Brief Summary
Rick's Creations discusses how worldbuilding transformed his life, from childhood inspirations to career choices and personal relationships. He shares the origins of his fantasy world, Tumiun, and how it evolved from D&D campaigns to a YouTube channel. He also answers audience questions, outlines future channel plans, and introduces a potential new series, emphasizing the interactive nature of his storytelling and the impact of his viewers' support.
- Worldbuilding started with childhood inspiration from "The Lord of the Rings".
- Tumiun began as a D&D world and evolved into a career and passion.
- The YouTube channel is interactive, with audience input shaping future content.
Intro
Rick introduces himself and his fantasy world, Tumiun, which he has been developing for about ten years. He explains that this video will be an introduction to himself, his motivations for creating the videos, and what worldbuilding means to him. He will share the origins of Tumiun, provide updates, discuss the channel's future, and answer audience questions, focusing on how worldbuilding has changed his life.
How It Started
Rick recounts his early exposure to fantasy through "The Lord of the Rings" movies, which sparked his interest in drawing knights, monsters, and other fantasy characters. He began reading Tolkien's books around age thirteen, which inspired him to write his own short stories about dwarves, mages, and powerful families. However, he struggled to maintain interest in these stories due to a lack of cohesion. This changed when he discovered Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), a roleplaying game that allowed him to tell stories with friends, leading him to volunteer as a Game Master.
A New World
Rick describes how his D&D experience led to the creation of Tumiun. Initially, his D&D stories were disjointed, but he had an epiphany to connect all his characters and creatures into one world. He stayed up late sketching a map, which became the foundation of Tumiun. He wanted a vast world with uncharted territories and established continents, leading to the concept of the Walls of the World, miles-high cliffs surrounding the continents. This idea helped him overcome art block and inspired him to create numerous maps, creatures, cities, and landmarks.
A YouTube Channel
Rick discusses how he wanted to share his stories with a wider audience, leading him to start a YouTube channel about two years ago. He created the first video, "An Introduction to Tumiun," which featured a character called the Cartographer illustrating a map of the world. The video exceeded his expectations, receiving over 4000 views and positive comments. He expresses gratitude for the support and mentions the channel has over 900 subscribers.
What Inspired Tumiun?
Rick answers the question about the books and films that inspired Tumiun the most, citing Tolkien's books and Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy as the primary influences. He also mentions that the diverse continents of Tumiun are inspired by various sources, such as Norse mythology and the video game "Skyrim" for Vindikfill, medieval Europe and "A Song of Ice and Fire" for Sestiun, Asian cultures and "Avatar: The Last Airbender" for Avanima, and the movie "Avatar" for Zurak. He also acknowledges the influence of real-world cultures and mythologies. He names Simon Lenz (the Monstergarden) as a significant inspiration outside of traditional media, praising his dark, humorous, and original worldbuilding content.
More Q&A
Rick confirms that he creates all the artworks, props, and maps featured in his videos, leveraging his career as a freelance fantasy artist. He reveals that the Cartographer character is based on a friend's old D&D character from a long-running campaign, referencing a poster he drew years ago featuring the adventuring party, The Order of the Ibex. He points out subtle references to that D&D campaign in the Cartographer's video, such as the islands where the first sessions took place.
Big Storyline?
Rick addresses whether there is a big storyline planned for "Tales of Tumiun" or "Diary of the Wanderer." He confirms a rough outline for the "Diary of the Wanderer" videos, focusing on places the Wanderer would like to see, but no set storyline for other videos. He intends to have a recurring cast of characters, including the Cartographer, the Wanderer, the Bard, the Painter, the Historian, and the Runemaster. While the Wardens from the Walls of the World video might reappear, he prefers to explore Tumiun without a rigid plot, reserving that for a novel he has started writing.
Interactive Storytelling
Rick emphasizes the interactive nature of his channel, viewing it as a collaborative storytelling experience. He wants the audience to help decide the content of future videos. He plans to compile audience suggestions and ideas into a list, then create a poll for his Patreon supporters to vote on the four most popular ideas. The winning idea will become the subject of the next video, and the cycle will continue. This approach allows viewers to influence the channel's direction while also supporting its growth.
A New Series
Rick introduces the idea for a new series in addition to "Diary of the Wanderer" and "Tales of Tumiun." He has written numerous short stories over the past ten years that accompany the artworks featured in his videos and wants to present these stories in video format. He is considering calling the series "Tales from the Archives" and seeks suggestions for a better name and visually interesting ways to present the stories without extensive new artwork or filming. One idea is to read the stories beside a cozy fire during a rainstorm.
Surprise!
Rick reveals that worldbuilding led him to D&D, where he met his best friend, who introduced him to his muse and the love of his life. He credits her with motivating him to continue working on the channel. He also states that without worldbuilding, he would not have met his most important creation yet, his child. He concludes by encouraging viewers to keep pursuing their passions, as they never know where it might lead.
