To the Moon

Outer space is an infinite source of intrigue. The great unknown draws the curiosity of many and countless minds have crafted entire worlds in the great beyond. Christopher Nolan, fresh from making the movie that gave us the best bad guy voice of all time, journeyed to that wondrous expanse for Interstellar. It's the film that inspired AutomailED20, and his friend BlackWooz’s, most recent build.

“I love the ambience and the environment design of that movie,” says AutomailED20. “It’s just too beautiful and that kind of environment is what we want to capture in our build.”

Moon Destruction, Front Line In Space, is the Interstellar-inspired build he speaks of, a scene featuring a gigantic spacecraft, astronaut, and a severely damaged moon.

“I copied a part of the moon's surface a bit too deep, but then BlackWooz played his part,” AutomailED20 says. “He changed the idea of that surface into a destroyed part and that surprisingly went well with our expedition ship.”

Throughout history, things that would be considered blemishes initially have regularly gone on to define works of art, and this instance is no different. Inspiration can be found in the strangest of places and BlackWooz happened to see something beautiful in that moment of destruction – something that seemed like a disaster in AutomailED20’s eyes initially!

When it comes to creating builds, no matter how small or large, some creators have to use other artistic mediums to help visualize the project as they work. As projects become more ambitious and complex, the more important an additional perspective becomes. The medium AutomailED20 turns to is actually one set into motion by his mother, who often made clay sculptures as he was growing up.

He found clay interesting when she would create souvenirs and other items, but his interests turned to drawing when she quit making sculptures. When he started trying to make Organics (builds that represent some sort of lifeform in Minecraft) he returned to his mom’s style and found many similarities between the clay and voxels. He says, about both styles, “you have to feel the objects, visualize, and shade.”

But after journeying to the stars for this creation, where does the creative duo go next? Further out into the cosmos? Inside the ship?