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#WorldBuildersGuild

World Building Inspiration

Welcome New Members & Visitors

What is the World Builders Guild?



We are a group dedicated to collecting great artwork that will inspire world building. Our members are both artists who like to draw fantasy worlds and want to share their artwork, as well as writers who enjoy creating and writing about such worlds and benefit from viewing the great artwork.

What Is World Building?



World Building is the process of creating a fictional world, from drawing the world map right down to creating the civilizations and races that live in the world. It is most often undertaken by fantasy and sci-fi writers however, films and video games also feature world building especially if they are in the fantasy or sci-fi genre.

The degree of building that is done depends entirely upon the individual writer and their needs. Arguably the most famous world builder is J.R.R Tolkien.


Can I become a Guild Member?



Certainly, we’d love to have you join The World Builders Guild. Though if you would like to submit your artwork then please only submit your best work as we like to keep a high standard to provide the greatest inspiration and quality possible.

Please don’t be offended if your art is rejected, we will try and tell you why your piece was rejected. However, most of the time it is due to the art being submitted to the featured folder rather than the relevant one.

If you're not a member or watcher yet then please join us :)

Nate
The World Builders Guild

Gallery Folders

Writers Corner
Competition 2013
We've entered the last 7 days before the 'World Building With Words' competition finishes.

If you're polishing your entry ready for submission then I wish you all the best and look forward to your entry. However, if you haven't started yet then there is still time to write an entry and get it submitted before the deadline.

For more information about the competition please see the launch post:

Competition: World Building With WordsHi WBGuild,
I’d like to welcome you to the first competition held by The World Builders Guild. The aim of this competition is to encourage the world builders out there to collaborate with the groups artists and create a description for a new environment/location.
Prizes
The winner will be announced in the WBGuild journal along with a link to their website and a bio about both themselves and any story or world they are creating. Added to that I’m also offering to draw a map of the winner’s world worth £80.
1 Free Map commission worth £80 - view examples or Map Commission Page
Promotion on the WBGuild Journal
Promotion article on WBSchool website
Promotion on our social media
The sweet smell of victory!
What You Need To Do
We have selected 10 images o


and you can find tips and advice in the below article:

World Building With Words Competition TipsHi WBGuild,
I’d firstly like to thank you for the great support we’ve had for the launch of this competition. Many of our affiliate groups have sent messages out to their members as have a number of the top writing groups on DA. So we’re looking forward to a rather exciting competition.
Now I know this is not your typical writing competition - where you write a story or poem about a number of characters experiencing a set of events - so I’ve written this article to provide examples, tips and help with your submission.  
If you don't know anything about World Building With Words then please see the below article for more information on the rules and how to enter.

It’s not a story competition?
You’re first question may have been “No stories? What do you mean no stories?” well this group’



So get started today and submit your entry.

Wishing you all the best from myself and the WBGuild Mods.
Hello there everyone,

It's time for our first ever set of features! :D
First off I'd like to say that I honestly have no idea when a majority of the art featured here was submitted. <_<
Since this is the first set of features, I think it's an excuse for being lazy on the time stamp...
Also, if you weren't featured here, no hard feelings, please! D: I love all the art you guys submit, but the ones listed here we (the mod team)  think are the ones that stand out the most.

Now, without further adieu, I give you our handpicked list of features from March 2013:

-Cartography-

The City of Galastan by *Blaidd--Drwg
I really, really love the amount of detail on this map. Also, the city location looks beautiful, I want to live there! :o
Blaidd put a lot of thought into this piece, and I really love how well it turned out and the stories that the city could hold.

-Environments-

White Spine by ~Beastysakura
What I really loved about this deviation is how "realistically surreal" the setting and atmosphere is. There's clear evidence of maybe an ancestral culture and perhaps even a storm brewing in the distance... The breathtaking scene showcases the lonely road traveled by the warrior, not only in population sparsity, but also psychologically.

» Check out her shop at Society6! «

-Creatures-

Dragon Glass by ~forthemoment
Wow, when I first accepted this into the group I had to sit and look at it for a while... I love the idea and lore behind this piece, and the art style is truly stunning. Sure, frozen stuff. Been seen before, but the whole idea that they harvest the ice for whatever they need. The uses behind it could be endless, and I love how in-depth the lore could be and how original the concept of it is.

-Characters-

Cycle Hydra by =K4ll0
I think what was most impressive about this deviation was that the anatomy and physiology is so realistic, while still looking entirely alien. The smooth curves on the body seem almost artificial in nature... As if the species could have possibly altered its DNA to add those features. Stunningly realistic, I love this race and would love to know more about it :O

» Take a look at K4ll0's mighty fine blog on Tumblr! «

-Armour Design-

Ter-Army Medium Armour Troop by ~mohzart
Honestly, I'm a stickler for armor designs, and I don't really like stuff that's big, bulky, made of platinum, with skull pauldrons. Basically... something unrealistic does not do it for me. This armor design by Mohzart is just the opposite. If anything, it's more realistic than a Spartan suit from Halo. Each piece seems well-placed and thought out, and appears to have some purpose to being on the armor. Regardless, I really like it, and would love to see it in a game or movie. :D

-Vehicles & Mechs-

Drone (4-2-13) by ~zakforeman
Why do I like this one over the others? Okay, I'll admit it. It's a visual eyegasm. Sure, there's a pretty great story that could be taking place along with it, that was also a deciding factor, but still... Something about the thing is just eyecatching... Surreal... @_@
Right, yes. It's mesmerizing to see a giant ship like that flying so close to a Venus-like planet, just almost aimlessly wandering about as if it's going to pick that guy up... Or unload on him because he's an enemy scout >_>

-Weapons & Tools-

The Calendar of the Eohrosa by ~Natheyecea
This one was so detailed, it makes me want to go make a calendar of my own...
Right now.
*leaves*

» More Tumblr! This one is Nath's though. I promise. «

-Writer's Corner-
Banryu Creation Myths Number 1: The Great Nest

In the beginning, there was just the World Nest. A clutch of many eggs buried in rock.
Then came the time of the great hatching. Many of the eggs hatched and the worlds creatures fell out into the dirt. Their egg shells scattered around them and covered the rocks at the heart of the world.
But soon the creatures became hungry and there was nothing to eat except the shells and each other. Some eggs hadn't hatched. The animals smashed these eggs and tried to eat the whites and creatures within. The creatures within the smashed eggs woke up when their eggs were smashed but they had been slow to grow in their eggs and their arms and legs hadn't fully formed. Some of them fought back however, and many animals backed away and fought each other or the ones that didn't fight back. And they all fought over the yolk, which pooled in the lower areas of the nest. In the midst of the fighting the two biggest animals, the Sun and the Moon, challenged each other. They f

Banryu Creation Myths Number 1: The Great Nest by ~Jburns272
I liked this one because it's so detailed, and also really unique compared to most creation myths I've seen. I think what I really liked was how I could imagine a father telling this story to his children before bedtime in a clay hut on a farm... <_< The kinds of myths that are from more of a common man's viewpoint are the kinds that feel the most realistic, in my opinion, and Jburns pulled that off really well. :D

-----------------------

Well, that's it guys! Hope you liked (and agreed) with the features.
Also, I know this was kinda late for march and all, but, at least I got it done before the 10th... ._.
Hi WBGuild,

I’d firstly like to thank you for the great support we’ve had for the launch of this competition. Many of our affiliate groups have sent messages out to their members as have a number of the top writing groups on DA. So we’re looking forward to a rather exciting competition.

Now I know this is not your typical writing competition - where you write a story or poem about a number of characters experiencing a set of events - so I’ve written this article to provide examples, tips and help with your submission.  

If you don't know anything about World Building With Words then please see the below article for more information on the rules and how to enter.

Competition: World Building With WordsHi WBGuild,
I’d like to welcome you to the first competition held by The World Builders Guild. The aim of this competition is to encourage the world builders out there to collaborate with the groups artists and create a description for a new environment/location.
Prizes
The winner will be announced in the WBGuild journal along with a link to their website and a bio about both themselves and any story or world they are creating. Added to that I’m also offering to draw a map of the winner’s world worth £80.
1 Free Map commission worth £80 - view examples or Map Commission Page
Promotion on the WBGuild Journal
Promotion article on WBSchool website
Promotion on our social media
The sweet smell of victory!
What You Need To Do
We have selected 10 images o



It’s not a story competition?


You’re first question may have been “No stories? What do you mean no stories?” well this group’s main focus is the creation of fictional worlds. However, for clarity, let’s first define what a story is and then I can explain what we mean by “no short stories or novels”.

In “Avatars Of Story” Marie-Laure Ryan defines 8 rules of narrative as a way to determine if a series of events can be classed as a narrative (story). They are as follows:

1. Narrative must be about a world populated by individuated existents.
2. This world must be situated in time and undergo significant transformations.
3. The transformations must be caused by non-habitual physical events.
4. Some of the participants in the events must be intelligent agents who have a mental life and react emotionally to the states of the world.
5. Some of the events must be purposeful actions by these agents, motivated by identifiable goals and plans.
6. The sequence of events must form a unified casual chain and lead to closure.
7. The occurrence of at least some of the events must be asserted as fact for the story world.
8. The story must communicate something meaningful to the recipient.

So what does that have to do with the competition?



Essentially, your submission should read more like an encyclopaedia entry and not a narrative as described above. There may be narrative sections in the entry such as when you write the history of your location but this should not be the main or only focus of the submission. You should also include topics such as “who controls the area?”, “who lives there?”, “why is this location important to the wider world it’s set in?” etc.

Examples


The easiest way to show you the kind of thing we’re looking for in this competition is to show you some examples from the web. The four examples below are taken from Wikia and will hopefully give you a good idea.

Rivendell’s from LOTR

The Shire from LOTR’s

Tar Valon from The Wheel Of Time

Dragon Mount from The Wheel Of Time

Any other tips



I will add other tips and guides to this journal as they are thought of or arise but for now I wanted to get the above published to help you get started.

We wish you all the best with your world.
More Journal Entries

Comments


Add a Comment:
 
:iconekknight:
~EKKnight 2 days ago  New member Hobbyist Writer
Does anybody in the guild do free landscape requests? I just need a small clearing drawn in the middle of an autum woods with a tree that bears heart shaped fruits. Or a mountain scene would be great that features 2 moons. Just asking. Thanks for any replies
Reply
:icondragondeplatino:
Not sure you'll get much business in the comment section of our group. ^^;

Try some request groups: [link]
Reply
:iconekknight:
~EKKnight 2 days ago  New member Hobbyist Writer
thanks for the link and reply.
Reply
:icontasteslikeanya:
*TastesLikeAnya Apr 12, 2013  Student Filmographer
Yes please.
Reply
:iconekknight:
~EKKnight Mar 22, 2013  New member Hobbyist Writer
Also are there any artists on here who wouldn't mind creating images from my world for free? Do kind people like that exist in this guild? Hopefully because I can't draw for $&/T.
Reply
:iconekknight:
~EKKnight Mar 22, 2013  New member Hobbyist Writer
Could someone read my submission into the 2013 competition and critique it. I noticed a few darn spelling and spacing mistakes and am wondering if I should resubmitt it. Am I allowed to do that? Please heeellllppp!!!!! I wanna win!!!!! I think I am the only one who entered thus far.
Reply
:icondragondeplatino:
As for your first question, it would be wise to simply put your submission into a text editor such as MS Word to correct spacing and spelling mistakes. Ah, and if you don't have MS Word or the money for it, Notepad++'s Spell Checker is a nice free alternative. Yes, and there is nothing in the rules saying you cannot revise your submission before judging. To do this, simply look to the right of the deviation's page while logged in, and you will see a big blue button with "Edit" on it.

Considering your section question, I'm afraid at the moment I don't have requests open. A good thing you might want to try out is to search the dA group database (groups.deviantart.com) for "request" and see if you can find any groups containing people currently hosting requests. ;)
Reply
:iconekknight:
~EKKnight Mar 22, 2013  New member Hobbyist Writer
Thanks for the response. I'm gonna edit my work tomorrow so that I don't lose that competition for any reasons that can be avoided. Its wierd how I'm the only submission as of now though.
Reply
:icondragondeplatino:
I really would like to make a submission, but I'm an admin. I'll probably just end up making an example submission. :iconpoker-faceplz:
Reply
(1 Reply)
:iconjornorinn:
Thank u so much! :heart:
Reply
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