How to draw? Your character: instructions on how to create a unique character. How to Create Your Own Anime or Your Manga Character How to Design a Good Character

Agree - everyone can describe Sherlock Holmes, but not every reader knows all the twists and turns of even such famous works as "The Dog of the Baskervilles" or "The Sign of the Four" as well. Jack Sparrow, Robinson Crusoe, Rodion Raskolnikov are examples from the same series. Strong, memorable characters make the book livelier and more interesting. How to create such characters - read the article.

Get to know your character

Who would it be easier for you to introduce into your story - a well-known friend or a new colleague from a neighboring department? Of course, the first option is more preferable, since the flamboyant character is the one you know more about. Therefore, you should be aware of your character more than you tell your readers - this is the first rule. How to put it into practice?

Write a biography

This requirement applies to all more or less significant heroes of the work, and especially the main character. A biography can be written in free form or completed in the form of a questionnaire. Whatever it was - try to draw the life of each character in as much detail as possible.

Study the hero in different situations

To get a better idea of ​​the character of the character - use the method of screenwriter Alvin Sargent. Working on the next film, he put his characters in different situations, which, although they were not related to the main plot, nevertheless helped to better understand the characteristics of the characters. Subsequently, he may or may not include these scenes in the script.

Think about how your hero would act in the face of an incurable disease or unexpected luck, what he would do if he lost a good job or, on the contrary, achieved unprecedented success. The more situations you come up with, the clearer your understanding of the image will be.

Prototypes

Many prominent heroes of the books had their own prototypes. These include the already mentioned Sherlock Holmes and Robinson. This is very convenient, since you already have the lion's share of information about the character. You can of course use this literary trick, but there are two dangers to watch out for.

The first is that the prototype (or its environment) can recognize itself in the description, and not everyone will like it, especially if you put it on the wrong side. There have been cases in history when offended readers filed lawsuits against authors.
Another problem that may arise with the prototype is the inability to give it the qualities that the plot requires. On the other hand, some writers do just that, playing on contrast and endowing it with unexpected character traits. This makes the character more memorable.

Bad vs Good

Most writers make the "good" characters central to their storytelling. On the other hand, the forbidden fruit is sweet, and therefore authors such as, for example, Patrick Suskind in the novel "Perfume", choose not the best representatives of humanity as heroes. But no matter which side your hero is on, he should be interesting to the reader - only in this case he will be well remembered and will attract attention.

Another useful technique can be the opposition of positive and negative qualities in one character, as we see in The Godfather.

Hero evolution

Everyone knows how difficult it is to change yourself and your life - that is why stories about development or degradation are so successful. The same should apply to your work. Throughout the entire plot, your character should gradually change. Passing through trials and overcoming obstacles, he will acquire new qualities or become worse. It doesn't have to be an overly radical transformation - it won't look too believable. In genres such as detective stories or action spy films, the characters usually remain the same, but their evolution as a side effect of the plot only adds extra charm.

Summary

People are much better at remembering vivid characters, rather than elaborate and twisted plots. To create a catchy hero, you first need to get to know him well. To do this, write a biography and study his behavior in different situations. You can also use prototypes, but be careful not to substitute. It doesn't matter if your hero is good or not - the main thing is that he is interesting and evolves over time.

Character creation must be approached with extreme seriousness, especially if he becomes your main character and you want to develop his story.

How do you create an original character?

: star: 1) Understand why you need it.

Will you choose why you are coming from the universe or from the character? For example, I initially created a character, then remembered others that I had created earlier, and combined them into one universe, creating my own setting, features that affect the plot, and so on.

It is worth remembering that if you start with characters, it will be a little more difficult, because when you first know the concept of the universe, it will be easier for you to wedge characters into it, because its place in the plot is already approximately clear. Everything here is individual.

Do not create a character just like that, otherwise you will forget about him after a while.

Don't ask others if it's worth creating. If you think about it, start collecting material for it and start developing.

: star: 2) Why do you need a universe for a character?

I told you more about how to create a character.

But why is this necessary?

Your character must have a place in the world and a foundation. Any movies, books, etc. have their own universe. For the same marvels, for example, everything is justified by the fact that there are superheroes in their world who are forced to save everyone. This is the concept, and behind this comes the setting, the heroes,

: star: 3) How to create the appearance of a wasp?

It is easier for those who act in form. Evil characters are more boxy and angular. But what should realists do, or those who already have their own style, not based on forms?

If you're having difficulty with faces, take a prototype. There is no shame in this. For example, my colleague took McAvoy's appearance as a basis and went from her to something original, although you can still remotely recognize James in him. Or I took Niall Underwood's looks as a basis when I created and worked on Heather.

Taking a real person as a basis, it will be MUCH easier for you to draw a character, because very often you can just open a photo of this person on the Internet and draw.

Also use shape or contrasts. The cute character is actually a bad guy (Min Yoongi is a living example, honestly, I would never have thought). Or the big aggressive mafiosi characters from the anime. They are often large, angular, and square-like. Sometimes bald. Or a cunning character with sharp facial features and a long, pointed nose.

For example, my Heather has a rather sharp nose, a sharp chin and a corner on his eyebrows, indicating his selfishness and a rather nasty disposition, slightly covered, but still often kind eyes, indicating that he is tired of an endless life and that he is not so and bad. Also, his frequent condescending expression on his face indicates his attitude towards everything.

: star: 4) How to create character character?

The hardest part is character. The appearance and the attitude of people towards him relies on him.

If you create a villain, make his motive, convince him that he is doing everything right, only if he does not have a specific goal to arrange genocide, but with this everything is clear.

Often in good films, books, games, the main villain has not really villainous goals, if viewed from his side. Thus, the reapers from Mass Effect not only wanted to enslave the Milky Way, but also wanted to study it, find out. People are actually no better, by golly, doing the same thing, but regarding what is below.

If you are not a classicist, then the character should not be definitely kind or definitely evil, nor should he be Mary Sue. Later I will talk about this phenomenon in more detail from my point of view.

Give your character good and bad traits. If the hero is the main one, then make him a flaw that prevents him from achieving his goal, which he will eventually be forced to bypass or eliminate. This is called character growth. For example, the inability to work in a team, or the inability to handle weapons, excessive naivety, with the course of the character's story in the future, will become leadership qualities, or the ability to handle an alien blaster, and naivety will become composure.

Don't forget that other characters can help yours. So, if a character cannot overcome his naivety, someone else will help him.

Clothing also helps to reveal the character. About it

1) MAKE SURE THAT THE CHARACTER IS NOT MEASURED SUE.

2) Clothing and appearance can express the character, goals and dreams of the character.

3) A character cannot be completely good or completely evil.

4) The character must be completely confident in his beliefs.

5) You can take living people as a basis and change their appearance for yourself.

6) Your universe and character will never be completely new, so take parts from other fandoms, but don't copy everything completely.

7) If point 6 does not work, take and invent a character in the universe of another fandom, for example, The Simpsons, but in this case, do not make everything revolve around your character, making him Mary Sue.

I hope the article was helpful and I helped you with something.

Today in the article we will answer the questions:

How to create a 3D character? What determines the "volume" of the hero? What makes it alive, unique and makes readers empathize?

What is depth and how to work it out?

First, let's decide what the depth isNOT is an.

Depth is NOT:

• characteristic;
• peculiarities;
• quirky and eccentric features;
• not a dominant character trait.

So what is depth?

A striking character is distinguished not by one, but by many features and traits, many of which may contradict each other. It is from this contradiction of character traits that depth is born.

We put forward the thesis:

DepthIs a contradiction.

This is the simplest, but most important thing to remember when we talk about volume.

The contradiction can be:

• inside a strong character (an internal conflict that arises from two contradictory traits; for example, in Macbeth, this is a conflict of ambition and guilt);
• between characterization and true character (brave fat man, kind ogre, charming thief);
• between character and behavior (For example, let's remember Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Aragorn is king by vocation - he comes from a line of rulers, and the throne belongs to him by right. But he rejects his destiny and puts on the mask of a pathfinder and a vagabond).

Contradictions should be consistent, logical and consistent. If you position the hero as a positive character, any bad deed by him must be justified, understandable and accepted / forgiven by the readers.

The most striking example of a multidimensional character isHamlet.

Here is a partial list of his contradictions:

• religious - blasphemer;
• loving and gentle - heartless and sadistic;
• brave - cowardly;
• calm and cautious - impulsive and reckless;
• ruthless - compassionate;
• proud - pity himself;
• witty - sad;
• tired - energetic;
• reasonable - confused;
• sane - insane;
• simple-minded - sophisticated.

The main character does not have to have such a huge amount of contradictions. But there should be at least 3-4 of them. Secondary characters have 2-3 contradictions. At checkpoints - no more than one.

The main character must have the greatest number of contradictions of all the characters present in your work.

Even more than the antagonist (or the same). If the villain has more contradictions than the hero, he will automatically replace him.

Why are contradictions necessary?

Readers are very interested in watching ambiguous, contradictory characters. They generate interest and grab attention. The more interesting the contradictions, the more intriguing hero you get.

Examples of characters' contradictions:

1. "The Lord of the Rings" Tolkien. Frodo.

The little hobbit is brave and selfless.

2. Breaking Bad. Walt.

Compassionate is cruel.

3. "Jeeves, you are a genius!" Woodhouse. Jeeves.

The servant is smart and gentleman.

4. Shelley's Frankenstein. Frankenstein.

A terrible monster - with a sensitive heart and a thirst for love and understanding.

5. "Green Mile" King. John Coffey.

The huge Negro slave is kind and compassionate.

Conclusion:

The depth of the characters depends on how strong and justified the contradictions in the character.

The skill of creating contradictions not only makes your character more interesting and multifaceted, but will also directly affect the plot of the work.

We invite you to the next stream of the "Characters" course:

👉 Target- for 12 lessons to create heroes that will intrigue, amaze and amaze. And the main thing is to influence the reader.

There are so many books and guides for this. Our aspiring screenwriters are too lazy to read even the basics. As a result, we get not even second-rate sketches and scripts. Yes, everyone has a fantasy and wants to come up with something of their own, but they need to invent it based on the rules and logic.

No one is interested in reading about the next Lyonya Vasiliev, who runs around the dead city and saves the world. Who is Lenya Vasiliev? Why does he run and save? Why is he kind?
These and a thousand more questions I have when reading the stories.

Problems arise not only in the formation of images of the main and secondary characters, but also in the integrity of the overall picture. Now we are reading about the aforementioned Leonid, and then he is friends with Zyrbydykh from the planet Orhergan. And when Zyrbydykh laughs, he moves his tentacles in a funny way. This is a very important point.
Okay what. Your world is your rules.

Proper names.
So, back to the topic of my article - the logic and rules for the formation of characters.
Each of you has a name. Think about why your name is that, and not the same Zyrbydykh? Whether you are Alexander or Mikhail, your name has a story. It means something. Onomastics. This word has a huge meaning. This is a branch of science that studies proper names and includes a large number of different directions.
To find out what the name "Alexander" means, we can turn to anthroponymics. Alexander is a courageous defender (Greek). Now let's look further. We are writing a script, our main character is Alexander, and having at least some basic knowledge, we can write Alexander's character, how he behaves in situations.
There is no such thing that names are invented "at random." It happens more precisely, but this is at the discretion of the writer. As I said before, your world is your rules.

How do I come up with names.
For example, I need to come up with a positive character who has certain character traits. I write out these features and choose the most dominant one. Maybe he has a weakness - he is afraid of heights. Then we go to the translators and translate the phrase "afraid of heights" into any language we like. And better, which will most beautifully flow into your story. As an example, I chose the Basque language (people living in the northern regions of Spain and southern regions of France). We get: alturas de beldur. This is food for thought. The character can be named: Alturas or Beldur. Let's attach drunkenness to our hero. The drunkard is mozkor. Great, Alturas Mozkor: Drunken Height.
Our main character is Alturas Mozkor. A drunkard who is afraid of heights and will always come to the aid of those in need. If he is sober or he was not driven by the wolves on a 10-meter spruce
The basis for character has been laid.

Animal names.
Hedgehog.
- Look, it's a hedgehog!
- Why a hedgehog?
- Why not? He looks a lot like a hedgehog.
- How do you know what hedgehogs look like?
- Well, I know that's all. This is a hedgehog period!
(c) Excerpt from the Greek book "How a friend and I invented a hedgehog."

No, the name of the hedgehog was not thought up like that. There is also a section of science - Etymology, it studies the origin of words. Why was the hedgehog called the hedgehog? Why is a bear a bear, and not in any other way? This science gives us the answers to these questions.

Who will our Alturas fight with? Of course with some Dyrgere. Which looks like a jelly mass. No, wait, we have a logical world and logical people?
Let there be Humpbacked Gorlan.

Feature one: You can form the names of monsters by their appearance or abilities.
Fizzleshot was not named that because he likes to scratch his ears with his right paw. He shoots spikes.
This is the most common method for making up monsters.

Feature two: The poisonous hornet is named so precisely because it is poisonous. We take an ordinary animal and add an adjective to it. Wolf. It looks like an ordinary wolf, but you need something more original? From here it went: Ferocious, black, red-eyed (Linuxoid), crooked-footed, short-tailed, and so on.
It will look very epic in your game log: Alturas dealt a crushing blow to the Red-Eyed Wolf.

Feature three: Our good old translator. Short legs? Ok, let it be Laburrac. Immediately at the word "Laburrac", an image of something very large, on short legs, pops up in my head, but a massive body and a huge dull head do not allow you to relax and warn that he is not particularly looking for friendship with you, is he?

Let's go back to the Humpbacked Gorlopans.
A funny animal will turn out. A flock of humpbacked birds that bawl (quarrel, scold). Maybe they are not particularly scary and dangerous, but they can even reach the dead. Terrible opponent :).

Place names.
Here is our Alturas standing on the Plateau of Winds, and opposite it the thousandth army of Humpbacked Gorlopanov.

"Alturas, are you sure the Plateau of the Winds is the best place to fight them?" And why do you need them at all?
- Such creatures have no place on my land. What if the children hear?
- Look around, what kind of children? We are at an altitude of 1000 meters and now it is midnight.
- 1000 meters? Midnight? Perhaps you're right. There are no children here, so it's time to go to the pub.
(c) From the memories of Alturas defeating Laburrac.

It's easy to come up with place names. The Cave of Terror? Hill of a Thousand Lightning? Lake of blood? So be it. This perfectly characterizes the place.
And if it seems too banal to you - translators. Wind - Haizea. Sounds like? And then! Haise plateau.

No, I am by no means forcing you to turn to translators every time and create thousands of universal names. I urge you to be logical in your works and adhere to the general style.

A little about the general style of the piece.
When I wrote the script for Illatiera (I think many people know about this project of mine), it by itself was written in my own style, with its own names, characters and so on. There was (and still is) one "Scriptwriter" who undertook to edit the script.
I will not talk about the results, but I was surprised by 1 case. When he tried to stick something of his own into the already formed style of the world, people, which came out like the sound of a fork on the glass.
When I asked if he was embarrassed by the fact that it was completely out of style, I was answered "No, it's a cool name." I had no choice but to simply shrug my shoulders.

Imagine that there are only Lesha, Petra, Vasily around, and then suddenly Zimbumba. It will at least cause a stupor. This is approximately how it looks in the works. You can of course say that Zimbumba is from Africa, but this should be said in advance in order to prepare the reader / player.

I told just a little about the formation of heroes and the world. A sufficient number of books have been written about this. Do not be lazy, read, create correct and interesting worlds, not illogical tracing papers.

Well, I'll probably end with the same thing as I started. I love logic. In everything.
And if I need a Russian and generous character, he will most likely bear the name Robert, not Innokenty.
I hope this article will give you at least some useful information.

The search for a character image is an interesting and responsible occupation, especially for those who are just starting the path of an artist. This is an instruction for those who only have an image in their head that they want to draw. Your character is created in several stages. It is better if you write each of them on paper.

So how step by step?

Stage 1. General features

Here it is necessary to determine the gender, age, date of birth and occupation of the hero.

First of all, you need to decide who we want to draw. "Own character" can be either a five-year-old girl or a seventy-year old man. When deciding on gender, remember about the concept of social education, as well as gender response to the hero. In addition, there are purely female character traits that are not characteristic of the male population.

Stage 2. Character appearance

At this stage, it is necessary to determine the appearance of the character: eye and hair color, hairstyle, height, weight, physique, outfit.

Eye and hair color is a very sensitive issue. But most artists advise choosing a hair color depending on the type of activity and the intended nature, and making the eyes contrasting or, conversely, similar in color to the hair.

If height and weight are within the normal range, then they do not play a special role.

Stage 3. Character character

It is better to start the character of the character with temperament: what will be the character we want to draw? “Own character” can be a bright and energetic choleric person, a melancholic person constantly hovering in the clouds, a calm phlegmatic person or a balanced sanguine person. After that, it is necessary to work out the positive and negative character traits of the hero.

As a result, we get a holistic image that is easy to draw. Your character will be livelier and more original if you take care of every detail of his image.