Curious Castles

TomatoN must dream of running away to the hills and living in his very own castle, because he puts so much creativity and skill into his giant, wilderness builds. Just take a look at his most recent creations, Old Castle That Flutters in the Wind and Castle Dyed in the Morning Glow. They both sound so peaceful, who could choose between the two?! Well, the wind seems to have blown a rather large skull to the foot of the first one, so that’s my pick. Comes with a free friend!

TomatoN says that there isn’t a strict procedure for how he creates his builds, but the first step is deciding on one detail that will be central. “It can be a curved roof or a rose window. I take it up as a theme and then arrange the surroundings.”

In Old Castle that Flutters in the Wind, that central design point is the roof. “I think I was able to make a new kind of architecture that I had never seen before.” In this case, he was inspired by an animal’s tail. He says he gets inspiration from anywhere: “There are lots of hints to things seen in everyday life as well as other Minecraft works, illustrations, and video works. I get ideas from everything around me, like musical instruments, stationery, and tableware.” No wonder his castles have such interesting and different ideas! The only idea I’ve ever gotten from ‘stationery’ is “ugh, guess I’d better pick up a pen and start writing this article before Mojang yells at me.”

TomatoN starts with a rough outline, made with temporary blocks. “While placing these, I think about where and what height parts should be. Then, I can see the size and shape of the necessary parts to some extent.” From there, he can start to build it out completely. “This is trial and error. I use my knowledge of block combinations, and try again and again until I get the shape I imagined in my head.” Sounds exhausting!

That shape might be the sharp points of Castle Dyed in the Morning Glow, rising up like part of the mountain, or the skull resting at the bottom of the Old Castle That Flutters in the Wind, like a watchful guardian (albeit a watchful guardian who probably should have remembered to take a break before they expired). Once TomatoN figures out the shape, that’s something he can use in future builds. “The technique of incorporating the curve of the roof in Old Castle that Flutters in the Wind into the architecture had a great influence on my other works, which was a major turning point for my builds.”

He also likes to try new ideas out for himself. “When I work, I add one new element every time. By touching on a theme that I haven't done before, I can learn new combinations of blocks, and it always expands the range of expression.”

He’s currently been working on the same project for about half a year, a new Minecraft world that sounds incredibly ambitious. “It’s a fusion of the technology to make castles I’ve cultivated so far, steampunk aesthetics, and a clock theme, which is a new field for me. It’s taking more time than any other work I’ve ever built, but it will surely surprise you again when it’s complete!”

I guess taking a long time is relevant to a clock theme, so he’s already nailing it!