The World of Dreamviews

[Ethereal]

Worldwide, thousands are experiencing depression from an inability to visit Pandora, the planet in Avatar. They are so captivated by its beauty, its wonder, that the real world seems dull and grey. I recently asked in Chat, 'what is so great about Pandora? There are hundreds of other better fantasy worlds!' I then sat in front of my screen and tried to think of examples. I could not. Just as I had tried before, although I know that the dreamscape is mine to create, I couldn't create the most beautiful, grand, spectacular fantasy world in my mind. So I thought maybe you could. This forum certainly has imagination. We shape our dreams, and we've probably experienced things more incredible than few other on the planet. So why not create a fictional world, a setting, that combines everything amazing we have experienced in life, in dreams, for us to go to? I digress. Basically, brainstorm here about the most amazing physical (or manmade) landscapes that we could visit. Be audacious, insane. Avatar had floating rocks, after all. What would be breathtaking to visit in a dream? If we get enough great landscapes, it'd be a perfect place to visualize while trying to LD. Does this world have sweeping, crimson deserts? Or is it a world submerged in turqoise water with a jungle paradise beneath the waves? Sweeping mountains that climb into the stars? You decide.

[Captain Sleepalot]

A sprawling city in the clouds, whose streets and buildings are made of flowing iridescent water...the surface of the water is inexplicably solid, unless you press hard enough, then you can simply move through it. When the sun breaks through the clouds, the city erupts in a dazzling display of lights.

[Speesh]

I'll give this more of an honest try later, cause this is great. But for now I'll just say this: A lot of it comes down to influence and inspiration. The subconscious is a powerful thing, and the more you flood it with things that inspire you the more it will surprise you with how ultra-creative it can be. If Pandora does it for you then keep that in mind. Maybe go see Avatar again and really let the scenery sink in. Visualize it at night as you're going to sleep and see what your mind comes up with. Don't just stop at Pandora though, the more input the better. I've found very similar inspiration in movies from the works of Hayao Miyazaki (Pandora's art direction reminded me a lot of Nausicaa) and the lesser known Rene Laloux (especially Gandahar and Fantastic Planet). Also be sure to check out the new artist of the week thing here at DV and check out some of the links posted in the threads. There's literally tons of amazing stuff in there already after just a few weeks of posting. The more you flood your subconscious with inspiring stuff the more creativity it will embody. It becomes a part of you, so to speak. Here's some of what I mentioned: Gandahar - Rene Laloux Fantastic Planet - Rene Laloux Nausicaa - Hayao Miyazaki

[Citrusponge]

I haven't seen Avatar, but I've always had a thing for floating islands. Also: massive stone buildings and monuments, mixtures of natural and artificial structures (buildings overgrown with lush greenery, Japanese gardens, submerged ruins with coral and barnacles growing on them), waterfalls and structures with non-Euclidian geometry. Things so high or tall they cast shadows on clouds. Roof gardens on top of a sprawling technicolour neon futuristic metropolis. Villages and biospheres living and growing on the backs of giant living leviathans, whales, elephants, turtles. This imageboard has some brilliant landscape art and photograpy. Some more fantastical than others. http://www.wakachan.org/yuu/wakaba.html Bonus: do a Google image search for little planet.