Character Development
WORK IN PROGRESS
Got parts for ramath, and parts for general use as well.
Character Creation and Development
1. The Idea
2. Basic Info
3. Appearance/Personality
4. History
5. Elaborating
1) The Idea
“What is the Purpose of your character?”
Coming up with the idea is probably the hardest part of the character design. This CAN be remedied easily if your willing to toot around with random ideas and possibilities. I find that once those creative juices start flowing, ideas come out well enough to start being put together.
2) The Basics
(FOR RAL) Pendragons ('dragons) have quite a few subspecies and each one has its own attributes that you need to cater too. Make sure you read up!
(If the species is open (creating character for a story or an open role play site like GaiaOnline) it may be a little harder to really settle down with something to really enjoy, but with some searching it can be found. If you've got a specific role play site or a specific species for your story then the easier it'll be.)
An easy way of creating a “first Character” is to LOOSLEY base it off yourself. (this is good if your just starting out in role playing or even just trying to create realistic character or practicing to do so.) If you look at yourself (or perhaps a friend if its easier to -judge- another ) and take qualities you like or find interesting, you will have some material to start from. Even personality wise, not just physical traits. Don't base it all off yourself have some creativity and experiment a little! (Think about eye color, hair color, height, personality, you could even go down to specifics like show size or the kind of underwear they happen to like... Maybe they wear it on their head? Who knows!)
Try to think about what kinds of things interest you. Making character interesting not only to you, but to readers is very important. And finding quirks and traits can be as simple as looking in a cookie jar. (LITARLLY!) What kinds of games do you like? Do you love the outdoors? Are there things you WISH you could do like, bungee jumping, but maybe your too scared? What about hand gliding or surfing. Things you may have tried but was never good at. If your going for a COOL character then what do you find cool and what do you think others think is cool? Try tnot to base things SOLEY on what you see in media. A lot of it is overdone and not realistic at all. If your creating a non human species, where is their “world” set? What things do they have available to them? Take things you like and try catering it to their world and see what you can create! (For RaL) Ramath is open to almost any era. There's rootin' tootin' gunners, futuristic armor, biochemical enhancements, and even swords, bows and arrows and all those crafty things from the older days. Did your character grow up in a village? Town? Central city? Are they woodlanders or city goers? (Where they were born usually has something to do with their attitude, likes/dislikes, their abilities or defenses. If they were born in a colder climate, they would either have a larger coat of fur, thicker clothes, or some way of keeping them warm.)
Some characters are what some people “wish they could be.” My own characters are all a part of me in some sense. Not necessarily all by means of looks or personality but they are all my “brain children” and they all have meaning to me. My own “Persona/Fursona” (Temrin) is “cool” to me and who I wish I could be. She actually has become my inspiration (among other REAL people and events) that help me become a more confident and decisive person. She's somewhat, a SIDE of me. Shes my baddass-ery that likes to show itself once and a while and she gives me the freedom to act in a way I probably couldn't IRL. When you make a close connection with a created character it makes them that more believable and realistic because you can write convincingly as well. Its not ALWAYS about the descriptions but the writing as well. It all takes practice!
3) Appearance and Personality
For myself, I find it easiest to start with a list of features, some paper/coloured pencils or my laptop/drawing program and just try out different colours.
Here's a simple check list:
Eyes: Hair: Skin/Fur/Scales: Height: Markings/Tattoos/Scars: Specie Specifics: Clothes: Weapons: (other things to think about are any enhancements, piercings, jewlery, etc.)
Remember to keep things interesting for not only yourself, but for any viewers. Color schemes are an important aspect of a character. Weather it be for fantasy creatures with scales, fur, etc, or if colours for clothes its good to know a little bit about colour theory. To keep it simple, here are some simple colour scheme examples. (Remember that you can use these schemes with different colours then the one in the example.)
Try to work with a few different schemes. You may find schemes you like for future characters or ideas. Remember that colours can also represent emotions and feelings. Also, depending on what audience your looking to please, different colours mean different things to different cultures. (if you have a certain audience to cater too, keep some of these in mind, and do some research~)
(More expansive colour chart: http://hubpages.com/hub/Color-and-Emotion-Association )
RED: Excitement, energy, passion, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, love, aggression, danger, fire, blood, ware, violence -China: Good luck and celebration -Cherokees: Success, triumph -India: Purity -South Africa: Mourning -Russia: Bolsheviks & Communism -Western: Christmas (with green)
YELLOW: Joy, happiness, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, betrayal, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard -China: Nourishing -Egypt: Mourning -Japan: courage -India: Merchants
BLUE: Peace, tranquility, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, cold, technology, depression, “Appetite Suppressant” -Cherokee: Defeat and trouble -Iran: Heaven and spirituality -Western: Corporate, “Something blue” bridal tradition
ORANGE: Energy, balance, warmth, enthusiasm, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention -Ireland: Religious (protestants) -Western: Autumn, Halloween (with black)
GREEN: Nature, environment, health, good luck, renewal, youth, vigor, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy, misfortune -India: Islam -Ireland: symbol of entire country -Western: St Patrick's day, Christmas (with red)
PURPLE: Royalty, spirituality, nobility, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, mourning. -Thailand: Mourning (widows) -Western: Royalty
GRAY: Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring
BROWN: Earth, health, home, outdoors, reliability, endurance, stability, simplicity, and comfort.
WHITE: Reverence, purity, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, birth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage(Western Cultures), death (eastern cultures), cold, clinical, sterile -Japan: White carnations symbolize death -Eastern: Funerals
BLACK: Power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, anonymity, unhappiness, depth, style, sadness, remorse, anger, underground, good technical colour, mourning death (western cultures)
When it comes to personality you want to think about what purpose your character has. Every Person has a purpose (even if its to FIND their purpose! ) and to create a realistic character, they need to have one too!
A purpose normally will go hand in hand with the occupation/trade/interests of the character. If your character is a warrior, what does he fight for?
If your character is a scholar of sorts, what does he study/research and why?
Treasure hunter? Is he looking for something in particular or just a hoarder of shiny things?
Maybe your character works in fast food to make enough money to go to school. :P
You have to ask yourself, “Why does he study/practice this?”
If you ask why to just about everything, it will help viewers to better understand your character as well as make it easier for YOU to put together a history.
Personality is something hard to describe but the character cannot just be “nice.” Why are they nice? How are they nice? Do they get angry easily? Perhaps at specific things? So they have habits? (Do they bite their nails, crack their knuckles? Why? Do they talk to themselves? Why? )
DO NOT FORGET “WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, and HOW!”
Its okay to take quirks and habits based off yourself or others around you. Just be careful if you take traits from another persons character. If its something very specific to that character, you may get in trouble of sorts, specially if its a copyrighted character.
4) History
If you've been asking 'why' to all of your decisions about your character, the history should at least have a basis to start from.
Its not always easy to think up a good, convincing back story. This usually takes the longest and many put it off or don't bother. (I'm guilty!)
People like to cop-out with histories. Someone may be too lazy and decide to just pick something cliche and hugely overdone or just not write anything at all. (I've been guilty for this too!)
“Parents died or they were Orphaned/Abandoned”
If your going to base a storyline off that, then WHY did they die, why was he/she orphaned or abandoned. And don't just say “Parents didn't care” You need to delve and describe something like that excessively or people are going to roll their eyes. Drama is okay but widely overdone. You need to make it interesting to the viewer or they will be bored.
(FOR RAL) Remember that Ramath-lehi/Shadowlack, your character can have no relation to humans, know of earth, etc. They cannot have anything that was on earth, or even know of it. Earth does not exist!
If you are basing a character off yourself, you can look at why you are the way you are today. Why do you think you act the way you do about certain things? Or why someone else would. What would a person go through to cause this reaction to a certain subject? Remember, there is never one right answer to these.
If a kid is bullied in school, there are different ways someone may react to it. -could feel oppressed and would turn to treat others they way they've been treated. -could feel self conscious or worthless and become silent, shy, and hide from conflict or social contact. -could feel the need for justice and stand up for themselves (which could be, telling an adult, trying to fight the bully themselves, etc. These can both have positive or negative effects.)
It just takes a little imagination to delve into the mind and come up with realistic reactions. You don't have to explain EVERYTHING, but make sure you at least explain important parts about your character. Also keep in mind that depending on the species, they may also act different by instinct. Try and do some research on the history of a race/species, it will be able to help you.
It all takes a little patience (and a few amusing friends to chat to about it. I find bouncing ideas of other people give me a better understanding of how people will react to my ideas/characters)
