Day 2:
Creative
Creative Mode:
Creative mode in Minecraft changes the game entirely. Instead of surviving the night, you can make it day all the time. Instead of having a limited supply of blocks, you can have as many blocks as you want of any kind! Not to mention, you can fly! With all of this in mind, you can do anything you put your mind to in this mode.
Design Palettes:
When making a house or any kind of build, it it important to have matching blocks, or else it looks messy. But what if you don't know which blocks match? Not to worry, here are some basic groups of blocks that go well together:
Classic:
These are some standard blocks to use that go nicely together. You can use them to make any kind of house, or even a massive wagon as seen on the left.
Colorful:
Tired of a boring house? This block-palette combines lots of bright and exciting colors, balanced out with some mild colors, to make a really cool house!
Pathway/ Driveway:
Every house needs a driveway, right? But just plain old gravel is boring. How do we make it better? You can add a mix of some cobblestone, andesite, and stone blocks to give it a better texture.
Tips and Tricks for Building:
Tip #1: Slabs
You can use slabs to make a smooth roof, along with adding some depth to your build or pathway.
Tip #2: Plants and Bushes
A house isn't enough! You can add some leaves and plants to brighten up your house and make it look more alive. An easy way to do this is by using bonemeal on grass or moss blocks. This will automatically add little flowers and shrubs to your grass.
Tip #3: Little Details
It's the little things that count the most. Adding small items like chimneys or light sources can really finish a build perfectly.
Foreign Cultures:
If you can't think of a build design, you can always try to look for inspiration in other cultures. There are lots of other countries with interesting architecture and designs that you may find very interesting. Here are a few examples of cultures that may inspire your build:
Japan:
Japanese building are very interesting with their pointed rooftops and colorful shingles. The Japanese also have really cool lanterns that they use to light up their houses. You can recreate the pointed roofs with stairs and slabs and the lanterns with banner patterns. Check the Resources page for a tutorial on how to make the Japanese banners in Minecraft.
India:
India is quite famous for the massive Taj Mahal building, which has lots of towers and points to it. Making this in Minecraft is not impossible, but is very challenging. So, try to draw inspiration from the build rather than attempting to recreate the Taj Mahal. India is also known for having lots of Buddha statues. Check the Resources page for a tutorial on how to make the Buddha statue in Minecraft.
England:
England has a lot of history in architecture and is well known for their many different types of architecture styles, like Victorian and Gothic. These building have lots of windows and borders that go all around the house, like white border on the left image and the grey border on the right image. The border follows the windows and the overall frame of the entire house. The key is not to absolutely cover the building in the border, but to let it highlight the overall building.
Challenge - Dream House:
Try your best to make your dream house on your Creative world. You can use some of the block palettes listed to make your houses, or you can use your own blocks of choice. You can also take inspiration from foreign cultures, like those of Japan, India, England, etc.
Craft: Player Puppet Head
Mr. May will guide you through the process of creating your very own Minecraft player head that you can wear and look like a true Minecraft player!
Structure Blocks:
Structure blocks are used to copy and paste builds that you have made. To obtain this block, you must type the command "/give @s structure_block". Structure blocks can look pretty complicated at first, but with a little guidance they will be easier to understand. Here is a step-by-step tutorial for using structure blocks:
Step 1: Size
First, you must adjust the values of the "size" category to be able to hold your entire build. Note that there is a maximum value of 64 on the X, Y, and Z values for size. You can adjust the size by adding more or less to a dimension. You can tell which way the numbers adjust by matching the color of the letter with the color of the line in the diagram. For example, if I wanted to adjust my box to hold more on the right, then I would increase my Z value since the Z and left-right line are both blue.
Step 2: Offset
Offset is the category of values that adjusts where the box falls on the build. This means that if your box fits your build, but your build is not fully contained in the box yet you need to adjust the offset. Adjusting the offset will move the box in the desired direction you choose. For example, if the box is off center to the left by 3 blocks then you adjust the Z value by -3. If you are having trouble understanding, sometimes the best thing to do is to mess around with it and figure it out on your own!
Step 3: Saving a Structure
Once you are satisfied with your structure, you can name it whatever you want and click the save button at the bottom. Make sure that you can remember the name of the structure, since you will be needing it when you copy the structure.
Step 4: Loading a Structure
When loading your structure, the first thing you need is the name of your structure. You need to type in the name of the structure in the "Structure Name" box to begin loading your structure. When you can see your build in the menu, check the offset. This offset is similar to the last offset we used, but this one adjusts where the structure spawns into the world. If you want your build to be floating, then you can adjust your Y value by adding to it to make your build higher up. Once you have your build ready, you just click the Load button to spawn in your new structure.
Extra Challenge: Neighborhood
Now that you know how to use structure blocks, use those skills to take your dream house and copy it to make an entire neighborhood. You can make streets that go along between all the houses and even change some details on the houses as you go to give your neighborhood some variety.