Portabella Village - Preview

 ~ Portabella Village - Preview ~
(click picture for larger version)

"Portabella Village" is part of a larger, long-term, project that I have been working on over the past year or so. Portabella Village is still a work in progress; just a more polished work in progress at this stage.

There are fifteen houses plus support buildings in the village. I came up with the number fifteen because that is the number of colored wool in the default Minetest game. Each house has a roof where the dominant color matches one of the default wool colors. So, fifteen wool colors, fifteen houses.

I wanted the village to look old so I tried to avoid using electronic-looking decorations as much as possible. I also tried to stick with natural materials, like stones and timbers, so the village looks like it was made from resources in the surrounding area.

Another element that lends to the old and rural look is that the village isn't setup on a grid of right-angled intersections and perfectly aligned lots.

 ~ Portabella Village - Overview Map ~
(click picture for larger version)

Even though the village isn't setup on a grid, it still looks like a cohesive place; not houses built in random spots. This is mostly because of two things:

1. There is a road that loops through the village, connecting all the houses together. The road is also made of the same variety of materials, from start to finish, so that each section looks like it is part of the same road.
2. The primary structures, the mushroom houses, look similar as if built according to village's traditions. Great-grandparents built their house this way, grandparents built their house this way, parents, kids, grandkids... each generation following the similar build style as the previous generation, using the materials available in their surroundings.

 ~ Portabella Village - West Side ~
(click picture for larger version)

The houses are completely furnished and each one is furnished differently.

I tried to make the furnishings give a sense of what the people who live there do. Some of the houses are businesses like a cafe, a bakery, and a candle shop ("... the cook, the baker, and the candlestick maker."). While other houses are homes. Some homes are occupied by couples (one home even has baby furniture) and others are occupied by individuals. Some are rich, some are poor, some are old, some are young.

 ~ Portabella Village - East Side ~
(click picture for larger version)

At this stage of the project, I'm detailing the landscape around the houses. Detailing the landscape around a build really helps settle the build into the scenery.

How do you "detail" the landscape?

Well,... the villagers have houses, so now... what do they do with their yards?

Most of the village houses have flower gardens either in their front, side, or backyards. Some have food gardens. One is a farm complete with a wheat field, grain silo, and barn. The candle maker has bee hives in the backyard to have wax to make candles from and honey to sell. The village tinkerer has a workshop powered by a small windmill. The village librarians like to read outside so they have a gazebo in their side yard.

I still have five more houses to detail the landscape around. These are further to the south, closer to the Portebella Village Windmill. One of the houses belongs to the village apothecary; another belongs to a wealthy, trophy hunter; another belongs to the couple whose family owns the mill; another belongs to a young couple with a baby; and another house belongs to two elderly sisters. Thinking about such profiles of people has helped me with decision making during the design process.

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