FANTASY WORLD-BUILDING by Mark Nelson is a great book on everything fantasy. It was packed with illustrations, ideas, and the basics of creating one’s own fantasy world. Whether you are an illustrator or a writer, this book is a perfect way to inspire new ideas. Some of the topics were basic (animals, birds, wardrobe, etc.), while others were detailed (warfare, survival, etc.). I’m busy creating a fantasy world of my own and found the illustrations and topics very useful. It made me think further about how I want the world to look, feel, and sound. I definitely recommend this to any creative person who likes creating their own fantasy world and having inspiration close by.

A very fascinating book that combines ideas for world-building with the many thought processes of Mark Nelson, While the material itself is basic (but expansive), the artwork is the cherry on top. You don't need to be a fan of roleplaying games (but it certainly helps!) to appreciate this small volume that helps get you thinking.

This is a visually stunning guide for illustrators and visual artists. I particularly liked sections dedicated to animals. It shows how to spark wonder and make your art fit a fantasy world.

Drawing from reality is already difficult enough, so how to create an immaginary world in a credible way? This guide breaks down in manageable steps this overwhelming task. Taking the elements from the richness of the real world, mixes them all up, while answering the five ws (plus how), borrowed from journalism.
Characters, their clothing, food, habitat, transportation, buildings, weapons, spirituality and so on, are treated. Characters are build from birds, mammals, insects, reptiles and fishes. Also different media as graphite, watercolour, brown and black ink, digital are used. Minimal text, very simple and comprensible, richly illustrated with high quality drawings. Obviously the guide is a starting point and your company on the way, you have to do your own homework.