Spectacular Sails
Jay Castello
壮丽船舸
Gaulight takes us on a naval tourGaulight带领我们踏上航海之旅
Jay Castello
I hope you don’t get seasick, because today we’re talking to expert ship builder Gaulight about his beautiful boat builds! If you do get seasick, don’t worry, it’s just an article! Unless you’re reading it on a boat? Um, why are you reading it on a boat if you get seasick?
我希望您不会晕船，因为今天我们要和一位造船专家 Gaulight讨论他壮丽的帆船作品！如果你确实会晕船，别担心，这仅仅是一篇文章而已！除非你现在身处船上阅读这篇文章？呃，如果你晕船的话你又为何要在船上读文章呢？
“I’ve always loved ships since my childhood,” Gaulight says. “I love their complexity, because of the rigging, but also because of their elegant hull design. I’m regularly heard saying: “ships of the past are today’s satellites,” because they were and are engineering masterpieces. I’m impressed by how people at the time were able to build such gigantic and intricate structures with simple tools and knowledge.”
“我自儿时起就热爱船只，”Gaulight说到。“我痴迷于它们的复杂性，因为绳索，也因为它们那优雅的船体设计。我常常会听到这样的言论：‘帆船对于过去，就像卫星对于现在，’因为它们过去和现在都是工程设计的巅峰之作。给我留下深刻印象的是，那时的人们是如何利用简陋的工具和贫瘠的知识，打造出如此庞大并且繁复的结构的。”
Of course, with today’s technology, Gaulight is able to recreate these masterpieces in Minecraft. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy! He told me about his process building a replica of Le Fleuron, a French gunship from the 18th century.
诚然，利用现代的科技，Gaulight 能够将这些巨作在MInecraft 里面复刻出来。但这并不代表复刻工作十分简单！他向我分享了他复刻百合花号时的经历，那是一艘来自于十八世纪的法兰西炮舰。
“I first made a blueprint in Minecraft, with its exact proportions. Then I began creating layers that reflected the global shape of the ship and filled in the gaps in order to obtain a completed hull. Afterwards, I created the colour scheme, the stern and bow, and finally I made the masts, sails, and rigging. This took me approximately three months, including intensive research and the actual construction.”
“起初我在MInecraft里面绘制了蓝图，确定了它详细的比例大小。然后我开始修建船体层面以勾勒整体的形状，再填充其中的缝隙以得到完整的船体。再之后，我为它配以色彩，修建船首和船尾，最后再来修建桅杆，风帆，以及索具。这花费了我将近三个月的时间，这其中包括了我专注于调研的时间和实际建造的时间。”
It’s the details that drew Gaulight to Le Fleuron, especially the colours. “It has an elegant red curve, which runs all along the length of the ship, making it quite unique,” he says, explaining the faithful recreation in his version. Not only does this crimson stripe create a consistent visual design that’s pleasing to the eye, the attention to detail on the rigging, flags, and golden stern decoration are remarkable. And, of course, there are the 64 cannons in case of a fight!
正是金百合号的细节吸引了 Gaulight，特别是色彩搭配方面的细节。“它有一条优美的红色曲线贯通整个船身，这让它尤为独特，”他对着他那忠于原版的复刻作品解释到。不仅仅是这条暗红色的条纹创造了和谐统一的视觉设计，十分的靓眼，而且它在绳索、旗帜以及金色的船尾装饰细节上下的功夫也是极为出色的。当然，它上面那64门巨炮也是为战争所准备的。
In order to get this much detail, he builds the ships on a huge scale. “I used to build them at about the same size as the real ship, but as I improved over time I realised it’s much more satisfying to go bigger! It allows you to put in as many details as you want, like the stern on Le Fleuron.”
为了将所有的细节还原，它使用了大比例去修建。“我曾经用大约和实舰差不多的比例去修建它，但随着时间的推移我意识到它适合用更大的比例来修建！这会允许你想要刻画出多少细节就能刻画出多少细节，就像这个船尾一样”
In fact, Gaulight’s Le Fleuron is three times as big as the original ship was. “Building at an even bigger scale would have resulted in a more accurate ship, but it would have also needed a considerable amount of time,” he added. But that’s not the only thing holding him back – sometimes he wants to build something so big, but he’s confined by Minecraft’s own height limit!
事实上，Gaulight 的金百合号是实物的三倍大小，“按照更大的比例来修建，就会得到艘更精致的船只，但那也需要相当长的工期，”他补充到。但这并不是阻碍他的唯一因素——有时他想要修建一个十分巨大的作品，但他会被 Minecraft 自身的限高所束缚！
Creating something so large and detailed isn’t easy. “The bow was the most challenging part,” he tells me. “Making it was not an easy task since there are plenty of curved beams meeting at a common point at the front.” But he doesn’t have any favourite part of the build, because everything has to come together to make it perfect. “I consider a ship successfully done when I can imagine it in my hand, like a real model ship.”
修建如此精细的庞然大物不是件容易的事。“船首是最具有挑战的部分，”他对我说到。“因为有许多的弯曲梁相汇与船首的交点，所以修建它并非易事。”但是整个作品里并没有他最偏爱的部分，因为所有部分都必须一气呵成。“我认为当我能相信出这艘船在手心的样子时，我就能成功的将它修建出来，就像真实的模型船只一样。”
Adding the sails and flags is a crucial part of getting that feeling, though. He tells me that they have to look like they’re catching the wind. “That gives the ship life,” he explains.
然而为巨舰添加风帆和旗帜是赋予它神韵的重要步骤。他告诉我它们必须看起来就像是鼓着风一样。“这给予了它们生命，”他解释到。
It’s easy to imagine standing under those sails in the middle of the ocean. Once upon a time that would have been the job of up to 500 sailors who were needed to keep the ship moving. They would have known they were crewing an important ship – Le Fleuron means “the jewel” in English – but I don’t think they could have imagined it being rebuilt in a video game nearly 300 years later!
不难想象在海洋的中央，站在这些风帆的下面的感觉。很久以前，这也许是500名需要保持帆船航行的水手的工作。它们也许知道它们正在操作重要的船只—— Le Fleuron，他在英文里的意思是“宝石”——但我认为它们很难想象300年后的今天它会被复刻进一个电子游戏之中。
对于Gauliht来说，当他意识到他在每一个作品中都受益匪浅的时候，帆船作品变成了他研究的重点。“不断进步的秘诀就是分析过往船只的错误所在，然后想办法在下一艘船只里面解决它。”
His version of L’Etoile du Roy is one of his favourites because it was the first dedicated recreation that he made. “I love her curvature and her colours,” he enthuses.
他的 L’Etoile du Roy 是他最喜欢的作品，因为那是他第一次专注于复刻的作品。“我喜欢她的曲线，喜欢她的配色，”他激动的说到。
He’s also enthusiastic about the power of the building community. “It’s a powerful way to express your feelings and your passion, and everybody can share their creations,” he says.
同时他也热衷于建筑社群的力量。“这是个传递你情感和激情很有效的途径，并且每个人都能分享他们的创造作品。”他说到。
He believes that this sharing is important as builders are inspired by and learn from one another. Giving back to the community by explaining your methods and techniques is a great way to show gratitude for things you’ve picked up from others yourself.
他坚信这样的分享是很重要的，因为建造者们能够从中受到启发并且相互学习。通过解释你自己的建造方法和技巧来反哺整个社区，这是一个很棒的方式来亲自表达你从其他人那里学到东西的感激之情。
His advice? “Minecraft is a fantastic game with infinite possibilities: the only limit is your dedication.”
关于他的建议？“Minecraft 是一个有着无限可能的奇妙的游戏：唯一的限制就是你的投入。”
So set sail and see where the winds of inspiration will take you!
所以扬起风帆，去看看灵感的微风能够指引你驶向何处！
Renders by Iskillia, VoenixX and Gaulight
渲染：Iskillia, VoenixX and Gaulight
Thanks to Bulix for translation help.
感谢Bulix翻译上的帮助
【Ebsky 译自官网 2018 年 06 月 05 日发布的 Spectacular Sails】
【本文排版借助了：BCC】
MCBBS有你更精彩~
官方写东西越来越有感觉了