Characters?

[McDuffies]

I'm wondering how do other folks come up with character designs. I sometimes tend to imagine an existing actor in some role and then draw a character to look similar and act as what I imagine that actor would act in that role.
Does anyone else do that? Or do you base your characters visually on real people you know? Or pick them up from your clasroom doodles? Or do you just sit down and draw and combine, till you get a desired look?

[Keffria]

I usually start out with a personality and then try to adapt a look that suits it. As the character changes, the design alters with it, until finally, I have the version that ends up in the comic. Then it's just a matter of drawing them consistently, something that still troubles me.

It's kind of interesting to look back at my original character designs and see how things have evolved. The design for one character in particular has changed quite a lot (hair, skin colour, style of dress). Actually, it's not really fair to call him the same character; better to say he shares a name with someone who was written out of the comic a while back. Another character, meanwhile, looks essentially the same as the original scribbly drawing, and although some small details about his back-story have changed, he's essentially the same guy that first scribble represented.

Designing costumes and hairstyles is hard. -_-

[Rock_dash]

I dunno, I just have a look for them in my head most of the time, probably pieced together from different characters/people/things. And then, when/if I can actually get somebody to draw said character for me, it evolves from there. The artist may add something I didn't have in mind before, but looks good, so it stays.

[Robin Pierce]

This fits nicely with something I did earlier today.



I start with a character background - which also changes as the rewrites go on - and then fit the character to the background.

[Rich of EMD]

As for how I come up with the original concept of MOST characters, I just pick things that scare me. Just take the thing you fear and bastardize it into something cute and funny.

And after that, I develop their outfits based off of things I own or things that I like. Typically I add little details such as how they actually wear their clothes (Ex. rolling up the sleeves on a long sleeve shirt, leaving the belt hanging down, etc...) to assist in adding personality.

Hairstyles, I typically think of what the character's personality is like when I design these. Often times I also use thier personalities to choose the hair color.

Then to finish things off, I touch up the design by adding in more stuff that distinguishes my characters from each other.

I know, it's a little bit of a haphazard way of doing things, but it hasn't failed me yet.

Also, another good thing to try is to hold a bunch of B&W pics of your characters together. If you can tell them apart, your design is working. If not, you may need to make them all a bit more unique.

[Robin Pierce]

Also, another good thing to try is to hold a bunch of B&W pics of your characters together. If you can tell them apart, your design is working. If not, you may need to make them all a bit more unique.

I'd say more if you can tell em apart if they weren't wearing clothes and had no hair.

[Rcmonroe]

Then it's just a matter of drawing them consistently, something that still troubles me.

I'm surprised to hear that someone as technically proficient as you finds it difficult to maintain consistency when drawing your characters. I sure don't see evidence of the struggle in your work. No doubt you are your own harshest critic, as we all tend to be.

Anyway, yeah, that consistency is difficult to maintain. I'm not at all satisfied with my mastery of it, although a few people have told me they think I do a decent job.

To answer McDuffies' question, I had a rough idea of everybody's personality before I attempted to draw them, then it was just a matter of trying to make the drawings fit the personalities. I made a few sketches but I probably should have made more, because a couple of the characters have changed a bit since the beginning, and it hasn't been long enough for that change to look like a natural evolution; it looks more like I suddenly forgot how to draw them. Whatever, at least they look better now.

What I find the most fun is that I started with a pretty basic idea of the characters' personalities, and the more I write for them, the more it feels like their personalities are taking shape organically, as opposed to my bending them according to my will.

[Tynan]

I masterbate till they appear on the page...thus far I have a quarter of my first page done.

[Eve Z.]

I simply create an image in my mind of a character, and then I draw it. And this character is 'growing up' till it reaches the way really is in my mind. Yes, the character I want.

Now they're almost there where I want them to be. I am exercising drawing them, till they reach "perfection".

Sometimes I pick images from people on the street who inspire me and i transform them.

Their faces usually describe the way they are: cute, rough, annoying, happy, cheerful, serious, etc. Their personality.

Some of them, cute in my mind, were really ugly at the beginning and I was very unhappy with the way they came out then.

[Dutch!]

What I find the most fun is that I started with a pretty basic idea of the characters' personalities, and the more I write for them, the more it feels like their personalities are taking shape organically, as opposed to my bending them according to my will.

I agree. That's the point where you can feel (or at least where I feel) you've got a character that works when they tend to write their adventures themselves and you're really just along for the ride.

[LibertyCabbage]

I tend to come up with a visual concept and create a personality + background to go with it. Although, I also tend to come up with bizarre characters in strange situations (often not human or vaguely so) which would put more emphasis on physical aspects whereas a more ordinary story would be more driven from personalities. The main exception would be Jean in Deep (red hair, tanned skin, black biker clothes) but that's a fairly simple design.

[Escushion]

I sketch a bit until I figure out something I like. Sometimes that gets transformed little-by-little as time goes on, like Kadeo's head or Elaine's hair.

[McDuffies]

Also, another good thing to try is to hold a bunch of B&W pics of your characters together. If you can tell them apart, your design is working. If not, you may need to make them all a bit more unique.

I'd say more if you can tell em apart if they weren't wearing clothes and had no hair.

Dunno, bald people often look similar to me.

[Eve Z.]

Oh, or is it wrong for a character to change outfits, like in real life?

My point is that as long as they keep their character it's okay.
The same al' clothes really bore me.

[The Neko]

I'm currently designing a cast and I'm having a lot of difficulty because sometimes a character's vocation and life situation can define their physical characteristics, and if you're writing about something that's a little outside your sphere of experience, it can be difficult to find what's appropriate.

[K-Dawg]

I masterbate till they appear on the page...thus far I have a quarter of my first page done.

How inappropriate.

And for me, I usually try to draw something I mess up and end up making something even better.

[Mercury Hat]

A lot of the times if I haven't come up with how a character should look, I'll be doodling some random person and decide "Hey, they look like how I want X to look".

Other times, I just start out with a bare bones idea of what I want and then draw it over and over until it becomes a stylized character I'm happy with.

[Swikan]

With Life's a Witch, my characters are based on my family so I had an idea of their appearance already. As this is my first strip, I don't have a system yet.

I loved your post on the evolution of your character, Pierce Studios.

Consistency is my bane.

[Sput]

all of my characters stem from doodles. I usually have an idea of what I want in a character, and so i just...draw. Sometimes they come out the wrong gender, the wrong age or whatever from what I originally intended. Heh. Most of my characters stem from doodles on class notes and such.

[MixedMyth]

Most of mine stem from general ideas that I have that are either humorously paradoxical or too good to pass up...and then I develop a character around them and they develop from there! It's more of a spring board than the character in its enirety.

Paradox-
Keeva. Me- "I'm sick of elves. So high and mighty. And goblins! Why are they always drooling idiots that are little more than a random encounter? I'll show 'em. I'll show 'em good! BEHOLD THE GOBLIN-ELF!"

Too good to pass up-
Hermes. Me- "Ya know, Hermes would SO be a sports nut if he were in college. I bet he's bouncy, too, and drinks Red Bull. Gives ya wings you know."