Well, here it is; the final week of 2015.  It's been a long year, and now all that stands between us and 2016 is this, as well as Year in Review (which will be uploaded on Tuesday).  After that, Week in Review is going to expand and, well, you'll see.  Aw heck, have a preview of Week in Review - 2016.  ;)


But, for now, let's finish off the year in style!

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And, to start off the last week of 2015, the best (and last) structure of the week is Winter’s Sun Palace, created by pierpaolo98.



This is a prime example of how to truly integrate color and texture into a piece of architecture.  Winter’s Sun Palace is an amazingly vibrant and fittingly stylish palace, sitting amidst a lively terrain.  There are three reasons why this one was the top of the line for the last week of 2015.



The first reason is the fine details.  If not for the fine details, it would be easy to write off this build as just a normal palace, surrounded by six ordinary towers.  In fact, this is so much more than that.  The perimeter towers have an impressive, ethereal curvature to them which, when coupled with the hanging chains that link them together, gives them a sort of profound opulence.  Oh, and did I mention that each tower is topped with a uniquely colored bonfire?  Very nice.



Concordantly, the castle itself is comprised of a multitude of shapes and forms, giving it a delicate and expensive feel.  The castle culminates with a large, spherical object that resembles a star made of ice (which would certainly mesh with the title of the project).  As beautiful as the perimeter towers are, you have to admit that they pale in comparison to the centerpiece.



The second reason for this project’s success is the overhaul of colors.  The palace is comprised, almost entirely, of shades of blue, purple and yellow.  It’s difficult to execute this color combination without making the structure look cartoonish, but pierpaolo98 does a fantastic job doing just that.



And finally, let’s not forget the terraforming.  Sometimes all it takes to elevate an otherwise ordinary structure to something extraordinary is some nice terraforming anchored below.  And while Winter’s Sun Palace is anything but ordinary, the luscious terrain that sits beneath it is an amazing complement to the architecture.  Rolling hills, peaks, flowers, and lily-pads serve as the perfect background for such an incredible structure.

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Next up, the best terraforming of the week is The Valley of Sins, created by Mageros.  This may not be the largest terrain of the past seven days, but it certainly has the most character.



The Valley of Sins is a vast basin, filled with an ocean of temperate trees.  But what’s truly spectacular here is what besieges the trees on all sides.  The valley itself is but the filler that exists between the web of rocky plateaus that saturate this map.



The stone is layered with stacks upon stacks of brightly colored strata, and topped with flat and (in some cases) snow-covered highlands.  Which brings us to the most impressive part of this landscape.



The plateaus themselves are textured in such a way that they evoke a notably realistic appearance.  Though the highlands are undeniably flat, they are not perfectly flat.  There is variability, both in terms of altitude and materials, that creates a worn, rocky surface.



And this is why The Valley of Sins is the best terraforming of the week. It would have been all too easy to just create a flat surface for the mountains here, but Mageros took it a step further and elevated it to a more realistic level.  It’s not an easy task, nor does it require imagination.  It’s a tedious process that requires effort.  And, as we all know, effort can be the difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

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And finally, the best and last organic work of the week is The Death by Zinjoo, created by PixelBiester.  Don’t be confused by the sub-crediting, that’s just the title of the project.



I don’t need to explain to you why this is the best organic work of the week.  The pictures should make that very obvious.  What we have here is a winged angel of death, with legions of the dead gathered around him.  Frankly, that sentence in and of itself should be an indication of why I’m writing about this project.



There’s something undeniably epic about this sculpture.  The luminous renders, the perfect anatomical details, and the mere concept all add up to a terrifying portrayal of some dark, demented thoughts that Zinjoo must have had in the past few weeks.



But, hey, sometimes the best inspiration is born of a twisted imagination.  I’m not going to question it.  I only hope that Zinjoo has some more of that darkness left in the tank for next week.

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Thanks for sticking with me along the way, you guys!  I really appreciate all the support, and I'm looking forward to ushering in the new and improved Week in Review of 2016!  See you guys then.  ;)