Tag: Future reference

amiable-apparition:

stowaway-aboard:

salison:

Rather than drawing your character standing there doing nothing over and over again, here’s 100 other ideas to put them in action and challenge yourself as an artist.

Nice

A pretty decent chunk of these can easily include 2 characters too if you want to practice some character interactions!

Source: salison

justdrinktea:

medusas-heir:

imtootiredtothinkofaname:

aspieat221b:

Looking for a random cause of death for a character? Click here.

Looking for a random city? Click here.

Looking for a random city that people have actually heard of? Click here.

Need a random surname for a character? Click here. (They also give prevalence by race, which is very helpful.)

Helpful writing tips for my friends.

smallirishpotato

OH SHIT.

A couple more resources I have open constantly:

Random motivations for your characters here!

Need some character quirks? Here and here! 

Having trouble with backstory? Here! (They have an option for fortunate and unfortunate backstories)

kaylapocalypse:

Actually

The question I get the most is how I write characters that feel like real people. 

Generally when I’m designing a human being, I deconstruct them into 7 major categories:

1. Primary Drive
2. Fear: Major and Secondary
3. Physical Desires
4. Style of self expression
5. How they express affection
6. What controls them (what they are weak for)
7. What part of them will change.

1. Primary Drive: This is generally related to the plot. What are their plot related goals? How are they pulling the plot forward? how do they make decisions? What do they think they’re doing and how do they justify doing it.

2. Fear: First, what is their deep fear? Abandonment? being consumed by power? etc. Second: tiny fears. Spiders. someone licking their neck. Small things that bother them. At least 4.

3. Physical desires. How they feel about touch. What is their perceived sexual/romantic orientation. Do their physical desires match up with their psychological desires.

4. Style of self expression: How they talk. Are they shy? Do they like to joke around and if so, how? Are they anxious or confident internally and how do they express that externally. What do words mean to them? More or less than actions? Does their socioeconomic background affect the way they present themselves socially? 

5.

How they express affection: Do they express affection through actions or words. Is expressing affection easy for them or not. How quickly do they open up to someone they like. Does their affection match up with their physical desires. how does the way they show their friends that they love them differ from how they show a potential love interest that they love them. is affection something they struggle with?

6. What controls them (what they are weak for): what are they almost entirely helpless against. What is something that influences them regardless of their own moral code. What– if driven to the end of the wire— would they reject sacrificing. What/who would they cut off their own finger for.  What would they kill for, if pushed. What makes them want to curl up and never go outside again from pain. What makes them sink to their knees from weakness or relief. What would make them weep tears of joy regardless where they were and who they were in front of. 

7. WHAT PART OF THEM WILL CHANGE: people develop over time. At least two of the above six categories will be altered by the storyline–either to an extreme or whittled down to nothing. When a person experiences trauma, their primary fear may change, or how they express affection may change, etc. By the time your book is over, they should have developed. And its important to decide which parts of them will be the ones that slowly get altered so you can work on monitoring it as you write. making it congruent with the plot instead of just a reaction to the plot. 

That’s it.

But most of all, you have to treat this like you’re developing a human being. Not a “character” a living breathing person. When you talk, you use their voice. If you want them to say something and it doesn’t seem like (based on the seven characteristics above) that they would say it, what would they say instead?

If they must do something that’s forced by the plot, that they wouldn’t do based on their seven options, they can still do the thing, but how would they feel internally about doing it?

How do their seven characteristics meet/ meld with someone else’s seven and how will they change each other?

Once you can come up with all the answers to all of these questions, you begin to know your character like you’d know one of your friends. When you can place them in any AU and know how they would react.

They start to breathe.

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions: Peoples and Customs – SFWA

writeworld:

General

  • Do average people believe old tales, or do they dismiss some that have a basis in fact (e.g., Troy)?
  • Do wild and rebellious young people dress any differently from anyone else? Are they allowed to?
  • How do most people make a living here?

Customs

  • Do average people believe old tales, or do they dismiss some that have a basis in fact (e.g., Troy)?
  • Do wild and rebellious young people dress any differently from anyone else? Are they allowed to?
  • How do most people make a living here?
  • Does the weather or climate contribute any habits or customs, such as the mid-afternoon siesta in hot countries?
  • What is considered a normal family unit? How extended is an extended family? How important are family connections and responsibilities?
  • What are the rites of passage in this culture? Are they formalized rituals, such as being dubbed a knight, or are they informal? Are they different for men and women? For nobility and peasants?
  • What customs surround a birth and the introduction of a new child to the family? Is the mother sequestered for some period? Is the child? Is there a formal presentation of the new child to parents, grandparents, overlord, priest? Is a feast and celebration declared, or does everyone keep a low profile to keep from attracting demons or bad luck?
  • Who is normally present for births? Is it strictly a matter for women, or are men involved, or is the only woman present the expectant mother?
  • Who raises the children? At what age do they begin to be educated or trained? By whom? Are they considered mini-adults? Do they dress differently from adults? If so, when do they change to adult dress?
  • What customs surround death and burial? Is there a special class of people (doctors, priests, funeral directors, untouchables) who deal with dead bodies? What things must be done and why (burn hair to free spirit, burn body to prevent necromancy, coins on eyes for ferryman, etc.)? Are the dead feared, revered, or ignored?
  • What personal weapons are available to anyone who can afford them? Are some considered “for nobles only” either by custom or by law? Are there laws forbidding certain classes from being armed at all?

Read More →

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions: Peoples and Customs – SFWA

brucewayneright:

thewritingbeast:

sinksanksockie:

patientno7:

the suffering never ends

This is the real process

Resources for you!

Character Ideas:

Character Design Ideas:

Naming Help:

Creating Background/backstory:

Character Interactions and putting your character into your world/story:

Bonus art masterlist!

BLESS EVERYONE IN THIS POST.

Source: patientno7

20 ways to draw a more consistent character

teesshinystuff:

TAKEN FROM HERE: https://sites.google.com/site/houseotwisted/junk/20drawings

1. Draw the most common appearance for your character. This is your comfort zone. (Color)

2. Draw your character from the front, the side, and the back. This is something called a ‘turn sheet’. It’s a little boring to do, but will be very helpful to you in the future to have on hand.

3. Draw your character from the front, the side, and the back, but have them in nothing but their undies at most. This is to show off how your character is built. Drawing nothing but a straight pant-leg with no structure under it is no way to learn! (Skip this if your character doesn’t wear clothes)

4. Draw your character at three different ages than they currently are. (Must be noticeably different. No ages: 4, 5, and 6, etc.) Color one of them.

5. BANG! Your character just heard a loud noise right behind them. Draw their reaction!

6. Draw a bird’s eye view of your character.

7. Draw your character feeling very happy. Show body language.

8. Draw your character feeling very angry. Ditto.

9. Draw your character feeling very sad. You know the drill.

10. Draw your character with a different body type than they usually have. This helps you map distinguishing features onto different ‘templates’.

11. Draw your character if they were the opposite gender.

12. Draw your character as a different species than they normally are.

13. Somebody has just handed your character a live duck. Draw their reaction. Keep them in character.

14. Mary Sue the HELL out of your character. (Due to being asked “What is Mary Sue?” several times, I have included a link to the evil that is Sue: [Click if you dare.]

15. Draw your character lifting something heavy. (no magic allowed!)

16. Draw your character in an opposite role than they appear in your story/continuity.

17. Draw your character doing something they enjoy.

18. Draw your character doing something they do NOT enjoy.

19. Draw your character in a dynamic pose that is not a profile shot (from the side).

20. Draw the most common appearance for your character. Color it. (Pssst! See if it improved from the first one you drew. I bet it did!)

Fun meme to help you develop your characters relationships and personalities~!

prpldragonart:

  1. Make a numbered list of your ocs
  2. Go to a random number generator
  3. Pick two (or however many you want) numbers/ocs
  4. Describe/draw/whatever their relationship with each other!

Sure you may have a character’s main relationships worked out (friends, family, etc) but what would happen if they ran into a random other character? How would they react? Would they get along? This helps you figure out their personalities, attitudes, and relationships with others~!