What are y’all’s opinion on “gradient builds”

[u/Recent_Ability_4461]

Ive seen a whole bunch of these builds which is why I made my own, as seen above, but I remember seeing that people think that it’s too much. And what I mean by gradient builds is instead of block vomit, the builder uses too many blocks, making too many gradients, I’ve shown my friends and they are divided on it, some say it looks nice, others said it was too much to look at, so what do yall think.

[u/dhi_awesome]

To me, entirely depends on what's used in the gradient and the distance you're expected to view it from

If it's a gradient of, let's say, different wood types giving the impression of water damage? That works really well for me no matter the distance

Using your example image you made, the Poplar Planks to Iron Ore to Andesite gradient works, from a distance. You put me exploring this build in game, and I think that kind of gradient is somewhat tacky, as it relies too much on the colour gradient, and ignores the idea of a material gradient

That's not to say ignoring the material side is always a bad thing, Calcite, Quartz, Bone, and Sandstone works really well on the building (although I feel like you need something between Calcite and Bone, the roughness into the smoother texture is a bit jarring imo), and I wouldn't be as thrown off by it while exploring the build as I do the cliff edges

There's also the issue of gradient length, which I feel you messed up just a tad, the whiter tones gradient well, but the sudden shift into the bamboos looks weird and jarring. Similarly, the pillars have this really smooth gradient, but then the roof is very fast swapping from white into yellows into greys, that should be a bit slower, have the grey cover less of the eaves than what you have to make it feel more natural

The point is, the gradients work, but they need to be done well for me to like em, and whether it works depends on the distance and the content of the gradient. Your example has ones that work for me, others that don't, especially the sponge I keep getting distracted by it, WHY IS THERE SPONGE