Or, if you prefer, grab a copy from your favourite online retailer in print or ebook!

For a high-res version of the plant diagram in Part One, click here.

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this book is to help to build your own plants, animals, and other life—not because you need to start from scratch and reinvent every single living thing on your world, but because sometimes it’s just plain fun to have a funky plant or animal that does what you need it to do. 

Done well, invented plants and animals can lend colour and realism to a created world, and can even prompt new cultural developments for your people. 

But done poorly, you can end up with plants or animals that will have savvy readers questioning what you were thinking.

So because plants and animals, just like people, are influenced by their surroundings, this book aims to give you the general principles of logic behind several key features of plant and animal biology. This will allow you to create life that doesn’t just exist in its environment, but flourishes. 

Firstly, we’ll explore plant life: 

  • the general types of plants 
  • their physical structures 
  • how they ‘breathe’
  • how they reproduce 
  • their senses and defences 

Then we’ll move on to animals, starting with a brief discussion of why Earth-based life is founded on carbon and oxygen, and what other alternatives you might have. We’ll cover:

  • the musculoskeletal system
  • heat regulation and water loss 
  • the digestive system
  • nutrient circulation (breathing and blood)
  • reproduction
  • the senses

Finally, we’ll explore all those tiny things that are neither plant nor animal:

  • algae
  • archaea
  • bacteria
  • protista
  • fungi 
  • viruses

This will equip you with an excellent understanding of the basic logic behind the life forms you see around you, and the ability to extrapolate and design suitable life forms for any environment you might wish to create. 

Have fun! 

Table Of Contents

  • Introduction 
  • PART ONE: THE PLANT KINGDOM 
    • Plant Types 
    • Plant Bodies
    • Transpiration 
    • Reproduction 
    • Senses and Defences
  • PART TWO: ANIMALS 
    • Carbon-Based Life
    • Musculoskeletal System 
    • Heat Regulation and Water Loss 
    • The Digestive System
    • Nutrient Circulation 
    • Reproduction 
    • The Senses 
  • PART THREE: SMALL LIFE  
    • Archaea 
    • Bacteria  
    • Protista (Including Algae) 
    • Fungi
    • Viruses  
  • Conclusion  
  • References
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