CCC X MOC critiques thread

Discussion of personal LEGO Castle creations
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gid617
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Re: CCC X MOC critiques thread

Post by gid617 »

Bruce N H wrote: ...One mistake is that the printing is on the wrong side of the Bible...
Bruce
How silly of me! :tasty: Thanks for pointing that out though, will have to pay more attention to such things next time I try customizing!
Could you please critique my first medieval architectural detail next?
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Bruce N H
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Re: CCC X MOC critiques thread

Post by Bruce N H »

Hey,

It looks like we're down to the same people asking for additional critiques. Unless there are any new people asking for feedback, I'm going to address these and then call it a day on this feedback thread.

Legonardo,
Canals of llyria Image
This was an honorable mention winner, so again there's not really anything 'wrong' with it. I really loved the angles and the curve of the sea wall. The texturing in the walls and the little details like the curved bit of the hinge plates and those clip plates are great. I also love the brick-built gondola. I have no clue why there's a bearded guy in the water, but I'll assume that's some sort of inside joke. It's also unclear what the hair on top of a post at the top of the steps is. My only build suggestion is that I would have made the road portion a different color - either dark gray or dark tan, just to break up the mass of light gray. I generally love the color scheme, so I wouldn't do too much with color variations, though. Another suggestion is presentation - essentially your three images are all the same - the second and third are just closer-up views of the top and bottom half of the first, from the same camera angle. I'd suggest looking at this from a couple of different angles, maybe one from the perspective of the fig on the gondola, looking up at the town above.

Soccerkid,
Life in Illyria (popular place) Image
Another very strong entry. I liked the red/dark red roof in particular, also the details with the alternating light gray 1x1 cylinders and 1x1 round plates, and the gallery along the canal. I normally am not a huge fan of checkerboard walkways, but here I think it makes a nice color scheme transition from the blue building with light gray accents to the red building with dark gray accents. The building interiors are too clean. The buildings don't look lived-in. On presentation, as with Legonardo, I think you could have chosen at least one low angle. Looking at your personal site with more photos, I really like the one looking down the canal between the buildings where you can see the couple on the bridge at the back. The proposal scene is a nice touch of life, btw - is this some sort of personal life reference?

Gid617,
Hall of ancient history Image
I'm sorry, but I didn't like this entry very much. You had some nice ideas, but it comes across as a squat unlovely building. I think I said previously that I thought you ran hot and cold in the contest, and this one was cold. I think your overall collection in this contest would have looked better if you'd either gotten rid of or drastically changed a few of the entries (this one, the swamp escape, and the camp at red ruby).* Now, I did really like the low broad stairs with the red carpet, the railing, and the mosaic floor. If I were rebuilding this I think I'd rip away three walls of the building altogether, make the wall across the middle much taller, and add some wide-open doors - basically make this the cutaway of the front entrance to a palace. Then take photos from each side - from the 'outside' you'd see the steps running up to the door, from the 'inside' you'd see the entry hall, with that mosaic floor, and some detail like a potted plant or a statue on one side of the door. You could transplant that stained-glass window from the side wall to a window above the front door (remember I'd make this wall much taller).
*Sorry to be harsh, but OTOH I've noted above that I really liked several of your entries - the printing press, the priest, the bridge, the library - and others I liked with some reservations, as in my critique above in this thread of the feast and the city of canals, and also the escape entry. There are a couple (the custom fig and the boat) that weren't bad, but felt a little like filler to me.

And, unless there are other people that haven't previously asked for critiques, I bid adieu to CCCX. Thank you, all, for your wonderful entries.

Best. LEGO contest. Ever.

Bruce
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soccerkid6
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Re: CCC X MOC critiques thread

Post by soccerkid6 »

@Bruce N H: As always very helpful feedback, the wedding scene didn't really have anything to do with me, (I don't plan on getting married anytime soon) but I saw the ring and figured it would make a nice detail. Thanks for all the work you and the other judges put into the CCC, it is definitely the best LEGO contest I've ever seen/entered :)
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Re: CCC X MOC critiques thread

Post by Legonardo »

Thanks you so much! if only all feedback was this good Image
Next year, Ill actually build for the competition, and not just add a few free builds that kind of work. Super awesome contest!
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Re: CCC X MOC critiques thread

Post by Rick-Ricks »

Why did my entry suck? Oh wait you're not Sava, how can I improve?
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Re: CCC X MOC critiques thread

Post by Bruce N H »

Rick-Ricks,
Winter Image
Okay, guess I'm not done with this thread yet. Your entry certainly didn't suck. The build plus story was quite powerful, probably the most emotionally compelling entry of the contest. If this was an 'illustrated story' contest it probably would have won, IMO. That said, my judging was based mostly on the builds themselves, and the descriptions weren't a big consideration for me. I thought the melting snow was really well done. The bit of snow on the bell tower roof was the best of the snow on the roof bit - the way you used cheese slopes gave an irregular shape that looked really natural - by contrast the other bits of snow on the roof felt blocky. The snow on the ground is really well done - I particularly love the way it looks like the places that snow slid off the roof and made a pile below. The fig posing is also really great, and both characters portray the emotion of the scene. The building itself seemed a little simple, particularly in comparison to the great snowscaping and character depiction. It seems that architecturally the bell tower should have sat more squarely over the pillars, rather than sort of half-over the middle of an arch, just for structural integrity. One presentation suggestion is that two of your pictures are very similar. I probably would have ditched the one that was a closer-up shot of the woman in favor of a photo from another angle. One possibility would have been to make the back wall a break-away so you could remove it and take a photo from the perspective of the messenger in the hallway, looking out over the weeping widow at the snow in the yard beyond. Just a thought. Oh, one last thought, I really love the pattern formed by the shadows of the arches.

Bruce
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Re: CCC X MOC critiques thread

Post by Rick-Ricks »

Thanks for the feedback, Bruce, I was looking for some honest criticism and that's what you gave me.
-Ricks
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