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Ormur
2012-10-19, 10:25 PM
I'm toying around with Google Sketchup and I need some inspiration or references for how to put together a castle I want to model.

What I have in mind is a chaotic sprawl of towers and battlements with more towers on top, connected by bridges and curtain walls and maybe with domes and great halls squeezed in-between. It's a bit hard to plan something like that so tips and pictures of fantasy castles or even real-life ones, if there is something crazy enough out there, would be graciously accepted.

That said I want to keep the style a bit conservative, not going for spiky crystals or anything.

Inglenook
2012-10-19, 10:49 PM
There might be a few such things in this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229354).

endoperez
2012-10-20, 03:23 AM
Maybe Carcassonne (http://www.worldticketcenter.nl/upload/Destinations/original/a_carcassonne.jpg) in France?

For arcs and height and bridges and stuff, "gothic castle" will probably give good results, both real and fictional.

Kelb_Panthera
2012-10-20, 08:13 AM
I don't have any pics, but perhaps I can help with planning.

Remember that in ye olden days, the guy that rules would have a small army of attendents, and he usually housed them inside the castle-compound as a matter of convenience and security.

Accounting not only for the things the king himself needs (dining and dancing halls, throne room, personal chambers, baths, etc.) but the things necessary to support those servants will get you a significant number of rooms to lay out. Then you add in security measures (intentionally confusing halls, barracks, armories, the afformentioned towers overlooking courtyards, etc.) and general support facilities (kitchens, privies, waste facilities, etc) and you'll have a massive compound before you know it.

If that's still not enough you can add things for the king's entertainment (stables, parade grounds, gardens, aeries, archery ranges, etc.).

Hope this helps.

PS: if you're having trouble coming up with a large enough staff, just think of any trivial little thing that needs doing and dedicate a servant to doing only that one specific thing. (bath attendants, the royal chamber maid, the chamber-pot boy, the castle curtain dusters, etc.)

Riverdance
2012-10-20, 12:57 PM
I used David Macauley's book "Castle" (simply named) as a reference when I wanted to map out a castle. The castle it describes is not very complex but the description of the process is very accurate. I mostly used it so that I could make my castle realistic. Mapping it took over a week but I was very thorough and it didn't turn out half bad. I can post some pictures of the hand drawn grid maps if you want.

ShadowFireLance
2012-10-20, 01:01 PM
Can i get ya to post those?
I kinda wanna see those.

Riverdance
2012-10-20, 01:06 PM
Can i get ya to post those?
I kinda wanna see those.

Sure one minute.

EDIT: Actually, it'll be a bit before I can post the castle pictures (apparently I never scanned them), but here's a map I made of a wizard's city in the same campaign setting.

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/579374_3316435529416_479654013_n.jpg

ANOTHER EDIT: Alright, I tracked them down on my old computer. I'll post them as soon as I finish uploading them.

Riverdance
2012-10-20, 02:38 PM
Alright here goes. I'm going to make a new post for this as there're a lot of them (17 in total). For clarification, this castle is designed to be right up against the side of a mountain.

First the Castle Overview and Key:
(Sorry it's sideways)
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/247243_3316559692520_915437879_n.jpg

Now for the detailed maps:

The Outer Curtain ("A"-"D")

The Outer Gatehouse:
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/416808_3316528931751_1496211030_n.jpg

The "C" Towers:
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/579418_3316530451789_1111640878_n.jpg

The "D" Towers (up against the mountain):
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/47419_3316532811848_910492691_n.jpg

The Inner Curtain ("E"-"H")

The Inner Gatehouse:
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/525588_3316534331886_1799483686_n.jpg
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/60779_3316535371912_19586776_n.jpg

The "G" Towers:
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/69710_3316537691970_1788496700_n.jpg
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/68409_3316539692020_1354584814_n.jpg

The "H" Towers:
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/564981_3316541212058_783866510_n.jpg
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/375956_3316543652119_2086517016_n.jpg


The Inner Towers ("M" and "K")
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/66367_3316546332186_2011226565_n.jpg
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/431618_3316547932226_1866360457_n.jpg
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/404605_3316550132281_2023103007_n.jpg


The Great Hall ("J")
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/408651_3316551692320_1447604366_n.jpg
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/284149_3316553292360_460561785_n.jpg

Outbuildings ("I")
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/269458_3316556252434_88486395_n.jpg
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/185154_3316557732471_929852974_n.jpg

The whole castle is to scale. 1 square=5 feet Sorry, that was wrong. The real scale is 1 square=10 feet (thanks to Kelb Panthera for noticing). I'm not sure how it would actually look in real life, or how it would serve, but I did my best to be accurate. Post questions if you're confused about anything, and otherwise, enjoy! :smallsmile:

Kelb_Panthera
2012-10-20, 03:17 PM
The most notable thing about that castle in my mind is the fact that you never actually mapped the kitchens. I also don't see living quarters for anyone but soldiers, though I'll admit I haven't gone over it with a fine-toothed comb and I'm more than a little sleep deprived atm.

Otherwise, nice work. It's not exactly a huge castle, but it's certainly decently sized and defensible. If I'm looking at the scale and comparing it to the overview right, the overview scale is about 10ft per square. It says to me, "this is a fortress in a strategic location" more than "this is the home of a monarch." Was that what you were going for?

I wish I could scan stuff or work with a mapping tool on this machine. I'd probably post something.

Riverdance
2012-10-20, 05:25 PM
The most notable thing about that castle in my mind is the fact that you never actually mapped the kitchens. I also don't see living quarters for anyone but soldiers, though I'll admit I haven't gone over it with a fine-toothed comb and I'm more than a little sleep deprived atm.


Yeah, I never got to mapping the kitchens or quarters. They're underground, but I never actually drew them. If anyone wants to use this I give full permission by the way, and they could design the underground portions themselves.



Otherwise, nice work. It's not exactly a huge castle, but it's certainly decently sized and defensible. If I'm looking at the scale and comparing it to the overview right, the overview scale is about 10ft per square. It says to me, "this is a fortress in a strategic location" more than "this is the home of a monarch." Was that what you were going for?

Exactly! I'd designed it as the fortress of a hobgoblin warlord where he houses his small army. Servile work is done by slaves taken from the surrounding countryside. As to the footage, I think you may be correct. I think you are actually. Thanks for noticing.

Ormur
2012-10-21, 02:49 PM
While I do like mapping out buildings in detail with all the functions thought out that's not quite what I was thinking about now. I'm more focused on the aesthetics this time, namely modelling a fantastic castle. I'm somewhat familiar with conventional castle design but I haven't really seen real castles that have this tower-upon-tower look, probably because it's structurally unsound and serves no purpose. This would be more in line with a wizard's castle or the Dungeon from the comic strip of the same name.

Thanks for posting your castle though Riverdance. It's a cool map and I'm sure it'll be great help in designing other castles

Analytica
2012-10-21, 03:02 PM
Maybe look up Neuschwannstein?

Kelb_Panthera
2012-10-21, 04:18 PM
You might try searching a fantasy art site, like elfwood, for castle pics.

invinible
2012-10-21, 04:57 PM
That reads like it should be the description of Canterlot castle from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

A good picture of that castle should be able to be found in this thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1319495367040892700&page=2.

Slipperychicken
2012-10-21, 08:25 PM
Accounting not only for the things the king himself needs (dining and dancing halls, throne room, personal chambers, baths, etc.) but the things necessary to support those servants will get you a significant number of rooms to lay out. Then you add in security measures (intentionally confusing halls, barracks, armories, the afformentioned towers overlooking courtyards, etc.) and general support facilities (kitchens, privies, waste facilities, etc) and you'll have a massive compound before you know it.


Money-counters/Accountants, check-signers, money-handlers, supervisory staff, Human Resources department... all with their own office-space, of course. Also janitors/cleaners/maids (whatever you want to call them, they're the guys who clean the place, wiping down the stone floor every night, dusting all the cabinets and tables).

Garbage disposal, huge storage rooms, boiler/heating rooms, servant's quarters (for basically every employee who isn't a noble), guest's quarters (enough to accommodate a massive number of guests). Water storage and/or have an underground stream running into the castle, in case of siege.

And don't forget the barracks, armory, and infirmary (and all associated medical staff, including surgeons, herbalists, pharmacists and the King's personal apothecary).

And a small indoors temple/church, enough to more or less accommodate people for mass. Plus any clergy to conduct religious services.