I wanted to do a bit of worldbuilding for Spineridge, my small desert town that is a main location in my Hollow Knight fanfiction, so I decided to draw some of the local flora and fauna, along with how they’re used.
The first picture is of sandslips, which are quite an abundant species within the desert. They are small scavengers and will eat practically anything, so they are an important part of the local ecosystem by recycling nutrients back into the food web. They are an important source of prey, and are also a great source of food for carnivorous bugs. They are quite small, but since they’re so abundant and easy to catch (the most they can do is hiss and nip at you) they are a staple for many meat-based dishes in Spineridge.
The second drawing is focusing on cactnols, which are herbivores that protect themselves with their hard, spikey shell. They can also curl up into a ball like an armadillo and live in small herds. If you’re traveling through the desert and come across a group of round cactuses, it’s probably actually a herd of cactnol trying to hide! Because of their tough shells they are really hard to hunt, but if one does manage to slay one every part of them is extremely useful. The shell can be made into excellent spiked armour plates, or kept in tack and used as a large bowl after cutting off the spikes (many restaurants in Spineridge use cactnol shell bowls to mix large amounts of salads for herbivorous guests). Their meat is also very tender, and cactnol steaks are often seen as a delicacy in the desert.
Cactus fruit is another staple food in Spineridge. A single one can be eaten as a snack, or a few of them with some nectar is a great meal for nectarivorous bug. The cactus that it grows from is pretty abundant, so the fruit is easy to gather. I actually got inspired from the cacti that grow dragon fruit for designing this catus! The cactus fruit can also be juiced, along with fermented into a cider (which is a certain tarantula hawk wasp’s beverage of choice).
Creeping vines are also an abundant desert flora and have a variety of uses. The entire plant is edible, but only the flowers and leaves are usually eaten as the vines are quite tough and become even tougher as they dry out. Instead, the vines are used to make a very sturdy rope. The leaves and flowers are often used to make a salad, which makes a great meal for herbivorous bugs. The flowers are also a great source of nectar, and can be used as pigments and fabric dyes. Both the flowers and the leaves can be brewed into tea as well.
So yeah! That’s all the worldbuilding for now. I might try drawing some buildings, or making some drawing of more of my Hollow Knight ocs that live in Spineridge. Photo descriptions under the ‘Read More’, but just a small warning - it’s pretty long!
First image: In the left side of the image there is a collection of drawings of a small, segmented sand-coloured creature. It has five segments, with the largest one in the center and tapering on either end; the segments are triangular in shape. Its face is on the first segment with two black, slanted oval-shaped eyes that slightly bulge out of its head and a straw-coloured mouth that is made up of three triangular segments, one at the top and one on each side. There are four drawings of the sandslip. The first, top right drawing has the sandslip curled to the side with only the side of his face visible. The picture lower to the left is a close-up of the first three segments of the sandslip with its mouth open and looking upward. The image below is a full drawing of a sanslip from above, the full face visible. The last picture to the right of it is a sandslip is about the same position but from a distance, and the last segment of it isn’t visible. It is curving over the top of a grey stone sitting on light brown soil. There is a smaller, dark grey pebble to the stone’s right and to clumps of grass behind and on either side of the stone, the one on the left being slightly taller. Underneath these images is a bullet list titles ‘Sandslips:’. The two bullet points read ‘Small scavengers’ and ‘Abundant in the desert’. In the right side of the image there are two pictures. The top one is a large fire with a wooded stand on both the right and left side of the fire. Resting over the fire and being supported on either end by these two wooden structures are four long, thin, black skewers. On each skewer are two sandslips; they are far away and small enough that the details of the face cannot be seen, and their normally sand-coloured shells have been roasted to a brown colour. Below this drawing is a picture of a light brown, wooden plate. On the plate are three smaller, dark-coloured skewers made of wood with each one having a roasted sandslip on it. The sandslips are closer up so you can see the details of the face; the eyes are now cartoony X’s and the mouth is now a darker straw colour. The three skewers take up most of the plate and are nearer to the top. In the space remaining at the bottom of the plate there are slices of a round, light-red fruit with pink flesh and two seeds in each slice. Next to this illustration is a description reading ‘Fire-Roasted Sandslip Skewers & Cactus Fruit Slices’.
Second image: This picture is made up of four drawings. The first one, which is furthest to the left, is of a shelled quadruped. Its shell is light green and covered in small, peachy tan spikes. Its head and legs are a dull, light yellow, with its head an oval-ish shape slightly pointed at the bottom. It has two black, almond-shaped eyes. Under it is a bullet list titled ‘Cactnol:’ with the bullets underneath reading ‘Medium-sized herbivores’ and ‘Lives in small herds’.To the right and slightly above this image is a small drawing of a cactnol curled up like an armadillo. There is a curved seam line in an otherwise perfect sphere covered in spikes; its head and legs can’t be seen at all.Under it and to the right is a wooden plate. It has leaves of various shades of green across the plate with a circular cut of yellow meat sitting on top. The meat is dripping a white-yellow gravy and has a single, small leaf resting on top as a garnish. Above it the drawing is labeled ‘Cactnol Steak with Mixed Greens’.Below it is a light green shell bowl with small, peachy tan spots; these spots remain from cutting off the shell’s spikes. The bowl is thick with a light-tan edge and a light-brown center. Below it is the label ‘Cactnol Shell Bowl’.To the right of the bowl is a drawing of some shoulder armour. The armour is made of two pieces of shell, a smaller one on top of the other. The light green shells are overlapped and still have their peachy-tan spikes, except on the lower shell where the smaller shell overlaps on the larger one. The shell plates are attached to a belt made of a dark and dull green, plant-fiber material. The buckle is made of grey metal, and there are little holes in the fabric for the buckle. The belt is tightened to about halfway, with a little bit of the remaining length of the belt hanging loose after the buckle. Under the drawing there is a label that reads ‘Cactnol Shell Armour’.
Third image: This picture is made up of three drawings. The one on the top left is of a round, light red fruit. In front of it to the left is a quarter-slice of the same type of fruit laying on its back. The flesh of the fruit is light magenta, and in the center of it is two almond-shaped, yellow seeds with the pointed parts pointing to the center. In the lower counter of the slice a pale pink liquid is dripping from it. To the right of the whole fruit there is a smaller piece of the same fruit, half the size of the qatar-slice. The point of it is pointed upward and it is sitting on its cut side with the skin facing the whole fruit behind it. Only one seed is on it since it is a smaller piece of fruit, and the cut bottom is leaking more light pink liquid from under it. To the right of the collection of fruit is the description of ‘Cactus Fruit’.Below this picture is a drawing of a dull green, glass bottle with a tan-coloured cork in it. The liquid that is filling it to the neck is magenta, appearing slightly darker from being within the coloured bottle. There is a white streak of reflected light on the bottle starting in the center and curving to the left. The streak is broken into three parts with the largest at the top and the size of the parts decreasing as they go down the side; the largest, topmost streak is triangular while the smaller streaks are more oval-shaped. This light streak stops halfway down the bottle. To the right of the drawing is the label ‘Cactus Fruit Cider’.To the right of both images is a drawing of a cactus with drooping leaves emerging from the single stalk. The topmost leaves are smaller and have nothing on their tips. The row of leaves below them have things on them; from left to right there are two with orange flowers with pointed petals, one with a round, light red fruit, and one with an orange-red bulb. Behind the cactus another leaf can be seen between the last two leaves and has a fruit on it as well. The next row down has four leaves with the leftmost one slightly behind the cactus, and all are bearing fruit. The last row of leaves are drooping on the ground and are mostly yellow with light brown, torn tips. It is sitting on dark-tan coloured soil. There is a grey rock resting on the ground slightly behind the cactus on the left, and a dark brown one in front and to the right of the cactus.
Fourth image: This picture is made up of three images. The bottom image is of a light green vine plant splayed across the tan-and-light-brown ground. There are seven vines visible, with the second, third, fith, and sixth vine splitting at the ends. Each vine has curved, almond-shaped leaves with the point facing outward scattered across them, along with a few flowers spread out across the plant as well. These flowers are yellow with rounded petals and become yellow-orange near the center. The center of the flower is a pale yellow colour. The drawing is described by the phrase ‘Creeping Vine Plant’ above the drawing.Above and to the left of the drawing of the vines is a wooded brown bowl; the bottom section of the bowl is a darker brown as it is in shadow from the upper, larger part of the bowl. Within the bowl is a mix of light green leaves in a curved, almond shape, along with some yellow flowers. The details of the flowers are much more visible than they were on the vine, with the orange around the center and the pale yellow center of the flower easier to see since they are closer. Above the bowl is the label ‘Vine Plant Salad’.Next to the bowl is a drawing of a coil of rope, with the end of it drooping down from the right side; the end of the rope is slightly frayed. The coil of rope is three coils tall, and has curved indents from where the rope is twisted going around it; the curves are curved to the left and then back to the center. The rope is a dull, light green and the description of the drawing, reading ‘Vine Rope’, is above and to the right of the picture.
Fifth image: This image is a combination of the four images above. The top-left section is of the sandslips. The bottom-left section is of the cactnol. The top-right section is of the cactus fruit. The bottom-right section is of the creeping vine plant.
Instead of focusing on the local flora and fauna, this time I wanted to do some drawings of the town itself:
This first picture is an overhead streetview of the main road down the center of Spineridge. All of the town’s lighting comes from cactus oil lanterns, and the outside lanterns are always lit so that travelers can spot the town from a distance across the dark desert. In Hollow Knight the sky is constantly dark so I decided to have the same thing apply to Spineridge, but make the sky a dark blue instead of black. The street’s line with many shops, with the bugs who run them often living in the upper floor. There’s also a weapons shop, an inn, and a couple taverns visible as well.
Windowsill gardens are a popular way to bring a bit of colour to the otherwise earth-toned town of Spineridge. The reason why all of the building are various shades of brown, and how the town got its name, is because all the building are made with cactus spines. Windowsill gardens or potted plants are often cacti or succulents as other plants wouldn’t do very well in the desert heat. The plants grown my be edible, used for fabric dye, or are just decorative. Plants with uncommon shapes, or brighter or rare colours, would be more expensive and would need to be purchased from a greenhouse or grower out-of-town.
This is the inside of a typical supply shop in Spineridge. As the town mostly caters to adventuring bugs passing through the desert, these shops provide anything from rations and mapping supplies, to things like weapons, rope, and lanterns. Some shops do specialize in specific things and would have a great selection of items than more general stores; for example, there’s a small shop specializing in paper products such as maps, journals, and books, along with writing equipment and a variety of different colours of ink. Spineridge’s main currency is geo, but most shopkeepers would still accept other forms of currency as well - some may even be willing to do trades if an adventurer has something of equal value to what they want to purchase.
This is the belltower that sits in the center of Spineridge. It is not only used to tell time within the town, but is also used as an alarm system to warn of incoming danger, such as attackers or a sandstorm. It’s the tallest building in Spineridge and a great place to get a view of the whole town; there’s stairs all the way to the top with a few windows scattered the length of the stairwell. Just ask the bellkeepers at the tower’s entrance for the okay first - its best that there’s no one blocking the rather narrow stairway when it’s time to ring the bell.
This is a close-up of one of the cactus oil lanterns hung around Spineridge. Since cacti are so abundant in the desert bugs use the oil from them instead of lumaflies for lighting. Not only does it give the whole town a warm and inviting glow, but since no one’s catching them there’s a ton of wild lumaflies living in the desert surrounding the town. Because this area is considered safe for lumaflies, Spineridge is in the middle of a main migration point for lumaflies. The night that they come is the only time that the town’s lanterns are extinguished - that way no light can compete with the stream of light blue that pours over Spineridge, completely lighting up the sky in a dazzling display that only happens a few times a year. This Lumafly Festival is a very busy event - inns are often complete booked and many restaurants and taverns offer special deals to cater to the bugs flocking to Spineridge to watch the migration.
And here’s all the pictures together! Image descriptions under the the cut:
First picture:
A overhead street view of a desert town. The sky is a dark blue and the landscape has rolling hills in the distance, dotted with cacti. The dry soil is a warm, light brown. The town is mostly varying hues of brown with a wooden appearance, with small pops of red, yellow, orange, and dull green. The buildings are mostly shops with a few taverns and an inn as well. The architecture and design of the town is reminiscent of ones from the wild west. Many oil lanterns are hung from the buildings, giving off a warm yellow glow to the town. A few bugs walk on the wide, unpaved main street, with others inside or near the various shops; many shops have upper levels where people live. There are potted plants and windowsill gardens scattered about.
Second picture:
A drawing of a beetle with a tan chest in a red-pink cloak and brassy pin watering a wooden windowsill garden. He’s watering the plants with a terracotta watering can with a red-pink flower on the side; the watering can is held upright with no water coming out of it. The garden is full of various succulents, some dangling over the garden’s edges. The window is framed with two open shutters with horizontal slits in them. The sutters are wooden and painted with a weathered layer of dull green paint. Through the window one can see the room is a bedroom, with the edge of a bed adorned with a dull green blanket off to the left side. Along the left back wall there are two paintings on it, and from the room’s ceiling hangs an oil lantern with a vine-like pattern on it which gives off a warm golden light. Along the right back wall there is an open doorway leading to a staircase going down and to the left; another, similar-looking beetle is starting to descend the stairs. Beyond the stairs is a wooded, dull green-painted door with a brass doorknob; the paint isn’t weathered since it isn’t exposed to the elements.
Third picture:
A picture of the inside of a shop from the perspective of behind the front counter. The walls, shelves, and desk all seem to be wooden. An orange beetle with two pronged, angular horns and a dark brown shell is behind the counter, listening to a magenta bug with a nail on its back speak. Next to the magenta bug on the counter is an unlit lantern and a bundle of rope. Shelves and drawers built into the front counter are visible; on a shelf near the beetle rests a small latched box with some geo scattered on and around it. Behind the two bugs is a shelf full of supplies, such as blankets, scrolls of paper, bags, and rope. A beetle with an off-yellow shell, four small, downward-curving horns, and a light-orange poncho is reaching for a rolled-up orange sleeping bag on the top right shelf.
Fourth picture:
A tall wooden belltower holding a brass bell. The bell is covered by a dark brown, wooden roof supported by beams and is open at the sides. Connecting the beams at the bottom are some railings so people standing beneath the bell won’t fall off. An unopened trapdoor can be seen on the floor to the side of the bell. Halfway down the picture wooden extensions come off from the tower’s walls, each with a lantern dangling from a chain beneath them, letting off a warm golden light. A bit underneath the left beam is a widow cut out of the tower’s side, with a small wooden cover over the top. A bug with a grey face and shell, dark-straw arms, and a tattered dull-green cloak is leaning onto the window ledge, looking up at the nearby lantern.
Fifth picture:
A drawing of the side of a light-brown, wood-paneled house. The roof is made of dull brown shingles. Off the side of the house to the left is a wooden extension. Hanging off the bottom by a metal chain is an oil lantern. It has a rim around the top and bottom, and there are vertical metal bars connecting the two parts together in front of the glass. Within the lantern there is a fire, wisps of orange mingling within its golden yellow glow. Some light from the lantern is cast off onto the house wall nearest to it.
Sixth picture:
A combination of the previous pictures. At the top left is the first picture of the town and the top right is the windowsill garden. The bottom left is the shop interior, the bottom center is the belltower, and the bottom left is the side of the building with the lantern.
