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JaidenStevens
APEnglish12
Period2

ArtofCreation


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ArtofCreation
Myseniorprojectinvolvesthecreationofaliving,independantworld,withaliving
settingsculptedbyrealworldinfluencesandhistoryinordertodevelopbelievable,realistic
histories,characters,andnations.Inordertodothisrealisticandnaturalcharactersneedtobe
developed,aswellasaworldthatcanseemasrealastheworldwelivein.Itisanartthat's
underappreciated,manyforgetthatthemediatheyconsume,film,books,games,allhaveabasis
inaworld.Beitafictionalmanipulationofourworld,futuristicsettings,ordifferentplanets,
withoutasettingandcharactersabookdoesn'tbreathe,astoryisn'talive.It'srequiredtohavea
decentbuild,orelsethemediaisflat,lifeless,andwillalwaysfail.Characterdesignencompasses
theideasbehindthecharactersinstories.Charactersneedlifelikequalitiestomakethem
believable,evenwhenskewedbythereadersperceptions,andfinallytheyneedamotivationand
adrive.Worlddesignistheactofmakingbelievableandrealisticworldsthatcomposethe
settingandlocationsinastory.Worldscanbecomplex,butalsosimpleitneedsproblems,
diversity,andtobeuniqueinordertobesuccessful.
Acharacterneedstobemotivatedbyagoal,andstrivetowardsachievingthatgoal,an
unmotivatedcharacterprovidesnointerestordrive.Motivesshouldmotivatetheemotionalstate
ofthecharacterandhowtheyactinordertoremainbelievable(Kline).Itcanandwillinfluence
theirperceptionofthesituationandhowthehandleit(Mirjam).Charactersaremostimportantly
andforemostpeople,theyneedtohavegoals,aspirationsanddreamstheystrivefor,oratrait
abouttheirlackthereof(Kline).Anaspirationcanbeassimpleasawantforanitem,oraperson,
oraplace,butacharacterneedsadrivetocontinueon,asithelpsthestoryprogressandallows
thecharacterindividuallytoevolve.Itshouldbeapartofthecharactershistory,theirevolution


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andtheirlifeasalivingentityinaworkoffiction(Kline).Thedriveforacharacterisimportant
inmakingthemmotivatedandalive.
Areader'sideasalsomakethecharactersappeardifferentlytothem,sometimesmaking
vaguecharacteropensthemuptofurtherinterpretationbythereaderorconsumerofthemedia,
allowingagreaterrangeofcommunicationbetweenfictionandconsumer(Kline)
.
Anevil
charactercanbeleftvaguetoallowthemtoberedeemedinthereader'smind,orcondemnedfor
atotallydifferentexperiencethanacharacterwrittentobeexplicitlyevil,orevenacharacter
writtentobeexplicitlygoodwithoutanyvicesorflaws,andamoraledgethatdoesntallow
questioning(
Mirjam)
.Personalideascanchangethewayacharacterisreceived,suchasa
murdererattackingparentswhoabandontheirchildrencouldbeseencompletelydifferentlyby
anorphanedchild,versusaparentwhogaveuptheirchild,andit'suptothereadertomake
valuableandlastingimpressionsandopinionsonthecharacterandtheirmotives,morals,and
relativegreatness(Kline.)Sometimeslettingreadersdecidethecharacterforthemselvesisbest
itallowsthecharactertobealotmoreflexibleandevolving,aswellaspeopletointerpretthe
charactertotheirideas,andallowmorecreativityintheirexperienceofthestories.
Aworldcanbecomposedofmanythings,butalsoshouldbeabletobesimplifiedtoone
thing,inordertohaveaworldthatcanbeviewedasthismassive,expansivething,seenbythe
eyesofanomnipotentgod,orthetinyworldofafieldmouse,eachbladeofgrassatreeandeach
pebbleamountain(Markus).
Asimpleexplanationistakingatree,itcanbeviewedasawhole
entity,withmanyaspectsofit,butcanalsobeseenasbark,oraleaf,orastickandisstill
recognizableasatree,andeventhetypeoftreeitcomesfrom.Thismeansthatalargeamount
detailisneededsoyouhavethatabilitytozoominonaspectsanddetailsandhavethemholdup


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underinspection,withoutseemingunnatural,andthattheworldneedstheabilitytozoominon
anyaspectofanypartofitandhavedetailsandreasoningsforthataspect
(
Rezabek).Thismakes
itreal,astherealworldiscomplicatedanddetailedbeyondwhatanyartistcouldaccomplish.
Mimickingthiscomplexityistheclosestandartistcanget,thoughtheartistneedstobewaryto
avoidcontradictionswithinthemanydetails.
Theworldcantbeperfect,itneedsproblems,issues,andconflictisrequiredtogivethe
worldastageofbelievabilityandrealism(
Markus).Socialconflictsoccurwhenculturesmingle
andmix,evenifitisonlybriefinteractionitposesathreattothepeople,andfromthatconflict
arises.Ifthere'sadvancedcommunicationthatconflictisboundtocomeup,asit'seasierforthe
idealsofonepeopletobetransferredorimposeduponanotherpeopleinawidespreadway
(
Rezabek).Conflictfromcommunicationcanoccurwithlanguagebarriers,orlackofquick
communicationeasilyaccessible(Zoltan).Socialstandardscancauseconflictwithanything
fromgenderroles,socialprejudices,orevenclothing.Landhasalways,andwillalwaysbea
sourceofconflictinanyworld
(
Ducheneaut).Religionisatriedandtruesourceofwars,from
everywhereaconflictofdominatingreligionscancausewars,invasions,ormanyother
outcomesinthequesttospreadthewordofyourowngod.Issueswithintheworldallowlarge
scaleplotstoshowavastmajorityoftheworld(Markus).Theworldweliveinisconstantly
wrackedwithconflictandstrife,anidealworldseemsunrealisticbeyondtheaspectsoffantasy.
It'simportanttohavetheworldrecognizablebothfromaoverviewasawriter,butthen
detailedfromthecharacter'sperspective(Rezabek).Acharacterwillinteractwithmanyaspects
intheirworld,andthosewillshapethestoryandthecharacter.Cultureiswherecharactersand
storieswillgrow,andit'sthemainsourceofdiversitywithintheworldandtheirsocieties,and


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thoseneedtobedeepandlayered,formedasifsculptedmygenerationsofpeopleandthe
landscapetheylivein.Socialprejudiceshapesmanyaspectsoftheworldeverythingfromhow
womenaretreatedtohowothersreacttonewthings.
Afantasyworldneedstobediverse,inordertomakeadisconnectfromtherealworld
(
Ducheneaut).Fantasyasagenreinvolveselementsofdisbelief,andisdesignedtobedifferent
asmuchaspossiblefromthenormaluniverse.Thingslikenewracesandanimalsallowsa
detachmentfromtherealworldandfullyimmersesthereaderinaworldoffantasy(Rzbeck).
Racesareabigone,makinganalmostcompletedetachmentfromtherealworld,inorderto
conveyanewuniversethroughnew,completelystrangeanddifferentracesnotseenintheworld
welivein.Racescontributetonew,uniquecultures,whichhelpimmersethereaderintoa
differentmindsetandencouragesthoughtabouttheworldanditsinhabitants,cities,andregions
(Zoltan).Whenanewcultureisintroducedit'simportanttoseemforeignandnew,butnotweird
andoutofplace.Acitywithavendor'sdistrictseemsforeignandnew,howeveracitywitha
horsedistrictseemsuselessandbreaksimmersionwiththereader(Zoltan).Animalsarealsoan
aspectwriterscouldusetoaddalevelofotherworldlinesstotheirwork,fromcreatingnew
beasts,toadaptingknownlegendsandstoriesintoanewbeing,orevendoingaslittleas
changinganameofananimaltobetterfitthesettinghelpsimmersetheviewerinthenewly
createdworld(Markus).Differentaspectsofdailylifechanginginsubtlewaysimmersesthe
readerintoaworldofitsown,withsmallthingsthatcanbeeasilyeditedin.
Godsareamajorpartofmanycultures,beliefs,lifestyles,andideologies,andanew
pantheonaddsinterestandmysterytoaworld.Fromhopefulmusingsofunsuredevotees,toreal,
tangiblebeingswithahandintheformationsandeffectsoftheworld,god'sallowasupernatural


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elementintothebookormediaandgivesreadersandcharactersaformtolookuptoandrevere.
Theyhelpshapeculture,characterslives,andeverydayaspectsoflifeforthereligious(Zoltan).
Creatingapantheonmimicstherealworldsworshipofgods,withaspectsineachelement,
aspectoflife,orevenanimals.Withnewgods
therearenewwaysofworshipanddailyrituals,prayers,andactivitiesthatcanbeusedtoenrich
thesmalldailyaspectsoflifeinthisuniverse,andgiveaorganic,humanlikehimtothedaily
livesofthecharacters(Pryzbeck).Tomanypeoplegodsareimportantandallowanother,
supernaturalandotherworldlyaspecttoenrichtheworld.
Creatingworldsandcharactersisanoverlookedartform.Withmanypeoplepushingitto
theside,theplotandtheconflicttakescenterstagewhilethecomplexitiesandintricate,time
consumingdetailworkoftherichworldisignoredinfavorofwrittenoutplotlinesandfights.
Whenit'sincludedinawork,it'sunnoticed,fadingsoseamlesslyintothebackgroundanyone
withoutaeyefordesignornotlookingforitcaneasilymissit.But,that'stheidea.Aworldis
supposedtoblendsoseamlesslywiththecharactersandthestorywithinit,itsnotquestioned.A
goodworldcanhavefantasticalthingstoit,butitsnotnoticedasoutofplace,because
everythingblendswithituntilitisaseamlessandlivingworldwithinthepagesofabook.My
seniorprojecttakesaspectsfromeverypartofcharacterdesignandworldbuilding.Fromthe
worldofAlednim,thegeographyoftheland,theraces,cultures,animals,anddesignandbuild
ofcities,usinginformationaboveImcreatingacomplex,breathableworldthat,evenwithouta
plotorstory,isaliveandinterestingtopeople.Partofthatisthemanyindepthculturalanalysis,
whichareaffectedbythingssuchasreligion,animals,andcommunicationasmentionedabove.
Designandotheraspectswillwindtogetherperfectlyinordertocreateameldingofwrittentext


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andimagerythatbringstheworldtotheforefrontofyourreality.Characterdesignis
incorporatedwiththeactualdesigns,involvementintheworld,history,andpersonality.The
designsareallaffectedbytheclimate,theworldaroundthem,andit'sacrucialvisualelementof
theproject.THeinvolvementisdirectlylinkedwiththeworldthey'rein,historydependson
cultureandvalues,andpersonalityincorporatesthecollectionofallofit.Thetwoareso
completelyentwinedyoucan'thaveonewithouttheother,andallofitwillbeusedascentral
aspectsofmyseniorproject.

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