World Building, Part Eight: Animals
So we've finished with plants for now, although you can go back and do it as many more times as you wish. We're moving on to animals this week, and I plan to cover everything about animals I wanted to get done in one post. This is because animals are so much more complex than plants that there's really only so much guidance I can give you, and also because I'm going to be gone next week. I'm going to be visiting family that I haven't seen in over a year, and I plan to do zero work while I'm gone, lol. This post is longer than normal for both of those reasons. Enjoy!
For the sake of simplicity, I'm including all forms of non-plant life in this, with the exception of whatever species (human or otherwise) your characters happen to be. This might include insects, bacteria, beasts of burden, predators, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures.
Step one: What does your creature eat? This will give you an idea of the population of the creature, as well as where it needs to live. You'll probably want to keep the lists of plants and where they're located nearby for this part. If your creature is an herbivore, they're going to eat plants, and they'll probably have one specific kind they prefer. If you're going to have herds, they'll need food that grows in large quantities. If you have a predator, a carnivore, you'll need to remember that herbivores outnumber them on a large scale, so there aren't going to be many. If your creature is an omnivore, they're more flexible and a lack of plants still means they can eat meat, and vice versa.
Step two: How rare is it? If it's common, like a popular beast of burden (think cattle or oxen) then there are likely to be herds of them. If your animal is more rare than that, how many are there? Is it a large population that's just very good at hiding? Or is it a very small population? The rare animals are likely to be more expensive for characters to acquire, and much harder to find. The common ones, on the other hand, may be cheap and easy. Animals that produce something in demand will be more valuable, especially if there are not very many.
Step three: Where does your creature live? Where it lives will give you some idea of what it will need to look like, and how it will need to behave. So think carefully before you choose. You may want your maps for this to sketch out a range for it; this can give you a guideline to help you decide if there are going to be variations within the species based on location (an animal that lives in a marshy area may have stronger legs for walking through mud than the same animal that lives in a drier area).
Step four: What is it used for? If your story has intelligent life like humans in it, then they'll likely use animal products. Is this animal eaten? Raised for its hair? Bred for milk? Is it a common pet or beast of burden? If it's an insect, it might be captured for use in cosmetics. Perhaps it can be used, like goats, to clear weeds from fields. Or maybe, like bees, you have a swarm of insects that produce something that's consumable (like honey) or used for something else (beeswax, perhaps?), or even used as a catalyst for something else, like how bees pollinate various plants to help them produce fruit.
Step five: If it has a practical use, is this creature raised specifically for that purpose? Some animals, like cattle, are raised for their meat and milk on a large scale. Other animals, like mountain lions, are not. That's probably because the meat either isn't that good, or trying to raise giant, predatory cats on a large scale is extraordinarily stupid, but my point still stands. If this animal has a use, is it raised at all for that reason? Is it too dangerous to do on a large scale?
Step six: Is this creature dangerous to humans? Is it, like a mountain lion, dangerous because it's large and predatory? Or is it like a poisonous spider? Maybe it's harmless to humans, but deadly to its prey. If it's dangerous, how is it dangerous? Venom? Size? Temperament? Perhaps it's magical. If your characters come across any of these creatures that you're inventing, you'll need to know if they're dangerous or not, and if so, how they're dangerous. Or, conversely, if it's not dangerous at all. Maybe you want a cute, cuddly fur-ball that loves people and is so not dangerous it's safe to leave with newborn babies.
Step seven: Where on the food chain does this creature fit in? Does it have any natural predators? If it's a carnivore, what does it eat? This is unlikely to be important in a story, but it may come in in details to give your world some depth, if, for example, your characters are wandering in a forest and come across a predator hunting another animal. This may also help with step eight.
Step eight: Does this creature have any special survival mechanisms? Can it blend into its surroundings like a chameleon? Does it have poisonous skin? Perhaps it can imitate the sounds or smells of a predator, or can run very fast. Remember, there is a food chain, and every animal on it has abilities and instincts that help it survive. Camouflage is a well-known defense tactic, but there's also speed, flight, some creatures excrete smelly or burning substances, and some, like squid, can release a cloud of ink. If this is a fantasy story, you can add to that the possibility of magical defenses. Invisibility, telepathy, the ability to pass through solid objects. What kind of defenses does it have?
Step nine: How intelligent are these animals? Intelligence in creatures can range widely. Chimps and gray parrots are highly intelligent, while insects are not. You can have many animals, ranging in intelligence from very smart to operating purely on instinct. But you'll need to decide now. If there are any creatures intelligent enough to form any sort of primitive (or otherwise) society, then that will affect other things in the world of your story. If there's a village or city of some sort, that's going to affect trade routes, and you might need to think about how that society is going to affect other things as well, like availability of certain products, and how this group of intelligent or semi-intelligent animals interacts with people. It can also offer interesting subplots.
Step ten: What does it look like? Now that you know what it eats, where it lives, what it's survival mechanisms are, what it's used for, and how intelligent it is, you should be able to use those details to put together a description for it. If it eats meat, for example, you'd give it sharp teeth. If it's self-defense is camouflage, then it's going to look like the area it lives in. If it's an insect collected for use in cosmetics, it probably glitters or is brightly colored. You'll want to take into account its habitat, and the way it either hunts or forages for food as well. If it eats fish, it'll probably need a beak, or hands of some sort to catch them with. If it lives in the jungle, it will need to be equipped for that, too. Possibly with long, powerful arms for swinging through trees and vines, or a long and thin body for creeping through undergrowth. If it's intelligent, you might want to consider giving it clothing of some kind.
Step eleven: What is this animal's life cycle? This might not be a vital part of your story, but like many other details, it can, if used correctly, provide more depth to the world. If you know, for example, that this insect begins as a caterpillar-type creature, and then forms a chrysalis before hatching into its adult form, you can use it as an example much like we'd use caterpillars and butterflies. If you know the life cycle of a young predator, you could have a character care for a baby until it's an adult, and then release it. If the life cycles of different animals coincide with seasons, you can use the different stages to make your descriptions of the seasons more vivid. You can have live births or eggs, child-tending or abandonment, mating for life or mating for a season, a long cycle or a short one. The possibilities are endless.
Step twelve: Does this creature live alone or in groups? If it lives in groups, is there an alpha male? An alpha female? Is it a family group, or several family groups? How much interaction do they have? If, like in Tarzan, you have a character that spends a significant amount of time with a group of creatures, you'll need to think about how they communicate, and how they help each other and maintain order. If they have a high level of intelligence, there may be relationships and codes of conduct. Each individual may have a specific job that they must perform. If your creature is solitary, how and when does it reproduce? Does it have any positive or negative relationships with others of its own kind, or other creatures?
Step thirteen: Does it migrate? If you have an animal that lives in large groups, there's the possibility that they will migrate, either for mating purposes or with the seasons. Birds, for instance, will fly south for the winter. Maybe your creatures do the same, seeking out warmer weather. Or, conversely, perhaps they head north because they require the cold for some stage in their life cycle. This could be another way to vividly describe seasons, and immerse a reader in your world. It could also serve as an obstacle to a character (example: they have to be somewhere by a certain time, but the annual migration is affecting travel). For sea creatures, they may migrate to warmer or colder waters for mating purposes and/or to give birth.
Step thirteen: Now you'll need to either repeat these steps until you have all the animals you'll need, or borrow some from the real world. Either is fine and both have their benefits. Creating your own is (in my opinion) more fun, while borrowing real ones makes the process go faster. It's up to you. ;)
And, I'm off! This blog post is quite a bit longer than my usual ones, so I hope that keeps you busy for next week, too. Have a nice two weeks, everybody!
For the sake of simplicity, I'm including all forms of non-plant life in this, with the exception of whatever species (human or otherwise) your characters happen to be. This might include insects, bacteria, beasts of burden, predators, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures.
Step one: What does your creature eat? This will give you an idea of the population of the creature, as well as where it needs to live. You'll probably want to keep the lists of plants and where they're located nearby for this part. If your creature is an herbivore, they're going to eat plants, and they'll probably have one specific kind they prefer. If you're going to have herds, they'll need food that grows in large quantities. If you have a predator, a carnivore, you'll need to remember that herbivores outnumber them on a large scale, so there aren't going to be many. If your creature is an omnivore, they're more flexible and a lack of plants still means they can eat meat, and vice versa.
Step two: How rare is it? If it's common, like a popular beast of burden (think cattle or oxen) then there are likely to be herds of them. If your animal is more rare than that, how many are there? Is it a large population that's just very good at hiding? Or is it a very small population? The rare animals are likely to be more expensive for characters to acquire, and much harder to find. The common ones, on the other hand, may be cheap and easy. Animals that produce something in demand will be more valuable, especially if there are not very many.
Step three: Where does your creature live? Where it lives will give you some idea of what it will need to look like, and how it will need to behave. So think carefully before you choose. You may want your maps for this to sketch out a range for it; this can give you a guideline to help you decide if there are going to be variations within the species based on location (an animal that lives in a marshy area may have stronger legs for walking through mud than the same animal that lives in a drier area).
Step four: What is it used for? If your story has intelligent life like humans in it, then they'll likely use animal products. Is this animal eaten? Raised for its hair? Bred for milk? Is it a common pet or beast of burden? If it's an insect, it might be captured for use in cosmetics. Perhaps it can be used, like goats, to clear weeds from fields. Or maybe, like bees, you have a swarm of insects that produce something that's consumable (like honey) or used for something else (beeswax, perhaps?), or even used as a catalyst for something else, like how bees pollinate various plants to help them produce fruit.
Step five: If it has a practical use, is this creature raised specifically for that purpose? Some animals, like cattle, are raised for their meat and milk on a large scale. Other animals, like mountain lions, are not. That's probably because the meat either isn't that good, or trying to raise giant, predatory cats on a large scale is extraordinarily stupid, but my point still stands. If this animal has a use, is it raised at all for that reason? Is it too dangerous to do on a large scale?
Step six: Is this creature dangerous to humans? Is it, like a mountain lion, dangerous because it's large and predatory? Or is it like a poisonous spider? Maybe it's harmless to humans, but deadly to its prey. If it's dangerous, how is it dangerous? Venom? Size? Temperament? Perhaps it's magical. If your characters come across any of these creatures that you're inventing, you'll need to know if they're dangerous or not, and if so, how they're dangerous. Or, conversely, if it's not dangerous at all. Maybe you want a cute, cuddly fur-ball that loves people and is so not dangerous it's safe to leave with newborn babies.
Step seven: Where on the food chain does this creature fit in? Does it have any natural predators? If it's a carnivore, what does it eat? This is unlikely to be important in a story, but it may come in in details to give your world some depth, if, for example, your characters are wandering in a forest and come across a predator hunting another animal. This may also help with step eight.
Step eight: Does this creature have any special survival mechanisms? Can it blend into its surroundings like a chameleon? Does it have poisonous skin? Perhaps it can imitate the sounds or smells of a predator, or can run very fast. Remember, there is a food chain, and every animal on it has abilities and instincts that help it survive. Camouflage is a well-known defense tactic, but there's also speed, flight, some creatures excrete smelly or burning substances, and some, like squid, can release a cloud of ink. If this is a fantasy story, you can add to that the possibility of magical defenses. Invisibility, telepathy, the ability to pass through solid objects. What kind of defenses does it have?
Step nine: How intelligent are these animals? Intelligence in creatures can range widely. Chimps and gray parrots are highly intelligent, while insects are not. You can have many animals, ranging in intelligence from very smart to operating purely on instinct. But you'll need to decide now. If there are any creatures intelligent enough to form any sort of primitive (or otherwise) society, then that will affect other things in the world of your story. If there's a village or city of some sort, that's going to affect trade routes, and you might need to think about how that society is going to affect other things as well, like availability of certain products, and how this group of intelligent or semi-intelligent animals interacts with people. It can also offer interesting subplots.
Step ten: What does it look like? Now that you know what it eats, where it lives, what it's survival mechanisms are, what it's used for, and how intelligent it is, you should be able to use those details to put together a description for it. If it eats meat, for example, you'd give it sharp teeth. If it's self-defense is camouflage, then it's going to look like the area it lives in. If it's an insect collected for use in cosmetics, it probably glitters or is brightly colored. You'll want to take into account its habitat, and the way it either hunts or forages for food as well. If it eats fish, it'll probably need a beak, or hands of some sort to catch them with. If it lives in the jungle, it will need to be equipped for that, too. Possibly with long, powerful arms for swinging through trees and vines, or a long and thin body for creeping through undergrowth. If it's intelligent, you might want to consider giving it clothing of some kind.
Step eleven: What is this animal's life cycle? This might not be a vital part of your story, but like many other details, it can, if used correctly, provide more depth to the world. If you know, for example, that this insect begins as a caterpillar-type creature, and then forms a chrysalis before hatching into its adult form, you can use it as an example much like we'd use caterpillars and butterflies. If you know the life cycle of a young predator, you could have a character care for a baby until it's an adult, and then release it. If the life cycles of different animals coincide with seasons, you can use the different stages to make your descriptions of the seasons more vivid. You can have live births or eggs, child-tending or abandonment, mating for life or mating for a season, a long cycle or a short one. The possibilities are endless.
Step twelve: Does this creature live alone or in groups? If it lives in groups, is there an alpha male? An alpha female? Is it a family group, or several family groups? How much interaction do they have? If, like in Tarzan, you have a character that spends a significant amount of time with a group of creatures, you'll need to think about how they communicate, and how they help each other and maintain order. If they have a high level of intelligence, there may be relationships and codes of conduct. Each individual may have a specific job that they must perform. If your creature is solitary, how and when does it reproduce? Does it have any positive or negative relationships with others of its own kind, or other creatures?
Step thirteen: Does it migrate? If you have an animal that lives in large groups, there's the possibility that they will migrate, either for mating purposes or with the seasons. Birds, for instance, will fly south for the winter. Maybe your creatures do the same, seeking out warmer weather. Or, conversely, perhaps they head north because they require the cold for some stage in their life cycle. This could be another way to vividly describe seasons, and immerse a reader in your world. It could also serve as an obstacle to a character (example: they have to be somewhere by a certain time, but the annual migration is affecting travel). For sea creatures, they may migrate to warmer or colder waters for mating purposes and/or to give birth.
Step thirteen: Now you'll need to either repeat these steps until you have all the animals you'll need, or borrow some from the real world. Either is fine and both have their benefits. Creating your own is (in my opinion) more fun, while borrowing real ones makes the process go faster. It's up to you. ;)
And, I'm off! This blog post is quite a bit longer than my usual ones, so I hope that keeps you busy for next week, too. Have a nice two weeks, everybody!
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