u/GoldNo9860

I've been building a fictional world called unKnown world of Ída for several years, combining worldbuilding, fantasy history, character design, maps, military history and visual storytelling into one long-term art-book project.

At its core, Ída is an attempt to create the history of a world that never existed but it should feel familiar.

I'm interested in imagining how ancient civilizations might have developed, migrated, fought, traded and influenced one another over centuries. The world draws inspiration from prehistoric cultures to early middle ages, ancient archaeology and mythology and the history of warfare, but everything is reinterpreted and developed into its own fictional history.

A major part of the project is the design of its warriors. Rather than simply creating fantasy characters based on an aesthetic, I try to design each warrior as a product of their culture, environment, technology, traditions and way of fighting (let's say more grounded in history).

Their weapons, armor, shields, clothing, colors and visual symbols are therefore connected to the history and identity of the people they belong to.

The map above shows one period of Ída and some of the cultures and warriors I've developed for it in last year. There are many different civilizations, tribes and historical periods and eras within the world, and I'm gradually building their stories and conflicts into a larger chronological history.

The Rise of the Atlanteans, for example, is just one of these stories. It tells the story of the Atlanteans and their invasion of Ída, but it is only one chapter within a much larger history that I'm currently developing.

I've recently brought this particular story together into an illustrated fantasy history documentary, combining my character designs, illustrations, maps, animated army movements and landscape footage.

I would like to share here a link to a documentary video I made about it (if anyone is interested)?

I've been building a fictional world called unKnown world of Ída for several years, combining worldbuilding, fantasy history, character design, maps, military history and visual storytelling into one long-term art-book project.

At its core, Ída is an attempt to create the history of a world that never existed but it should feel familiar.

I'm interested in imagining how ancient civilizations might have developed, migrated, fought, traded and influenced one another over centuries. The world draws inspiration from prehistoric cultures to early middle ages, ancient archaeology and mythology and the history of warfare, but everything is reinterpreted and developed into its own fictional history.

A major part of the project is the design of its warriors. Rather than simply creating fantasy characters based on an aesthetic, I try to design each warrior as a product of their culture, environment, technology, traditions and way of fighting (let's say more grounded in history).

Their weapons, armor, shields, clothing, colors and visual symbols are therefore connected to the history and identity of the people they belong to.

The map above shows one period of Ída and some of the cultures and warriors I've developed for it in last year. There are many different civilizations, tribes and historical periods and eras within the world, and I'm gradually building their stories and conflicts into a larger chronological history.

The Rise of the Atlanteans, for example, is just one of these stories. It tells the story of the Atlanteans and their invasion of Ída, but it is only one chapter within a much larger history that I'm currently developing.

I've recently brought this particular story together into an illustrated fantasy history documentary, combining my character designs, illustrations, maps, animated army movements and landscape footage.

I would like to share here a link to a documentary video I made about it (if anyone is interested)?

I'm still developing this world, so I'm curious: what catches your attention first — the map, one of the cultures, or one of the characters?

And for those of you who build your own worlds: do you design your characters first, or do you develop their cultures and history before designing them?

I've been building a fictional world called unKnown world of Ída for several years, combining worldbuilding, fantasy history, character design, maps, military history and visual storytelling into one long-term art-book project.

At its core, Ída is an attempt to create the history of a world that never existed but it should feel familiar.

I'm interested in imagining how ancient civilizations might have developed, migrated, fought, traded and influenced one another over centuries. The world draws inspiration from prehistoric cultures to early middle ages, ancient archaeology and mythology and the history of warfare, but everything is reinterpreted and developed into its own fictional history.

A major part of the project is the design of its warriors. Rather than simply creating fantasy characters based on an aesthetic, I try to design each warrior as a product of their culture, environment, technology, traditions and way of fighting (let's say more grounded in history).

Their weapons, armor, shields, clothing, colors and visual symbols are therefore connected to the history and identity of the people they belong to.

The map above shows one period of Ída and some of the cultures and warriors I've developed for it in last year. There are many different civilizations, tribes and historical periods and eras within the world, and I'm gradually building their stories and conflicts into a larger chronological history.

The Rise of the Atlanteans, for example, is just one of these stories. It tells the story of the Atlanteans and their invasion of Ída, but it is only one chapter within a much larger history that I'm currently developing.

I've recently brought this particular story together into an illustrated fantasy history documentary, combining my character designs, illustrations, maps, animated army movements and landscape footage.

I would like to share here a link to a documentary video I made about it (if anyone is interested)?

I'm still developing this world, so I'm curious: what catches your attention first — the map, one of the cultures, or one of the characters?

And for those of you who build your own worlds: do you design your characters first, or do you develop their cultures and history before designing them?