How to make and roleplay a good character (update!)

[Spottedbears]

update 2/27/15! i know this is old, but it contains a bit of incorrect information and i decided to update it!
i know there have been many topics about this, but since i thought i've had lots of experience i decided to add some of my own information.

in this guide, you will learn:
>  how to create a character from a real-life picture in FH
>  how to write a character biography with the right information
>  what words to describe a character with, and what not to
>  how to roleplay your character

in that order is how it'll work.

first off, how to create a character from a real life picture in FH.

i like to start with the question: what kind of character am i looking for? unique, common, or just a pretty character? canine, or feline? scarred, or untouched? masculine or feminine? i like to keep many photos for inspiration in a folder, or somewhere on the web. i have a few currently in my tumblr likes, so here let's pick a few:

since i think i want to go for a pretty, young, and basically innocent character, i am going to choose the second picture. how do we make this cat in feral heart? well, first off if you have a paint program like GIMP, Photoshop, Paint tool SAI, or some other program [perhaps even MS paint] you will need a "dropper" tool, or more commonly known as the color picker. so, since i have SAI, i'll do that.

so, now that i have 4 colors, for the eyes, nose, base, and markings, i can begin making her in feral heart! you will need to find the RGB numbers of the colors you choose after you have them. you may have to change the colors a tiny bit due to the tint of lighting and such. since my character is a cat, [these are my personal preferences but they are quite common. don't worry if you want to use them] i will give her neko ears, a rounded tail, and make her all the way thin. the height should be more than the length and width. muzzle and chin at the very least, nose at the most. since she is going to be an innocent/young looking cat, i will give her big eyes.

i have finished making my character! while you are making them, you might have to tweak the chosen colors a bit to follow with the picture - not all is correct, even taken directly from the photograph.

next up: how to write a character biography with the right information.

[Spottedbears]

how to write a character biography with the right information

well, first off, we need your character's name. try and pick a name that describes them, or something that no one else has - it's no fun having a character who has the same name as someone else, right? i like to either make up my own, 'cause no one has my ideas, or i use this website. fantasynamegenerators is a really neat website, and it has many names for unique characters --not to mention planet names AND descriptions, as well as races. for my character, i will pick a generated name. my kitty is going to be Corinne - it's sweet and natural.

next on the list is gender. masculine and feminine are PERFECT words for this! for not only are they adjectives, they can also mean "male" or "female". however, there are many other genders as well. nonbinaries are real!! they can be androgynous, genderfluid, or gender neutral too! or maybe they are transgender.

sexuality is not important, but it is if you want a romantic life for your character. here are the sexualities that i know of:
- heterosexual [straight]
- homosexual [gay]
- asexual [not attracted to anyone]
- demisexual [only attracted after a strong emotional bond]
- pansexual [attracted to any gender]
- bisexual [two genders - not necessarily just male and female]
there are also romantics! romantics are not the same as orientations. an orientation is sexaul attraction. romantics are romantic attraction. generally, they can be the same as the sexualities.
- aromantic [no attraction]
- panromantic [romantic attraction to all]
- heteroromantic [romantic to opposite gender]
- homoromantic [romantic to same gender]

now, for the actual writing.
personality: the personality is a very important part of the character. it shows who they are, and is mostly important during roleplay. if you do not have a balanced, yet natural personality, your character will most likely be frowned upon. you don't want to have a mary sue, aka the PERFECT character.
here are some examples of GOOD and BAD personalities:

BAD:
she is depressed, but always sunshiney! also, she is insane and goes on killing sprees all the time. if you are in her way she will kill you unless you are nice!
TRAITS include:
- nice
- funny
- playful
- aggressive
- insane
- depressed

here's the problem: this character has two mental health problems, but are they even described correctly in the personality? secondly, this personality has traits that conflict; nice, and aggressive? Probably not.

GOOD:
i have copied a personality from one of my characters. it's not the best but it works. a little snippet of her history is that, recently, Ravenstorm became deputy of her Clan. she'd gone in to somewhat of a depression upon the loss of her first child (as well as finding out she went to WindClan never to return, not to mention the fact that her mate is dead and she's left raising five other kittens on her own).
 Ravenstorm has found herself as the talkative, jester-like she-cat she used to be. With a touch of authority. She's cleaned herself up. Despite this, she crumples at the mention of her dead mate as well as grudges against cats who are in love- she's jealous.
TRAITS include:
- joker, jester
- talkative
- distrusting
- authoritative
- weak, unstable
- proud

while no one is perfect, Raven is the most developed character I have.

biography writing
writing a biography is hard. it is necessary to know who your character is and why they are like how they are from a biography, though. you do not always need one though. sometimes it is better to just have a character that was born normally and developed their personality naturally! however, it's more fun to add a twist.

if you want to have a character where their parents were murdered before their eyes, don't treat it like it was a horrible affair that affected them when they were young, and doesn't bother them now. sure, they may have moved on, but they should still have either a sadness when it comes to thinking about them, or a murderous intensity when they imagine killing those who killed their parents.

if they had some traumatic experience, it should affect their personality or make them panic when it is mentioned. however, you can always create a random character that helped them through it, and it doesn't affect them anymore. though you should probably explain HOW -- it's hard to get over something like that.

if your character's lover died, they shouldn't be ready for another relationship just like that -- especially if they haven't had in the flesh contact even for years. it might take some coaxing by a close friend. personally, i think it is best to start with a younger character so there is room for development in personality and to make their history interesting.

[Spottedbears]

time to move on to WORDS. for starters, let's find out what the standards of FH roleplaying.

- you must be literate.
- you must be realistic.
- no using wolfspeak.
- if you do not use proper grammar even in OOC i hate you
- etc, etc.

see those rules? take them, and throw them in the trash.

however, there is one that i must talk about. although it is a touchy subject, let's move to WOLFSPEAK.

wolfspeak is looked down upon by many people, groups, and roleplays. however, some praise it and cherish it. in my eyes? wolfspeak is wrong, although some terms can be used correctly, in certain ways. here's some ways to integrate wolfspeak into a post without making it incorrect: [most ways to do this are with similes and/or metaphors]

- the wolf padded through the forest, eyes glowing like a fae. [in this case, i used a simile to describe the eyes: they glowed like a fairy.]
- the cat's orb like eyes...
- the dog's ears swiveled, like radars picking up a television signal.
- her legs became as stiff as pillars.

there are TWO wolfspeak terms that are correct. what are they?
- masculine [as a noun]
- feminine [as a noun]

according to google, feminine IS a word for "female" which in that case, it is correct. same goes for masculine. so if you ever tell someone that feminine/masculine is wrong, you're actually the one who is wrong in this case.

now to descriptive words!
here is a list of words you can use for colors: [NOTE: do not use these colors for everything. it can get tiring, so use "blue" once in a while, aight? plus, all of these colors are different shades so please do your research and do not rely on just this tutorial!

brown:
- tan
- fawn
- sepia
- sorrel
- chestnut
- chocolate
- coffee
- cinnamon
- bark
blue:
- navy
- teal
- sea/ocean blue
- sapphire
- sky blue
- azure
- cobalt
- indigo (could also be purple)
green:
- emerald
- verdant
- jade
- apple [can also be red]
- mint
- lime
- pea
- moss
black:
- charcoal
- ink
- ebony
- coal
- raven
- obsidian
- pitch-dark
- dark grey [yeah lol]
white and/or pale:
- off-white
- ivory
- bone
- pearl
- alabaster
- bleached
- chalky
- ghastly
- milky
- snow
- pasty
- pastel
grey:
- ashen
- smoky
- neutral
- stone
- silver
- iron
- lead
- granite
yellow:
- amber [yellow-orange]
- blond/blonde
- saffron
- cream
- sand
- lemon
- gold
red:
- crimson [a little overused, this one]
- blood red
- coral
- maroon
- rose
- burgundy
- flushed
- russet
- rust
- ruby
- garnet
- blush
pink:
- periwinkle
- bubblegum

[more to be added. let me know if you have an idea!]

[Spottedbears]

how to roleplay your character.


roleplaying characters is very hard, if you don't know what you are doing. you must give them a personality YOU can understand, and one that YOU can roleplay. To roleplay, you need to keep OOC out of IC. This doesn't mean if you dislike someone you dislike their character, it means YOUR emotions. If you are angry, down, or depressed, but your character is usually bubbly and happy, DO NOT make them down. I used to do this quite often, and unfortunately it:
1. impacts the way people think of you, and your character
2. decreases the chance someone will roleplay with you
3. does not help your roleplaying skills.
And all of these are? Negative. That's right.

if you want to roleplay the right way, all you need is a good idea of your character and basic writing skills. It's not that hard.

Lesson one? Talk like them. When you are roleplaying your character, make sure that whenever they have dialogue, use their accent, lisp, or basically where they live to stylize how they speak. Let's use the phrase, "Hello! I am good, thank you."
"American" Accent [could also count as british]:
"Hey! I'm good, thanks."
Southern Accent:
"Howdy! I'm fine, thank'ya."
"Stereotypical" British accent [try not to use this]:
"'Ello mate! I am doing mighty fine, thank you!"
As you can see, there are quite a few accents. Some accents are the same as others, when it comes to typing out speech. Like, as you can see, Americans and  the English sometimes have the same general way of speaking -- most likely because of a common place of origin.
French, or non-english speaking characters may slip in some of their language as they speak. Spanish speaking mixed in with English is called Spanglish, which is like a real word. My Spanish teacher told me :v .

Lesson two? Actions.
Your character may walk strange, due to their personality. Or maybe, they're always happy and have a skip in their step. It all depends on their personality!

So, basically what you should have learned from this is that, your character has a lot based on its personality. The way they walk, talk, behave, and even the way they interpret things!

Hope you enjoyed this, it took a while to make.

[Spottedbears]

wow. finally done. you can post now.

[Vask]

*Giant Vask Stamp Of Approval*

ILOVETHIS

This will help SO many Floofs in need if assistance! I love the color saving thing you have thar. Brilliant!

Anyway, I love love LOVE this tutorial because you clearly worked so hard on it.

Oh! Oh! There ish also Metrosexual. It's a guy who likes girls but likes to treat themselves (have nice fashion/look sharp always, get pedicures to make their nails look good, etc). <---I love this omg

But anyway! Keep it up gurl! F-a-b thread, once again.

*Hugs this topic and you before flying Away*

[Spottedbears]

aa! thank you vask :>

[Derpiederp]

Sorry if this is an old thread but this helped me!;_;

[Spottedbears]

update, new and improved! C: