracks. From
> > there, do a section of the wall and maybe a tower. Draw everything out
> > first on a sheet of paper - you will know what you need to work with. What
> > works for me is using graph paper and letting every square be a small 16 x
> > 16 baseplate. I can design my castle and then follow the draft. This way
> > you have an idea of what you are planning to do and if it works. Of course
> > a HUGE singular castle is infitely more complicated, but if you are
> > planning on doing of of those and haven't done one on baseplates yet, the
> > baseplates might be a better place to start.
>
> Also, what might be a good thing is to recognize inspiration immediately. If
> I see something at work, I get a photocopy or I sketch it on a Post It note
> immediately. Don't wait until you get home... you might forget some details
> and be kicking yourself later.
>
> >
> > 3) Let Things Come Together. Dave Eaton didn't just sit down one day and
> > decide to build his village. It all started with a house, which lead to a few
> > houses, then he built a mill. He just thought about what might be good and
> > built this and that. Same with my big castle (Strombrachter). The
> > church was done for a different project as was the Inn. When I wanted to
> > build my castle, I already had two things to plug in, and I could work
> > around them instead of staring at a blank page.
> >
> > 4) Listen To Music. And think of a story that goes with the music. Write
> > some of the stuff down - this is mostly brainstorming. What movie scenes
> > would you make with this music? Listen to a variety too ... here are some
> > good ones to start with, but this is obviously your own area. If you have
> > Napster, get these and gro from there:
> >
> > a) Standing Outside The Fire - Garth Brooks.
> > b) Higher - Creed
> > c) Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down
> > d) Four Seasons - Vivaldi
> > e) Paint It Black - Rolling Stones
> > f) Crazy Train - Ozzy Osborne
>
> Music is good. Might I also suggest several CDs by the Cincinatti Pops
> orchestra:
>
> Star Tracks
> Star Tracks II
> Time Warp
> Fantastic Journey
>
> These are CDs with lots of different music from fantasy and Sci-Fi movies.
> Good stuff for inspiration.
>
> >
> > 5) Watch Movies. Same idea as above - just watch and pick out what you
> > like :) Here are a few good starters:
> >
> > a) Willow - possibly the best movie for getting you out of your rut.
> > b) Gladiator
> > c) Ninja Scroll. Not for kids, but very, very good.
> > d) The Princess Bride.
> >
> > 6) Think Small. Start with a character and then think of what crazy stuff
> > happens to them. Before you know it, they need an enemy, a friend, a
> > setting (forest, castle, etc), and you are on your way.
> >
> > 7) Write A Story. This will help you get detail oriented too ... you can
> > pack in a lot of action into a small setting (like an inn or tavern).
> >
> > 8) Browse Old Creations. Some ideas here that are often overlooked are
> > Eric Brok's stuff:
> >
> > http://homepages.svc.fcj.hvu.nl/brok/legomind/models/index.htm
> >
> > And Frank's page:
> >
> > http://www.mindspring.com/~ffilz/Lego/castle.html
> >
> > I'm sure there are many other ways to get of a slump, but this should give
> > you good start.
> >
> > -- Pawel
>
> Thanks again for the pointers! Again, I think these suggestions are great
> for people building in any theme.
>
> ~Mark "Muffin Head" Sandlin
Thanks for the ideas! I have two suggestions, though.
#1, Carry a small sketchbook with you whenever possible. Put a mechanical
pencil into it, and sketch ideas when you think of them (a B2 pod attacked
by a swinging arm to a rocket booster). Of course, some are going to be
better ideas than others...
#2, for all Space people out there. (seriously) Look at carpets, tile,
walls, ceilings, anything randomly patterned. If you let your eye relax,
you will begin to see shapes in the patterns (some carpets work better than
others-high contrast of colors is best). Simply sketch them down. They can
be ships, fighters, speeders, boats, submarines, anything. Do this in your
free time, not during working hours, though.
These suggestions may be a bit strange. For other Space ideas that don't
scare your friends/family, try watching Sci-Fi channel, or looking at
science fiction movies, shows, books, etc.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Top 8 ways to get out of a slump ...
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| Thanks for the suggestions, Pawel! Even though your post was geared toward Castle folk, I think there are enough good pointers in here, to crosspost to .build. These suggestions can benefit anyone, IMHO. (...) Yeah, many of my MOCs have gone from (...) (23 years ago, 15-Jan-01, to lugnet.castle, lugnet.build)
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