Hey myebi! I was working on a few ocs of mine and I am scared that they are too flat or clique. Do you have any tips about writing complex characters(like ink from your answer to on of the asks) do youond sharing them? I really want to make my characters feel real-- I mean they feel real to me but I want to know how to characterize them to make them pop. Thanks for reading this lil ramble and may your days be filled with great inspiration and happiness! :3 Ps. Love your art :)
Hello love! Firstly, thank you so much for the compliments, I really appreciate it! <3 Also gosh this is such a real talk!!!! I love character writing hahahaaaaa thank you for coming to me for advice although I suck at explaining my thinking but I’ll try my best.
Secondly, I really really invite you to go and check out the #ref tag of my art blog @myebi! I collect all kinds of drawing and writing advice made by other people: step by steps, tutorials, musts, quirks, tips… Feel free to check it out if you’re looking for vocabulary, world building, or character depth for exemple!!
And well… I don’t know if I can give you direct pieces of advice myself, but I can give you a few directions.
I always give my characters more flaws than virtues at first, so they can learn to accept them and eventually turn them into a strength throughout the story.
The background of the story is very important. The setting your character is in and the education they have been given should dictate their point of view and their actions.
You know these silly tags on deviantART or even on tumblr that ask very random questions about yourself? Like what’s your favorite time of the day and such. Answer these in the mind of your character: this can help you potentially come up with quirks and give you an image of what and how they would answer to basic information.
If you roleplay with your characters, try to plan ahead as less as possible. Make sure you and your partner surprise each other. More than keeping the rp interesting, it will make your character react on the spot without preparation, and it will help you define their personality based on how they react on the go. It can totally change your view on you character.
Whatever the main goal of the character is, they should have obstacles requiring the character to change, making this goal hard to reach.
This is very basic, and I’m guessing you already know these things, so about making your characters pop…
Making them complex is essential, but giving them a main trait is just as important. When you talk about someone, you can almost always picture them in your head with a word. I have a friend who, whenever I think about her, rings as “soft” in my head the first second. I know someone else who comes off as “aggressively outgoing”. They sum up people: they don’t leave out the whole person, but they replicate what image they give to others. An outside impression cannot be a whole person. Think of it like an iceberg! The upper part is the first thing that attracts your attention!
Character writing that makes me taken aback is character progress. Make your character grow. Give them obstacles and dillemas and make them adapt. Make them understand what prevents them from moving forward and surprise us with them soaring. It’s satisfying and inspiring!!
If it’s about making characters literally pop, other than an interesting design, give them unusual goals in rather “usual” settings, or well-known goals in rather “unusual” ones!
Gosh sorry, I’m not really good at this. I really hope it helped just a bit! <3
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