21.7 HOW TO DESIGN

Whether you are brand new to designing or experienced and in need of a quick reference, this page serves as a step-by-step guideline for how to create a design in Lusternia. For a more general overview of designing and its guidelines in Lusternia, please read HELP DESIGNS.

For this particular helpfile, it is recommended that you review it in reference to a design so that it serves as an example of the notes stated here. You will also want to review HELP DESIGN COMMS and HELP SPECIAL COMMS for guidelines regarding the use of commodities.

If you've never made a design before, then take some time to read the other designs already present in Lusternia (HELP DESIGNSEARCH). Take a look at how they are formed, described, and what sort of theme they focus on. You might consider looking up artwork or photographs to inspire your concepts if you are having trouble imagining what something might look like, and then describing that artwork. 

Remember that Lusternia's technology level is limited, and that the style is generally 'fantasy with a steampunk edge'. As lovely as that LED-illuminated jumpsuit you're thinking of is, it's probably not right for Lusternia.

Finally, we remind you to read Lusternia's plagiarism policy (HELP PLAGIARISM).

Still unsure about something after reading this helpfile? Drop the Charites a message with your query and They'll get back to you as soon as They can with guidance. 

Description Guidelines
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Appearance 
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The simplest way to see if you have set an appropriate description here is to put it in this sentence: "You give <appearance description> to Roark." If your appearance description makes a proper sounding and looking sentence there then you're probably okay. You should also ensure that handing multiples of the item will read appropriately.

   - Should not begin with a capital letter and can NOT end with a period or full stop. The appearance should be kept short (around 5 words max). 

   - It must be unique - if you have unknowingly selected a duplicate appearance, the Charites and Their reviewers will flag this up for you. Small differences (e.g. "a reddish cloak" vs "a red cloak") are fine.

   - Must use one of the accepted main nouns for the pattern. The 'main noun' of a sentence is its subject. For example, in "a shimmering ring of emerald", the main noun is 'ring'.

   - The first main noun used in the design will be the one considered when pluralising the design. Therefore if you are using two recognised main nouns - e.g. "blossom" and "origami" in origami designs - you must make sure that the appearance will still make sense if the first main noun is pluralised. 
      - I.e. "a blossom of fine origami" would be fine, but "devious blossom origami" would not (as it would come out as "devious blossoms origami" when pluralised).

   - Do not make this too long or attempt to put too much detail here. That is what the examined description is for.

   - Do not write about any actions or reactions the line is having, e.g. "a cloak blowing in the wind". Bear in mind that your item will not always be in the wind, or in light, or even outdoors at all!

   - Do not include possessive terms in the appearance, as these will not pluralise correctly (e.g. "a dancer's shoes").

   - For tattoos, the appearance should be descriptive of the contents rather than very poetic or metaphorical in description (e.g. "a rainswept bard" not "singing in the rain"). The appearance should not have the word tattoo in it.

Dropped
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   - Must begin with a capital letter and must end with a period, or full stop. 

   - It should be kept to about one line or at the absolute most one and a half. All designs word wrap to a set width, so you should be able to judge this easily.

   - The main noun in the sentence must be the same as the appearance (and pattern), so that people know what to call it when they want to pick it up.

   - Remember again not to reference the environment. "A cloak is hanging from a peg here" will make no sense in most situations. Try to be neutral and focus on the item alone. You can phrase it as "is here", "is on the ground", "has been cast aside here", and so on. 

Examined
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   - Should make it clear what the item is, rather than relying on knowledge from the appearance. The simplest way to achieve this is to include the main noun that occurs in the appearance.

   - Must begin with a capital letter and must end with a period, or full stop. 

   - Should be a few sentences long (3+ sentences) describing what the item looks like. You are strongly encouraged to keep this length reasonable, as extended descriptions render as a single paragraph. If your design is too long, no one will be able to read it.

   - Must otherwise follow the rules as per HELP DESIGNS, especially regarding the limits of mortal craftsmanship.

Other Fields
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Ambient Description (artisan and bookbinding):
   - A description of the ambient effect the lighting has in the room. For artisan lighting designs this happens randomly, where bookbinding this happens when the skylantern is released. This might be auditory, visual, olfactory, or a combination. This is paired with an "Ambient colour" field which determines the colour of the line shown.

Closed Description (artisan only):
   - What does the furniture look like when it is closed. Such as, a chest with its lid shut or a desk with its drawers closed. Where this is present, the "Dropped" is how the furniture looks when opened.

Consume Description (cooking only):
   - What the experience of eating or drinking the cooking item is like. This should follow the same rules as an examined description. Unlike other designs, may use 'you' to describe the user's experience.

Smell Description (cooking only):
   - What the food or beverage smells like. This should be a relatively brief sentence. Unlike other designs, may use 'you' to describe the user's experience.

Taste Description (cooking only):
   - What does the food taste like without actually eating it. A small nibble or sip. Again, this should be only one sentence or so. Unlike other designs, may use 'you' to describe the user's experience.

General Design Guidelines
=========================

   - Do not reference the user or observer except in the Consume, Taste or Smell fields of Cooking designs, or dictate reactions in any way (e.g. "You gasp in awe as you behold the cloak's majestic form...")

   - Organisation names should be capitalised, but that doesn't mean you necessarily want to capitalise everything in sight. Keep it to things that are generally capitalised in Lusternian standards (e.g. capitalise Serenwilde but not furrikin).

   - When using numbers in your description, you should always spell it out as in standard descriptive writing.

   - Coffee is called kawhe in Lusternia.

   - Designs may not reference a character by name with the exception of True Ascendants.

   - Living beings or plants cannot be used in designs. Flowers must be preserved (in wax, dried, etc.) or imitated with fabric.

Specific Pattern Nuances
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   - To submit a design for Splendour robes, use the Greatrobes pattern and DESIGN <num> TYPE SPLENDOUR.

   - To submit a design for Masterweapons or Masterkata, use the basic pattern for your weapon type and DESIGN <num> TYPE MASTERWEAPONS or MASTERKATA.

   - To submit an origami design, you should change the design's type to the relevant kind of origami, e.g. DESIGN <num> TYPE KIRIGAMI.

   - Jewellery and Tailoring designs may not include engraving or textual embroidery in their descriptions. If you want embroidery or engraving, use the relevant ability in the tradeskill.

   - Tattoos should be able to be inked onto everyone, and as such should not mention racial or other skin characteristics.