source.
Creating Characters – Appearance
Here are a few tips to
create the body of your new character. Appearance defines your
character almost as much as personality. I hope something will be useful
to you.
Body Shape
Is your character muscular?
Tall and thin? Short and round? I think about body shape as basically
height and weight. There are three basic body types that are also useful
to know:
1) Ectomorph – This is a delicate build. Pretty much
tall and thin, there are more angles on these bodies than curves. Limbs
and neck are also long and shoulders tend to be small. They often have a
flat chest. Ectomorphs tend to have fast metabolisms.
2)
Mesomorph – A more athletic build. This type is more muscular. They have
broad shoulders, a narrow waist and wide hips. This build gives women
an hourglass type shape, with more curves than angles. Mesomorphs gain
muscle easily.
3) Endomorph – A rounder build. The abdominal area
is more dominant with a high waist and no prominent bones. Arms and
legs are also shorter. Endomorphs have a slow metabolism and tend to
gain muscle and fat very easily.
Of course, you can mix and match
these three basic body types. For example, you could have a mesomorphic
ectomorph which is a thin and delicate build with a bit more muscle
than a regular ectomorph. (One thing though, if you swap those two,
you'll get a muscular person who is just less heavily built.) It's more
common to be a mix between these types than to just have a single basic
shape.
Face Shape
There are many different
shapes for faces. The shape of a face depends on the shape of the jaw,
roundness of the cheeks and sometimes the shape of the hairline. Four
common shapes are:
1) Triangular – A face which is narrowest at
the bottom with a pointed chin. Widens at the forehead with a straight
hairline (a heart shaped face is the same, but with a hairline like the
top of a heart instead.)
2) Round – The face width and length are both equal with a round jaw and hairline.
3) Square – The height and width of the face are both equal with a squared jaw and straight hairline.
4) Oval – The face is widest in the middle with a narrow jaw.
Skin/Fur/Feathers/Scales
Colours
for skin range from extremely pale to very dark. If it's a fantasy
creature, then it could have a completely different colour – like green
or blue. Of course, no one is going to have completely clear skin.
People with pale skin are more likely to get freckles which appear on
parts of the body which are exposed to sunlight most often, usually the
face and arms. There are also the dreaded pimples and blackheads, which
are common during teenage years because of hormones. There are also
birthmarks (but more on that later).
Next there is the matter of
fur; if your character is more beast-like than human then they could
have fur instead of skin. There are many types of fur – long, short,
wool, etc. There are also different patterns – spots, stripes, splodges,
plain, etc. Fur is usually seen in different shades of browns, greys
and also black and white.
Feathers and scales are found in more
vivid colours than skin and fur. Parrots have bright red, green and blue
feathers a lot of the time. Scales are also bright, tropical fish for
example; they can be yellow and purple.
Eyes
If
you are going to have realistic characters, ones who are human in the
real world, then eye colour is not going to be very impressive. Blue,
grey, green, hazel and brown are extremely common colours in the real
world. Violet is extremely rare, but it does exist. Red is seen when
there is no pigment in the eye – in severe cases of albinism under the
right conditions (such as a camera flash). Fantasy is different; there
can be more fantastic colours. It's not the real world so the colours
don't need to be realistic.
Pupils aren't circular in all animals
either. There are also vertical pupils, the types seen in reptiles and
felines. Vertical pupils are good at adapting to the amount of light in a
room. There is also a third type of pupil, square pupils, which appear
in octopi and squid.
Eye shapes can also be different. They can be almond shaped, round, have droopy eyelids or be deep set.
Hair
Is
your character going to be bald or have hair as long as Rapunzel's?
Keep in mind that having really long hair may hinder them in the job you
plan to give them. For example, a ninja fighting another ninja would
get into trouble if the other one managed to grab their long, flowing
hair and kill them.
Hair can be completely straight, slightly or
very wavy, have slight curls or ringlets/corkscrews (tight curls), and
it can be so frizzy that it turns into an afro. Straight and wavy hair
tends to be shinier than curls or frizz. Also, is their hair thick or
fine? Smooth or coarse? If your story is in a modern setting, then
straighteners and curling wands exist, if it is historical (before the
1900's) however, they don't.
What colour is their hair? Humans
can have blonde, brown, red, black and grey hair. Dyes exist in today's
society, and a dark haired person can become blonde by using bleach.
However, before these modern dyes existed it wouldn't have been possible
to turn your hair green. Plants like henna did exist however and could
be used as a hair dye. Fantasy is a little more open, so you probably
could have a character with green hair.
Another thing to think
about is hair styles. Does your character put their hair up in a
ponytail? A braid? Do they leave it down? There are many, many different
styles of hair to look at, but a person with short hair probably won't
be able to do as much as someone with long hair.
Note: Guys can have long hair, just as girls can have short hair.
Nose
(A nice short section)
Does
your character have a large or small nose? What size are the nostrils?
Does the end turn up or point downwards? Is it more animal-like than
human? Do they even have a nose or does it just have nostril slits?
Ears
If
your character is a human, then their ears aren't going to be anything
special. But, are they big or small ears? How much of an earlobe do they
have?
Now, if your character isn't human, they can have
different types of ears. An elf usually has pointed ears which are
fairly large. Ears don't even have to be humanoid; they can be dog ears,
cat ears, rabbit ears, etc. They could even be holes in the side of
your character's head, like a reptile. The ears don't even need to be
external; they could have another way of hearing.
Mouth
Lips
have many different shapes. They can be narrow, have a Cupid's bow
shape, and they can be thick. In pale people, lips are usually pink to
red in colour. In people with darker skin, they could be about the same
shade or a bit darker than the skin. How big is their mouth? Is it
really wide or is it quite small. A wider mouth would usually signify a
loud character while a small mouth could mean that your character is
shy.
Teeth. A human has omnivorous teeth; we have teeth to rip
and tear and also teeth to grind up our food. Maybe they have teeth like
a cat, carnivorous teeth, teeth that are sharp fangs used to kill, hold
and tear at their prey. Herbivorous teeth are found on anything that
eats only plant material. They are flat and are used to grind up their
food. Maybe your character doesn't even have teeth, they could have a
beak or they could have baleen (the filter-like teeth that most whales
have). Their race's diet will decide what teeth they are most likely to
have.
The tongue. Humans have round tongues. Reptiles have forked
tongues. Tongues can also be pointed or tubular. Animals like cats have
rasp-like tongues that they use to clean themselves.
Hands and Feet
Does
your character have nails like a human? They probably won't if you plan
on having a carnivorous character, they'll have claws so they can grip
onto and rip into their prey, and they'll also be a weapon to fight
with. Claws can be retractable (like a cat) or non-retractable. Your
character could have hooves like a deer or a horse. Hooves are made to
support weight and could be used to replace feet.
Also, do they
have plantigrade or digitigrade feet? Digitigrade means that they will
walk on their toes. Plantigrade means that they walk on their toes and
heels. Humans have plantigrade feet, whereas the back feet of cats are
more digitigrade. The type of foot will change leg shape.
Some Other Minor Details
Your
character could have a tail. It could be long and whip-like, or bushy.
It could be a dragon tail with an arrowhead on the end of it. It could
be a puffy rabbit tail. Maybe the tail completely replaces the legs,
like a mermaid.
Does your character have wings? They could be
bird wings with brightly coloured feathers. They could be scaly dragon
wings, or furry bat wings. They could even have insect wings. Wings
could replace arms or become a part of them, just like a bat. They
should be a realistic size if you want your character to fly. Perhaps
they've lost their ability to fly and their wings aren't what they used
to be, then they could have short, stubby wings like a kiwi or emu.
Horns,
antlers and antennae. If you have based your character on a deer or
something similar, they are likely to have antlers. In reality, only
male deer have antlers and they are used to fight other males over
territory or a mate, they can fall off and regrow. They could be like
horns commonly found in sheep, the ones that curl around. They could
even be straight horns which are found on goats. If you have made a race
of insect people, then they could have antennae which are sensitive to
vibrations and smell.
Does your character have birthmarks or
tattoos? What about scars? If they have a birthmark, where is it and
what does it look like? Usually it's just a splodge of darker coloured
skin on your body and over time it will disappear. Birthmarks are not
uncommon, but it could make your character self-conscious if it's on
their face. Tattoos are a good way to set your character apart, but
think about their age. In places like Australia, it's illegal to get
tattoos until you are eighteen. In a fantasy world, it might be a
different matter, but a child or teenager is unlikely to have a tattoo.
Scars are not uncommon, but they'd better be there for a good reason.
Maybe your character had an accident involving flames as a child and
they have a huge burn scar on their arm.
Conclusion
So,
now you should have worked out what your character looks like, but
right now, they are still naked. Life and personality still has to be
given to them. I hope this helped you with some of the basics.
