Scott McCloud - In Coversation With Peter Doherty

On Monday the 9th of March I attended an event held by Thought Bubble and Traveling man, which was a conversation into the work of "The Scupltor," Scott McClouds new graphic Novel. When listening to this talk, I took notes in order to remember key points and facts McCloud talked about, and why he had designed these pages the way he had, which proved very useful and imformative as we were just begining to storyboard out our story at this time.

The Sculptor was an idea that had been brewing in McClouds head for thirty years, and was first laid out roughly as a combination of illustrations and word ballons, which he stated were important to the layout of the page.

He also gave another eye opening piece of advise. He said that he felt to much thought goes into the page layout, but not enough into the flow of reading throught the pages, which is something he tried to tackel in The Sculptor in a few ways. He uses highlights, midtones and shadows and in the sequence below, displays the main character with shadows to draw the readers attention to her throught the chase in the crowds, (who are shown in midtones). McCloud also explained how he photograpghed thousands of people in thte streets for reference, so that each individual background character, or 'extras' felt like they had stories of their own making the comic come to life.

Most pages are built in a three tier system, and uses Photoshop and Illustrator on Cintiques to create these pages. He draws thr initial rough versions on Cintiques, and builds more and more deatil up on layers in Photoshop. The top layer, being a sheet of white with windows cut out to see the panels on the layers benath. Something else he mentioned to aspiring comic artists and writers in the audience was to ask themselves this: "What are you trying to accomplish with your work?" The answer could be to challenge the way comics are made. Or laid out. It could just to be to entertain. It could be to raise awarness. Whatever the anwer may be thats fine, but its important to know from the start. This is something I know. Our product has many underlying messages and vegateranism, the protection of the natural world and species, but I believe any medium trying to say anything must be above all entertaining. Whatever maeesage a writer is trying to convey, if it is not done in an entertaining way, the audience won't listen.

One of the questions McCloud was asked by an audience member, was: "Why have some boxed panels bleed across the border when the others seem so aligned?"

McCloud had various reasons for this and why it was used throughout the comic. He noted that sometimes, often on a establishing panel or closing panel, they bleed off to the end of the page to have a prolonged feel, to hold more power over the reader, like this scene isn't resolved so it is kept in the back of the readers mind when contining reading. It can also to slowly introduce the scene and setting rather than just dive into the scene suddenly, and sometimes it is to counter balance to opposite page for compostional purposes. In some cases, the whole page bleeds out to make the character feel like he is loosing control, emphasied by the sound effects expanding in size also. 

The last thing I'll mention that McCloud said, was something I had thought for a long time myself, and that was why he decided to illustrated the entirerty of his novel himself. "When an artist changes half way through and ongoing series, the audience feel like they're favouraite characters have been replaced by drawings of their favouratie characters." What McCloud meant by this, was that when a comic is read the audience likes the characters the way they are, it is how they look, even if so cartoon like. That is the world they exist in, and how, to the audience, they look. When the artist changes, the audience don't see they same expressions or body language in those characters, and so they don't feel the same. The best correlation I could make to this is a beloved televison show, changing cast each season or series. They just would not be the same as different actors take different aproaches with the dialouge and characters, which is why I prefer comics fully illustrated and written by the same team, and minum per volume.

Writing the Script

Previous scripts.
Here we had to decide on what comic to write. Previously, I had written four sixteen to twenty page scripts for some of the four main characters, planning to be approximately sixty pages each when story boarded. This, though the approximate length, I chose against using. The reason for this, is that I wanted something that could be a test piece. Like a pilot comic, something that can include the main characters, introduce the world, and has tense, action, and calm scenes. This was so we can display our ability to illustrate these scenes and use paneling effectively and differently depending on the scene, while telling the story.

Writing the script.
After Callum wrote new material for the comic at twenty one pages, he then gave it to me for editing. Realizing that the script was too long, I had to remove alot of its content, despite it being really well written and exciting stuff. I decided to focus on the first scene as I felt it was the highlight, introduced the characters and had a semi-conclusion. (At the end of the scene there is then a passage for a long time so it needed to have a end).

After condensing the work, I re-write elements to include one of the main characters (Ambam, highlighted in yellow). Once I read this a few times I realized something wasn't working about it. The character I included felt too forced into the story, and unrelated to the rest of the cast of characters and generally unnecessary. So I scraped it.

The second attempt went far better, and I was able to include more characters. The scene now has a more predominant ending, Ambam fits in better as someone goes and gets him (as he's the sheriff) to deal with the situation in the saloon. The vigilante is Sawyers friend rather than just another random character who happens to be there which gives all the characters a reason for being there instead of it all being by chance. Jenny works in the Saloon. Sawyer and Bill had been having a drink there before Sawyer tried to chat up Jenny. Ambam is told to go because of the fight, and Gustave is there because he's after Jenny's 'lucky feet'. I also re-wrote some of the dialogue for these characters and they would act and speak differently than the previous character who filled that space in the story (such as the sheriff tortoise is now a bounty hunter wolverine, both who tell Gustave to leave as they both want him taken to jail, tortoise for his job and the bounty hunter for the reward).

Wild Life: Anatomy and Expressions

Here I decided to practice illustrating some of the main characters in the Wild-Life universe. As previous feedback was that I should practice anatomy, that was the first thing on my list. To do this, I decided to use some reference of something the characters body should be like, such as Akira's body being largely based of Pauline Nordin, and Ambam being built like a strongman. Once I found some reference material to practice these bodies or bodies like them, I then illustrated these bodies onto my characters, which changed their faces, but also often hands, feet, lengths of arms and lengths of legs. Sometimes I used reference material (such as below) to create the body, and when I was confident I made up some poses. Below are the final character boards for character anatomy.

After this, I started to look at expression. I wanted to be able to draw the main characters with various expressions as they often have faces for which there is no reference. I wanted to be confident in drawing these characters in a range of expressions regardless weather they would be the type of character to make said expression, their face should still be able to make it. Below are my quick tries at each characters expression which helped me figure out the three dimentionality to their faces and how it works anatomically.

Researching Comics: Hellboy

Something I noticed when reading through Mike Mignola's Hellboy series was that these panels generally square boxes with straight lines and the story is told in the frame. What I found that I did not expect was the imaginative use of colour. For example, the page below when Hellboy gets angry and 'snaps' in Hellboy: Seed of Destruction the background turns red. This is used to convey the violence and intensity of his rage, silhouetting his body against the void world of is uncontrollable fury. This is also used for another character in Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others.

One other very interesting thing I found in this comic was for a series that doesn't play too much with the panel layout, was this page, (below). Here there is an eerie menacing young boy, completely breaking the fourth wall. He only appears for a short time, but the way he stares at the reader with a sinister smile and actually cuts through the panel with scissors makes him menacing. It is more his behavior than his design that makes him so creepy, like he's fully aware he is in a comic book, making him feel more like a real thing trapped in a book.

Researching Comics: The New 52! Catwoman Volume 1: The Game

This comic uses layout very well in my opinion. In the image to the left, the background behind the panels is splattered with blood to emphasis the violence happening off shot, which I thought was a very clever was of showing violence without actually showing violence.

The panels are also used on angles to show suspense and action, such as this page to the left as Catwoman knows someone off the roof of a building, breaking a romantic moment into a action scene.

The last point I will make that I liked about this comic was the use of sound effects in text. This is used such as how the whip reaches its limit and stretches. To show this, the 'FUUUNG' sound is written bold and sharply as the sound would be heard, and also vertically like the whip and to show how the sound is travelling. These are elements I feel are very important in making a comic easier to believe and add physics to the page.

Researching Comics: Sin City

Sin City uses panelling in a very different way. Because the pages are A5 in size the panels appear larger than the average coming, leaving less in the page, usually about two or three per page. Also, the monologue text is often placed beside the panels, perhaps to separate it from the reality of the world, or perhaps just to make it easier to read.

Even the action is done differently. Conventionally, the page has more panels juxtapositioned in the page to make it look more exciting and fast. In Sin City, the panels become more frequent during suspense, and wider during the actual action.

This is also displayed on the image below. The center focus of Sin City is lighting. Almost all the pictures are made up of where the light hits the characters and environments, making lighting a key factor to seeing what is going on in the panels. Lightening is used in all comics, and is obviously key to seeing things as it would otherwise be in total darkness, but the point I am trying to make is that Sin City exists in a style of mainly two colours; black and white, and most of the time the only visible elements of this world are so because of the lighting and how it hits the subject of the panel.

One of the best things about Sin City in my opinion is the writting. The descriptive nature and use of metaphors really make the city feel more like a character than a place the characters inhabit, and it really helps the reader feel like they are in Sin City, (which is amplified by the the crossing use of 1st and 2nd person).

"I love the rain. I love the icy way it creeps down my neck. The way the air goes electric and everything seems so clear. You breath in and your nostrils work." 

Obviously your nostrils work, but by using this language to relates to the reader how they have felt fresh air that can be cold but awakening on a winters day, and using these connections know how it feels to be in Sin City. Essentially, it is very well written; descriptive, detailed, expressive and vivid. 

Researching Comics: Danger Girl

 Danger Girl is a comic I have read before, but want to re-look at it and decipher what makes it so compelling, besides the art and style that I have always adored for its use of facial expressions that are so characterful, exaggerated anatomy that is always perfectly drawn, .

Reading through this, it isn't the corny jokes, or the cheesy script full of cliche's that make Danger-Girl such a good read, but the way it is so face-paced and constantly engaging. The way this has been done is by the original font used, tight but wide, compact and letters being close together but easy to read. This lets the eye guide through the text quickly giving the book a fast paced approach.

Also, the panels are drawn unusually. Many comics use panelling in boxes during conversations and normal scenes, but use the panels to create excitement by using them creatively around the page, often overlapping, have characters or weapons bust out of their boxes and over other panels. In Danger Girl, the latter is used almost constantly. The page layout and the panels have been thought about, in my opinion, far more than they are in Blacksad, which almost always has its characters confined to the boxes of the page. Using this kind of panelling adds suspense and excitement, as each page is laid out different to the last. For example, the image below the one to the left of this text, uses a panel drawn rougher and on an ankle to show the pain of the two captured characters being kicked.



This approach is used often in the book, such as in the double page spread below where a character gets angry (slanted and rough panel of eyes) and then kicks a male character in the genitals (in which a metaphorical picture is used to describe his pain). This kind of inventive page layout is another reason Danger Girl is such a fun and brilliant book.

Researching Comics: Saga

This is a comic that had been highly advised to me, by more people than I can count, so I decided to read it.

Saga is, without doubt, one of the best comics running at the moment. It is written amazingly, the characters, specifically Alana and Marko are so likable and human that it really makes the series more exciting. Their relationship has been crafted and written so honestly and how the couple talk and seem to know each other so well it feels very real. The humuor is actually funny, (something I find is rare in comics), a which only makes the audience like them more. Their story (two soldiers from opposite wides of a war that neither want a part off) are trying to escape escape the planet with their new born baby (who is the narrator of the story), is only one of three in the first volume.

 What else Saga does magnificently, is really doesn't have good and evil characters. Purely all the characters are just trying to survive in this violent universe, for example, another of the characters story (Will) and his cat that can tell when people are lying, is a bounter hunter hired to pursue the couple. All these stories happen while also slowly explaining and introducing this world and the politics waging inside it, and the audience likes all the characters, despite them being against each other.

The design work is completly different to anything I have ever seen before, lying between anthropomophic fantasy and Sci Fi. Initailly some of the designs seem very strage but because the world is so well crafted and the characters so engaging the reader is quickly absorbed into this world and accept them as how diverse this universe is.

The series has been very carfeuly considered, in terms of the universe they inhabit, how the characters and their personalities have been written and how unique the series is through being so different to anything else out there.

Researching Comics: Blacksad

Blacksad is an detective story set in 1940's France, with a very film noir feel. The comic is written by Juan Diaz Canales and illustrated by Juanjo Guarnido, (who formally worked at Disney).

In my opinion, the art is the best thing about Blacksad. It is beautiful. The anthropomorphic characters are extremely expressionful, and illustrated perfectly in every drawing. The writing and story are also brilliant, with characters being very individual. My only issue with the comic, is something artist Jim Steranko talks about in the introduction.

"Rather than animals who look like people, the creators' approach is predicated on people who resemble animals. There's a major difference and it's not as remote as it seems. Who hasn't linked a shrill librarian to a bird or a construction worker to a bear or an old aunt to a cow? By animalising their characters, Guarnido and Diaz invite readers to enter an arena where the animals are somewhat less than funny - one that is relatively easy to accept because the premise is so charming and skillfully conceived." - Jim Steranko

The issue I have is that while the art and world are brilliantly done, there is alot of missed opportunities lying in the basis of the world. For example, the height of the characters. Blacksad, the main character who is a cat (and I mean like house cat not big cat) is a similar size to the Polar bear character. What I am trying to say is the characters have the height range of humans, not animals. Personally I think the scale of different animals would have been brilliant to see, and how they live together. Perhaps I think this is because I came too the same creative decision about size and chose the opposite, confident that it would be a far more interesting and make the world more diverse. Loosing this also looses some of the most fascinating qualities of animals, such as the sheer size of a bear or even an elephant and how impressive, powerful and daunting that can be. All this is lost, making these characters look weaker than the animal they are based on actually is.

The other issuse I have is the level on anthropomorphism is somewhat inconsistent. Such as Blacksad doesn't have a tail. Why? no idea. But some other characters do, such as the Artic fox. This I found was strange and made the world feel, poorly designed. There is also no talk of where the carnivores food comes from, soon as their normal diet are now living people. My final criticism is similar to the one above: the women. The women have female human bodies, hair and only really have snouts that resemble animals at all, which makes it very difficult to figure out what animal it is meant to be.

This said, Blacksad is still an extremely good comic that I really do highly recommend. I think that the reason I find these 'areas for improvement' or things I would change, is because it does bare many resemblances to the anthropomophic world we are creating, but there is so much I have and will choose to do differently. In Blacksad, it just feels unnecessary to the story that these characters are animals, as it serves no real purpose other than it looks good, which to me, feels like opportunities wasted. That said, it is still one of the best comics out there at the moment, if not for anything else the incredible art makes it worth the price.

The Map Final

 The last task we had was to design a font. However, remembering a font we had seen earlier we re-traced it for inspiration at it had the right feel we wanted to capture. (The way we described it to each other was a western feel with loose and 'wild' strands coming off the text, similar to the Pirates of the Caribbean logo but more exaggerated and western feeling). We found this perfectly in a font called 'Bleeding Cowboys,' a font we had seen before but quickly realized it was everything we wanted it to be. We contacted the owner, Guillaume Seguin about the possibility of using this font for a educational and commercial purposes and this was the following conversation:

As a very happy customer, we went on to edited our map with this new font. We used the arc tool when writing text in Photoshop to bend the text around the map, and quickly have the whole map nearly finished. (I completed the land masses I designed, the North, Earth and Island, and Callum completed the land masses he designed, The West, South, and the Key).

Our final map is pictured below. I am very proud of this design, and although it looks very much how I first envisioned it I do not consider that a bad thing. Each place is diverse and highly detailed, and has lots of history and lore of this world within. Callum used this Bleeding Cowboys font the produce a new logo with some extra 'strands' he edited himself, to use on this map. 

All characters, designs, and logos are Copyright © Callum and Stuart Brown 2014

Map Background

Here I made a background to the map we had produced. To do this, I tea-stained paper and sprinkled salt over it (whilst still wet) to create an interesting effect, something I used to use in A-Level. Instead of using the harsh contrast of Coffee stains as I used to, I decided to use Chilli Spice, for a lighter effect that wouldn't blend with the pen marks of the map so much, and I was very happy with the result, after of course it had dried. This is the background I would overlay the actually map image onto to to age the picture, and if successful, then create a font to label the map effectively.

Designing the Map - The Center

The Center

The Giba Diramus
Based on the Twelve Apostles, the giba diramus translates as the 'Stone Tree's. These islands stand Tall and individually as nests for tribes of birds attempting to stay far away from the danger of predators and the Northern Empire.


Brimstone Mountain
This is the mountain the Dragon burst out from in the the beginning of the Dark Ages, exploding from underground flattening the woods surrounding it, much like Mount St Helen's. In the modern age, tribes live around the mountain worshipping its ancient power, and heat it provides.


Tahnee Rock
Tahnee Rock is a location that provides a great deal of shade for creatures, based on wave rock in Australia. It is carved by the dragons tail as he burst out from his brimstone mountain and made his destructive path through the natural world.

Groundwod Forest
So called because of a large percentage of the forest being flattened during the Dragons eruption, the forest extends for much further, flourishing, providing homes and food more tribes.


Port Bunyip
Bunyip meaning: Devil/evil spirit/monster, the land is so called by the natives after the arrival of the Britroft Fleet, who captured their creatures and forced them into their self-built and dreaded 'CAGE'.

The Cage
The Cage is set out into thirteen blocks by the Northern empire, who take over certain lands and place creatures in different areas of this god-forsaken place; The Entrance, Breeding, Whores, Miners, Food, Harvest, Medical, Armoury, Aviary, Fishing, Venom draining, and Storage.

The Entrance
This is where all the creatures are brought in via the ships. The ones that make it out, are done so opposite the same entrance (so the entrees can see) as an exit to a worse fate..
- Breeding
These creatures are forcefully bred to create attractive offspring to become whores, or strong offspring to become workers.
- Whores
As it states, these creatures are considered attractive and therefore sold as sexual slaves, male and female alike.
- Miners
Here the strong creatures are selected to become miners, and work to dig for precious metals, which are turned into weapons for the Northern army.
- Food
These creatures are considered weak and of no value, and so sold to carnivores as food to be eaten.
- Harvest
These creatures are used to be harvested, weather that be cutting off their horns, antlers and tusks to make drugs, or to by plucked to be sold as decorative purposes.
- Medical
This is the smallest location of all, for medical attention to the creatures worth saving for profit. The ones not worth saving are put to the slaughter house.
- Slaughter House
If completely useless, these creatures are killed, or sold to be killed for sport.
- Aviary
This is where the birds are kept. Birds can be hard to control and catch, and therefore require their own section where they are sedated. They are usually harvested, or sold as whores once their wings are taken away.
- Fishing
Across the island, while the prison id being kept some officers fish for fun or professionally, all collections are brought to the Cage for processing and to be sold. Lochtown's Fish are also brought here.
- Venom draining
This is where venomous reptiles are brought, chained up and drained for their poison to be used in the Northern War against the East and South.
- Storage
If a creature is not yet required but could serve some use in the future, i.e, needs fattening up, muscular build, or to become in season to breed, they are placed here.
- Armoury
This is a location where any potential weapons harvested are kept for future use, for the North's arsenal.

Designing the Map -The East

The East 

The Lùzhàng Wall
This place was meant to be heavily based on the great wall of China, and for this world be a place that was built to stop the Northern invasion. I felt it should be based on this place hence forth, but also be a bit more rugged looking and less 'designed' as it should have been built in a ruse for defence, and not meant to look pretty.

Victory Bay
This is a place meant to be a previous ownership of the East but has been taken over by the North, therefore has Northern dialect in the name. It is based on a more English looking port, such as Port Royal in Pirates of the Caribbean, which gives a very English vibe.

The Haunted Shore
Here is where the Vikings invaded the East, even though on the same side as the Britroft, they evaded separate lands to let their people work in the separate ways they do. They are a team who can work separately but equally efficiently, and conquer more land than they could either wise.

Héchuáng Way
This was a empty riverbed that was a clear path to the East before the wall was built, and somewhere the armies of the North still used to travel by. Either way, travel pass or not, it still provides shelter for squadrons of the North While preparing their army...

Jiānhùrén City
This is a city built for the wealthy of the country, (and based on the forbidden city). A place of luxury, the poor must work to provide for it, and the only creature that can enter can do so only by the order of the emperor. There is only one entrance and one exit, that can only be used before dark and after dawn. In this city there is a shaving house, where the horned species (such as Rhino) must have their horned shaved to provide a drug like substance. The Aviary must provide feathers for decoration, and clothing. The Poison House must have reptiles provide poison for the weapons of the country, and the Geisha house provides pleasure for the army and wealthy men. 

The Shilin Ruin
This is exactly based on the Shilin, (stone forest). I found this place so other-worldly and unique, that I couldn't help but include it. It had so much potential and story telling opportunity that I felt I couldn't;t help but use it. I decided to use it as a mountain range that had be eroded by the ice and fire war between the Mammoth and Dragon in the dark ages, and is now used as a training ground for Ninjas.

The Dìwèi Mountains
These are the same mountain range as the Shilin, but have survived the battle between Mammoth and Dragon.

The Xiézhù Castle and the Bǎohù Mountains
This is a mountain range that safeguards the Eastern Pass, where Eastern armies can travel pass undetected by the North and gain access to the Frozen Forest an heart of the North.

The Hépíng De Waterfall
This was based on Kegan falls, and in this world a peaceful  place before voyagers take they're way on the Eastern Pass. It is often described as a romantic location for lovers and bathing, and it is rumoured to give strength to the skin.


The Misty Biānjiè
This area was heavily based on the Tainzi mountains, tall, thin, and misty. It will provide a good area for Samurai training and a very visually impressive environment, which will be predominant in the overall story of Wild-Life.

Xiě hóngsè Bay
This area was based on the Red Sea Beach, China. But somewhere so strange looking in nature I wanted to include, and the idea that it is bright red works as in our world as it can be perceived as a place of violence, in the present or past, stained in the passage of time...(It will be opposite the ancient reign of Gustave Sobek).

Huángjīn Shuǐ River
Based on the Yellow River in China, this river gains its gold clolouring via the Enchanted Mountain, home of the Ancient Asian Elephant. This river works its way thought the county and lets itself out at the sea, where its spells merge with the natural sea, lowering massively the percentage of its power.

Xuányá Stronghold
This is a stronghold of the South-West of the East, where the creature of the homeland where driven out by the invading forces of Britroft. They retreated to Xuányá Stronghold to stay safe and no wive within the confinements of its walls.

Shì jí City
This city is built by the infiltration and invasion of the North and the need to trade goods for survival by the natives of the land. A massive Market is now the reality of this place where many come to exchange goods.

The Chànggē Sand Dunes 
These sand dunes where based on the singing sand dunes found all over the world, but in this world hold a far different secrets to what scientist have found in our world. Here they are the rumblings Dinosaurs in slumber after their defeat in ancient times.

The Diūshī Shiwreck
Here is a location also based on true events, where shipwrecks can be found in the middle of the desert, I wanted to use this as a source of mystery and intrigue. There is history based behind this, as it is somewhere King Bolon had adsorbed to sustain is ice-based powers, and to provided passage for his army.

Fánghù De Plains
This is an area that no creature travels due to its closeness to its enemy borders. Despite the wall, it is still considered dangerous to travel these plains incase the enemy break through, and the land on the other side of the Lùzhàng Wall is thought to be cursed, which is why no creature dare travel across the same earth.

Designing the Map: The North

Here is a more detailed drawing of the North. I have annotated the map with screen shots from the documentaries I have been watching, inspiration I have been looking at and other things that I have subconsciously taken influence from that I feel give a good representation of the kind of atmosphere and appearance for the location I want. I did this so when looking at the map the audience can visualise each location and I don't need to complete concept for each one as this would take a great deal of time, and is unnecessary when I have so many beautiful locations already available to me that the natural planet has provided.

The North

The Tusk Ridge Mountains
This area will look much like the Himalayas, a long range of mountains that from above look like a elephant tusk. I designed this in "Osvaldr" (meaning divine power/divine ruler in old Norse) as it is where the creator lives in secret, in his physical form (a Mammoth).

Lochtown
This was simply meant to be a small fishing village built next to and on the Loch. These people fish for their living and bring it down to the other cities to trade for other products, weather they be food, medicenes, or new technologies.

Loch Moress
I named this huge Loch in a combination of Loch Morar and Loch Ness, both in Scotland and both with reported sightings of a monster living in the Loch. So it wouldn't be hard to guess, something lurks in these waters too....

The Lost Twin Lochs
These I used inspiration from Frozen Planet where I saw lakes forming in the ice in Antarctica, that then form rivers that carve valleys in the ice leading to the sea. I also found out about Waterfalls that freeze solid on this programme. So I combined these ideas and had a Loch in the ice, that leads to a frozen waterfall, with a Loch beneath that, so both Lochs contain the same fresh water, hence the name "Twin Lochs."

The Frozen Forest
This is another this I found on Frozen Planet that amazed me. Its a species of tree that can survive in sub-zero temperatures for months at a time, so the forest can be plunged under snow and look like giant snow sculptures, and still survive. This I felt was something that was so incredible that I really wanted to include it as part of the world, so I did in the form of somewhere that can provide shelter for travellers of the Eastern Pass and other settlers.

Gulbrandr Castle
This I knew would be where Bolon the Ice King lived. So his castle had to be menacing but secluded, as male Polar Bears are solitary creatures. I used inspiration from a design I produced for a previous university project, as well as some other menacing castles surrounded by mountains, as mine is. Conisedently, both these are designs for Dracula's castle.

The Eastern Pass
The Eastern Pass starts in the East, and moves across Northern territory via a part of the sea that freezes in winter (this was an idea from our creative consultant Greg Shakkleberry). The reason it is called the Eastern Pass, is it is a way for the eastern army to travel unnoticed to the heart of the North, past Gulbrandr Castle and to the Frozen Forest.

City of Volundr
This city was designed to much more of a viking/ medieval city. I wanted it to look like somewhere that belonged in Lord of the Rings or Skyrim, but more brutal. I had to be set on top of ice and snow and look like a place where life is tough. I choose cities near sea as mine would be, and wanted mine to look similar to the architecture I found in these designs.

Port of Engton
This is a location that was based on Britain, but due to the reduction of space in comparison to our world, has become a small port. It looks most like the river Thames location Sherlock Holmes (Guy Richie Version).

City of Britroft
This City was largely based of London 1800's - early 1900's, and mainly the look director Guy Richie gave it in Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Its far more mysterious, smokey, gritty, and dangerous looking.

Caisteal Island
" Caisteal" is Gaelic for Castle, hence the name for the place based on Eilean Dolan Castle. This I imagined as a place based fro a highland cow character who is Scottish and in kilt, but looking more warrior-esque. More like William Wallace in Brave Heart than the traditional kilt dress.

Translations

After designind the inital map, I wanted the locations I had labeled to be named intelligent names, that actually mean something rather than be chosen at random.

With this, I labeled all the places on the map and then considered what kind of language would suit this part of the world. With the North, I wanted it to sound very Nordic and Celtic, so I used the Gaelic language and Old Norse, (using this website to translate Norse words)

For the center world, I knew it was based on Australia, so used aborigine words for the locations there.
I used this website to get these translations.

For the east, I found this harder to find clear translations. Knowing this, I decided list the words I needed translating and gave it to a trusted friend fluent in Cantonese to translate the words.

There were also some other words I used but these were mostly words I already know or things easy to find out.

Chinese - Cantonese

Guardian                       监护人          Jiānhùrén

Gold Water                     黄金水          Huángjīn shuǐ

Stone Forest                   石林            Shílín

Singing                        唱歌            Chànggē

Cliff                          悬崖            Xuányá

Safeguard                      保护            Bǎohù

Fishing                        钓鱼            Diàoyú

Port                           港口            Gǎngkǒu

Paper                          纸              Zhǐ

Stolen                         偷              Tōu

Divided Mountain (‘border’)    边界            Biānjiè

Empty                          空的            Kōng de

Silk                           丝              Sī

Barricade                      路障            Lùzhàng

Shielded                       防护的          Fánghù de

Tea                            茶水            Cháshuǐ

Lost                           丢失            Diūshī

Riverbed                       河床            Héchuáng

Rice                           大米            Dàmǐ

Shaving                        剃须            Tì xū

Standing                       地位            Dìwèi

Peaceful                       和平的          Hépíng de

Aiding                         协助            Xiézhù

Poison                         毒药            Dúyào

Armoury                        兵工厂          Bīnggōngchǎng

Dinosoaur                      恐龙            Kǒnglóng

Market                         市集            Shì jí

Hot Springs                    温泉            Wēnquán 

Blood red                     血红色           Xiě hóngsè

Enchanted                     用魔法迷惑        Yòng mófǎ míhuò

Enhantor                      行妖术的人        Xíng yāo shù de rén

Aborigine

Submerged rocks/ Sea over rocks                               Bombora 

Devil/evil spirit/monster                                     Bunyip

Wave                                                          Tahnee

Stone                                                         Giba

Tree                                                          Diramu

Bird                                                          Binyang

Heat/ place with extensive view                               Yuruga

Water                                                         Badu

Fire                                                          Guwiyang 

Old Norse

Secret Lore                            Runi

Forest Warrior                         Vidarr

A road up a steep hill                 Peth

Dragon/serpent/snake                   Ormr 

Gods sword                             Gulbrandr

War territory /battlefield             Volundr

Battle/fight/warrior/fighter           Þórvé

Divine Power/Divine ruler              Osvaldr 

Gaelic

Waterfall                     Eas

Castle                        Caisteal

Other

Eskimo Backwards                                       Omikse

Famous Scottish Loch monster                           Morar

Famous Scottish Loch monster                           Nessie

Low-lying river side meadow                            Haugh

A wide valley                                          Strath