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Tips for Interesting Character Design (long)
13 years ago
But not visual design, psyche!! Today I just wanted to talk about creating a compelling character in ways other than the visual design. We all want to have popular, well-liked characters, but I find that compelling characters with a lot of depth are what really attract people. So what's involved in that?
Something that people often don't consider about fictional characters: creators of fictional characters need to know a lot about them. Who they are, what they like and don't like, where they come from, how they react to various situations, etc. This is important not just to fiction writers, but people creating characters to use as RP or internet personas, too!
Many people who are making their first stabs at writing fiction often stumble in thinking their character through only so far as what's needed for the story. You see this in a lot of horror films, where the characters aren't fleshed out much, given maybe one or two character traits, because presumably they won't last long. But when a writer really develops a character well (especially one that's going to be used a lot, for a long time), the character's sense of being a full person comes out, consciously or unconsciously, even if you never reveal the information you know! When your mind really knows a character, your subconscious mind imbues them with a power so much that some writers feel like their own characters are almost coming to life and thinking for themselves. It's intense stuff.
J.K. Rowling is notorious for this; almost every character in her books has detailed backstories and interests, even if you never find out what they are in the books, and this creates a real sense of depth to them. Like how she knew Dumbledore was gay even though she never mentioned it in the books, and you can go back and notice little bits and pieces that hint at it that you wouldn't notice otherwise. This is useful to people making internet personas because the more you know about your character, the more you can "act" them in on-the-fly RP situations or portray them naturally in art.
But why not just play your character as yourself, especially if it's supposed to be a furry version of you? Well, you can. And there's nothing wrong with that at all. But the thing is that real people are able to be compelling in RL because of a lot of nonverbal stuff and just their presence as people; in text it's harder to convey. Plus, let's face it, a lot of us here online tend toward the shy side; shy people are not as good at self-marketing in RL, so of course it's going to be even harder to do in text! Having a character that's different from you is like a puppet, a mask you can put on and act out, and that opens up a lot of opportunities.
So how do we go about creating a character separate from ourselves? Basically, you should think about as many details as you can about your character, and hopefully write them down! I know that sounds vague, but it's really at the heart of it. In a sense it's easier for a writer since they can focus on how the character relates to a specific setting, but for RP characters you have to be ready for a lot of stuff. Since it's helpful to keep organized, check out this link for two great character questionnaires. Answer as many of those questions as you can about or as your character, and you'll be well along to knowing them as a fully-fleshed entity. Google other character questionnaires and see if they have some other interesting things to ask of your characters. Heck, do some of those quiz memes that ask you personal info, but do them as if the character was filling it out!
For an example, let's look at
hazardbarzard's popular character Panja. Everyone knows he's a horny lion slut who's charming as heck and flirts with everyone around ... but did you know he's scared of spiders? Or that he doesn't like spicy food? Or that he loves karaoke and dreams of being a professional singer? Or that he feels a great deal of guilt over his mistakes and is terrified of disappointing people? You might not have known, but Haz does, and its that fullness of character that gives Panja a greater presence than some other characters because he has confidence in Panja as a person.
Something I want to point out in particular, though, is related to my previous journal on visual character design. It's important to think about the theme of your character, as in the overall theme of their personality. But you have to be careful about cliches there. If you decide you want your character to be The Cool Guy, well, if you just leave it at that, you end up with Poochy. You need to think about specifics, what traits are cool about the character, and what's NOT cool about them! Think about what makes someone have the traits you want, and why they have them, and how it affects them. You have to think about that for other character archetypes too, like the Jerk Character, or the Hunky Character, or the Smart Character. Archetypes are wonderful but they're only the bare bones of a character's personality and need to be fleshed out.
Also I want to caution you that like how I said before about trying to pile all your favorite traits onto one character's looks, putting them all on your character's personality tends to result in a Mary Sue. Putting every single personality trait you like (even the bad ones!) into one character makes the character seem unrealistic and difficult to keep mental track of (which in turn makes people lose interest). It can be better to focus on 1-3 good traits and 1-3 bad traits and work from there. You can always add more traits later, and just be careful not to add traits that conflict with the established character.
By now you might be thinking, "Man, creating a character this deep sounds like a lot of work, fuck that." But no. If you were writing a novel, you'd have to think about this stuff for probably 10-20 different characters. J.K. Rowling did it for at least a hundred. By comparison, coming up with a bunch of stuff for one character isn't so much. Besides, if you want this character to be appealing to other people, it should be a character that you enjoy thinking about, because if it doesn't give you joy to think about the character, why should other people want to?
Still, you might be thinking that this is too in-depth, and that you just want a basic character for FA to have in your user icon and maybe get a commission or two. Well that's OK! There's nothing at all wrong with that, and if you're comfortable with that level of character creation that's totally cool! Your character is there as a tool for your enjoyment and you shouldn't force yourself to do more than you want with it.
But! I think we all know at least one person who really wants people to like their characters, some to the point of desperation and drama. Some wonder why no one likes their characters and wants to draw them. I'm not saying my advice can do that for you, but man, every little bit helps! Answering these detailed character questionnaires and figuring out all this stuff about the personality may take time and energy, but if you can have fun with it, it's not time wasted. It will increase your confidence in your character and at the very least get your creative juices flowing. In a furry art community, imagination and creativity are the best part of the experience, so just go for it! ~:3
And please, if you have some good tips for making an interesting and compelling character, please share them in the comments! ~:3
Something that people often don't consider about fictional characters: creators of fictional characters need to know a lot about them. Who they are, what they like and don't like, where they come from, how they react to various situations, etc. This is important not just to fiction writers, but people creating characters to use as RP or internet personas, too!
Many people who are making their first stabs at writing fiction often stumble in thinking their character through only so far as what's needed for the story. You see this in a lot of horror films, where the characters aren't fleshed out much, given maybe one or two character traits, because presumably they won't last long. But when a writer really develops a character well (especially one that's going to be used a lot, for a long time), the character's sense of being a full person comes out, consciously or unconsciously, even if you never reveal the information you know! When your mind really knows a character, your subconscious mind imbues them with a power so much that some writers feel like their own characters are almost coming to life and thinking for themselves. It's intense stuff.
J.K. Rowling is notorious for this; almost every character in her books has detailed backstories and interests, even if you never find out what they are in the books, and this creates a real sense of depth to them. Like how she knew Dumbledore was gay even though she never mentioned it in the books, and you can go back and notice little bits and pieces that hint at it that you wouldn't notice otherwise. This is useful to people making internet personas because the more you know about your character, the more you can "act" them in on-the-fly RP situations or portray them naturally in art.
But why not just play your character as yourself, especially if it's supposed to be a furry version of you? Well, you can. And there's nothing wrong with that at all. But the thing is that real people are able to be compelling in RL because of a lot of nonverbal stuff and just their presence as people; in text it's harder to convey. Plus, let's face it, a lot of us here online tend toward the shy side; shy people are not as good at self-marketing in RL, so of course it's going to be even harder to do in text! Having a character that's different from you is like a puppet, a mask you can put on and act out, and that opens up a lot of opportunities.
So how do we go about creating a character separate from ourselves? Basically, you should think about as many details as you can about your character, and hopefully write them down! I know that sounds vague, but it's really at the heart of it. In a sense it's easier for a writer since they can focus on how the character relates to a specific setting, but for RP characters you have to be ready for a lot of stuff. Since it's helpful to keep organized, check out this link for two great character questionnaires. Answer as many of those questions as you can about or as your character, and you'll be well along to knowing them as a fully-fleshed entity. Google other character questionnaires and see if they have some other interesting things to ask of your characters. Heck, do some of those quiz memes that ask you personal info, but do them as if the character was filling it out!
For an example, let's look at
hazardbarzard's popular character Panja. Everyone knows he's a horny lion slut who's charming as heck and flirts with everyone around ... but did you know he's scared of spiders? Or that he doesn't like spicy food? Or that he loves karaoke and dreams of being a professional singer? Or that he feels a great deal of guilt over his mistakes and is terrified of disappointing people? You might not have known, but Haz does, and its that fullness of character that gives Panja a greater presence than some other characters because he has confidence in Panja as a person.Something I want to point out in particular, though, is related to my previous journal on visual character design. It's important to think about the theme of your character, as in the overall theme of their personality. But you have to be careful about cliches there. If you decide you want your character to be The Cool Guy, well, if you just leave it at that, you end up with Poochy. You need to think about specifics, what traits are cool about the character, and what's NOT cool about them! Think about what makes someone have the traits you want, and why they have them, and how it affects them. You have to think about that for other character archetypes too, like the Jerk Character, or the Hunky Character, or the Smart Character. Archetypes are wonderful but they're only the bare bones of a character's personality and need to be fleshed out.
Also I want to caution you that like how I said before about trying to pile all your favorite traits onto one character's looks, putting them all on your character's personality tends to result in a Mary Sue. Putting every single personality trait you like (even the bad ones!) into one character makes the character seem unrealistic and difficult to keep mental track of (which in turn makes people lose interest). It can be better to focus on 1-3 good traits and 1-3 bad traits and work from there. You can always add more traits later, and just be careful not to add traits that conflict with the established character.
By now you might be thinking, "Man, creating a character this deep sounds like a lot of work, fuck that." But no. If you were writing a novel, you'd have to think about this stuff for probably 10-20 different characters. J.K. Rowling did it for at least a hundred. By comparison, coming up with a bunch of stuff for one character isn't so much. Besides, if you want this character to be appealing to other people, it should be a character that you enjoy thinking about, because if it doesn't give you joy to think about the character, why should other people want to?
Still, you might be thinking that this is too in-depth, and that you just want a basic character for FA to have in your user icon and maybe get a commission or two. Well that's OK! There's nothing at all wrong with that, and if you're comfortable with that level of character creation that's totally cool! Your character is there as a tool for your enjoyment and you shouldn't force yourself to do more than you want with it.
But! I think we all know at least one person who really wants people to like their characters, some to the point of desperation and drama. Some wonder why no one likes their characters and wants to draw them. I'm not saying my advice can do that for you, but man, every little bit helps! Answering these detailed character questionnaires and figuring out all this stuff about the personality may take time and energy, but if you can have fun with it, it's not time wasted. It will increase your confidence in your character and at the very least get your creative juices flowing. In a furry art community, imagination and creativity are the best part of the experience, so just go for it! ~:3
And please, if you have some good tips for making an interesting and compelling character, please share them in the comments! ~:3
One personal warning to other readers though, regarding this line: "But why not just play your character as yourself, especially if it's supposed to be a furry version of you? Well, you can."
If you write a character as yourself, you have to be VERY honest about your own flaws. Otherwise it will turn Mary Sue. I've done characters that are started as how I thought I would react to challenges, but were really just how I'd like to have reacted, which started spinning into taking the best possible option every time. Even if those options required bizarre levels of insight, inspiration, or luck that simply shouldn't have been available.
I'll admit, the characters I'm trying to develop are still based on parts of me, but I'm trying to make them be different enough from myself that I don't feel like I have to defend all of their choices.
much, I know every single thing about him...
I do got some similarities amongst my guys, but I try my best to give them each their own distnguishing things. For example, you may remember Wayne as a complete sweetheart. Overtime, he's turned more into my most ego-driven, rough-around-the-edges character. I want a nice variety of things, keep it fun.
I still have trouble figuring stuff about Hound actually, don't think I've heard about the Archetype thing before, giving it a shot!
Seriously though, nicely put. If there's something I pride myself in, is creating and devoloping characters. I enjoy doing that a lot. B3
Also, just because a character has -stopped- developing doesn't mean you have to find something for them to do. Hitting a plateau isn't a bad thing. You can always have your character serve as support for the development of other characters.
So essentially a good idea is creating a character beyond just a fetish filler/Mary Sue, and adding enough general traits so that individuals beyond just your own narrow interests will care. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing to cater to a certain audience if that's all you want the character for, but it sure as hell is a terrible way to get artists interested in drawing you!
Personally I worry a bunch about actually somehow showing traits that my characters have but this' helped calm that, so thank yeh. x]
Hopefully some people'll take this on-board and make the fandom a little more diverse. Wishful thinking, eh? Nice read though, thanks! :3
When creating a body or a cast of characters in the same world, I try to make them holistically unified or glued by common traits or goals, but also make them distinct enough that each produces their own particular flavor. That they aren't just remixes of the same person that become a Mary Sue. In many ways, I do inject many things I like about each character.
I mean, if there's nothing I like about them, then why work on them if it's not enjoyable?
For their designs or stories though, I try to give them different approaches or faces or possibilities they can take, and then rest on one for a little bit, then keep on changing them. Audience participation helps a lot too from my experience. Receiving critiques from friends, or displaying alternatives of the same character to be chosen by popular vote help inject an outside opinion to prevent from getting attached to your interests alone. Sometimes constructing what's best for the character involves separating yourself from him/her and looking at them objectively.
Here is a questionnaire I received in my Character Design class I took with
Character Questionnaire
I also found a pretty legitimate Mary Sue Litmus Test.
I've been meaning to comment earlier, but I knew I had a lot to say about it. I'm very enthusiastic about these types of journals!
[I should clarify that, whenever I say 'THANK YOU' in 'all-caps' (so to speak), I am speaking in high appreciation.)
Interestingly, I was thinking myself on developing all my characters using two quizzes I found, one in dA and one in FA. I am surprised that this is actually a good way to develop the character I have...
Oh, and BTW, I really like that you have talked about character development as a person. For me, characters are very important part of stories overall, but it is personal opinion. Anyways, thank you for writing this stuff and thank you for the links I might have needed them. And you know what, I have a unique Mary Sue-ish character, but it isn't really all fleshed out, or has some backstory, but it is just there to help with the story. So I guess it is different. I think maybe you could've also added about character "flanderization".
I have been working on a character design for a while now, but it's kind of a unique design, inspired by music, so I'm taking a very different approach compared to what I usually do and keep running into dead ends.
This will help a lot, I'm sure ^_^