Character outlining is a very important part of novel writing preparation. The more you know about your characters, the easier it is to plan and outline what happens to them, and how they act, react…

Paula Landry explains how you can improve plot with character development by adding quirks, flaws and foibles.

Author Tricia Goyer shares Free Printables for Writing Your Novel. Do you want easy-to-use worksheets to help novel writing? Grab these!

Naming your characters might be a small part of the writing process, but read these tips anyway to make sure you do it right.

The Pins (2021). “Digital becomes physical.” The Pins is a character design project that explores the map pin's design possibilities playfully.

For readers to care what happens next in your story, they must first care about your characters. It’s your job as a writer to foster this reader-character connection, to build the bridge that encourages readers to invest in your characters’ stories. Establishing your characters’ motivations isn’t th

Are you ready to dive into developing stellar characters? This free course explores fine details and characteristics that convey fascinating insights!

This landlord told her tenants of 14-years they had 3 months to move out, but they responded that it was a jerk move.

Since I started this blog, I've been trying to figure out something that I could do that hasn't been done a thousand times before. All the...

No matter what sort of character name you’re pursuing, heed common sense and follow these seven tips to make sure you pick the best names possible for your story.

Character development may seem complex, but it can be a simple, quick, and straightforward process. Read on to check out my free worksheet.

Hello! This is my first picrew, dedicated to all my friends with weirdly specific and niche fantasy character designs. This is for you! You should be able to create a wide variety of characters here, including those with masculine features or diverse skin tones. Please enjoy some of the goodies hidden away in the color options, too! This is for personal use only. DO NOT: -Claim the art as your own -Use in NFTs/AI/Adoptables This took me an extremely long time to make--if you would like to support me, you can buy me a ko-fi :) https://ko-fi.com/thetwi Thank you, and have fun playing! Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamthetwi Tumblr: https://margothetwi.tumblr.com/

To give your characters some texture and make them feel more realistic, consider balancing their virtues with a sprinkle of toxicity.

In this post, I'll show you 10 ways to create memorable characters. You'll learn how to write a story with a large cast of characters so that each one stands out.

4 Scenes you can write That Reveal Who Your Character Is Seamlessly and professionally. Use these scenes to reveal your characters in stories

Your main character is the platform for the message of your story. They ultimately embody the realities we one and all can understand. So how is it that some authors are able to create such unforg…

Artists use their skills to create all kinds of worlds, characters, and concepts most of us can't even imagine. The perfect example of that is Carles Dalmau.

"Shadow theory" is one of the most intuitive tools a writer can use to identify the contrasting elements that create complex characters.

Not everyone has had an easy start in life or a smooth time. Some people are survivors of abuse from family members, relationships, or people at school or work, so it's important to know how to create a character who's suffered abuse so they can also be realistic. Discover how to create characters who have suffered abuse in this post! Stand Corrected Editing offers professional book editing services in the UK to aspiring authors worldwide. Book Proofreading Services | Copy Editing Services

creating animations, illustrations, and characters!

Character archetypes share core truths about people's personalities, goals, fears and weaknesses. Learn how to use them well in your own fiction.

She came to you in a dream, at the dinner table, in the shower. What did she tell you? Did she speak at all? Did her looks explain everything? The majority of writers understand they cannot completely control their characters. Why? When you create them they become their own person. The writer is just there to report the journey through the conflicts they made. (If you need help with conflicts, start here: Conflict and Character.) I've read from several reference books on how I go about creating characters. It's not so much that they help me come up with one, they help me dimensionalize (oh yes, new word) them into helping me create plot. Once you understand your characters it's easier to make the plot-plot-plotting as you type-type-type your pages. Your characters are the ones that move plot as they deal with the conflicts you've put in their way. Does that make sense? Comment if it does or doesn't. To figure out your character the best way is something we all know and love, but somehow we get the descriptors prioritized differently, perhaps wrongly. What do I mean: the color of your character's hair does not matter when it comes to the reader (unless it's purple, or it's an indicator into something else in the story, or both). The reader cares about caring: the heart, the mind, the soul. Create your character from the inside-out, and let the outside reflect inside. Designing Your Character Establish Goals and Motivations Prioritize Traits Believe The Lie Cue their "Aha" Moment Flesh Out the Face (and body...and hair) Here is my character template sheet I customized on Scrivener. If you don't have this application, I wish I could throw it into your computer right now, so you could get to work on it right away. But I can only send you this handy link from Literature & Latte. (It's a free trial; please take advantage! I adore Scrivener. It makes outlining and note-keeping so much easier. I'm an index-card kinda gal and this app really works for me. ) BRIE'S BODACIOUS CHARACTER TEMPLATE: Look at all that craziness. Okay. It's not totally crazy. Actually makes some sense. Are you ready for the explanations? Here we go: Establish Goals and Motivations This is foremost because this is your plot-driver. Your character is nothing without desire, and your book is plotless if the character isn't wanting enough to be motivated. Establish a concrete goal and figure out why they are motivated to achieve it. A motivation might be an over-protective family and the goal might be freedom to be their own person. I have a character who comes from an abusive household. She wants to be independent and do her own thing but her family restricts her. The motivation might also be the conflict. It depends and that's another subject. Focus! Prioritize Traits You don't want an info-dump to make the reader groan and toss your book aside (or over the fence...cough). Put your character in pieces throughout your story. What trait do you want to show first? Choose wisely. The first trait is the one that'll stick to them the entire book. Like a first impression. This trait will be in their first scene. Are they a womanizer? Lazy? Hot-headed? Family-oriented? You choose. And then choose another. Remember Shrek? Your characters are onions. Make them sweet, sharp, or purple (purple poppin' everywhere today!), but peel the layers one by one, and give your reader a taste. Just a taste. Believe The Lie The Lie is their belief. What do they strongly believe in? What are they convinced about that is their truth? Possible Lies: all women are manipulative See-You-Next-Tuesdays You can only rely on yourself money brings happiness people are too stupid to live independently killing murderers is not murder, it's justice K.M. Weiland wrote an excellent post on Believing the Lie and it's where I got all the questions for it: The Lie Your Character Believes Cue their "Aha" Moment Characters will grow. They will change. Their belief system may be shattered. An "aha" is the moment of realization. Their Lie will be put in the spotlight and crushed before the character's eyes. Truth rises from The Lie's remains and the character sees everything, from their first scene up to the "Aha" moment. What has changed? Why? How? If your character has no "aha" moment, there is no growth, and the reader will be left empty, and your book flying over their fence. Flesh Out the Face (and body...and hair) I said the outside should reflect the inside. Now is the time to look at their personality through their goals and motivators, their traits, and beliefs, and consider their physical appearance. A lot of factors come into play here: their location, origin, discipline, vocation, positive or negative traits, finances, etc.. You're not going to have a soldier with long hair and a beard (unless they're special ops) but maybe they have a tattoo that indicates something more. Or a woman who is very uptight and doesn't have a single wrinkle in her wardrobe. Maybe you have a rebel teen who can't afford a professional haircut, so they cut and dye their own hair against their parent's wishes. Physical descriptions are lesser priority than what will help move your story. There are a couple exceptions that I use, but they don't overrule the goals and motivations which push the characters through conflict. Ultimately, it's up to you. I have given you my template in hopes of inspiring you to build your characters with depth. My character sheet is from months of adding and subtracting what I need to make it work for me. As you can see, I have "Food" and "Song" as a helper. I'm a former chef who worked in the Navy for eight years. The culinary world is a part of me and I know how it feeds into people's lives (you see what I did there?). Favorite food might not be priority, but it gives me perspective on my character. Kinda like going out on a date with them outside the book and just seeing them as a person. That's this blog, by the way: Dating Your Characters. Their food doesn't even have to show up in the book; it's just something to help dimensionalize them. Just like the Song, which is my interpretation of their theme. When I need some motivation to write and need to get into a character's head, I have a playlist. But their theme song generalizes that playlist. For instance, my boy Caelum's song is "King Me" by Lamb of God. I listen to it if I need to and feel the anger, the frustration, the driving factor of him. That's why it's in the template. Add Song to your template, if it helps you. What would you add to your template? Would you take away anything? Please comment below and tell me if this helped or didn't help. I'd love to hear from you. I'm also on Facebook if you wanna stalk me there. Say Hi! Hi!

Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, I have completely updated this lesson so that students can create turnarounds using paper, pencil, Sharpie Markers, a cell phone and a Chromebook. This video explains how: The picture above shows the figures from the turnaround digitally colored in and shaded using Photopea. The picture above illustrates the coloring process. The color and shading are added to the layer below the outline. The rightmost figure, on the other hand, has only flat color added without shading, for comparison. The shading helps to give the figure more volume and contributes to a more three-dimensional look. The figure without shading has a flatter, more graphic look. Designers should know how to add both flat color and shading to their artwork so they can decide which technique to use on any given project. If you have access to Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Animate, please follow the instructions below. Otherwise, you can skip down to the helpful reference worksheets I have provided for you. I created these turnaround GIFS using Adobe Photoshop. I saved the layered PSDs so I can use them as animation assets later in Adobe Animate. I also created two template worksheets for you to use as size and position guides when you create your own original unique characters. Below is a step by step video showing you how to create your own animation turnarounds. Immediately below the video, you will find the necessary worksheets. Right click each worksheet, open it as a new window and download it to your computer. Then open it in Adobe Photoshop, adjust the opacity so that the image is barely visible, create a new layer on top and begin creating. Once you have created your original cartoon character turnaround, you are going to need to add color. Please watch the video below to learn how this is done. Below is an example of a character I began creating this weekend with color added It is important to keep ever part of the body in the same position when creating a turnaround. The body rotates but absolutely nothing else moves. You may use the drawings below, by the great cartoonist Burne Hogarth, as head position and sizing guides when developing the personality of your original characters. The picture below 'A micro-DICTIONARY of GESTURES' was drawn by Will Eisner. I am not sure who drew the two templates below, but they are very useful. Please contact me if you know the names of the artists so I can give proper credit: If you are interested in a more cartoon like style, I downloaded the fun worksheets below years ago. I apologize to the artists who created them for not knowing their names. I will be happy to edit this post and give proper credit if someone lets me know who drew them. Happy animating! I can't wait to see what you create. Click here for my complete digital technology supply list. Mrs. Wintemberg's Essential Library for Aspiring Animators: The Illusion of Life, Disney Animation How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way By Stan Lee and Steve Buscema Will Eisner, Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative Will Eisner, Comics and Sequential Art Will Eisner, Expressive Anatomy for Comics and Narrative Basic Animation by Walter Foster Animation by Preston Blair How to Make Film Cartoons by Preston Blair Dynamic Anatomy by Burne Hogarth

Create yourself a superhero that competes with the others!Check these references and learn how to create a cool heroic character design by yourself! Created by...

TweetPin2EmailShare When you’ve put a lot of time and care into crafting the perfect character for your story, it can be difficult to give them any trait that could be... Read more »

TweetPin2EmailShare When it comes to writing a story, there’s no denying that the characters play a large part in the process. The plot is the story, but without good characters,... Read more »

Discover the Winners of the Character Design Challenge! The finest designs of the month submitted by the members of our community on Facebook. “Backpackers'' was the theme for..

Hypothetical questions enable us to think of ourselves in a tangible situation, which makes it easier to see exactly what we want. The same goes for asking questions to get to know our characters. When we first create them, we have a lot we need to ask them, and hypothetical questions make that easy

The character arc of a story is at the very heart of fiction writing. Here are the 6 steps to creating a character arc for your novel.

I am hoping to get some feedback from anyone here with some experience in 2d animation.

When we create fictional characters, we want them to be realistic. Use this resource to explore 123 ideas for character flaws.

Sometimes you are not meant to like the protagonist right away, and there are many varying ways to produce a likable character. But most ...