How I use worldbuilding to never run out of ideas
A simple framework for staying creative, inspired, and focused.
If you’re like me, then sometimes it’s just hard coming up with concrete ideas, whether it’s for artwork, for game worlds, for a short story, or anything else.
In this newsletter I am going to go through my process of worldbuilding, and share some of the benefits I’ve found from building my own grimdark fantasy world.
Why did I start worldbuilding?
About a year ago I had two big issues. I had a hard time coming up with ideas for new illustrations for my portfolio, and I had started designing a simple video game, but it felt kind of hollow, with no real world behind it. So I started thinking about the world that it inhabited, to give it more flavor. That’s when I started worldbuilding, and quickly realized I could use it generate ideas, to practice my illustration skills.
A world for my game and my illustrations to live in.
I started early this year, 2025. And I’ve worked on it a little bit, every now and then. Mostly as part of me working on the video game, and when I’ve had time between illustration work and other projects.
It’s a lot of fun. A way to really explore my creativity and artistic tastes. Because I kind of see it as a result or extension of the type of stories, media, and creative work I am personally drawn to.
Similar to when me and my friends started our band back in 2013. The music almost automatically became a sort of imitation of the bands we enjoy listening to, but filtered through our different personalities and tastes, and into songs in the area where our tastes overlap. The big difference with the worldbuilding, being that it’s my own project, only my own ideas, and only me saying what’s cool enough or too boring to be part of the project.
Where do you start?
I think you can start anywhere really, just follow your excitement and inspiration. I started writing short snippets about locations, characters, fantasy races and factions. Jumping between really big picture stuff, and down into details when I felt like it. And slowly it is shaping itself into a world.
I usually get an idea for a place or a character and start writing about it, and then I move to something else related to it, because that’s where my imagination goes, so might as well follow it. After all, I do it when I am inspired and to just have fun with it.
Every story needs a conflict.
I try to build everything around some sort of main conflict. Whether it’s between factions or between characters, or an inner conflict. A good conflict is the main building block for storytelling, and in the world I am building, the main conflict is between an old king trying to hold on to power, and to keep everything stale and unchanging - and a religious group, worshipping the “God of Strife”, with their main objective being to bring about change in any way possible. So the conflict is basically the struggle between chaos and order, in the shape of two factions, with different objectives and desires.
Using the world as a spring board.
So from the world, the factions, characters and conflicts I get ideas for small scenes, environments, and concepts, that I write and sketch out. They can become just small tidbits or descriptions to further visually develop. And could become full illustrations, or maybe graphics or concept art for the game I am working on. I never really intended to learn concept art or visual development, and I wouldn’t say that I am that kind of artist. First and foremost I love pure illustration work and fine art. But this type of creative exploration has come as a fun result of worldbuilding.
On visual development and concept art.
With that said, it’s a really fun part of the creative process. And I don’t really worry whether it’s “good or bad art”, the important thing is it’s function. That it forces me to *visually develop* the world and my ideas behind it. That it communicates the right story and emotions. And as I keep writing, and drawing, I am learning more about how to keep it cohesive, and grounded in one singular world.
For me that means everything needs to have some sort of logical coherence and basis in this grimdark fantasy world I’m creating. It needs to feel like it exists in the same time and space, and in more or less the same development of a civilization. Characters within a race or culture, needs to have visual cues to show their status, their backgrounds, their personalities, their vocations, and so on.
Hardy Fowler has some great videos on this, check him out if you want more in depth guidance.
I haven’t gotten far with the visual work yet, as I am jumping between the game development side of it, the writing, and the drawing, and everything else I am doing. But I do enjoy the work very much, when I take the time to do it.
Sometimes I actually get a bit stressed out over all of my different ideas, but I have come up with a pretty good prioritization system. More on that in another newsletter.
A new way of creating personal artwork.
Worldbuilding has taught me how to create in a deeper, more focused way. So now, when I sit down to make a personal illustration, I can let it become a piece of the whole, a piece of the puzzle that is the world. And by doing so, I am building something bigger than just the standalone artwork. Also I kind of have it in the back of my mind all the time, so that when I consume games or movies or books or YouTube videos, I can grab on to certain ideas that could fit in my world.
It’s not the only way to make art, but for me, it’s a more rewarding one, as every new piece becomes part of a bigger world. And it feels like it is really good for my creativity in general. I’ve even started enjoying the actual writing itself. So far it’s quite rudimentary of course, but it’s an enjoyable complement, which naturally serves as a basis for sketches and artworks.
Always Be Creating.
That’s a mantra I got from Samwise Didier, the artist who gave Warcraft its signature style. A benefit of always creating, is that most of the stuff I create ends up fitting into a project, somewhere, somehow. Either client projects, my worldbuilding, or something else. It’s never a waste of time to sharpen those pencils and doodle while watching a show, or waiting for something.
Have you done any world building lately?
Are you also building a world of your own? Is it for writing, for art, or for music? Perhaps all of them? Comment below and tell me how you use it in your creative process.
I bet it has even more applications than the ones I’ve listed, and if you’ve tried it, I’d love to hear what you’ve done with it.
Thanks for reading, and as always, if you need art for a project, or some guidance in your creative work, get in touch and we’ll see if I can help you out!
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