#mk097 art's sake

[mk097worldbuilding]

what’s your name?

“Lydelle.”

Art nodded. “Pleasure to meet you, Lydelle. But-” He suddenly stopped, dropping his crate to quickly stamp with his stub-foot the loose top-stack paper that blew towards the dirt path. “What kind of a name is that?” He then quickly scampered back to the crate and stuck the paper back in its proper clip. “Lydelle.“

The fevana was a ways ahead of him when she called back, barely turning her blonde-tuft head towards him: “What kind of name is Art?”

“Good point,” the Geoxo conceded, quickly hauling himself and the crate over to catch up. “I think,” he continued, resuming a steady pace, “lots of things worked out, you know, for me to deserve a name like that. Mater wanted an electrical engineer, pader wanted an architect.”

They both dropped their crates at the front steps for the others to pick out before turning for the vehicle. “I see,” the fevana then commented. “So you became an artist instead.”

“Yeah.”

“I see,” Lydelle said again. She reached her rolled-up arms over the vehicle’s lowered flatbed to hoist another crate of important info up. The Geomoyle did more or less the same; he pressed his round body against the flatbed wall and dipped down a bit to reach for one of the few crates that had the decency to be sealed up against unfortunate winds.

These winds once again blew, ever dry and light. Lydelle, who had left both cloak and hat in car and was operating in her most practical, grayscale workclothes, did not mind the high sun and the warm winds. Neither did Art, having grown up more frequently in these places.

The fevana was halfway through reminiscing how it wasn’t always like this for her when Art posed an incidental question: “Is Lydelle really your name?”

The answer came after a brief, shrugworthy pause: “Maybe. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering. Seems more like a nickname to me.”

“Is Art really your name?”

Now it was Art’s turn to hesitate. “Yes.”

Lydelle did not react. As she set her crate down near the steps, she mentally conjured up the physical scrapes of the past- most distinctly, the air being much less humid. Ten notches less humid.

“Actually,” Art interjected, suddenly breaking her unfocused focus, “I mean, legally, I could change it to something else like Artime and still-“

[mk097worldbuilding]

NaNoWriMo 2014

currently doing a worldbuilding thing for NaNoWriMo 2014, related to my "Art's Sake" worldbuilding project.

The 'novel' in question is called: "Artistic Integrity"

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site update - Art's Sake Character list now on Gdocs.

Had to move it due to bullet point format errors. See right-hand link.

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Worldbuilding Wednesday

Ask me things. My only project so far is "Art's Sake"; you can ask me about that or about other things related to worldbuilding.

[mk097worldbuilding]

Media choices...

My current worldbuilding project, Art's Sake, would work wonders as a cartoon.

I mean, a lot of what I'm envisioning and worldbuilding about it is just...visual. There's going to be a lot of elements that depend on certain creations running at different frames-per-second simultaneously on-screen, if you catch my drift. There's going to be a certain, "real-life" stylistic feel to "real" characters and incredibly jarring, almost visceral differences for other characters that may be painted with the magic paintbrush.

I'm thinking, if Art's Sake as an animation does see the light of day, it's main stylistic inspirations would be anything Genndy Tartakovsky makes. Line art, color choice, cinematography, etc. And then, when the painted creations roll in, things get radically different. Styles get crossed over with one another. A fight scene's still choreography becomes a shaky-cam as some dude animated on twos jumps in from right frame to assault thick-lined participants running at the same rate Gravity Falls runs at, for example.

Just a few thoughts. I feel Art's Sake through the written medium leans towards the character side of the whole universe the story takes place in. That, too, is important. I need to practice believable character interaction between Art and Lydelle (and the third wheel Artemis) through writing. Things will then fall into place.

Oh yeah and I gotta resume improving my drawing skill. It's important I know how to draw my characters, and so far I don't know how to draw any of them.

[mk097worldbuilding]

Fleshing out character motivation (Art) and themes about art

So...Art's motivation is to create art, given that he left his home in order to find inspiration across the world in order to paint. Sounds fair.

But what is going to make his journey worthwhile? We've got a fuzzball with a magic paintbrush who wants to see new sights, and he uses this magic paintbrush to help and bedazzle people.

There's something profound here but I cannot put my finger on it. There's the obvious "With great power comes great responsibility," for example. Art is wise and well-read enough to know when to use the magic paintbrush. The alternative would be for him to be more impulsive, liberal in his use, to the point where he puts people's lives in danger for his art, but that's saved for another character (Artemis). Something needs to test his mental resolve of responsibility, and that's where I get the idea to have him inadvertently help people.

I read something somewhere about art always being a politicized force, but I can't remember if it was Toni Morrison (link for quote) that gave me the idea first.

And following her quote, perhaps the overall theme connecting Art's stories will be the use of art as negotiating various forms of protest and political power. Which is nice, because there's probably more than one magic paintbrush in the world of Rogucotta. There has to be. Government divisions that go on secret missions to apprehend artsy political terrorists and provocateurs - that's one possibility that I've already thought of for quite some time. Perhaps we can have Art and Artemis dialogue amongst each other about the nature of art in Rogucotta.

The title of this worldbuilding project, "Art's Sake," has much more potential than I first thought. I'm keeping it though I need to find a good linguistic equivalent for the world of Rogucotta. The possibility is slim that a world populated by seven sentient species would adopt the phrase "Art for art's sake" verbatim, though...I'll probably let it slide.

[mk097worldbuilding]

How Art met Lydelle, v1

Having Lydelle just one day wander around and see Art is too awkward and not fleshed out for an encounter, so I thought about it for the past month and here's what I came up with:

...and encounters an old fevan (analogue for "man") with a magical paintbrush who secretly hands him the paintbrush without Art even knowing. So Art continues and somewhere along the way in Weasalpatch he realizes that he has the paintbrush and manages to fool around with it.

Instead of Lydelle just blindly stumbling in, as my original 2012 NaNoWriMo draft had her do, she arrives near Art with a more complete purpose: underneath her fevana tutor and caretaker, she is on assignment to collect artifacts, interview experts and synthesize info about the Great Rogucottan War in 1574 and its fallout afterwards. (Her past, and her rumored cryosleep status, are brought up little by little as she journeys with Art.) We are perhaps introduced to her as an aloof though determined researcher driving in with her truck full of weird equipment that we know little of.

Something happens, I guess Art and Lydelle head to the same place for different reasons, and somehow they meet without Lydelle knowing that Art can bring his paintings to life. Now I need something to make sure Art journeying with Lydelle is a necessity for this story. Perhaps the bond is first established by Art fending off a bunch of carjackers with his painting skills (it is at this moment that Art decides to be non-violent in his approach, more of humiliation and trickery by silly, medium-breaking means) thus saving Lydelle's equipment from destruction and leaving Art with a possible ride north.

Art, having done what he came to the place for, decides to leave north. He's made a few credits off of fresh paintings, and Lydelle is impressed by his artwork and moreover the fact that he has an actual magic paintbrush, which is a rumored device that her caretaker has been looking for for quite some time. Art begins to walk, but sees that the gas tank in the truck is nearly empty, and pays for refueling with some of his credits. Lydelle thanks him, then offers Art a ride. Art thinks about it, and says that he doesn't want to be a burden. He will certainly pay for gas, and will provide any other assistance if needed. Trouble is, he has no final destination in mind. This is serendipitous for Lydelle, for she can keep looking at this new magic paintbrush at work! She agrees to the terms; Art holds to his word and will try to paint a picture for every stop he goes to, in order to perfect his art and broaden his horizons.

Meanwhile, the story's tagline - She's in it for her past. What exactly is her connection to the Great Rogucottan War...?

[mk097worldbuilding]

I just remembered why I called them "Coluphas" now!

Partly. I think it has to do with the Latin word for swan being cygnus and originally I wanted to call the Skyducks that - the Coluphas - the only connection being that both words start with 'c'. Also there was another reason having to do with the 'swansong' Olim lacus colueram, causing me unneeded confusion. Originally I was supposed to call the Skyducks Coluphas and not the snake people Coluphas.

This blog hasn't been updated in a while due to school. Stay tuned for more updates!

[mk097worldbuilding]

Just realized that I forgot why I called the snake people "Coluphas" in the first place.

This is embarrassing and insensitive of me, and I sincerely apologize. I am aware that "Colupha" is one two letters away from Calipha. I do not want to cause confusion; thus I propose a name change in the next few weeks for the snake people.

Possible name changes to: "Anguides" (derived from Latin anguis) or "Coilades" (from word "coil" which I probably derived the original name for the snake people in the first place) or "Sarpedes" (from Sanskrit sarpa).

Does anyone else have any good names for snake people that haven't been used yet?

[mk097worldbuilding]

Art Yolymer is now Art Celseore

After much pondering, I've decided that Art Yolymer's new last name is now Art Celseore. The word "Celseore" comes from Latin "celsior", to be higher, loftier, taller than. Probably describes Art's skill at painting very broadly.

Also, just to keep the art puns flowing: Art Celseore.

[mk097worldbuilding]

Found this through Googling '"magic paintbrush" AND worldbuilding'. Some good things to think about.

[mk097worldbuilding]

Airships

I would imagine that in my world's timeline (1574 is when the Great Rogucottan War begins, 2374 is when Art's Sake takes place) and preceding. airships/zeppelins existed.

One for each known continent, bringing it total to 8 giant (really huge?) airships operating around the world. These airships may have well been the most feared weapons on Rogucotta. They were slow, but armed to the teeth. Not sure with what tech they were armed with, but I'm guessing 1910's-20's IRL tech (dieselpunk?) with a steampunk influence.

And maybe during this time Vankind was researching nuclear fission while making advances on weaponry. So maybe these Airships were also nuclear carriers, which by the time of the Great Rogucottan War contributed massively to the terraforming of the land.

The war wiped out all of the airships. Some were destroyed by their own weaponry; others by a mysterious pulse of energy that emanated around the world, unlike that of nuclear energy.

In the post-war era, salvagers have successfully reconstructed several Airships but not the nuclear technology. Eventually, past 2000 CE, an international standard of law was passed that effectively ended the use of Airships unless in times of major crisis.

Today every continent, even the Snowzone at the South Pole, has an Airship, entrusted to a country's care, all hidden way underground and constantly maintained by military forces. The underground Airships double as housing and tourist attractions.

I'll have to think about the inclusion of Airships some more. I'd want to parallel the short use of airships IRL, too.

[mk097worldbuilding]

Worldbuilding Wednesday: Synopsis of Art's Sake, story mood, call for questions

The basic story so far:

On a journey of self-discovery, a young Autlelan Geomoyle, Art, meets an old Fevan at a bus stop. The Fevan possesses a paintbrush of great magical power, and he produces a bunch of creations before Art's very eyes. Whoever holds this paintbrush holds great power; although the old Fevan refuses to let go of his paintbrush and swears Art never to tell anyone about it, for some reason, he slips the paintbrush inside the traveler's backpack without Art knowing, silently passing on his tool for the next generation to use wisely.

Art later discovers this very same paintbrush in his backpack during a visit with an old friend. He soon paints his first creations to life, and manages to catch the attention of many people.

One of these people is a mysterious Fevan woman only known as Lydelle. Art and Lydelle cross paths not long after Art produces some of his first works with the magic paintbrush. It helps that Art has been a budding artist for quite some time, eagerly honing his craft since childhood and desperate to explore the world at large for more inspiration; the way he paints his works captivates Lydelle, who immediately questions him about what happened to the world while she was away.

Unsatisfied with the answers she has received, Lydelle instead asks Art to accompany her to the center of the former capitol of the Empire of Cilva - Vaerclede. Art reluctantly agrees.

And so Art and Lydelle begin a journey of discovery. Art wants to learn more about the world at large, travel new sights and see new people as a result of his sheltered upbringing. With the magic paintbrush, maybe he can bring joy to someone's life, if he's careful. As for Lydelle, she wants to know what happened to the world's demographics over the last eight hundred years. Why are there as many strange creatures as there are Vankind?

What happened to the world she knew and left behind?

The synopsis is based on the first draft of Art's Sake I wrote for NaNoWriMo November 2012. I'm still tweaking it a bit - I'm still fleshing out Lydelle's motivations for traveling alongside Art, trying to make it more compelling. Other than that I'd leave it enough alone.

So...what exactly do Art and Lydelle do from Point A to Point B? Well, for starters, they don't fight monsters. A lot of story ideas in my head regarding the journey involve conflicts that emphasize identity, emotion, prejudice, ways of seeing things, etc., that are, for the most part, nonviolent. (At least, for these two characters.) Magic realism/sci-fi/slice of life/bildungsroman, I guess.

Starting today I'm asking people who visit the #worldbuilding wednesday tag for input on my stuff, questions, etc. Feel free to ask or submit. I've got a long way to go before I feel this entire universe is fleshed out.

Also, to those of you who are worried about puns being made about art and the character Art: 1) sorry and 2) I guess one of the common languages in Rogucotta (planet where Art's Sake takes place in) is heavily influenced/borrows lots from Latin and 3) I will sometimes be self-reflexive and lampshade hanging about this in the actual story. I imagine Art gets nagged about this kind of thing a lot.

And drawings! Once I finish a lot of sketches I'll be sure to scan and post my concepts. Until then!

[mk097worldbuilding]

Naming the protagonist, continued

So if Yolymer (Yolimer/Yolimar) won't work in Art's name then maybe I can name one of Art's cousins Yolymer. I've had this idea for some time where Art has a female cousin that's into the graphic novel business.

I gotta think of a new name. Here's several I'm pulling off the top of my head, possible conlangs not taken into consideration:

Zeike (if I wanted his name to sound something like "Art's Sake" which I don't want)

Quintes (from Quintus, Latin for fifth)

Agusvrene (from Augustus, "great" or "venerable")

Baldolymer (from Baldomero, Spanish for "brave" + "I'M MY ORIGINAL CHARACTER BLONIC" in regards to previously using Yolymer as a surname)

Baldromere (from Baldomero)

More names to come.

[mk097worldbuilding]

Naming the protagonist

Why is our protagonist called Art Yolymer?

Is it because on a whim I decided to make his name meaningful? That his last name rhyme with Polymer, or a sculpting material?

I Googled the name Yolymer and its similar names Yolimer and Yolimar and got some results: it's a female forename, from looking at the first few pages of results.

I need to name my main protagonist better. I will stick with Art as a first name. Yet I will need another last name that may or may not rhyme with certain art terminology. Yolymer/Yolimer/Yolimar could be a middle name.

Henceforth the character shall be called Art Yolimer [SURNAME GOES HERE]. Kind of.

Maybe I'll change the tags just to be sure. Could a male have a female middle name Yolimer? Is that possible?

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Vankind

or the 'human' and/or 'elf' race in the Art's Sake universe. Ear shapes are defined by genetics, simple as that.

Anyways, recently I found it odd to use Vankind as the only plural for this 'human' race. I tried making up new names for the plural. Huvan sounds too much like human. Ryvan...nah. Fevan - now it sounds too pandering to the fey/fairy/elf connection. Though it could work...

Maybe have all of them exist as alternate plurals? What do you think?