The Merlin's Beard, Inn and Tavern

I don't want to sway the banner contest voting, but I will say that you did a good job of conveying the theme, and this is a cool build.

Its looking really good!

Well, I can't speak for everyone, but I will say that in my view, you were right up there. I don't think that there's anything bad about this build, per se, just to establish that up front. I think you built an interesting scene, were definitely in the right mood or spirit, and had some great building techniques. So as a build, I think it's a good build. As a banner, I think it fell just a bit short only because it was a tad busy, and it didn't have that "aha!" moment or that singular element that draws the viewer's eye into the scene.

As for specific things that I would pick out, I'd say that you did a great job with the walls, the overall structure, the layout of the scene, and having an interesting cast of characters. When I look at your second angle in particular, I think that that's a really cool picture, with some fun things going on. However, when you flatten the angle, things get a bit smashed together, and it becomes a bit harder to see what's going on. This is something I had to play with in my meager little entry as well, and it shows that sometimes you really have to think hard about the viewing angles that are important in a build. In particular, if you're building an entire scene just to get a particular shot (in this case, the banner), you really have to make sure that everything you build is in service of that shot, so that that one shot carries a lot of visual impact.

The only little bit of criticism I'd give on the built elements from your scene is that the fireplace and beard element were a bit indistinct. In particular, because you used light and dark gray brick in the fireplace, the dark gray angles at the top didn't look as much like a wizard's hat, and the white bone pieces look more like actual minifig-scale bones rather than something conveying a white beard. I knew what you were going for, and it was subtle, but it just came out a little too subtle to give the desired effect.

Cheers,
Sean

I think Sean covered a lot of good points.

The scene is vibrant and lively, and actually closely resembles my hand-drawn scene, so you obviously were doing something right

As Sean said, the lower angle creates a lot of background compression and there ends up being a little too much going on for a focal point to stand out. If you were to make the background somewhat monocrhromatic and out of focus, and then have a vibrant character or two in the foreground, that would have been better.

You also can see the edges of the baseplate, which is a little distracting. Overall, the photography can be improved. I've seen better shots from you, so I know you are capable of more with regard to presentation.

In the end, it is an excellent scene, it just didnt translate to an ideal banner image.

I hope that was a helpful critique. I focused on what can be improved, but that is not to say that you don't have a lot of great things going on, so keep up the good work!

Thanks jordan,

That does help. I was running on fumes when photos were taken. I have done some tinkering and will be takeing some more pictures in the next week or so! I will keep you all posted.

Curt

Yes, I like the details you've changed so far.

As you start adding back the figures to the scene, I would try to think in terms of composition, so that everything you place in the scene has a reason for being there, and things flow from figure to figure without getting too busy. I'd consider having one or two main things going on (someone proposing a toast, someone spilling the beer, someone falling over, a couple of someones having a disagreement, or what have you) so that the scene doesn't get too busy, with maybe the occasional side conversation or glance to create additional moments that a viewer can notice. Since you have a lot of brown on the floor and tan on the wall, you might consider figures in other colors. (Your original scene had this, so this is just a reminder.) When you place them, think about what each is doing, whether he/she is talking to someone else in the scene, laughing to or at someone, reacting to something, etc., and try to model their line of sight and facial expressions so that the viewer can follow the gazes and glances and expressions. You can have figures interacting with the "set" or background elements and the "props" or items in the scene, etc. And finally, as you do stage things, think in terms of the angles you're going to shoot, and try to leave a little visual separation between the main elements. For instance, if you have a couple of figs talking by the fireplace, a couple at the bar, then you might want to leave a little bit of a margin between those areas and the figs you place around the table. It's hard to get a ton of action into a wide-angle shot like this, so please don't take this as though I'm downplaying what you're up against. You've set yourself a challenge, but it should be a fun challenge, and I think you're already doing really well.

Cheers,
Sean