How to create fantasy creatures and aliens | Worldbuilding
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
- In this worldbuilding video, I talk about how to create fantasy creatures, aliens (sentient and non-sentient), as well as plants. I talk both about creating unique fantasy creatures and aliens and making the classic Fantasy creatures more unique and interesting.
The word “race” slipped in a couple of times in this video, I apologize for that. I am making an effort to use words like “creatures” or “species” instead, but apparently I haven’t quite gotten there. Thank you for your patience, I will do better in the future.
If you liked this video, you will love this playlist where I go into more detail about how to create unique fantasy creatures: • Worldbuilding: Creatures
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Intro
04:07 - Creating non-humanoid creatures (sentient).
05:21 - Where to find inspiration for aliens and fantasy creatures.
10:42 - Classic Fantasy creatures (Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and so on).
11:22 - How to make Fantasy creatures unique.
15:46 - How your world impacts your creatures.
18:57 - Creating non-sentient creatures.
22:02 - Creating plants.
❓QUESTIONS❓
🔹What would you take from a fox and a snake to combine them into one creature (sentient or not)?
🔹What is your greatest struggle when it comes to creating your aliens or fantasy creatures?
🔹Do you prefer the approach of changing the name of a classic fantasy creature or changing their attributes but keeping the name? Or a middle ground?
👀MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO👀
🔸The Search for Life in the Universe by Donald Goldsmith and Tobias Owen (www.bookdepository.com/book/9...)
🔸Demons and gods in different religions and folklore, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... for demons or en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_o... for gods (there are better sources, but these are a start).
🔸Speculations about alien life, I can’t choose, so just search for it: www.ecosia.org/search?q=what+...
🔴SUBSCRIBE🔴
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📽PLAYLISTS you might be interested in:
🐉CREATING UNIQUE FANTASY CREATURES🐉
• Worldbuilding: Creatures
➡️BOOK FROM START TO FINISH⬅️
• Rune of an Unknown God
🌍WORLDBUILDING🌍
• Worldbuilding
🏳️🌈TRANSGENDER WRITING🏳️🌈
• Transgender writing
📋PLANNING A BOOK IN 31 DAYS📋
• Planning a book in 31 ...
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📢CONTACT INFO📢
📧EMAIL: writer.markus.regius@gmail.com
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Spotify link to Kawoosh Podcast:
open.spotify.com/show/2gk5CwU...
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🎵Music: www.purple-planet.com
#authortube #worldbuilding
![Creating history for fantasy worlds | Worldbuilding [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KGxhx680omU/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm imagining a legless carnivorous mammal that can either slither across snow or burrow through it. And now I may have to make a story for this creature. I'm a big fan of thinking through the likely evolution when world building, whether it's animals, plants, cultures, or magic systems. I want to be able to point to a reason for things to be the way they are.
Ooh, I like it!
I think considering evolution when worldbuilding really opens up for a lot of interesting opportunities! :D
I'm thinking of a herbivorous thing that looks like an ant eater but has a pig snout and some air poucbes
So, it's like an elongated seal?
I loooove creating species and imagining all the reasons why they have certain traits etc 😍 I started writing (well, outlining) a fake encyclopedia once cuz I just wanted an excuse to come up with a bunch of different creatures, I didn’t even have a story to fit it in.
You made so many great points in this too, definitely saving it as a reference!
That's awesome! :D I did something similar with a whole bunch of religions once, because that's one of my favorite things to worldbuild X)
Thank you, I'm glad it was useful! :D
I’m a *child* and I love creating thinned but I never finish projects. So it’s my only goal to make and complete my own fantasy world with thought out creatures, biology and environments. That will be hard with school but I will try :)
Finishing projects is so much harder than starting them in my experience X) But that sounds like an awesome goal, good luck with it, and I hope you'll stick around and let us know how it goes :D
Good luck, I hope you succeed.
My take on the fox-snake creature:
It looks mostly like a fox, but it has poisonous fangs, and its tail is like a snake, its spine continues out there and it can control the tail perfectly, wrapping it around their prey, or using it to wrap around something solid when very strong storms blow through the world they live in. That way they avoid being blown away. Its fur is reddish brown because fox, and it lives in forests, mostly hunting smaller animals.
I realize Im pretty randomly asking but does anybody know of a good site to watch newly released tv shows online ?
I have only one advice.
Watch Documentaries about wild life.
My favorite channel as a kid was National Geographic and Discovery Channel (And of course Discovery Kids lol) because I love animals.
And through watching these documentaries I would understand why the wolves live in packs for example.
Or why does the birds fly south during winter.
So for this reason when I first tried creating my own creature it wasn't very hard to think about why it's evolutive features appeared and why they're usefull in the ambient they live.
It is still under development since I started yesterday , actually am I apt to give advice ? I haven't even finished something yet.
I'll let Mr. Markus decide if that is a useful advice.
That's definitely great advice, documentaries are a great source of knowledge, and getting the fundamentals down on how creatures in our world work and why they have evolved the way they have makes it a lot easier to create creatures that are plausible, at least on a surface level (which is usually all you need) :)
Why does this not have more views this is so concise and easy to understand but also has a lot of good information! - thanks
Thank you! I'm glad you found it, and that it was helpful for you :D
Writer Markus Regius cheers it was very helpful
This video helped me a lot! I'm in the middle of creating my very first world and I have in mind to have like 20 species to match my history, and having in mind your explanations makes it a little bit easier. Thank you for sharing your experience!
I'm so glad to hear this video helped you! Good luck with your worldbuilding! With luck some of my other videos, past and upcoming, can also help you 😃
I think the most inspired takes on life I’ve seen have been Stephen Baxter’s from the Xeelee Sequence. From the living chemical convection cells known as the Qax to the colonial microorganism masses of the Silver Ghosts, from the symbiotic amalgamations of space-time defects, Bose-Einstein condensates, and baryonic matter that make up the titular Xeelee to the living trees of branching mathematical axiom-systems in the logic pool and abstract relationship networks of the Monads, it really is a series that explores the boundaries of what life can be.
Careful about using sentience (squirrels, fish, some bugs) where you mean sapience (human-level reasoning). Creature fantasy fans will definitely leave you one star reviews if you mix them up! Non-sentient life is like... mold.
Thank you, I didn't know that! English is my second language, and apparently I had gotten the wrong impression of what the word sentience referred to. Thanks for taking the time to correct me :)
@@WriterMarkusRegius No no, it's okay! I think the message is clear. I just know that creature fantasy fans care a lot about that =] I think the video was good. (And it's a very common mistake to make. I only learned by having it corrected in my own writing.)
@@ValeVin Thank you :) I didn't take offense at the correction, I truly appreciate it, and I hope my response didn't come across any other way. I always try to use as clear and correct language as possible, and now I'll be able to do better on this subject :)
You only have 400 subscribers
I am genuinely surprised dude
You have just gained one more
Thank you, I'm so happy you enjoyed the video enough to subscribe :D
You're coming in at a great time, I just filmed the first video in a longer series about fantasy creatures and ways to make them unique, I'm super excited to have more people to share and talk to worldbuilding about :)
QUESTIONS:
- What would you take from a fox and a snake to combine them into one creature (sentient or not)?
- What is your greatest struggle when it comes to creating your aliens or fantasy creatures?
- Do you prefer the approach to change the name of a classic fantasy creature, or change their attributes but keep the name? Or a middle ground?
I'd definitely use the Snake's teeth on a Fox.
Maybe make it so the two fangs come out like a Saber Tooth Tiger?
I think I’d go with something that has the body shape of a fox as well as the bounciness, but give it scales, snake eyes, a snake mouth and tongue, a snake tale, and maybe the earlessness? I don’t know what I’d do about the feet, but I know it should have them. Maybe scales can calcify into horns to take the place of tufts of fur at the feet, on the face, and maybe even for the ears. That would be cute and scary
@@samanthaledesma604 That sounds awesome! 😍
Fox tail,snake teeth and eyes with the fox body but the entire thing has snake scales and maybe 9 tails like a kitsune along with the long forked tongue
@@smartart6841 Ooh, that sounds awesome! :D
very articulate and clear
If you liked this video, I highly recommend you check out my series on how to create unique fantasy creatures: ua-cam.com/play/PLP15wIk3XSLTHvw4_ZS_E6Asi2l5m4oOM.html
1. On reproduction and life spans: ua-cam.com/video/TJadLH0ofEU/v-deo.html
2. On food and feeding habits: ua-cam.com/video/WCSD93mORuA/v-deo.html
3. On survival: ua-cam.com/video/I3wQhBEgbok/v-deo.html
4. On family and social structures: ua-cam.com/video/8jH6iYy4dUk/v-deo.html
5. On communication: ua-cam.com/video/xQFUnM8L6eo/v-deo.html
6. On geography and evolution: ua-cam.com/video/GCvauc3D1rU/v-deo.html
7. On physical appearance: ua-cam.com/video/gbqQsK5nnss/v-deo.html
I've made a project for myself for when i get bored. I'm making a genetically possible alien planet with tribal-like alien clans. I made an intelligent species for the sea, land, and sky. Most of my land creatures are 2 legged animals, some have only back legs, and some have only front legs. The sea creatures are mostly serpentine like animals, some of them do have fins though. One very clear thing that all the creatures are related by is that they all have 6 eyes and 4 nostrils. I'm working on a language for each of the intelligent species. There's no lore yet though, mostly just world building so far. Making live-stalk, plants, and other wild animals.
Wow, that's a really cool project, I'm impressed! I'm extra intrigued by the animals with only front legs, do they keep their behinds upright, or do they drag on the ground? Either way, that's a creature design I had never considered before!
@@WriterMarkusRegius The animals that keep the front legs let them drag, theres no use for the back other than for stability, if they kept them up right stiff, then they would constantly lean backwards while walking. Thanks btw :D
Ive also made some other creatures, like whale like fish, some amphithere like flying creatures (basically just seals that can fly), and a few little jungle snake-like gliders.
I admit I have taken on a Shadiversity dilemma where I try to have some justifiable realism in my fantasy, so creating crossbreed animals (or creatures) usually for me requires some sensible evolutional explanation. And a fox-snake is very tricky thing to combine. Not impossible though, because that's one of my struggles - I'm not the best innovator, which doesn't couple well with my current situation, haha. But that's all good.
I do think re-inventing existing classicals can be a nice middle ground, and fun! It pushes expectations and traditions. (This also goes for their expected cultures!)
When I try to cross two animals that are vastly different, I tend to go for more abstract thinking than to simply, for example, do a cross breed of a fox and a snake. I go into more detail in my thinking in the workshop video I'm working on now, it'll be up later this week if you're interested to see how I do it practically :)
Not sure if you'll read this comment on a 4 yr old vid, but reason people don't write about Hobbits is because the Tolkien estate is very sue happy; they even tried to sue D&D over the use of the name Elf. However, the generic name for Hobbits is Halfling. You can use that word and not get sued.
I read all comments, eventually, and I appreciate them! And the clarification, I didn't know that about the Tolkien estate, thank you for sharing :)
Something I found interesting is that any carbon based lifeform in order to evolve intelligence would have to be a carnivore or omnivore, because u need intelligence to know how to hunt
ive been addicted to creating fictional ecosystems lately even if they play very little role in the story or world they appear in. for example, in an archipelago ive been creating there's one large island dominated by a jungle and a large lake. deep in the lake lies a deep freshwater trench system with intertwining tunnels and crevices throughout. ive been trying to build a whole ecosystem for it even without it being very important. it's home to things like large eels, essentially the apex predator of the trench due to them being able to snake through the tight areas that other types of predators never could. there's a species of flattened and almost malleable catfish with long whiskers to navigate in the dark that also function like an anglerfish's light to attract prey in the depths. there's species of large, armored lobsters inhabiting the bottom of the trench specialized for scavenging and withstanding crazy pressure. the lack of light and heat causes little to no plant life to form, excluding a species of pale wispy kelp. most of the prey creatures feed on various aquatic fungi that can grow in the cold and dark trench. despite being located far underneath a warm, lively, full jungle lake, the trench still has a deep connection with the habitat above. plant detritus and corpses fall into the trenches below, catalyzing the food chain and feeding scavengers while keeping the lake water above clear and clean. the people living on the island benefit from this, as they have a source of clean and clear water to base their society on. on top of this, they developed unique methods of fishing to reach the trench depths and catch the unique creatures that evolved far below their usual fishing zone. its insanely fun to conceptualize a fictional yet grounded habitat for the worlds i write :)
That sounds really cool! I definitely know how it feels to get so into a relatively small detail of worldbuilding and spending so much time on it despite it barely getting any room in the story X) I tend to think that a) at least I'm having fun! and b) this is exactly the kind of depth into one or a few things that can be off-handedly mentioned in the story to make readers think I've spent this much time on the less exciting bits of worldbuilding as well ;)
Quick question 🙋🏻♂️. Can I add aliens in fantasy or no.
I don't see a reason why not. I'd really like to see more fantasy where the world doesn't end with the planet they're on, but there's a whole universe where other life can exist as well :)
Why don't you want to use the word race? its simply a word describing differences within a species....
I mean, I was talking about different kinds of creatures in this video, not so much differences within one species, so the word "race" wouldn't have been appropriate :)
There's a reason I don't make up my own species etc on the rare occasion that I write sci-fi or fantasy (maybe I will after this), but maybe the fox/snake could shed or retract its fur (and have scales underneath) to thrive in different seasons/climates? 🤷♀️😅
Ooh, that's a cool idea! Like, maybe instead of going to sleep in the winter, like a snake would, it would grow fur so it could move around in the cold as well? And then shed the fur when it got warm, to have the scales instead so it could absorb as much of the heat as possible :D
@@WriterMarkusRegius Exactly! 😃
@@TheNerdyBookNerd That's awesome! You should use that! 😍
I really wanted to have an original race for my fantasy world but I'm at a point where I think it would be hard to work in. I already have humans, elves, fae, and half-races (which includes half-demons, half giants, etc). Speaking of my elves are not immortal. Young elves also grew slower than humans but by the time they are adults they are the same height. They aren't typical Tolkien elves. Personally, I don't like immortal races that aren't vampires or gods. It would make no sense in my world for elves to be immortal. Same with fairies. All the races in my world possess magic and they can live to 100-150 because of it (130 is average).
I don't think my races have been changed enough where I should change their name. My elves and fairies are both inspired by the actual folklore around them instead of just pulling from other fantasy stories or DnD. My Elves are very Germanic and Norse because elves or alfar are from those cultures. My fairies are inspired by Celtic, Irish, Scottish, and English culture for the same reason (I also have fae that are more Greek because I treat fairies and nymphs as the same race).
My fantasy races (except humans) were created by specific gods. A lot of monsters originated the same way. However, once created, they are still subject to natural selection and evolution. I do want to create some new creatures but most of my creatures will be new species instead. My world is filled with magic, and this effects how normal animals evolve. Since I have magic creatures, I also want some magical plants. A lot of my creatures and some of my plants come from medieval bestiaries which often have exaggerated descriptions of real-life organisms. For example, cotton is described as a plant that grows sheep. Thus, my fantasy world has giant cotton plants with sheep heads which are completely alive (they baah and eat grass).
I think you mean sapience, sentience