Imaginary Worlds | Inspiration

The following is a list of resources, links, artwork and articles that may be of interest to a worldbuilder, writer, illustrator, gamer or game designer. This list is still an early start, and will grow over time. If you have links of interest, please email them to me (at sad@imaginaryworlds.net) so that I can add them to this resource page. Please keep in mind that this page is an ongoing work in progress.

WORLDBUILDER’S LIBRARY

National Geographic
If you get only one worldbuilding resource, get National Geographic. My old issues are mined on a daily basis for inspiration and resources about any and every subject related to worldbuilding.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Great book that details cause and effect relationships between geographic and historic influences on evolving cultures. The ultimate cultural reference for your worldbuilding.

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Understanding Comics is more than a book about comics; this is a complete exploration of the elements of story and how these affect us psychologically and culturally. My description doesn’t even begin to explain the usefulness of this book to a writer, gamer or worldbuilder.

World Building (Science Fiction Writing)
Anything and everything that you need to know about creating the physical properties and characteristics of a solar system or planet (using real physics) is contained in this book. If you are a Gearhead Worldbuilder, you MUST have this book. I have created all kinds of spreadsheets to help me calculate axial tilts, habitable zones, wind conditions, temperatures and humidities, weather patterns and orbital periods, using math to reverse engineer a planet’s properties from the apparent brightness of its parent star, and I ripped out all of the formulas from this book (and by the way, I am an English major, not a mathematician; if I can do this stuff, anyone can). This is the World Builder’s Math and Physics Textbook. A must-have.

Power Screenwriting: The 12 Stages of Story Development
I recommend two screenwriting books that detail everything you need to know, as a worldbuilder, about story-centered principles. This is one of them. Written by the screenwriter for Sleepy Hollow.

Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting
Story is the other screenwriting resource. Story is also the defacto and indispensable resource for just about every popular writer working in entertainment today, from directors to comic book writers (Brian Michael Bendis mentions repeatedly how much this book influences and shapes his story skills).

Aliens and Alien Societies (Science Fiction Writing Series)
Everything you need in order to create biologically believable creatures. I love this book for explaining science to me in a way that I can apply with confidence and competence.

Magician’s Companion: A Practical and Encyclopedic Guide to Magical and Religious Symbolism (Llewellyn’s High Magick Series)
I found this resource in the back corner of a magic store, and nearly stole it off the shelves. A complete encyclopedia of (real) magic systems throughout history, from Shamanism to Voodoo. If you are creating magic in your world, this is the most incredible resource out there, hands down.

Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc)
I know a lot of people frown at the NEW and IMPROVED Star Wars, but this edition is still potent and offers so much inspiration to the worldbuilder. Lucas’ invention may be absurd from a scientific point of view, but considering this from a story-centered perspective, Star Wars is brilliant and revolutionary. This edition contains Empire of Dreams, which is a fantastic documentary about the synthesis of myths and technology to form Lucas’ vision. Even if you hate Star Wars, get EOD as a textbook in story-centered world creation.

Holly Lisle’s Create A Language Clinic
Holly Lisle provides a really useful resource for inventing believable languages quickly. The book can be used to develop something “on the fly”; it can also be studied in depth to create a deeply considered and constructed language system for a larger canvas. I love this book for its modular design. If I know I need only a quick phrase in a sudden plot twist, I know I can turn to the first section and craft a workable solution in a matter of minutes. If I want to design a complete grammar and lexicon, I can do that as well with these tools. People have asked me repeatedly for an episode about language creation; if that episode materializes, I’m using this resource!

More coming soon…

ARTWORK

Christopher Koelle: Artist
Men in Black by Christopher Koelle: Animated graphic narrative about a soldier dealing with the trauma of combat in Iraq.
GiantMonster: Modeler/Artist who creates very intricate Sketchup and Maya models. Good inspiration for steampunk, robotic, and apocalyptic designs.
Jonathan Hickman: Comic Artist that uses a lot of Illustrator and unorthodox digital techniques in his work. Good inspiration for page layouts and design motifs.
Kakofonia: Beautiful Illustrator and Photoshop work. Heavy inking, texture and photorealism.
Pontual: Nice logo and type treatment.
Lines and Colors Illustration Blog

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