You could write, “Alice, 25, born at home, lives in a small rural town called Wisty, human witch, female, has magic. ” If you’re not sure about a detail, leave a blank space for it so that you can come back later. Sometimes it takes time to really understand a character.
For instance, your character might be the hero, the villain, the femme fatale, the wise elder, the romancer, or the helper. As an example, a female character who uses her looks to hide the fact that she’s a dangerous thief might be a femme fatale. It’s okay if your character has more than 1 role. For instance, a male character who falls in love while rescuing a city might be both a hero and a romancer.
You might write, “Alice is short, curvy, and has pale skin. Her hair is black and curly, and her eyes are grey with yellow sparkles. She usually wears black, royal blue, or dark purple clothes, typically dresses. Her hands are scarred from potions accidents, and she has a scar on her chest from a spell that went wrong. She’s proud of her witch heritage, so she always stands up straight and walks with her chin slightly lifted. ”
For instance, “Alice has always lived in a small town and feels like she’s the most talented witch in her family. Her parents home schooled her and taught her the old ways of her family, so she’s not familiar with modern society. She’s always tried really hard to learn new spells, to the point that she annoyed her family members. Her parents have always supported her and built up her self-esteem, but it’s made her have too much confidence in her abilities. Now, her parents have disappeared and she needs to find them, but her overconfidence is causing her to make mistakes. ”
Decide their overall attitude. For instance, are they an optimist, a pessimist, or a realist? Alice’s personal traits might include that she’s hardworking, determined, quick thinking, creative, friendly, and loyal. Her talents might include making potions, casting spells, and singing. For achievements, you might include that she brewed her first potion at age 5, she won a magical pie baking contest, and she’s the rightful possessor of her family’s spell book.
Alice’s personality flaws might include being overconfident, being naive, and acting without thinking. Her physical imperfections might include her scars, the fact that she runs slowly, and the fact that she’s physically weak. Her mistake might be that she’s trusted the wrong person to help her.
For instance, Alice might be afraid of losing her parents forever. Additionally, she may be afraid to leave her home town, even though she must if she wants to find her parents.
If you already know the plot of your story, use this to figure out your character’s motivation. What is the core conflict in your plot? What is your character missing? This is likely their motivation. In Alice’s story, her motivation might be to get her parent’s back. Additionally, she probably wants to prove herself as a talented witch.
Questions might include, “What’s your favorite food?” “Do you have a pet?” “What is your relationship like with your family?” “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” “What is your earliest memory?” “What is your dream job?” “Who is your most trusted confidant?” and “What’s in your bedroom?” As an example, Alice might say that her favorite food is homemade kettle corn because she likes the salty-sweet taste. She might also say that she has a black cat and an orange cat that act as her familiars.
As an example, Alice might include old fashioned words in her speech and may occasionally rhyme due to her experience making spells. She might say things like, “The forest has darkened a wee bit early, but that’s no reason for you to get surly. "
For instance, Alice might clean her house and cook her breakfast using a spell. Then, you might have her struggle to purchase items at a store because she can’t use her magic there. This shows that she overly relies on her magic. As another example, you might show Alice trying to check out a magic book from the library. She might blush and mumble when she talks to the clerk and have trouble making eye contact. This shows that she’s shy.
For instance, Alice might believe that witches should live separately from non-magical humans. This might make it hard for her to work with humans. Additionally, it might create conflict between her and other witches.
As an example, Alice might have a girlfriend named Lilly. Her and Lilly love each other, but can’t agree on certain things, causing them to argue. Lilly doesn’t have a lot of faith for the relationship. However, Alice is set on making the relationship work. This might convey that Alice is determined to make things work with people she cares for. As another example, let’s say Alice has a best friend named Trixy. You might have a scene where Alice and Trixy come across an injured witch in the woods. Alice might stop and help the witch, offering him her last bit of water and food. Trixy might roll her eyes and tell Alice that she’s wasting her time by helping. Then, Trixy might go to get help but return really late because she took a break to do something fun. This shows that Alice is kind and helpful, while Trixy might be unreliable.
For example, Alice might almost find her parents but them they get moved again. Similarly, she might realize that her best friend Trixy is secretly helping the person who took her parents.
A basic concept for Alice might be, “Short dark-haired witch in a black dress who’s the hero of the story. ” For Trixy, you might write, “Tall, red-headed witch in jeans and yellow t-shirt who’s secretly a villain. ”
For example, Alice might be standing tall with her hand on her hip and her nose pointed in the air. Trixy, on the other hand, might be looking down and off to the side. Her hands might pressed together in front of her body to show that she’s hiding something.
Sketching also helps you warm up so it’s easier to draw. Don’t worry about making mistakes. These sketches should be loose and don’t need to be finished.
For example, Alice might wear flowing dresses because she thinks it better reflects her witch heritage. Similarly, she might stick to dark colors because it makes her feel witchy. For accessories, she might wear an old locket that has her grandmother’s picture in it. Trixy might wear modern clothes because she doesn’t follow the old ways. Additionally, she might choose bright colors because it makes people think she’s happy, even though she’s not. For accessories, she might carry a purse that’s made from a pet fox that she once had.
You might be able to use a drawing app to help you create your character. If you’re using the drawing as inspiration but don’t plan to show it to people, don’t worry if it’s not perfect. Just do your best. If you’re creating a comic book or something similar, practice drawing your character over and over. This will help you get good at it, so don’t give up!
