Bestu Bay… in Minecraft?! FREE DOWNLOAD!
Experience Bestu Bay in a whole new way within Minecraft! This digital world is vital for reference photos to create consistency within my illustrations. While this world is not an official Minecraft product or associated with Mojang and Microsoft, below you can download the world for free and play in it for yourself! There are so many hidden details to explore… keep checking back here for new download links as I update the world.
World Download
UPDATE!!! Bestu Bay 2.0 features overview:
Grandparents’ house now with full new interior! Added new functionality to Mountainside Mini Golf… now a full on minigame! Stay tuned for more as I will update this page with new versions of the world that will expand in it’s level of detail both visually and in content wise, adding more lore and secrets to discover!
Bestu Bay 1.0 features overview:
Based on the intense city planning, the entire landscape(cliffs, bay, 100+ trees!), overall structures(125+ unique ones!), and road/paths have been constructed with basic detail and only a few buildings have interiors.
FOR MINECRAFT JAVA EDITION:
(PC)
HOW TO INSTALL AND PLAY ON MINECRAFT JAVA EDITION:
NOTE! IT IS UPDATED TO MOST RECENT VERSION, SO SKIP STEP 4, NO NEED TO ADD INSTALLATION JUST HIT PLAY “Latest Release”!
STEP 1: Above, click the GREEN Download button and it will download a .zip file containing the Minecraft world. Open your File Explorer downloads. The top option should be the .zip file you just downloaded here. Double click the .zip file and there will be a folder titled “Bestu Bay Java 2.0 for 1.21.11“. Leave this tab open.
STEP 2: Open your computer’s search finder on the taskbar(the magnifying glass icon), type “%appdata%” and click on the top option to open the file within your file explorer. Within that, locate your “.minecraft” folder. Double click to open. Within that folder, find the “saves” folder.
STEP 3: Back in the .zip file, copy the folder titled “Bestu Bay Java 2.0 for 1.21.11” and paste into the “saves” folder.
STEP 4: Open your Minecraft Launcher –> Installations –> Add installation –> name the installation whatever you want, but under “version” click the drop down to click the correct version of the Minecraft world (which it will say on the .zip folder you downloaded. Example: “release 1.21.8”) –> Install (bottom right button, make sure the “launch after install” box is checked). Go to the top tab Play section on the launcher and the version dropdown should say whatever you named your installation. Click “Play” and once your Minecraft open your singleplayer and there should be a world called “world”. Open and enjoy!
FOR MINECRAFT BEDROCK EDITION:
(phone, tablet, and Windows)
Bestu Bay 2.0 for Minecraft Bedrock 1.21.110 Download
HOW TO INSTALL AND PLAY ON MINECRAFT BEDROCK EDITION:
STEP 1: Above, click the BLUE Download button and it will download a .zip file containing the Minecraft world. Open your File Explorer downloads. The top option should be the Bestu-Bay-Bedrock.zip file you just downloaded here.
STEP 2: Open your web browser on a phone, tablet, or computer. on the top search, type “aternos.org“. This is a free online service that can host Minecraft servers for both Java and Bedrock, but we are utilizing the Bedrock feature so you can open the world from any device! One the website, on the bottom right click “Play”. Sign up or sign in with Google. Click “+ Create a Server” –> “Bedrock Edition” (make sure it is highlighted in blue) –> “+ Create”. It will say “Your server is ready!” but you need to scroll down and click “→ Skip”. This will open the server control panel where you can start/stop the server and change world/player settings. We want to upload our own world. On the right side panel, select “Worlds” –> “Upload” –> “ZIP Archive” –> select the Bestu-Bay-Bedrock-2.0.zip folder –> “Open”
STEP 3: On the right side panel, click “Server” and scroll down. You will see a section “Address” and “Port” Open your Minecraft on whichever device you use. From the title screen click: “Play” –> on the top tabs “Servers” –> “+ Add Server”. In thetype in any name to help you identify the server –> Server Name: (type whatever name you’d like to help you identify) –> Server address: (type in the Address from Aternos “Server” panel) –> Port: (type in the Port from the Aternos “Server” panel) –> click “Add Server”
STEP 4: Back on Aternos “Server” panel, click “Start” (an ad will need to play to start the server, let it play and click the the top right “x”). It will take up to a minute for the server to start, once it goes green a timer will appear, that is how long you have to join or else you will have to start it again. Back in Minecraft server tab, on bottom right, it lists Other Servers. Under that the sever name you put should be there. Click on it, then click “play” to join!
NOTE: You will need to follow STEP 4 to turn on the server EVERY TIME you want to play on the Bestu Bay Minecraft world. I recommend bookmarking the Aternos “Server” panel on your browser for easy access. Also, due to limitations with transferring the world from Java to Bedrock, entities will not all be transferred.
The Process
How and why do I use Minecraft for my illustration process? Below, see how humble beginnings can blossom into something truly magical!
Step 1: Planning and building the foundations!
I started by carefully planning out the top down map, using all my knowledge to make the most realistic yet fantastical world of Bestu Bay. I took from what I’ve personally experienced/noticed in all the places I’ve lived/visited, about city planning from my dad being elected on a city council, my college courses I took on physical geology and human+historical geography, seeking knowledge from a friend about docks and marinas work/their placement/how to prevent the tide from overpowering property, realistic simulators I’ve played, and so much more!
Step 2: Integrating the architecture!
Much easier said than done… this has taken me over a year on and off adding to it(even with the Axiom mod to help me build faster)! It’s still not finished to my level of desired detail, yet my statistics for the file say I’ve played 13.58 days (326 hours). From the bottom of my heart I’ve enjoyed every second of it, the beaming child-like smile has never faded when I see it all. It’s like you’re exploring it again for the first time, discovering brand new unexpected views as you walk around in a world that is truly yours. It’s a complex puzzle that you’ve passionately crafted every aspect in your mind for years and now it’s finally on paper… not in individual pieces but all working together in one beautiful picture. Currently, I calculated that I have built 80+ unique residential houses, 45+ unique structures and recreational places (shops, community parks, entertainment, activities, etc), and unique 100+ trees(many copied but always uniquely added to and pruned from 10 different various sized built models), and many small fun details and lore in between! In the slideshow playing is the progressive progress and below is a short video beautifully showcasing where it is at currently. It’s been so cool seeing the skyline grow over time! As time has gone on, many things have changed from the original top down map too!
Step 3: Practical Application!
You may be thinking, Hannah, this is a silly block game… is all this work really worth it? To that I say, when does a wall become a million dollar mural? At what point can pixels on a screen be considered art? Is it wrong to paint with a hairbrush, or use a sandbox game as a 3D modeling software? The only limit is your mind… the world is a canvas waiting to be used to it’s fullest! So yes, it’s absolutely worth it. Not only am I simply having the best time of my life playing Minecraft for college credit and my author/illustrator career, but here are the benefits that any other ‘artistic’ software can’t do:
1. You can easily build everything to scale of the real world without any worry about number calculations or scaling. Each block is 1m (3 ft) and you as the player are two blocks tall. Not only can you fly around this 3D space, but you can walk and engage with everything. And others can join in with you at the same time!
2. The simplistic blocky nature of this game actually allows for greater creativity and less time worrying about every detail or texture. It makes you more intentional of how you use the space, instantly creates memorable designs and silhouettes. The limited palette you have to work with(which still has a huge variety) saves a ton of time. Overall, it helps you focus on the overall picture like a thumbnail sketch.
3. Did I mention you as the player are a professional camera that you can easily and fully adjust/toggle every minute cinematic setting from colors, light, object reflectivity, to the specific time of day? And it does all the visual calculations and keeps consistency for you!
4. Because everything is a grid, you can use it to take reference photos of complex scenes and trace back all the vanishing points, and when you draw over it, it instantly calculates the distortion of objects as they recede into space, and maintains the consistency of distance in relation to everything. Below, is an example of how I used the screenshots to create full artworks!
Above is my first attempt without using a reference photo, it took so much time and frustration since it is so complex… started optimistic but ended poorly.
This is my second attempt with a reference photo and drawing over top, made everything so fast and realistic! However, I had to completely make up the whole lighting scenario, colors, and figures using all my artistic knowledge which took the majority of my time. This is the most complex illustration I’ve ever done because this was all conceptualized from my head from head to toe!
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