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Posting on behalf of u/Jagged_Orchid Pre-requisite: Download the free application G.Projector: https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/gprojector/download/ This guide describes my process for building a full map of a spherical world starting from scratch, but this method can be adapted in several ways to allow editing of already created polar regions of existing maps and is also useful for visualizing... Continue Reading →
A trade route is simply a passage traversed by merchants and caravans from settlement to settlement for economic purposes. A trade route can pass over land or sea and link multiple locations over great distances. While many goods can flow along each route, some can become famous for certain materials eg the Silk Road and... Continue Reading →
In this post I will be talking about all the different climates you might want to include in your world and how they all fit together, some info on each and the kinds of animals and challenges faced to live there. Many people are happy to place climates as they like, but you might want... Continue Reading →
Credited to u/darkblade273. The most common map guides I've found glance over coastlines as just "use a fractal generator" or "just make it really jagged and never use straight/curved lines", which are only really suitable for some regions of the world. Coastlines are affected by elevation, underlying tectonic plates, and climate, which are never really... Continue Reading →
I was recently rewatching David Attenborough's Planet Earth (which I highly recommend), and there's a part where a waterfall is so high up that the water falls unbroken for so long that it blows away in a fine mist. This got me thinking that this would likely be a spiritual or sacred place for nearby... Continue Reading →
Today I'm going to be talking about a technique you can use to inject your world with conflicts, situations and drama, by drawing a new overlay for your map. This technique is inspired by the Paradox Games such as Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Universalis 4. (I imagine many worldbuilders have already played these games,... Continue Reading →
It can be tempting to jump straight into writing and I admire and encourage your enthusiasm, but there are some things it would be good to know first. Writing is a well trodden path with many pitfalls which can knock an aspiring writer's confidence and slow progress. It is always wise to learn from those... Continue Reading →
This is a list of tv series set throughout history (cut off at World War 2), starting with the most recent first. Let me know in the comments any to add. 1940s USA, France, Germany Band of Brothers The story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division from 1942 to the end... Continue Reading →
Intro It can be easy to think that money and a free market exchange system is the main method of how an economy runs, but for most of history, this was not the case. And so it doesn't have to be in your world either. In  this post I will talk about different methods of... Continue Reading →
Intro Often it can useful to visiualise your characters and your world. Representing these with 3rd party art can be very inspiring and a great way to do so without spending ages writing descriptions and so you can spend more time developing your world. I've interspersed this post with art from my Pinterest boards so... Continue Reading →
Reddit Reddit is the core community of this blog, and the community it was born out of. Check it out and subscribe if you're not already a member. Forum (Poll further down) I would like to build a community here and one of things I'd like to do is set up a forum. I want to... Continue Reading →
So you've got your map, your environment. Now its time to place those villages and breathe some life into your world. Settlements can include anything from hamlets all the way up to massive cities, and there's usually a couple of factors in common. They can be temporary or permanent and the temporary ones can eventually... Continue Reading →
The Importance of Inspiration Feeling inspired is very important to worldbuilding and art creation in general. It helps you come up with ideas, concepts, characters and narratives. It can also give you the drive to keep creating. Without it you might find yourself at the bottom of the "creative well" where you want to create,... Continue Reading →
Knowing what resources your countries have access to can have vast implications for the way they develop, in culture, prosperity, trade routes, even targets for war as countries fight over important trade routes. Locations in the real world such as the Silk Road and Constantinople were fought over for the control of trade. This post... Continue Reading →
In this guide we will be attempting to apply realistic climates to a map of our world, ending up with something like this, here each colour denotes a different climate. It won't be 100% scientifically accurate but for the purposes of worldbuilding its close enough. The primary resources involved in writing this are Geoff's Climate Cookbook and Emma... Continue Reading →
If you wanted to build your world right from the very start, from the earliest point and evolve it forward in a realistic manner, it is good to start with tectonic plates. These will help shape your continents and geographical features. It can also be fun to start building your world without knowing exactly what... Continue Reading →
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