Creating Original Characters

An Eltown Art Academy Class

by [jsun]

First off, some of you may know the fundamentals of creating your own original character and you just need some pointers on carrying it to the next step. So if you fall in this category, just skip around until you find something you're looking for or you can leave a comment on a subject you'd like to get info on.

Let's Begin
You should place your name here on the class roster so that I'll be able to message you individualized help and so on.

Class Roster
[Puhveli]
[Dil*]
[Nazkrut]
[Headstrong]
[Sparklies]
[Kyler]
[Silver Badger]
[liberal artist]
[nhd]
[Morfeaohtarawen]
[udontseeme]
[jbrown]

---

First lesson is "Have an idea what you want"
You should have some basic idea in your head about what type of character you'd like to create. Such descisions such as race, gender, and possibly allignment are better decided beforehand as this will help you stear your drawing in the right direction.
"Get a basic form on paper"
I won't be teaching you how to draw in this class so your next step will be to draw your character in a basic simple form. Up until this point, your character will be plain and undescernible from any other character. He or she could be just a plain ole human or a monotonous ole dwarf. Point is, you have to have a form to work with.
"Make your character Unique"
Now you will begin to add things to your artwork to give your character his/her own look and personality. There are a number of ways you can do this. Facial expressions are often a trademark of a character or his clothing. Sometimes a character will carry with him/her a certain weapon everywhere. That could be a trademark used to recognize your character. Additionally you should add tiny things that aren't immediately noticeable but serve as further customization to your character. EX: His belt could have small snake skulls attatched to it because he lives in a swamp or her robes could be marked with a well known symbol because she is part of an elite group of magicians. Many of these things will come naturally to your head as you draw them but just remember, the more original characteristics and markings your character has, the better he/she will be.
"Posing your character"
Your character will play a certain role in his/her life and you should depict that role in your artwork. For example, if your character is a thief, then your work should show him thieving from a locked chest or pickpocketing a large brute or so. The actions in the artwork will mark your character as original better than anything else.
"Name your character"
Some of you will have done this before you started to draw but if you haven't, don't worry. It's often easier to do so after you've finished your work. At this stage, you should begin to create a short story of your character or at least know some small part of the role he/she will play in their world.
"There can be no definate end"
There's no certain point to end your character creation and there are lot's of other things you can do as well. I'll be adding more info as questions arise or as I see fit. I hope to have some visual guides here soon as well.

---

Info

If you wish to send in visual guides or have your work critiqued, feel free to do so at Original Characters Visuals.
If you wish to enter a new topic of discussion, do so in the comments.
Any other questions, contact [jsun].


Back to Art