Mayan Style Temple Construction

It's been a long while since i posted anything new or even updated any old threads. While i've not really done any sculpting or scenery of late, i have been playing a lot of Dungeons and Dragons with some friends. The climax of our latest quest leads us to a Mayan style temple in the middle of a jungle.

So it came to pass (after much discussion and exchanging of ideas) that the construction of a pyramid would be an awesome project and an amazing finale to the quest line. As such there are two people who know of its construction. Myself and the guy who is the DM.

So first of all i figured it'd be a good idea to google Mayan pyramids and look at some images, which i always recommend. I found it oddly surprising how my mind had mixed various cultures in what i had originally imagined for the project.

Now here is where i differ from my usual approach...Usually i grab a few source materials, maybe sketch a few finer details and just jump right in. For this project i opted for another option, given the fact that this is going to be probably the biggest piece i've made. After a few hours sat in my favorite local cafe (owned by two great friends of mine) The DM and I sat down he with his notepad, me with my magically refilling coffee mug, and we discussed and he sketched what he was after. I threw ideas at him, he mostly accepted (for which i'm grateful) We hammered out the maths of the slopes, restrictions and ideals given the scenery pieces purpose... Then we parted company happy with the results.

Of course by the time i got in and got sidetracked with lots of other jobs most of what we discussed had completely gone out of my head. So i loaded up Sketchup and decided to do a scale model of what i wanted to create. Honestly this was a great idea, now i have a clear design i can come back to and take measurements for any cuts i need to do. I am by no means a whiz with any 3d design software, but sketchup from what i can tell was made originally by google for people like me. (The best part is there is a free version to use too!)

After much toying and a little patience i eventually had a model constructed using the maths and designs that the DM had sent me. The problem was that non playable area altered so drastically each time i wondered if it wouldn't be easier to simply copy and paste the bottom section so that it essentially was easier to make since everything would be the same shape just smaller.... fig b. shows what i found.

fig a. shows all the separate modules and layers of the pyramid.

fig b. demonstrates the difference between the final design and the copy and paste approach.

fig c. The final design minus a definite solution on the stairs fixing.

So i am as yet unsure how to fix the stairs to the pyramid to i have them as one unit that slot into place and then are removed when you want to split the pyramid down OR do i attempt to split the stairs into sections and attach each section of stairs to the relevant pyramid section and hope that it looks alright one its all joined. I'm leaning towards the latter but i likely (knowing me) won't make a choice until that is all there is left to do.

There is little more i can do digitally so all that remains is to get stuck in and get started. Sadly due to other commitments its going to be a few days at least until i can start construction. Check back soon for updates.