Developing concepts--where to begin

Developing Concepts-

I develop my ideas through a variety of means.  Some of which seem rather simple, others a bit more complex.  Now the following details somewhat how I can go about developing these things.  I'll make sure to interperse some pictures throughout so you can somewhat see what I mean at time. 

Where to start?

Simply, with an idea.  Always start with an idea.  How do these ideas come about?  That always varies.  Sometimes it is drawing from my own personal experiences.  Sometimes it is through watching a movie, reading a book, or listening to song.  Very rarely is my mind simply focusing on the present.  This can be both a curse and a blessing.  My mind is always wandering thinking about the possibilities.  "What if....?" is perhaps my most thought phrase.  Any simple little thing can represent itself as a trigger.

For instance I was listening to this Taylor Swift song: Speak Now (live performance video) over the summer while I was driving up to the "cabin" in Oakhurst.  Now the song is from the perspective of someone who wants to break up the wedding, but I got to thinking "what if...?"  What if it was the bride that wanted someone to speak now?  What if was an arranged marriage that neither the bride or the groom wanted?  What if it was completely onesided, with the groom forcing the bride to marry him?  What would cause that sort of situation to happen?  What if this story took place in a different world where the groom was the prince and the bride couldn't possibly refuse?  What if the bride was in love with someone else?  What if this was a retelling of a fairy tale?  One thing led into another and suddenly I had a full-fledged idea for a future novel.

Now the important thing I found is that I need to keep track of all these ideas.  I have a separate computer folder and I have a journal, my "Novel Ideas" book, where I keep a written record of these ideas (pun intended).

 Character Design-

Character design is an interesting topic to me.  I like to leave things open to the reader for interpretation, but it still helps to have a visualization of these things.  So I create some rough sketches/concepts to help "give" these characters life.  Sometimes I'll create a full-fledged character profile (typically only for main characters), but most often I just start with a single thing: what purpose does the character have?  From there, I search to discover if the character has more of a story to tell.

I tend to draw with a more "cartoon" style and as such my designs are limited as such.  But things progress.  To help illustrate my process I will share some information about my big project of the moment: my novel tentatively titled Melody.

 Let's start with this  over here ->

This is different representations of a character of mine, Ari. She is a member of my novel's version of a mermaid like species.

This species has several different forms some of which are more humanlike than others. This first picture was a representation of her normal appearance, which in someways is somewhat elvish.



The second picture is a "too comical" version of the first monstrous stage she can enter.



The third picture is a "too vampiric" version of the same concept.



Now you can see a random have doodle of a gavel.



This last picture is a profile of the most monstrous stage of appearance.  As you can see they are rather general, but they certainly get the point across.

The above is some labeled sketches in regards to certain characters as well as some of my random commentary.  (I like to label things)

I create sketches for various clothes/jewelry as well, including the following on amulets. Each of the major races/older countries have an amulet handed down through the generations. The Dragonheart is the one that belongs to Saria, as heir to the throne of her country. It's a dragon wrapped around a large diamond blowing out a fire made out of sapphires (the dark stone in the tail is a larger sapphire). You can also see an idea for a falconclaw (which clutches a gem) and an oyster/pearl motif, among others.

Background Design
I think this is my favorite part of designing: building, landscape, and city design.  For now I'll just post the designs as well as my commentary on the designs.  

 On the right of this section you can see my concept for Ortiaf, a city centered around a university at the edge of the mountains. If this concept was actualized, I think those buildings would collapse because they're so crooked. But you can still get the general idea.



Below that is when the Roserian Guard take over a Raider camp (If you couldn't have guessed). You can see how they are building a camp on the edge of the cliffs. On the cliffside you can see a carved staircase as well as a cave or two (where boats would come to help fuel the town that was nearby).

This top one (in red) is my finalized concept for the Roserian castle's ballroom. Below that you can see some plans for the staircase you see at the left as well as one of the earlier drawings. You can see a color version of these designs  here in this commission. The bottom right is a bedroom design.
Now this picture posted below is a design for another city.  This is what I typically do in that my designs are a combination of sketches and words.  I'll let my somewhat sloppy handwriting speak for itself, but you can still get a general idea.

 
Conclusion

What can you take from all of this?  Something different works for everyone, but I find that this is what works for me.  Experiment and find what works for you.  Whenever I'm struck with an idea, I find someway to record it.  As you can see through these pictures, I wrote/drew these in a variety of notebooks that I eventually sort through and collected the relevant parts into an overall notebook where I place anything and everything related to Melody.  Do what makes sense to you and ultimately you'll love the result!