Advanced Building Tips Tag Team Game

[Villanelle]

A new game for us to play - and it's educational!

I'll start us off with some tips on a specific building topic. Then I'll finish my post with a request for tips on another specific topic. Post your replies with your tips on that topic, and finish your post with a request for the next topic. The FIRST RESPONSE to the request will set the topic for the next round of posts.

Chaotic? Sure! Fun? Hope so! Gonna learn something? Let's see!

 

[Villanelle]

My topic is: light and shadow

I've been experimenting with light and shadow in my builds and wanted to share some screenshots of where I think I've been particularly successful. Light and shadow add depth and dimensionality to your builds and can (I think!) invoke emotional responses to areas of your buildings, such as a sense of cosyness, welcome invitation or awe.

1. Stand out signage using spotlights

Directing spotlights at your signs and entrances really makes them pop. You can change the colour of the spotlight and combine two or more of them together to build interesting effects, especially when directed at paler construction pieces which reflect them beautifully. Placing the spotlight closer to the target makes the colours brighter and bolder, and having them further back makes a softer impact. Choosing warmer tones adds an inviting warmth and I love using them to highlight my zoo section signs.

They look awesome at night but also work in daylight:

They can also be used to add depth and interest to parts of your interiors:

2. Spotlights can be used to make lighthouses

Unfortunately they can't rotate or be made to blink - I experimented with using the waterwheel (the only rotating construction piece) but objects do not block the light, so bear that in mind as your spotlights will shine through anything placed in front of them.

You can use this transparency to your advantage though. Here is a birds-eye view of an entrance area where the spotlights are shining through the European Marquee pieces used as roofing, and some shades I designed using the conservation beams. In daytime they give some gentle shade but at night they glow like fireflies. The marquee shades are covering my ticket booths, where I have hidden the spotlights within the counters to highlight the welcome signs I had behind them. So this colourful glow seen from above was a lovely surprise!

3. Warm and cosy lighting - higge style!

For this fireplace I used a combination of the African Wall Decorative Fire Pit (Base game) and the Twilight Brazier (Twilight pack) to create glowing embers and flickering flames. I buried the brazier pretty deep in the ground, otherwise the flames are overwhelming. I love the way the light glows across the surrounding stones and creates a real sense of heat.

I also used the African fire pit and steam effect pieces to make a sauna:

Here's a cosy winter cabin using the same pieces, in daylight this room looks more normal but at night it really comes to life. It's snowy outside in my alpine area, and I just want to curl up in blankets on those sofas.

4. The sun

Our greatest source of light is of course - the sun! Allowing some daylight into your buildings adds a sense of space and airiness. Creating some open areas within your interiors allows a breath of light to lift your mood as you walk through them.

Here's a riad I added to my entrance building for a desert zoo, the internal square houses some African porcupines. Layering the arches creates interesting shadows that move as the day passes.

I hope you liked these tips!

My request is for some tips on creating Realistic ground terrain for habitats please

I find this part of building very tricky - the grounds of my habitats never look as textured or realistic as I would like them to be. I use grasses and rocks but perhaps not effectively enough and I'd love to know how to create more textured, detailed, natural looking grounds, especially in more open spaces. If anyone has tips on how to do this more quickly - that would be especially appreciated, as it seems to take me forever and I'm still rarely satisfied with the results!

 

[Orkan]

My topic is: light and shadow

I've been experimenting with light and shadow in my builds and wanted to share some screenshots of where I think I've been particularly successful. Light and shadow add depth and dimensionality to your builds and can (I think!) invoke emotional responses to areas of your buildings, such as a sense of cosyness, welcome invitation or awe.

1. Stand out signage using spotlights

Directing spotlights at your signs and entrances really makes them pop. You can change the colour of the spotlight and combine two or more of them together to build interesting effects, especially when directed at paler construction pieces which reflect them beautifully. Placing the spotlight closer to the target makes the colours brighter and bolder, and having them further back makes a softer impact. Choosing warmer tones adds an inviting warmth and I love using them to highlight my zoo section signs.


View attachment 390500

View attachment 390502

They look awesome at night but also work in daylight:

View attachment 390501

They can also be used to add depth and interest to parts of your interiors:

View attachment 390503

2. Spotlights can be used to make lighthouses

View attachment 390505

Unfortunately they can't rotate or be made to blink - I experimented with using the waterwheel (the only rotating construction piece) but objects do not block the light, so bear that in mind as your spotlights will shine through anything placed in front of them.

You can use this transparency to your advantage though. Here is a birds-eye view of an entrance area where the spotlights are shining through the European Marquee pieces used as roofing, and some shades I designed using the conservation beams. In daytime they give some gentle shade but at night they glow like fireflies. The marquee shades are covering my ticket booths, where I have hidden the spotlights within the counters to highlight the welcome signs I had behind them. So this colourful glow seen from above was a lovely surprise!

View attachment 390514




3. Warm and cosy lighting - higge style!

For this fireplace I used a combination of the African Wall Decorative Fire Pit (Base game) and the Twilight Brazier (Twilight pack) to create glowing embers and flickering flames. I buried the brazier pretty deep in the ground, otherwise the flames are overwhelming. I love the way the light glows across the surrounding stones and creates a real sense of heat.

View attachment 390506

I also used the African fire pit and steam effect pieces to make a sauna:

View attachment 390507

Here's a cosy winter cabin using the same pieces, in daylight this room looks more normal but at night it really comes to life. It's snowy outside in my alpine area, and I just want to curl up in blankets on those sofas.

View attachment 390508

4. The sun

Our greatest source of light is of course - the sun! Allowing some daylight into your buildings adds a sense of space and airiness. Creating some open areas within your interiors allows a breath of light to lift your mood as you walk through them.

Here's a riad I added to my entrance building for a desert zoo, the internal square houses some African porcupines. Layering the arches creates interesting shadows that move as the day passes.

View attachment 390509


I hope you liked these tips!

My request is for some tips on creating Realistic ground terrain for habitats please

I find this part of building very tricky - the grounds of my habitats never look as textured or realistic as I would like them to be. I use grasses and rocks but perhaps not effectively enough and I'd love to know how to create more textured, detailed, natural looking grounds, especially in more open spaces. If anyone has tips on how to do this more quickly - that would be especially appreciated, as it seems to take me forever and I'm still rarely satisfied with the results!

Oh man, perfect time for me!

Ground Terrain eh? I’ve got some tips for you.
I always start the build with sculpting out how I want the area to look. This helps me decide what should be where.
I don’t have any images to show for it, but I think the idea is simple enough.

After that I start coloring the terrain. If I’m building for an herbivore I’ll likely make most of the enclosure into dirt first. If it’s a carnivore or omnivore, then I’ll make a path with dirt that the animal(s) take the most often and is therefore the most worn down, usually around windows and enrichment objects such as climbing frames.

After that I lay out absolute tons of buffalo grass (or any grass) and cover the green areas. For herbivores I make patches with the grass instead of paths with dirt. Then I color under the patches with grass terrain. After this I really go to town with foliage. Just do as much as possible. If you're using custom fences, sink some trees into the ground to make bushes and put them just behind the fences so their branches are sticking out a small bit. As I do this I also cover the dirt portions with loads of small rocks. You could use faux rocks or biome rocks sunken in so only the very tip sticks up. Repeat this process until you have a good habitat.

My next topic will be...

How to make large buildings look interesting

 

[Villanelle]

Thank you very clever to draw dirt paths where the animals will tread most. I just added that to my jaguar habitat, and scattered a few pebbles either side and it looks better.

I've got some building suggestions for you but it would be nice for other people to join in so I won't add a request. I'll just briefly suggest avoid box shapes, stagger heights, mix textures, include some open space, don't be afraid of non-grid pieces - these are your friends - and get to know all the beams!