Ravens.
Terrarian
Use rainbow bricks.
Note: Here, I’m referring to the Builder ranks in Aurora. B1 is Builder, the most basic in the hierarchy. B2 is Designer, the next ring up. The last one is B3, Architect, which takes an extensive application of techniques described here, plus a bit more.
The truth is, Aurora standards for B1 require little more than familiarity with basic techniques of mixing and designing -- assuming that you already know enough of the blocks in the game to have a diverse pallet. Most of the time, though, someone could just pass with a few well-placed gray bricks and dirt (with some excessive focus)*. But B1 is just the start of the mission, and to put it frankly, B2 takes a lot more than a bit of knowledge on what's in the game. Often times, when judging a designer app, the reason I vote no (with most of the other builder team) because they lack expression and focus on details. With that being said, here are some techniques that may hopefully get you a headstart in B2 quality builds, even if you haven't gotten to B1 yet. Worry not my Kenobi: this only requires simple studying.
Houses and the Walls
To begin with, I’ll start off with something that everyone is familiar with: a house. Most players start off with simple box shapes, often due to a lack of resources. But, now that you’re reading this, I would assume that you have some knowledge in the /i command and endless resources offered by the server. So it’s time to graduate from simple one-block thick walls on your houses with this example by Ravens.
Here, we can see a gradual evolution from the thin wall to a more complex structure with contrast, depth, and texture being expressed. For the sake of B2, stopping at the third or fourth step is usually enough.
This gives the players that pass by a bit more enjoyment out of the build. It allows for better communication in terms of ideas as well, as you’re literally painting the way that the window is shaped, the properties around it, and so forth.
Key Points:
Add a second layer!
(in this case, the palladium)
Use a pattern!
(the pink brick)
Paint it!
(gray paint here, but it’s suggested that you explore more colorful alternatives as well!)
Shapes, Designs, and Intricacies
Very commonly, new players decorate their buildings with furniture. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it, but usually, this leads to their builds being a display for game files in Terraria rather than their own creativities. In B1, this is passable but generally damages the application.
Note: The example provided here is not mine!
An alternative expressed by most designer-level builders is their own creation. Take this structure for example:**
It isn’t any single painting or bookcase or even mass of wall taking up space that makes this visually appealing, but rather the combination of blocks, furniture, and walls. Please also note that, while the shingles take up most of the space, they’re well spaced out and even polished with hammering, walls, and their split designs. This literally can be anything in your builds from windows to doors to puddings – the opportunities here are endless. Take this design from Temple Priest for reference:
Key Points:
Blend walls, blocks, and furniture to create new designs!
(Layer them and turn them into illusions with the foreground and background style of Terraria!)
Paint them!
Textures
Another key factor abused by Designers is the idea of textures. This is often done with block variation, wall variation, and paint (or a mix of all three!). Of course, some times, the textures could be done with a certain key block (e.g. dynasty shingles, team blocks, the different plating blocks, etc.). Take this culmination of textures set by Aeneas (Manu7u7) for example:
Here, you can see that the patterns between spooky, pearlwood, and planked walls are prevalent in the background. For the blocks, it’s the mix of ebonwood, pink brick, and rich mahogany. The idea is to create a dynamic texture with the pink brick and wood tiles. It’s the same idea as what was in the first section, Houses and the Walls.
Key Points:
Use block pallets!
Switch between them!
More tips
Here’s another thing with the process used by Designers: often, a block pallet is used. We experiment to see which blocks fit well with what, but here are some common designs that have become pretty wide-spread in the building community:
Stone Textures
Vertically, an interlace between Ebonstone Bricks and Palladium Columns painted gray.
Using Stone Blocks, Gray Brick, and Ebonstone Bricks painted gray in a mesh up.
For deeper contrasts, adding Stone Slabs to that previous combination.
Wood Textures
Some woods that mix well with each other: Wood and Ebonwood; Rich Mahogany and Shadewood; Spooky Wood and all of the above. This one takes examples which I might upload later.
Reminder for me: upload some wood textures
Shingles
Often times, fresh builders use shingles almost profanely. They either overextend the designs, keep it flat, or make it awkwardly touch the edge of the structure beneath it. To avoid making unpleasant designs like this, please use references to other builders. Shingles is a bit harder to explain by nature, but visual examples are good. Or you could evolve and use what Aeneas does in his example of shingles and background walls.
Reminder for me: upload some examples of shingles
Road to B2
With all this, getting B2 should be less of a challenge. It doesn’t even matter if you’re not going for B2, truthfully, as this is meant to generally help builders expand their expressive capabilities. Just follow these examples and you’ll be on a good track.
Last Note
But don’t copy these examples either! They’re each original compositions from very real people and we’d all appreciate it if you didn’t just take someone else’s designs for your own without permission. It’s good to gather references, but copying directly isn’t anything to be proud of.
*There's already been a guide on how to get B1.
**I don't have a reference to this build.
Note: Here, I’m referring to the Builder ranks in Aurora. B1 is Builder, the most basic in the hierarchy. B2 is Designer, the next ring up. The last one is B3, Architect, which takes an extensive application of techniques described here, plus a bit more.
The truth is, Aurora standards for B1 require little more than familiarity with basic techniques of mixing and designing -- assuming that you already know enough of the blocks in the game to have a diverse pallet. Most of the time, though, someone could just pass with a few well-placed gray bricks and dirt (with some excessive focus)*. But B1 is just the start of the mission, and to put it frankly, B2 takes a lot more than a bit of knowledge on what's in the game. Often times, when judging a designer app, the reason I vote no (with most of the other builder team) because they lack expression and focus on details. With that being said, here are some techniques that may hopefully get you a headstart in B2 quality builds, even if you haven't gotten to B1 yet. Worry not my Kenobi: this only requires simple studying.
Houses and the Walls
To begin with, I’ll start off with something that everyone is familiar with: a house. Most players start off with simple box shapes, often due to a lack of resources. But, now that you’re reading this, I would assume that you have some knowledge in the /i command and endless resources offered by the server. So it’s time to graduate from simple one-block thick walls on your houses with this example by Ravens.
Here, we can see a gradual evolution from the thin wall to a more complex structure with contrast, depth, and texture being expressed. For the sake of B2, stopping at the third or fourth step is usually enough.
This gives the players that pass by a bit more enjoyment out of the build. It allows for better communication in terms of ideas as well, as you’re literally painting the way that the window is shaped, the properties around it, and so forth.
Key Points:
Add a second layer!
(in this case, the palladium)
Use a pattern!
(the pink brick)
Paint it!
(gray paint here, but it’s suggested that you explore more colorful alternatives as well!)
Shapes, Designs, and Intricacies
Very commonly, new players decorate their buildings with furniture. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it, but usually, this leads to their builds being a display for game files in Terraria rather than their own creativities. In B1, this is passable but generally damages the application.
Note: The example provided here is not mine!
An alternative expressed by most designer-level builders is their own creation. Take this structure for example:**
It isn’t any single painting or bookcase or even mass of wall taking up space that makes this visually appealing, but rather the combination of blocks, furniture, and walls. Please also note that, while the shingles take up most of the space, they’re well spaced out and even polished with hammering, walls, and their split designs. This literally can be anything in your builds from windows to doors to puddings – the opportunities here are endless. Take this design from Temple Priest for reference:
Key Points:
Blend walls, blocks, and furniture to create new designs!
(Layer them and turn them into illusions with the foreground and background style of Terraria!)
Paint them!
Textures
Another key factor abused by Designers is the idea of textures. This is often done with block variation, wall variation, and paint (or a mix of all three!). Of course, some times, the textures could be done with a certain key block (e.g. dynasty shingles, team blocks, the different plating blocks, etc.). Take this culmination of textures set by Aeneas (Manu7u7) for example:
Here, you can see that the patterns between spooky, pearlwood, and planked walls are prevalent in the background. For the blocks, it’s the mix of ebonwood, pink brick, and rich mahogany. The idea is to create a dynamic texture with the pink brick and wood tiles. It’s the same idea as what was in the first section, Houses and the Walls.
Key Points:
Use block pallets!
Switch between them!
More tips
Here’s another thing with the process used by Designers: often, a block pallet is used. We experiment to see which blocks fit well with what, but here are some common designs that have become pretty wide-spread in the building community:
Stone Textures
Vertically, an interlace between Ebonstone Bricks and Palladium Columns painted gray.
Using Stone Blocks, Gray Brick, and Ebonstone Bricks painted gray in a mesh up.
For deeper contrasts, adding Stone Slabs to that previous combination.
Wood Textures
Some woods that mix well with each other: Wood and Ebonwood; Rich Mahogany and Shadewood; Spooky Wood and all of the above. This one takes examples which I might upload later.
Reminder for me: upload some wood textures
Shingles
Often times, fresh builders use shingles almost profanely. They either overextend the designs, keep it flat, or make it awkwardly touch the edge of the structure beneath it. To avoid making unpleasant designs like this, please use references to other builders. Shingles is a bit harder to explain by nature, but visual examples are good. Or you could evolve and use what Aeneas does in his example of shingles and background walls.
Reminder for me: upload some examples of shingles
Road to B2
With all this, getting B2 should be less of a challenge. It doesn’t even matter if you’re not going for B2, truthfully, as this is meant to generally help builders expand their expressive capabilities. Just follow these examples and you’ll be on a good track.
Last Note
But don’t copy these examples either! They’re each original compositions from very real people and we’d all appreciate it if you didn’t just take someone else’s designs for your own without permission. It’s good to gather references, but copying directly isn’t anything to be proud of.
*There's already been a guide on how to get B1.
**I don't have a reference to this build.
