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Game & Forum Discussion => Game Discussion => Topic started by: Alliieennss on April 25, 2017, 06:47:05 am

Title: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Alliieennss on April 25, 2017, 06:47:05 am

What initially inspires a new character? What goals do you have in mind for your characters? A full story? Casual interactions?
What makes a good character to you? Do you judge other characters harshly or are you pretty lenient?

What do you like in physical design elements? Do you pay more attention to color or form? Do you make a character in the creator before having a story in mind or the other way around?

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Azurain on April 25, 2017, 06:52:22 am

Well, my character Azura was actually just...randomly made. First made her as some sort of wolf thing that was black and purple,
so basically just based off of my color interests. She had no real backstory or anything like that. Then I randomly changed her into an Undertale OC. That was human. Which was new for me. And then helped build the rp and now she's a fully developed character. My most developed character yet in fact. With a full backstory and everything.

So basically....no I really don't have a certain thing I do to make characters. I just make them. cx

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Morgra on April 26, 2017, 08:48:35 am

Moving this to Game Discussion as the topic's purpose is to discuss and so it would fit well there. ^^

As for me,

What initially inspires a new character
Usually I make a new character because I want something new and fresh for me to be on. It normally comes when I tend to get bored or would like to create something and so I do. I create a character.

What goals do you have in mind for your characters
When I make a character, I first make it just for the looks and nothing more. I don't ever roleplay anymore so they're mostly just a character to hang around on and have as a representation of me in a sense. Fursonas/personas, you could say.

What makes a good character to you? Do you judge other characters harshly or are you pretty lenient?
A good character to me is a character that is original in it's own way and completely created from the the person's mind. What I mean by that, is I appreciate everyone's sense of creativity when they make a character. That's the magic in it all really. Seeing what everyone can create and having people look different from each other.

What do you like in physical design elements? Do you pay more attention to color or form? Do you make a character in the creator before having a story in mind or the other way around?
I pay a lot of attention to what colors I use and what positions the shape sliders are on. So, both I suppose.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Vwang on April 27, 2017, 01:18:08 am

i just make things but they look awful sometimes XD

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Ellen11v on April 27, 2017, 08:37:35 am

For each character I create, I like to give them their own theme song! A song that goes very well with the characteristics. My OC,
Ellen, is known for being a good party animal, and having the vivid colors in her pelt, so I chose to give her the theme song "Take on me" by A-ha.
Lol :D
And my deathly looking character, Banshee, has "Live and Let Die" by Guns N' Roses. ;D
I don't usually create backstories to my characters, but when I do, I make them long, detailed, and interesting as good as I can do.
There you have it, floof<3

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Kerriki on April 29, 2017, 06:47:56 pm

What initially inspires a new character?
Most of my characters were made from me goofing around in the character creator and liking the result

What goals do you have in mind for your characters?
Even though I rarely roleplay, I always try to develop my characters as much as I can to make them interesting in both personality and design

What makes a good character to you? Do you judge other characters harshly or are you pretty lenient?
Creativity and originality, really ^^ I also like seeing people go out of their comfort zone to create really unique designs with "unrealistic" colors, growths, etc
And I don't really judge other characters. Sure, sometimes I'll see designs that are really unique or cliched, but I don't judge the characters themselves or the person who created them. Don't judge a book by its cover, really, because a really cliched design might be backed by a very interesting and developed character

What do you like in physical design elements? Do you pay more attention to color or form? Do you make a character in the creator before having a story in mind or the other way around?
I spend lots of time on both the build/form and the colors/markings of my characters. My characters are all pretty different, but common things among them are large ears (as large as FH's sliders go cx), average-large eyes, small muzzles, wide cheeks (canines), use of horns, and "unrealistic" colors
Normally when creating a character, the design comes first and if I like a design enough to keep it then I'll begin brainstorming the personality and backstory. Sometimes I'll have small ideas in mind long before creating a character (and then pick and choose which of these small things I want in said character), but normally the development comes after I have completed a design

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: MoonwalkingZear on April 30, 2017, 05:43:01 pm

I often think of my interests when creating a character, what plans do I have and what do I desire so to speak. My character Khuighol was based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, you know the guy that created Cthulhu. I also have a fan TF2 character and like 70% of my characters are anthropomorphic animals.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Morqque on April 30, 2017, 05:56:24 pm

I am very picky about creating characters and such that I like and stick with me.
Nowadays (theyre all anthro, ye) I base them off different sorts of species such as extinct, endangered, marsupial,
or mythical creatures such as Yokai. Sometimes I base them off of the style of certain avant-garde bands I like.
That is for regular OCs

As for roleplay OCs I mainly create whatever comes to find and or fits into the sort of roleplay that Im in,
Though I still tend to use different species or mixed hybrids

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: chillout on May 17, 2017, 05:34:04 am

Ooo this is a really good thread.
Here we go, this is gonna be long, just fair warning lol
Tried to make spoilers to help deal with the long answers but the code didn't wanna work :/
Apologies for some walls of text.
____

What initially inspires a new character?
Many things, really. I'm not a black and white person - everything in life is gray to me, so most answers I give to anything will be "It depends."
In relevance to this question, inspiration can come from TV shows and movies, music and artwork or themes, food and nature. I like using a site called Colour Lovers, which is a place for finding color palettes; type in a keyword, like a theme you want, and you get colors. I don't really ever use the palettes themselves but I take inspiration from them sometimes. I remember one of my old projects, I made a husky character inspired by Danny Phantom; just a silvery husky who happened to be a ghost with missing memories from his living life.
It all depends on the situation and many times I've grown out of characters, such as the one I mentioned (I will always love DP though).
____

What goals do you have in mind for your characters? A full story? Casual interactions?
Also depends, specifically on the character itself. Phantom, the husky, had a story that I never finished cuz it hit a wall, really. Other characters are solely for fun, but have some type of backstory info to give them life. Others, further, like my personas, are a mix. I currently have one 'sona that is me in every aspect of my living personality, and one that is meant to be more serious and spiritual.
____

What makes a good character to you? Do you judge other characters harshly or are you pretty lenient?
Before I write anything else, let me just say I don't judge people harshly, because we're all different and have different ideas, but I am going to explain the things I have learned over the years. Now, this is an interesting question because I have a unique response: I'm actually a senior in college and I majored in Media Arts, which includes things like storytelling, animation, concept art, design, 3D, etc. (everyone has specialties). Of course, a major part of this is character design and development.

What makes a good character can be divided into visuals and story.

For visuals, it has to follow some rules of anatomy; you can have a totally made up creature, but it needs to follow nature to some degree. For example, a creature with more than one pair of wings (such as 4-winged angels, etc) would physically be incapable of flight entirely due to how the movement would conflict. Realism must be an aspect, even in a made-up creature. Now, I say "must" but everyone CAN do as they please, I don't make the rules lol. I just find it easier to explain things in terms of how and what I was taught, so I apologize if I sound arrogant, because it's not intended, I promise I'm not a mean person lol.

Further, color theory is a definite must. Whether you have a desaturated, naturally colored character, or a sparkledog, color theory actually is totally necessary. Color theory is a sect of psychology that explains the effect colors have on humans. You could have a super bright character, but if the colors don't match, it's gonna be awkwardly received. Color theory goes into detail of saturation and hue; complimentary colors (those on opposite sides of the color wheel that match), such as red+green, orange+blue, yellow+purple (complimentary colors are actually what creates brown); analogous colors (three colors next to each other on the color wheel that blend), such as red+orange+yellow, green+blue+purple, or blue+purple+red; and finally, the actual effect color creates.
For example: Notice how nearly all fast food restaurants use colors like red and yellow? The reason for this is that these strong colors are passionate and evoking, and when used in that context, subconsciously make a person hungry, so, they pull you in. However, because warm colors are so intense, it makes people uncomfortable after a while, forcing you out eventually..and that's how fast food companies make money - pull people in, and get em out fast to make room for more people.
So, when colors work well, characters work well. Using every color of the rainbow, pure 255 white, or pure 0 black, really isn't something that works, and that's not my opinion, it's just how color theory works. It's all psychological. In fact, in art, it is known that using pure black for linework actually flattens a drawing, which is why some artists use thin, colored lines to match the color of the subject, or go lineless.

Next, is story.
You can have the most beautiful, aesthetically pleasing character in the world, but if there's nothing behind them, they have no purpose. In my storytelling class, we learned that what truly separates a good character from a bad one, is realism and how relatable they are; this is why Mary Sues/Gary Stus are called such - characters that are "perfect" in some manner and have little to no flaws are not realistic, and not relatable. This makes a character hard if not impossible to connect to.
For people to respond and connect to characters, there has to be some form of realism, such as flaws, because no one in real life is perfect. And that's not to say you can't have a super powerful deity character - you can. What would make the difference is whether he/she/it is written as perfect in every aspect, or if their character is written as having, I don't know, greed, or arrogance, for example. The more realistic a character is, the more a reader or watcher can relate to them, and the more the reader/watcher is engrossed in the story. Think of you favorite TV shows or movies. Think about your favorite characters, and why you like them. You'll start to see the exact reason they're successful is because they have some kind of relatable trait(s).
Further, and even more important, is motivation. What is the character doing, and why? If the character has no goal, there is no story to be had. Plots are created on the basis of an action and motivation for that action. Harry Potter's motivation was to go through Hogwarts and stop Voldemort. If he had no motivation, he'd just be a random kid and we'd have no reason to care about him. We have to care about characters for them to be successful, and that goes for ones we hate, too. I always say, "If I hate this character, it's a well-written character." because well-written antagonists will evoke emotion of some form. If a character does not evoke emotion from you, it could be just your preferences of what you enjoy, or the character could just be poorly fleshed out.

I do apologize for the wall of text answer here, but I hope those who read it are actually intrigued by it and don't hate me or think I'm pretenious or anything - I'm simply answering this thread with information I've gathered from observation, experience, and teachings from people who have been in the entertainment industry for 15+ years. I am sorry if anything I said comes off as rude in any form <3
____

What do you like in physical design elements? Do you pay more attention to color or form? Do you make a character in the creator before having a story in mind or the other way around?
I vary in my own preferences. Sometimes I want tall, awe-inspiring characters, other times, small, cute ones. Sometimes I want adorable fat or fluffy characters, other times I want cool, lanky characters.
I actually do sometimes use games' character creators to test design ideas, and color palettes. Normally I draw my own stuff but hey, I have days where I'm lazy or just too tired, you feel? :P
And like with the inspiration question, sometimes I make a character based on a specific thing I want. Whether or not I have a legit story made by then depends, but sometimes, yes, I have the idea before the visuals.
____

Aaaand, yeah..That's it lol.

Again, I am super sorry for the long walls of text, and even more sorry if anything I've said came off as rude, arrogant, or anything of the sort. I hope my answers were a good contribution to this thread.

Ima go hide now.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Chipz on May 17, 2017, 07:36:07 am

What initially inspires a new character?
This depends on why I am creating the new character; if I am making it for a roleplay/group I will follow what they require {Realistic, colors, genetics etc} but if it is for a fresh face I will simply create until I like them, more often then not I create a lighter shade feline as I am no good at matching darker colors.

What goals do you have in mind for your characters?
Once again it depends but for the sake of having a shorter post I will just talk roleplay characters here. I have been in one or two very genetically accurate groups meaning I had to look as if I was part of the family. Colors were the larger deal, making sure I had them exactly how they needed to be was always fun always and made the group feel that much more sincere.

What makes a good character to you?
A good character to me is something that represents someone/something that means a lot to a person {Including themselves}. When a character has been given a personality much like the creators it gives them a very antithetical feel.

Do you judge other characters harshly or are you pretty lenient?
Unless they have created said character to be mocked I will not judge them even if they are 'Neon'. I have seen it happen fairly often and the person who was using the character had to get a new one because they made the poor person feel unsatisfactory, I don't believe it is very fair, it is basically Feral Hearts racism in my mind.

What do you like in physical design elements?
I personally enjoy large felines in real life so I try to bring this into Feral Heart when creating a new character. I don't usually use many items/modifications {e.g Horns, wings} as I am not to good with roleplaying as a species that I wouldn't be able to study through videography or imagery.

Do you pay more attention to color or form?
I tend to look at both simultaneously. I do this because you'll often find if you have good colors and patterns but if your sizing is off it can look a little odd and vise verser.

Do you make a character in the creator before having a story in mind or the other way around?
More then often I don't have a story in mind first unless I am following roleplay guides. I enjoy playing as the character and slowly building up their story as I get to know them, doing it this way helps you begin a roleplay with out your hands tied.

A little extra I wanted to add about how I made Toast.
Toast was one of the first lion presets I had ever created and was simply a shape and color practice, she was never intended to be my main character but Lace was (I'll add a picture later) as I was really fond of her. Once I had looked at Toast her nose had a heart instead of the triangle I was aiming for and I instantly fell in love, the only problem was I didn't have a name for her when of course my brother came running in with a piece of toast that had a perfect heart burnt in the middle. Toast is deffenantly the figure of me as a person; although her preset has many flaws she disregards them and continues on with her life, she is always out to help always anyone in need and simply just wants cuddles.

~Amazing topic by the way~

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Wyldercat on May 19, 2017, 01:39:46 am

Ooh, love this topic!

Although I haven't applied these methods to this game in particular so much yet, I typically like to start with a personality concept for physical "shape" aspects (face shape, height, width, etc.), story role for items/details (armor, scars, teeth structure, claw size, clothing), locomotion or animation specifics for patterns/designs on skin/clothing/fur (this is more for concept art or my animated OCs however), and lastly, aesthetic choices and motifs for color scheme and/or ambiance.

So for physical traits, if I want to create a kind, lighthearted character, I'd go with rounder shapes, or at least softer edges or gradients, and maybe a light, unsaturated color scheme. Maybe some brighter parts to represent quirks. Not to ramble too much, but I overthink things waaaaaay too much, tl;dr.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: turtlies on May 20, 2017, 03:39:36 pm

What initially inspires a new character?

A lot of things, for me. Usually I get inspired by something I'd see in a movie, book, etc, and try to make a character off that (like if there's a relationship between two characters that I find interesting, I might try to sorta mimic it with some different characters, and then see where it goes from there.) Other times even small things like a mood, a picture, or a color scheme can inspire me. Other times I think of character traits and such that I haven't seen often that I think would be unique, and I try to make a character off of that. Otherwise, inspiration comes from a lot of different places for me.

What goals do you have in mind for your characters? A full story? Casual interactions?

My goal is mostly to just create a universe and story around them, and to fully flesh them out. Give them relationships with other characters.

What makes a good character to you?

In my opinion, a good character is one that's unique, and you can see that the creator has put a lot of thought and care into their character. But if I got specific, there are certain guidelines that I feel are necessary for an aesthetically pleasing and not-cliched character. I personally base good characters off a good color scheme and a 'realistic' design (obviously, not like being a 100% realistic grey wolf or something like that, but having appropriate accessories, manes, etc etc that would fit with that character design. But just a design that makes sense---for example, my character Torskite who's a mostly optimistic, friendly canine always wears a necklace with rocks on it, which makes sense, since she's down in caves all day just studying rocks and enjoys doing that. But, it wouldn't make a lot of sense with her character to have her wearing a giant black spiky collar just because I like the spiky black collar; her character would never want to actually wear that. Not the greatest example but hopefully you get what I mean lol). I'm basically just going to second everything that Chillout had mentioned in their post about character design a few posts before me.

Do you judge other characters harshly or are you pretty lenient?

I'll be completely honest, sometimes I do tend to judge other people's characters. I don't as much nowadays, since not everyone's going to think of good characters the way I do, but I did definitely go through a time where I was pretty judgemental, so I'm trying to move past that. I mostly just try to think of characters I wouldn't personally make as just being different and interesting.

What do you like in physical design elements? Do you pay more attention to color or form?

Obviously I have exceptions to all of these, but generally: I like a small amount of colors that are used evenly across the character. I tend to go by a rule of never using a color or design only once on a character---it has to repeat somewhere else, otherwise it just bothers me a little. I also usually tend to have realistic colors, yet unrealistic designs, and I usually like having just a splash of an unrealistic color added in. I like big markings (like big splotches or just a full color on the leg or something), not small, detailed, or intricate ones. I tend to lean towards canine characters that are either average sized or smaller, I don't have too many gigantic characters. I don't use accessories too often, but I do love necklaces on characters. I also love long manes on characters (well, if im honest, it's because it's easier to draw characters with hair covering one of their eyes so I only have to focus on drawing one good eye :P).

I tend to pay more attention to color than form, though both are important---but colors are fun.

Do you make a character in the creator before having a story in mind or the other way around?

I go for at least some sort of vague personally before starting, I don't usually make just character designs. After I have a design down, then I usually try to fully make their story.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: FlyingGrass on June 09, 2017, 01:03:49 am

What initially inspires a new character?
Some of the characters I've made were created because I've thought of a power or story that I'd like to roleplay as a character with.

What goals do you have in mind for your characters? A full story? Casual interactions?
I plan a full story made by casual interactions.

What makes a good character to you?
The color, shape and backstory. Mostly the backstory.

What do you like in physical design elements?
Everything.

Do you pay more attention to color or form?
I pay attention to both equally and a lot. I choose what look suits the story/powers I've thought of.

Do you make a character in the creator before having a story in mind or the other way around?
Sometimes I think of a story then create a character with that story, and sometimes I create the character before I create the story. I rarely write a proper bio as I just add the story and then whatever else will fit.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: ephemeral on June 09, 2017, 06:06:03 pm

what initially inspires a new character?
oh, something i see, for sure. occasionally i get an idea for a backstory from a song. however, when it comes to physical design, it all boils down to things i see or think about. one of my absolute favourite characters is a stray dog, but his design came from - you guessed it - a dog i saw on a snapchat story. things like that is what inspires my characters, physically. when it comes to development, a few different things come into play. one being personal connection, something i find relatable (and hopefully other people do, as well). the second being a motif or general theme. another oc of mine has prevalent themes of religion and his struggle with it. that's what drives him, essentially. is doing this a sin? is liking this a sin? different motifs that are deeply personal help me make a proper character. meaningful relationships and specific events that shape them are parts of backstory i try my best to include.

edit: of course i forgot to include this. another character inspires me. i'm looking at you mccree you gave me this cowboy aesthetic and i'm going to fulfill it

what goals do you have in mind for your characters?
always, always, always development! i don't like 'flat' characters. i go after dynamic and 'round' characters all the time, and i strive to find different ways to improve their development, whether it be through writing a story about them or through rping them. my real goal behind characters is to eventually write a successful story with them.

what makes a good character to you? do you judge other characters harshly or are you pretty lenient?
i probably sound like a broken record, but i really enjoy interesting development and the way they interact with their surroundings. i like the interactions with the characters around them and with their environment, and design is always a good bonus, because the two are intertwined and equally important. i admit i sometimes judge harshly, but i'm usually pretty lenient. the only time i judge is when they have a very 'flat' backstory and little to no development. there's always room for improvement.

what do you like in physical design elements? do you pay more attention to color or form?
well, i think physical design is important. a flashy character is no good. most of my characters are simple, and i really like simple colours as well, like earthy browns and warm greys. form is also important, i think, because the way a character is shaped does have an impact on how they act and react to things. it's still fun to break those stereotypes, though.

do you make a character in the creator before having a story in mind or the other way around?
it's both! sometimes i make a character then figure out a story. other times i have everything else in mind but the design. however, i feel like the latter of those is harder for me to deal with. i like planning characters, but when it gets down to it, it's really hard to make a character exactly how you imagined it to be. you'll always be comparing and it won't be what you want.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: cigaretteahegao on July 12, 2017, 10:09:00 pm

Creating characters would have to be my second most favourite thing to do in FeralHeart.
Usually, when creating characters, it's when I'm inspired to create something to represent what inspired me- Some examples would be songs or places (I've even created characters to represent drinks!). A character with vibrant or different colours usually catches my eye immediately. I don't usually judge characters- It's their character, what do I have to say about it? As long as their happy with it, I don't see the problem with their character. Very few of my characters are actual characters. Most of my characters are just characters I can have fun playing as, while chatting with other players online!

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: angelcake12 on July 20, 2017, 09:17:20 pm

Good question. I tend to think about the character before I think about the story. Sometimes, although rarely. It is the other way around. I guess according what I am making them for. As for the judging characters harsh or not. Hmm, I don't like judging others. So, any look to me is fine. Sides, creativity is amazing and I love seeing what people come up with. Design wise. I tend to want to balance the colors. Example is my main character. Caleb. I used brown and white. So, his markings are dark brown. His tail tip is darker. His paws is white like his underpelt. His hair is black, but I balanced that with a spike color (white and black) and strobe glasses. For his red eyes. I sometimes use a rose to balance that but sometimes I like the pop of his red eyes. His horns is to help balance the pop of the eyes mostly though. As to what inspires me..I guess music. I always draw art to music. So, my sister playing pop music. I was inspired to make a pop culture like character with fantasy designs like I normally draw. Although, he was gonna be made for a tribe reason. As soon as I heard the music. I scrapped the idea and came up with Caleb now. (His markings around his body are tribe markings though, but because it fit the look.) Form though is also important. If I made my oc to wide or large then it would take away from his equal size to his friend and be harder for pics. (the one I took pictures with) But, if I made it to small then he would not be a adult wolf or teen like I had planned but a pup. Then, again it would be hard to match the heads for pics. At least to me. Goals that I think of before I create them is. Balance my look. Think of what I created them for. And that is pretty much my goals. Why I did it and balance. A good character? A good character is one you feel comfortable with. One you feel has succeeded your goals. If you feel awed by them or something more. Like 'Hey I made a pretty good character' then you made pretty good character.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Foxfall on July 21, 2017, 12:18:45 am

What initially inspires a new character?
More often than not, my characters for designs from old drawings, stories, or rps that I did in the past. Eventually, I hope to create some "1st Gen" characters for FH, but I'm still too awkward to dive into any role plays here.
What goals do you have in mind for your characters? A full story? Casual interactions?
Thus far, I have mostly casual designs, although I've been designing the color scheme and preset for a full story character of mine. For now, though, she's merely four different ClipStudio Paint files. One day... One day...
What makes a good character to you?
A "good" character is one that the creator feels. One that dialogue and actions just resonate with them. Whatever it is, whatever the personality, if the creator feels it's right and puts in the care, it's a good character to me.
Do you judge other characters harshly or are you pretty lenient?
I'd say I'm fairly lenient. Ultimately, a character that's "bad" is probably just underdeveloped or the creator isn't used to their personality. They'll improve with time, whether they know it or not.

What do you like in physical design elements?
I really like consistency in the palette design. Colors that are cohesive (not necessarily realistic, though) make all the difference. A blue and green character with a gradual yellow or orange fade? Yes please. Of course, size and weight can really make an impactful difference too. A slight change in height can make a character seem more powerful or more delicate, depending on the weight.
Do you pay more attention to color or form?
Honestly, both. One can really alter the other. Black is a slimming color, so a well-muscled character that's all black somehow seems smaller than one that is a gray shade. Although, not gonna lie, I do really love colors~
Do you make a character in the creator before having a story in mind or the other way around?
The other way around. Stories before characters. I allow their past and personalities to have at least some mirroring easter egg in their design.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: wodans on August 11, 2017, 04:42:16 am

Speaking from my own experience of creating any characters, sometimes they are inspired by already existing characters or story ideas,
the face-claim (if human) I want to use. It goes about trying to feel unique and original enough or maybe having the character relate to
my own life experiences or stories (which again, goes more toward human characters rather than the handful of dogs and wolves I have).
I like for them to be outcasts and loners, with a redemption arc of seeking peace of mind or companionship within the pack they've chosen
to make their family. Usually, a bad guy becomes good or vice verse, because it's a really fun story/character to have for your own.

As an artist, I like to draw my animal characters as much as I can, given them a background and a story from pieces I feel inspired to make.
Sometimes the ideas come later? I don't know. For example:

(http://img06.deviantart.net/03de/i/2016/180/2/8/reflections_by_trenchiikoat-da828q9.png)

I have this character as a loner and a wandered, and once I was inspired by these photos that I referenced/manipped (http://mashable.com/2015/03/31/husky-jesus/#HFUCzKBI7PqN), I began to make a story
behind why this wolf, this animal was crossing a river. Maybe he was searching for something, someone, making an annual migration path or a
test to his own endurance. I can never be sure where true inspiration comes from, but I always want to be sure that I'm able to flesh them out
before I go on ahead and roleplay them. However, sometimes it helps to wait for interactions to know how you want this character to react or
talk to other characters, see where a subconscious part of me wants to go. But it's also super easy and helpful to bounce ideas off of friends and
RPG/roleplay partners, especially if you're making characters that will late be close or working together.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Vespian on August 11, 2017, 09:30:00 pm

I've been meaning to post here earlier but at the hour of first seeing it, I was quite tired. Now I am back and will probably answer this in sections.

What initially inspires a new character?
When Vespian crafts a new character, it's usually out of muse. The ideas come to me without warning, without consent, and I am left nursing the ideas until I can harbor them no longer. I never make characters because I have to or because the role-play I seek to join calls for it. If I did that, there would be no love put behind that character's creation and I more often than not end up scrapping them once the role-play falls.
Some characters of mine have approached me in one, or some, of my lucid dreams. They are quite hideous and grotesquely beautiful. I recall my character, Vespian, giving me a couple of bad frights, crying and trembling once awoke but those whom dwell in my dreams end up becoming the most memorable and the more enjoyable once I have them written out and assigned to the specifics.
Others, like my characters, Sul Oren and Hermesiel, I have crafted through the muses that come to me uninvited and sometimes in the most bizarre of situations. While they are definitely of the more simplified than those creatures in my subconscious, I've developed an attachment to them nevertheless.

What goals do you have in mind for your characters? A full story? Casual interactions?
All of Vespian's characters have a full story written behind them no matter how detailed or simplified it may be. I'd have it not any other way. To have a character with no set background history is an incomplete character in my eyes. Upon creation, all of my characters already have a concept of what their history tells. Some a bit more intricate than others.
Hermesiel's tells the story of a young wolf whom was destined to be Alpha until a rogue pack attacked his pack and shattered his peaceful life. He endures terrible scars and a case of PTSD of his deceased/murdered mother as a result. I hope that through future role-play interactions and settings, Hermesiel will come to accept her death and gather the bravery of overcoming his mental trauma.
Yusei's story, on the other hand, tells the tale of a clone brought back into existence from an extinct specie called the Lutphen. Yusei spent most of his life in a lab, created in a test tube, raised in a dog crate. His story is a sad one and sadder still as he is just a clone, able to expire at any given moment in time. He is very weak and very unstable with a weak constitution and the inability to do certain tasks. I hope to make Yusei gradually experience the good in life and live happily until the day comes when he is to die.
Those are but mere examples. With each character comes a story I must see to the end.

What makes a good character to you?
Lore, properly written lore. I couldn't care less on what the character may look like nor how they may act. What I care about is how they are developed, built, and what story they are to tell. I enjoy seeing dedication and love put behind characters. Not characters made on a whim then blatantly thrown away to rot. I like seeing characters put into use, characters that will not end up so easily abandoned.

Do you judge other characters harshly or are you pretty lenient?
I won't fib, I do tend to be a bit of a stickler but never will I voice it to anyone for it is not my right to enforce my own opinions onto another when the character in question isn't even my own. Every character's owner are known to be proud of their work, as the saying goes, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," so who am I to intrude on that?

What do you like in physical design elements?
I do not have a set preference. However, I've always been attracted to naturalistic colors. Characters of the rainbow haven't exactly gained my favoring before, or ever. I can make exceptions, though. I like realism with a bit of fantasy, something I haven't seen before or scarcely. It's originality that leaves me impressed.
I'm a tad bit vague on this answer, sorry.

Do you pay more attention to color or form?
As many before me have stated, both. One without the other, or one lacking while the other excels, leaves the character with a sense of inbalance in design and that can severely mess with my OCD.

Do you make a character in the creator before having a story in mind or the other way around?
The other way around, actually. All of my characters have started out as vague ideas and muses in my head before I was to place them on the drawing board or the lab table.

Me hopes I've answered these decently well and have gotten my point across without bewilderment.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Rogue on August 27, 2017, 12:48:16 pm

My characters usually end up being products of whatever music I happen to have had on repeat for the past couple of hours, haha ^^'

As for appearance I usually wing it... which is probably why they end up looking like carbon copies of each other with only slight changes like size and colour.

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: ShadowMT13 on August 28, 2017, 10:45:20 pm

Well my characters are always made with the intent to roleplay as them, even if I never get to do so, and overall most are always characters I made in the far past much time before feral heart or anything. Everyone of my characters have a backstory, a rp purpose, a set personality, and on a different note, a picture I drew of them XD

Title: Re: How do you go about character design?
Post by: Jamzilla12 on November 04, 2017, 01:06:51 pm

1.) What initially inspires a new character? What goals do you have in mind for your characters? A full story? Casual interactions?

- Back then,I create characters just to be included in a wolf pack or a lion pride or any rp group, now I've started to have a spurt of creativity due to my imagination. Goals? First few plays of the character my goal is to find a group where I can commit my devotion to, usually my goals are to get my character 'contented with its life' because almost all of them have tragic backstories (yeah typical). Plus, they're all my fursona's anyway, with different dominant traits (traits that are present in me).

What makes a good character to you? Do you judge other characters harshly or are you pretty lenient?

- What makes a good character? Uniqueness and I don't judge other characters harshly.

What do you like in physical design elements? Do you pay more attention to color or form? Do you make a character in the creator before having a story in mind or the other way around?

- Both and I always have a story in mind whenver I create a character. Everytime I create a character, I record them in my notebook, it's short summary, personality likes in short a biography for my future fiction stories.