Water and Sky

They’ve become something of a signature for Donut. “What I am most proud of is how I managed to make the holograms you see in the sky actually look like something, rather than peculiar blobs,” he tells me.

They represent planets, buildings and geometry, reflecting the advanced nature of the society that lives in the city below. His concept was a place enjoying a flowering of scientific discovery. “I wanted to make it feel like the hub or the epicentre of the progression of scientific research.”

But while the exciting stuff is in the air, don’t forget to look down. There’s a good deal of subtlety in the buildings, too. “I like to use solid-looking blocks, such as the anvil, the cauldron and the hopper, when building cities to add a more industrial feeling,” Donut says. But some of Minecraft’s most commonplace blocks, such as wood and stone bricks, are his favourite to play with. “It seems like such a simple palette, there are endless possibilities with them.”

Hydro is a great example of how simple detail and careful colour and shape-making can create stunning effect. But his next project might not be quite so fantastical, since he says he’s intending on exploring a more realistic style and up-close scale. We can’t wait to see it.

Lead image rendered by Kryiin