This isn't just about making pretty pictures from your world. Visuals are vital to all kinds of storytelling.

I had an LLM produce a list of things to look for when studying images with a focus on worldbuilding then, as we always should, verified it using what I know about visual storytelling from experience. Here’s how we apply it!

Pick some images you like for inspiring your world. There are plenty of free, public domain or copyright-free sources:

Textures: Poly Haven, CG Bookcase, ambientCG, Texture Ninja, Public Domain Textures.
Photos: Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay.

While all their licenses round up to "public domain," they come with different philosophies that are worth reading and understanding.

It also doesn't hurt to read up on descriptive audio. It's more than that audio track you might have turned on by accident where someone describes what's going on in the movie or TV show. The Audio Description Project is a good place to start. This is one of those examples that shows how combining disciplines makes for better worlds. Other people have already figured out how to do this without LLMs. Learn from them.

After the guide, we’ll use all this to develop a style guide from the world you possibly started building after the previous newsletters, or maybe you already had one.

I mainly toss images at an LLM and tell it to do the analysis following the guide. While I’ve done painting, drawing, and photography and have a good grasp on fundamentals, I’m not great at it. You might prefer a more hands-on approach of doing the analysis yourself, using an LLM in an interactive way to talk about your analysis as you go along.

We use this analysis to design prompts to:

Build visual aspects of our worlds (style guide creation)
Create characters
Put them in scenes
Give those scenes motion (choreography prompts)
Describe and create frames from those scenes to figure out how we want to write our stories and create our images (storyboarding prompts)

You know this works if you follow me on social media, but just in case you came here another way:

The general goal is to encode as much as we can into a toolbox of prompts to keep things consistent. That way when we prompt with something like “[prepared prompt] but [add new thing/change a thing]” it still reflects the overall visual and textual details of our worlds.

If you're reading this on mobile, you might prefer holding it in landscape orientation. The bullet points get a little deep.

The Analysis Guide

I. Core Visual Elements

These are the foundational aspects of any image, and understanding them is crucial before moving to more interpretive elements.

Composition
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Shapes the layout of locations and scenes; conveys visual hierarchy and importance within your world.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Identify key subjects and focal points. What immediately grabs your attention?
    - Analyze visual hierarchy. How are elements arranged to show importance?
    - Assess balance or imbalance. Does it feel stable, dynamic, or unsettling?
    - Consider framing. How is the subject framed within the image? Does it feel enclosed, expansive, or isolated?
    - Examine leading lines. Are there lines that guide the eye through the image?
    - Reference compositional rules (Rule of Thirds, Golden Ratio, Centered Composition) to understand the structure.
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Location Layouts: Use composition to design city layouts, room interiors, or landscape vistas.
    - Scene Staging: Plan how characters and objects are positioned in important scenes.
    - Visual Storytelling: Employ composition to emphasize certain elements and create visual narratives within your world.
Color
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Establishes emotional tone, symbolic meanings, cultural associations, and environmental characteristics.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Identify predominant colors. Note hues (red, blue, green), saturation (vibrant vs. muted), and value (light vs. dark).
    - Analyze color palettes. Are they analogous (similar hues), complementary (opposite hues), triadic, etc.?
    - Observe color harmony or clashes. Do colors work together or create tension?
    - Examine color temperature (warm vs. cool). What mood does this evoke?
    - Consider symbolic color associations. What might these colors mean in a fictional culture (e.g., red for danger, blue for peace)?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Cultural Symbolism: Define color palettes for different cultures, factions, or organizations within your world.
    - Environmental Biomes: Use color to differentiate biomes (lush greens, arid yellows, icy blues).
    - Technological Aesthetics: Determine the colors of technology, clothing, and architecture.
    - Emotional Atmosphere: Use color to set the mood of locations and scenes.
Lighting
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Creates mood, defines form and texture, suggests time of day or light sources within your world (natural or artificial/magical).
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Determine light source(s). Is it natural (sun, moon, stars), artificial (lamps, torches), or magical? What is the direction of light?
    - Analyze light quality. Is it hard (defined shadows) or soft (diffuse shadows)?
    - Observe contrast. Are there strong contrasts (dramatic) or subtle transitions (gentle)?
    - Note highlights and shadows. How do they shape forms and reveal textures?
    - Identify any color cast from the light source.
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Environmental Conditions: Define typical weather patterns and light conditions (e.g., perpetual twilight, harsh sunlight).
    - Technological Level: Suggest the types of lighting available (candlelight, gaslight, neon, bioluminescence).
    - Atmospheric Mood: Use lighting to create specific moods for locations (e.g., dimly lit dungeons, brightly lit marketplaces).
    - Magical Systems: If magic is involved, how does it affect light and shadow?
Line & Direction
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Guides the eye, creates visual energy, suggests movement, and can define the style of architecture or design in your world.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Trace strong lines and edges. Where do they lead your eye?
    - Identify line types. Are they horizontal (calm, stable), vertical (majestic, rigid), diagonal (dynamic, unstable), or curved (flowing, organic)?
    - Notice implied lines. Are there lines created by gaze direction, object alignment, or paths?
    - Consider line weight. Are lines thick (bold, strong) or thin (delicate, subtle)?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Architectural Style: Define the dominant lines in buildings and structures (e.g., sharp, angular futuristic cities, flowing, curved organic elven architecture).
    - Design Language: Use line direction to inform the design of objects, clothing, and symbols.
    - Sense of Motion: Incorporate lines to suggest movement in landscapes or cityscapes.
    - Emotional Impact: Use different line types to evoke specific feelings in environments.
Shapes & Forms
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Basic shapes contribute to the overall “feel” of your world, from the friendliness of rounded shapes to the danger of sharp angles.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Identify recurring shapes and geometry. Are triangles, circles, squares, or more complex shapes dominant?
    - Determine if forms are organic or mechanical. Does the world feel natural or artificial?
    - Assess if forms are fluid or rigid. Is there a sense of movement or stillness?
    - Consider how shapes influence mood. Do sharp angles create tension, or do curves create a sense of comfort?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Architectural Motifs: Develop a visual language for buildings based on shapes (e.g., cities built with towering triangles, nature-harmonious circles).
    - Object Design: Design tools, weapons, and vehicles using shapes that reflect their function and cultural aesthetic.
    - Creature Design: Use shapes to define creature silhouettes and convey their nature (e.g., rounded, gentle creatures vs. angular, aggressive ones).
    - Environmental Forms: Shape landscapes with dominant forms (e.g., jagged mountains, rolling hills).

II. Surface and Textural Qualities

These elements add depth and tactile reality to your world, making it feel more tangible.

Texture
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Defines the tactile experience of your world, from rough stone walls to smooth metal surfaces.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Examine surface details. Is it rough, smooth, bumpy, slick, furry, scaly, etc.?
    - Distinguish between natural and artificial textures. Wood, stone, fur vs. metal, plastic, synthetic fabrics.
    - Analyze light interaction with surfaces. Are there shiny reflections, matte absorption, or subtle sheen?
    - Consider scale of texture. Is it fine-grained or coarse?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Material Culture: Define the materials used for clothing, buildings, tools, and weapons in different cultures.
    - Environmental Feel: Describe the tactile qualities of environments (e.g., sandy deserts, muddy swamps, icy mountains).
    - Sensory Details: Enhance descriptions by including tactile details, making the world more immersive.
Pattern & Repetition
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Suggests cultural motifs, thematic elements, and adds visual richness and complexity to environments and objects.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Identify repeating elements. Note recurring shapes, colors, motifs, or details in architecture, clothing, or nature.
    - Distinguish between regular and irregular repetition. Is the pattern ordered and precise, or more organic and varied?
    - Consider scale and complexity of patterns. Are they simple and bold, or intricate and detailed?
    - Analyze placement and context of patterns. Where do patterns appear, and what does this suggest?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Cultural Aesthetics: Develop unique visual patterns for different cultures, cities, or factions.
    - Symbolic Motifs: Use patterns to represent symbols, beliefs, or social structures.
    - Environmental Details: Create natural patterns in landscapes, flora, and fauna.
    - Textile and Decoration Design: Design fabrics, wallpapers, and decorative elements with unique patterns.

III. Spatial and Depth Qualities

These elements define the sense of space and scale in your world, impacting how characters and environments are perceived.

Perspective & Depth
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Conveys distance, scale, and spatial relationships, influencing how characters and objects relate in size and importance within the world.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Locate horizon line and vanishing points (if visible). Where does the viewer seem to be positioned?
    - Assess depth cues. Look for overlapping objects, atmospheric perspective (haze in distance), linear perspective (converging lines), and size perspective (objects smaller in distance).
    - Analyze layering. Note foreground, midground, and background. How do they relate to each other?
    - Determine if the perspective is realistic, exaggerated, or distorted. Does it create a sense of realism, fantasy, or unease?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Architectural Grandeur: Design towering structures and vast landscapes using perspective to enhance scale.
    - Environmental Scale: Establish the size and scope of environments (e.g., sprawling cities, deep canyons).
    - Spatial Relationships: Define how different locations or objects are positioned relative to each other in your world’s geography.
    - Visual Storytelling: Use perspective to draw attention to specific areas or create a sense of journey or exploration.
Scale & Proportion
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Establishes a sense of grandeur, intimacy, or strangeness. Crucial for defining the size of creatures, buildings, and landscapes.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Compare elements of known size (people, trees, familiar objects) to gauge scale.
    - Look for intentional exaggeration or distortion of scale. Are there giant statues, tiny houses, or disproportionate elements?
    - Assess how scale affects the scene’s significance or emotional impact. Does it feel awe-inspiring, intimidating, claustrophobic, or whimsical?
    - Consider relative proportions between different elements. Are some things unusually large or small compared to others?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Creature Design: Define the size and proportions of creatures, from colossal beasts to tiny sprites.
    - Architectural Scale: Decide if buildings are towering and imposing, human-scale, or miniature.
    - Landscape Design: Establish the scale of mountains, forests, and other natural features.
    - Sense of Wonder or Fear: Use scale to evoke feelings of awe, insignificance, or threat.
Negative Space
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Highlights subjects, creates visual breathing room, can suggest isolation, openness, or minimalism.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Identify empty or less busy areas surrounding the main subjects.
    - Analyze how negative space shapes the composition. Does it create distinct shapes or patterns?
    - Assess balance of positive and negative space. Is it balanced, imbalanced, or intentionally asymmetrical?
    - Determine how negative space affects emphasis and mood. Does it feel lonely, majestic, minimalist, or dynamic?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Environmental Design: Create open plains, vast skies, or minimalist interiors using negative space.
    - Architectural Style: Incorporate negative space in building design to create a sense of airiness or grandeur.
    - Visual Pacing: Use negative space to control the visual rhythm of scenes and environments.
    - Emotional Resonance: Evoke feelings of loneliness, freedom, or emptiness through the use of negative space.

IV. Interpretive and Contextual Elements

These elements go beyond the purely visual, inviting deeper interpretation and connection to narrative and world lore.

Subject & Focal Points
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Identifies key characters, objects, or locations that are central to the scene and potentially to the world’s narrative.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Pinpoint central figures, objects, or locations. What is the image primarily about?
    - Evaluate prominence and size of subjects relative to the rest of the image. Are they dominant or subtle?
    - Examine details of subjects. Note posture, expression, clothing, design, and any unique features.
    - Consider symbolic meaning of subjects. What might these subjects represent within the context of a fictional world?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Character Inspiration: Develop characters based on the subjects’ appearance, posture, and implied story.
    - Cultural Icons: Identify potential symbols, deities, or important figures represented by the focal points.
    - Setting Details: Use subjects to define key elements of locations (e.g., a unique tree in a forest, a specific building in a city).
    - Narrative Hooks: Subjects can spark story ideas and plot points.
Motion
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Suggests the dynamism, pace, and energy levels within your world. Can imply cultural values related to activity or stillness.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Identify implied motion. Look for gestures, dynamic lines, tilted angles, or blurry elements.
    - Determine direction of motion. Is it horizontal (peaceful), vertical (powerful), diagonal (energetic)?
    - Assess pace of motion. Is it fast and frantic, slow and deliberate, or frozen in time?
    - Consider source of motion. Is it natural (wind, water), mechanical, or biological?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Cultural Tempo: Define if a culture is fast-paced and energetic or slow and contemplative.
    - Technological Capabilities: Suggest the level of technology related to transportation and machinery.
    - Environmental Dynamics: Describe the typical movement within environments (e.g., bustling cities, still forests).
    - Action and Conflict: Use motion to inspire action sequences or convey conflict within your world’s narratives.
Atmosphere & Mood
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Captures the emotional tone of environments, cultures, and narratives within your world, making it emotionally resonant.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Identify overall emotional tone. Is it joyful, melancholic, tense, peaceful, mysterious, etc.?
    - Notice environmental factors contributing to mood. Fog, haze, rain, sunlight, darkness, etc.
    - Analyze how lighting, color, texture, and composition combine to create the mood.
    - Consider personal emotional responses. What feelings does the image evoke in you?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Setting Mood: Define the typical atmosphere of different locations (e.g., a perpetually foggy realm, a sun-drenched paradise).
    - Cultural Temperament: Suggest the general emotional tone of a culture or society.
    - Narrative Tone: Use atmosphere to set the emotional stage for stories and events.
    - Sensory Immersion: Enhance descriptions by focusing on atmospheric details that evoke specific moods.
Context & Narrative Hints
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Uncovers subtle clues about culture, history, technology, and potential storylines, adding depth and intrigue.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Spot cultural details. Look for clothing styles, architectural styles, signage, writing systems, religious symbols, etc.
    - Identify technological indicators. Are there signs of advanced technology, primitive tools, or specific materials?
    - Look for anachronisms or unusual combinations of elements. Are there things that seem out of place or unexpected?
    - Notice subtle story elements. Are there hints of conflict, social structures, or hidden narratives?
    - Ask: “What does each detail imply about the world’s history, culture, and lore?”
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Cultural Development: Incorporate details to flesh out cultural practices, beliefs, and social structures.
    - Historical Depth: Use contextual clues to hint at past events, technological advancements, or societal changes.
    - Technological Systems: Define the level and type of technology present in your world.
    - Story Seeds: Contextual details can spark plot ideas, character backstories, and world events.
Style & Execution
- Why it matters for worldbuilding: Defines the overall aesthetic direction of your fictional world, influencing its visual identity and artistic conventions.
- How to Analyze:
  - Checklist:
    - Identify artistic medium or style. Is it photorealistic, painterly, stylized, abstract, impressionistic, futuristic, retro, etc.?
    - Notice artistic techniques. Brush strokes, digital effects, grain, linework, rendering style, etc.
    - Assess how style aligns with subject matter and mood. Does the style enhance or contrast with the content?
    - Consider the intended audience and purpose of the style. What kind of world does this style suggest?
  - Worldbuilding Application:
    - Artistic Conventions: Establish the dominant art styles within your world, influencing architecture, fashion, and visual culture.
    - Technological Aesthetics: Determine the “look and feel” of technology, vehicles, and interfaces.
    - Visual Tone: Set the overall visual tone of your world (e.g., gritty realism, vibrant fantasy, sleek futurism).
    - Inspiration for Creative Mediums: The style can inspire the visual style of your own worldbuilding outputs (writing style, visual art, game design, etc.).

V. Summary and Practical Application

By systematically analyzing images using these fifteen areas, you can extract a rich tapestry of details to inform your worldbuilding. Remember that these categories are interconnected and often overlap.

Practical Tips for Image Analysis:

Start with a broad overview, then progressively focus on details.
Use checklists for each area to ensure you don’t miss anything.
Take notes for each category, jotting down observations, feelings, and potential worldbuilding applications.
Don’t be afraid to interpret. Image analysis is subjective; your personal responses are valuable.
Experiment with different images and see how different visual stimuli inspire different worldbuilding ideas.
Iterate and refine. Your initial observations might lead to new questions and deeper analysis.
Combine image analysis with other worldbuilding techniques (e.g., brainstorming, research, mind-mapping).
Consider using a consistent image analysis log or journal to track your observations and ideas over time.

Applying it

Paste The Analysis Guide above in to your LLM with images you want to analyze for incorporation into the style guide with this prompt: "Analyze these images for style, composition, color, etc with the goal of creating a representative blended fill-in-the-blanks image generation prompt that can creatively mix and match what your analysis finds and apply it to new concepts. As few prompts as possible to get the most range."
Repeat until they're all analyzed.
Copy and paste or upload the resulting analysis to your LLM with the world document you created in a previous newsletter, or upload if it has that ability and: “Summarize this as a guide to style, choreography, and storyboarding with a focus on details useful for guiding an LLM to create new prompts and prompt templates. Incorporate the world document.”
- “Incorporate” seems to get the best results for combining different sources of information.
“Create a choreography guide.”
“Create a storyboard guide.”
And now we test it: “Create a character, choreograph a scene with them, and storyboard the scene.”

This will be the last of this series for now. It's more than enough to build rich, detailed worlds, and I learned a good bit myself while working on it. I need to apply that and experiment more. In the meantime, share this newsletter so more people can learn to make better worlds.