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UnevenEdge

Working on a Graphic Novel


GunStarHero

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Back in high school I had an idea for a fantasy story. It was pretty basic, but, over the course of the past 15 years or so it has snowballed into this ridiculously massive story. Every time I would think it was ready to go and I started banging out pages for the comic I would come to the realization that the world/overall plot didn't quite make sense just yet. I'm finally at a point where I think it will be presentable soon. 

All that's left is finalizing character designs and some scenery. So, I decided to post some of the working concepts (and finished ones). 

I figure less is more, so I won't bog anyone down with a complete history on the lore and instead jot down a super short synopsis.

 

Valkyrie's Call is a fantasy tale of how one woman's actions hundreds of years ago culminated into a present day world war. 

 

I'm sure that was sufficiently inadequate. But this is all more to show the concepts below than the story itself. 

A lot of the below content is conceptual and may be changed entirely. 

Tentative world map (view in separate tab for better resolution)

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Random assortment of characters weeee

The art styles are currently inconsistent as I am unsure which style I would like to make the faces. 

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I've always found the idea of world-building like this super interesting, but I've never been able to follow through - any time I've tried, I'd start envisioning big-picture and then spend way too much time and energy fixated on minor details and then get distracted or lose interest in following through.

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1 hour ago, Admin_Raptorpat said:

I've always found the idea of world-building like this super interesting, but I've never been able to follow through - any time I've tried, I'd start envisioning big-picture and then spend way too much time and energy fixated on minor details and then get distracted or lose interest in following through.

I have heard it's better to go deep than wide when world building. 

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I'm more of a storyteller when it comes to words than with pictures, but I totally get the whole "making sense of the world before putting pen to paper on the story" thing. Creating a setting that feels lived in, whether it be through characters, plot, or other means of worldbuilding, is key to a good story.

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13 minutes ago, PokeNirvash said:

I'm more of a storyteller when it comes to words than with pictures, but I totally get the whole "making sense of the world before putting pen to paper on the story" thing. Creating a setting that feels lived in, whether it be through characters, plot, or other means of worldbuilding, is key to a good story.

I used to fret over all the extended lore that would never show up in the main story, even anecdotally. I'd spend so much time just trying to connect every thing until it all felt cohesive down to the most minor of events and characters. It can be hard to want to make things feel real and the world believable and lived in without going a bit overboard on the details. 

More often than not I'd wind up grabbing a couple interesting concepts or events and then trashing the rest of these elaborate backstories because there was just so much else going on. 

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1 minute ago, Mix said:

Yooooo, this looks dope af.....

I mean your map alone....that's a big map....it must of taken you forever to flush out the details of those places and their people....

When do we get the full history and lore? 

Closer to 15 years than forever lol And so much of what was done during that time was scrapped. I mean, bless teenage me's heart but not every thing I wrote was copper, much less gold. 

A lot of the lore and history of the world is complete. I was debating on just throwing out a bulleted list of some of the cooler stuff, if that's something you'd want to read. 

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30 minutes ago, GunStarHero said:

Closer to 15 years than forever lol And so much of what was done during that time was scrapped. I mean, bless teenage me's heart but not every thing I wrote was copper, much less gold. 

A lot of the lore and history of the world is complete. I was debating on just throwing out a bulleted list of some of the cooler stuff, if that's something you'd want to read. 

Yeah, I want to read it...I love stuff like this

 

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28 minutes ago, Mix said:

Yeah, I want to read it...I love stuff like this

 

Ok, I'll just toss out some stuff that comes to mind

  • The coastal forests of Kaal are home to countless legends regarding the call that can be heard echoing through the trees. Legend has it that giant, bear-like beasts wander the forests, devouring or otherwise terrorizing anyone fool enough to enter their domain. Some say the beasts call out in the voice a child they have eaten, crying out for help, coaxing passersby to rush to their aid only to perish themselves. Others believe the bears are long gone or never exited, and a gang of thieves wearing bear pelts has taken up residence in their stead and are exploiting the legends.
  • Romori Heights is a notoriously brutal outdoor prison used by the Valeon kingdom. It consists of hundreds of hanging cells that are hoisted over the edge of the mountain. Valeon Archers and magi are frequently seen using the prisoners are target practice. 
  • The San'bari nation of the Void incorporates a particularly cruel method of training new soldiers. Children are screened for their professions at a young age, and at the age of 6, future soldiers are tossed into the Void, a parallel but nightmarish realm that the nation has religious ties to. With practically no training or proper understanding of the nebulous Void, the children must learn to escape, or perish, lost to the Void forever. 
  • Children that manage to escape the Void earn warrior status and 30 body piercings, one for every family in the tiny nation. Whenever a warrior experiences a defeat in combat, they must remove a piercing. If they lose to another Void warrior, the prevailing warrior forcibly removes the piercing from them. Losing all your piercings results in exile, and often suicide. The leader of this nation wields an ancient relic that grants special powers over the Void, including the ability to create small Voids. Warriors ascend to the leadership position by way of gauntlet. Any warrior choosing to become leader must strip every piercing but one and then duel every other warrior, and then the current leader, before claiming the throne. Any loss handed to the challenger results in their exile, but their wins do not count against the other warriors, except the leader. 
  • The Stormbane family is known for being the only beings able to wield blood magic, which uses one's own blood as a magical reagent. It can be used as a shield, among other things. However, the current head of the Stormbane house has learned how to harness the anyone's blood for her spells. She has managed to create bloodbolts to hurl at her enemies, plague bombs with tainted blood, and even using blood to drown opponents.
  • When the rightful ruler of the human kingdom of Ceralon abdicated the throne hundreds of years prior, it sparked a conflict that would become the Crownfall wars. The Crownfall saw relatives and other claimants to the throne splinter off and began vying for power and territory. In the Ceraneese language, Valeon means "to rule by blood," Maleon means "to rule by might," and Saleon means "to rule by fortune." 
  • Hydlia has a unique sect of fighters known as the Arcane Brawlers. The Brawlers sear runes into their skin and wrap their arms and legs in blessed wraps. They use these runes and wraps to absorb magic to reuse and redirect, often offensively. 
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all that sounds so interesting, but you just wanna know more...when do you stop flushing these things out...it never ends

I think R.R. Martin isn't really that old....he just sacrificed his youth in a ritual that allowed him to finish his books

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20 minutes ago, Mix said:

all that sounds so interesting, but you just wanna know more...when do you stop flushing these things out...it never ends

I think R.R. Martin isn't really that old....he just sacrificed his youth in a ritual that allowed him to finish his books

He is absurdly meticulous. It hurts my head to think of how much he has written just for GoT much less his other work. 

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