WORLDBUILDING: Visual Inspiration

[AceTrainer14]

Often when I read fan fiction, one common thing I end up wondering is: what does this world look like? It's something I always think about when writing myself, and I love to have a world painted for me when I'm reading.

I thought it might be a fun idea if people shared some of the real world locations and images that have inspired them, or any images you might come across you think will inspire other people.

To start, here are some of the ice caves that helped shape my interpretations of the Seafoam Islands.

Spoiler

Please try and only post a few images at a time so the thread does not get overcrowded, and keep them in spoilers so it loads as fast as possible for all users. And feel free to discuss the pictures you see, what they make you think of, and even share work that goes alongside!

 

[canisaries]

My stories haven't really gone to any exciting or exotic places, so I don't have anything impressive to show, but I can say that the exterior of the mental health clinic in Hunter, Haunted is based on a real building.

Spoiler

And here's an excerpt from the story:

Spoiler

The clinic’s entrance is not fit for a place for easing people's minds. A large block of the beige building protrudes forward above it of it for maybe three meters and is held up by a few cuboid pillars under its far edge. The pillars are barely human width and only a little over one’s height. Vines with narrow, serrated leaves lazily curl around their top halves, partly dangling down, giving an oddly overgrown feel to the otherwise well-kept, modern exterior.

It’s going to collapse on me. That’s the first thought this chunk of a roof evoked in me, and it still remains the strongest. Dare I even walk beneath it? It doesn’t seem to bother Abe, who’s already taken his first steps underneath the death trap and now turns around with a questioning look on his face, wondering why I’m not following.

Loosely based, I should say. A lot of locations in my stories come from exaggerated first impressions.

 

[Griff4815]

I've got a few for my Digimon universe. For the Heavenly Choir's Sky Colonies in Holy War, I took some inspiration from Diablo 3

Spoiler

The Gloaming Fields are an homage to 19th century gothic artwork.

Spoiler

I picture the Free Area similar to a remote, English countryside.

Spoiler

 

[Misfit Angel]

Oh dear, I have dozens upon dozens of inspirational images I've used to formulate my characters and locations. However, I'm not going to dump them all in at once, so I'll trickle them out. Today we'll have a look at two characters.

First, one of the protagonists of Land of the Roses, Andrea Dennison:

Spoiler

Unfortunately, I can not credit either the model or the photographer; I found this in a gothic image collection that failed to credit either, and a reverse image search has yielded nothing useful.

I was actually stunned when I found this image, as it's an almost flawless example of what I imagine Andrea to look like in terms of physical appearance. The only real differences are that Andrea is a bit more heavy set than this woman is, and favors mini dresses instead of the long dress seen here. Everything else is spot on.

She'd even have that innocently clueless look on her face, even if she is anything but.

Now, let's look at one of the enigmatic antagonists of Land of the Roses, Maphesia Candlefire, who appeared in chapter 26:

Spoiler

Original artist: Dropdeadcoheed
Original piece: Assassin

Spoiler: light spoilers for LotR

Introduced as a nameless huntress who preyed upon the villagers of Doranshire, this is generally how I imagine Maphesia Candlefire to look, at least in her "youthful" appearance. A few details aren't quite right, namely her strikingly bright blue eyes and her blonde hair. Other than that, it's accurate down to the weapons she prefers.

 

[diamondpearl876]

It's a lot easier for me to envision things in my head as I write since I'm usually detached from my surroundings, but here's some stuff anyway.

Spoiler: 1

Spoiler: 2

 

[diamondpearl876]

found these pretty images last night

Spoiler

 

[Misfit Angel]

So, here's a location I haven't visited yet but am super psyched for, the Bramblemurk Marsh:

Spoiler

Hint: it always looks like this, even on a good/sunny day. It's going to be absolute hell for one of my characters who absolutely hates wetland environments.

 

[Beth Pavell]

I'm not sure where I'd draw the line between visual inspiration and visual research. I usually look at images to confirm I'm writing what I think I am. I suppose the inspiration part comes in when I'm looking for the details. But in any case, these are a couple of images I looked at when designing (So to speak) the Cinder Bank Bathhouse:

The Athenaeum Club, Pall Mall, London.

Spoiler

The Traveller's Club and the Reform Club, Pall Mall, London again

Spoiler

And finally, in a convoluted sort of way, Széchenyi thermal bath, Budapest:

Spoiler

 

[AceTrainer14]

I travelled through a rainforest in Queensland during my travels this week and saw some truly stunning scenery that I expect will shape Iki Town and the Mahalo Trail in Dreams That You Dreamed.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

I don't really get inspired by real world locations too often, but it's gradually something that's happening more as I develop personally.

A couple of the few really significant times that I've been inspired by sights in person have been on holidays where I've seen epic natural vistas. I don't have photos to hand of these locations, but I found similar images in a hasty google search.

Spoiler: Norwegian Fjords

The first time I saw the fjords in person was the first time I've been genuinely emotional about a view of a natural landscape. I don't know if it'll make its way into my work as an actual trip to some fjords, but the moment where Salem sees a non-urban sweeping landscape for the first time is going to be a big deal.

Spoiler: Croatian Mountains

I was on a boat ride along a river near Dubrovnik, and feeling particularly receptive I suppose, when I realised that the perfect location for the Perihelion training facility was not in an underground urban base where there would be a high risk of exposure, but out in the wilderness, with forests to spare. This later pushed me to realise that the setting of DE will differe from our own world by way of having a much greater extent of wilderness, and that it is this natural wild that Perihelion seeks to protect/monopolise.

More recently, I was walking around the village I've lived in most of my life and the town I'm hopefully moving to shortly, and it occurred to me that some closer-to-home settings would be worth using at some point in my stories. We'll see how that comes about, I suppose.

Spoiler: Rural England

I'll upload some photos of my own another time I suppose, since this doesn't capture the right mood at all, but walking past some countryside farms recently I felt strongly that I wanted to do something with that kind of setting down the line. It'll be a long time before I get that far, though.

Spoiler: English Church

My feelings and thoughts about religion and faith are complicated, to say the least. I am quite certain some of them will turn up eventually. I've been in churches too many times not to write about them. And... they can certainly be very beautiful old buildings.