One of the things about concept development is that it often produces great art.

I don't think anyone will deny that conceptualization is a fount of creativity.  Unusual directions, strange amalgamations, subtle (and blatant) homages, new ideas, weird interpretations: it is the heart of the oft convoluted process of developing ideas toward something original and refined.  Thus, whether it is character designs, location or scenic illustrations, or even diagrams and plans, concept art is often intriguing and a marvel to behold, both individually or as an insight into the evolution of a project as a whole.

Concept art is something that can be appreciated even by people who aren't interested in the slightest in the process.

But of course, there is that other side of conceptualization, one that is often not so casually accessible:  prose.  Any one who has engaged in world-building, narrative plotting, or full-scale project development will be (sometimes painfully) aware of just how much of the process involves writing.  This isn't to say this aspect is inherently less interesting to the concept developer, who may be gleefully producing reams of inspired text, notes, outlines, descriptions and premises.  I would argue to contrary:  for the developer, it can be intensely satisfying to both produce and peruse such things as they spark the imagination in ways that do not translate well into imagery alone.

Unfortunately, written concepts often bore those who are not inspired by them:  TLDR.

This is, you see, the crux of my frustrating dilemma.  I produce a variety of concept art of all kinds, but ultimately I generate far more written material than illustrations.

Worse, due to the necessary degree of detail I often go into, these pieces can read like a dissertation, complete with footnotes, references and complicated esoteric technical minutiae.  Even when I break them down into short, little articles, the prose is often dense, academic.  But the nature of such concepts is neither simple nor self-evident, and neither simple prose nor art alone, no matter how good, can do them proper justice.

This leaves me with far less to post here — or anywhere — than I would like.

Too many diagrams are often meaningless without the context of complicated interwoven details.  The illustrations are a bare suggestion of the grand settings and narratives that spawned them.  And those things that cannot be visually depicted simply receive no attention since few if any take the time to read them.

It's a pity, but ultimately anything that cannot be consumed at a glance will be largely ignored

Maybe one day I will be able to share the rich background, complex worlds, and deep substance behind the projects I post here.  But I doubt that it will happen on DA — or any time soon.

An idea, no matter how original, how great, how marvelous, is a sterile thing if it cannot be shared.

The saddest part is that people will not know what wonders they are missing...