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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8689612" data-attributes="member: 6790260">Some of what you're running into is that...elves, in their archetypal form, were made to be alien. So if you're shooting for something being alien, you're probably gonna have some similarities to &quot;elf&quot; no matter what.But if you'd like pointers on what to avoid to prevent an &quot;alien&quot; race from being too elf-like:1. Elves have an emphasis on grace and magic. If your aliens are &quot;ugly&quot; or &quot;brutish,&quot; and don't really do magic much, that will help.2. Elves, despite being pulled out of their Tolkien context, still have shades of &quot;relic of a better time&quot; or &quot;proud representatives of a lost/fallen world that was more magical and beautiful.&quot; So, having your new creation be either at the height of their power or still developing (that is, they aren't &quot;fallen,&quot; they haven't climbed high enough to fall yet), that's a useful distinction.3. Elves have a thing for physically beautiful things. Crystal spires, swooping lines, natural tree-homes, etc. Give your aliens an industrialized, scientific look, with concrete and steel, hard lines and right angles, etc. Make them look like the only people allowed to be architects are dispassionate engineers.4. Realistically, Vulcans SHOULD look like Elves--but they don't. And the main reason, despite having the pointy ears, long lifespans, great strength, superior knowledge, etc. is that Vulcans are so big on logic, logic, logic. It distances them from the implicit hedonism (of high-elf-type elves) or primal-traditionalism (of wood-elf-type elves) that elves usually carry. Try to do something similar--making them hardcore militarists could help.5. Finally...elves look like humans. They have humanoid body plans, two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two arms, etc. etc. Break that mold. Give your race extra eyes or fewer eyes, a flat face with nasal slits (like how the gith look), multiple mouths/voices or no mouth at all, tentacles or different numbers of limbs, etc. etc. The classic sci-fi way of making an alien look, y'know, alien.As a sort of sub-point to the previous: elves are mammals. Making a reptile or insect would instantly push you away from feeling like an &quot;elf&quot; even if culturally the creatures behave a lot like elves, because humans are visual creatures and our judgments of other beings are often based on what they look like.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8689612, member: 6790260"] Some of what you're running into is that...elves, in their archetypal form, [I]were made to be alien[/I]. So if you're shooting for something being alien, you're probably gonna have some similarities to "elf" no matter what. But if you'd like pointers on what to avoid to prevent an "alien" race from being too elf-like: 1. Elves have an emphasis on grace and magic. If your aliens are "ugly" or "brutish," and don't really do magic much, that will help. 2. Elves, despite being pulled out of their Tolkien context, still have shades of "relic of a better time" or "proud representatives of a lost/fallen world that was more magical and beautiful." So, having your new creation be either at the height of their power or still developing (that is, they aren't "fallen," they haven't climbed high enough to fall yet), that's a useful distinction. 3. Elves have a thing for physically beautiful things. Crystal spires, swooping lines, natural tree-homes, etc. Give your aliens an industrialized, scientific look, with concrete and steel, hard lines and right angles, etc. Make them look like the only people allowed to be architects are dispassionate engineers. 4. Realistically, Vulcans SHOULD look like Elves--but they don't. And the main reason, despite having the pointy ears, long lifespans, great strength, superior knowledge, etc. is that Vulcans are so big on logic, logic, logic. It distances them from the implicit hedonism (of high-elf-type elves) or primal-traditionalism (of wood-elf-type elves) that elves usually carry. Try to do something similar--making them hardcore militarists could help. 5. Finally...elves look like humans. They have humanoid body plans, two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two arms, etc. etc. Break that mold. Give your race extra eyes or fewer eyes, a flat face with nasal slits (like how the gith look), multiple mouths/voices or no mouth at all, tentacles or different numbers of limbs, etc. etc. The classic sci-fi way of making an alien look, y'know, alien. As a sort of sub-point to the previous: elves are mammals. Making a reptile or insect would instantly push you away from feeling like an "elf" even if culturally the creatures behave a lot like elves, because humans are visual creatures and our judgments of other beings are often based on what they look like. [/QUOTE]

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