Other How do you create your characters?

[NotinthisUniverse]

Just generally curious on how some people go about making characters. Maybe even get some poinyers for going about my own. Plus I'm sick af so just wanting to talk to someone lol.

 

[Fondezer]

I just follow the character spreadsheet.
Or make my own.
Usually I base my characters off of someone famous, or just some thing I'm interested at the moment.
Like just recently, I made a character based off of Nikolai Dzhumagaliev, also know as Metal Fang.
He was a Soviet Serial killer convicted of killing and cannibalizing 7 women.
Edgy? Yes.
Did it work? Yes.

 

[NotinthisUniverse]

Wow, thats pretty interesting dude

 

[Revna Eris]

I typically look at aspects of the universe/fandom I'm putting my character in and pick out things that aren't normal, after I list the abnormal I list the normal then create a form that looks right to me, and fill it out.

 

[hologram]

When I'm looking to create an OC I find I have the most success if I plant a little seed of myself into the character. Either they share a mutual interest or hobby with me or I base something of their personality, backstory, or abilities on something I'm really interested in. It's probably not the best method as it pretty much ensures I can't make a character who's entirely unlike me but I find it inspires me to fill in the blanks a lot easier than choosing traits that I have no personal connection to.

 

[truthofself]

I like making themed Characters.
Some of my more Favorite OC's are based purely around one personality trait/idea and such.
After I pick out their theme/choose a generalized personality, I work on creating a fitting apperence, followed by a more completed personality, origin story, and than fill in more personalized details.
e.g. > Hobbies, Likes, Dislikes, Favorite food, and so on.

 

[Strawberry Ink]

I work with themes and prompts. For example, maybe the prompt I give myself is "teacher" and then I'll start to ask myself questions based on the story setting like what kind of teacher? What are their classes like? Do they like their job? I just keep going until I have a vision of them and feel as though they're fleshed out.

 

[Volxohr]

I make a very well put character sheet on Microsoft Word separating Biography, Name, Ages, etc. And then make a backstory for the said character and, in the end, judge whether it belongs in a Modern, Fantasy, Future roleplays. It's always fun for me. :3

Listening to certain kinds of music really helps brings my words and imaginations out as well!

 

[Generic Brooding Antihero]

I make shit up on the fly for 15 minutes, and then spend about 7 hours on the coding. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But for real? If others have already posted their sheets before me, I would skim through them first and see what the ensemble currently needs. Is every second character a socially anxious nerd? Then I'm off to make a party animal.

It's also good to consider giving your characters attributes that would make it easy to plot with other players. Someone's character is supposed to be a famous celebrity? Guess my character's president of their fanclub now. Doesn't always have to be that drastic. Maybe I could make my character's dad work at the company one of the other players' character owns. Any connection -- no matter how flimsy or seemingly unimportant -- is still something you could capitalise on later IC.

Otherwise, I look at the plot and the lore to see what kind of characters could make things interesting. Is the story about a Generic Orwellian Government? Time to make a freedom fighter, or maybe a snitch for the government. Make them as relevant to the main conflict as much as possible.

Nine times out of ten doing the above would give me a rough idea of who to play and what to write. But sometimes (read: most times) a rough idea just isn't enough. That's when I have to actively look for inspiration. I'd look up songs, look up poems. I go to TV Tropes and get stranded there until 3 in the morning.

If it's nice out (thankfully it's never nice out), I would take a walk, take the bus, go people watching. It's a great exercise. Try it. Don't worry about seeming like a creep. As long as you don't see the police walking towards you, you should be good. But if you do see them walking towards you, my best advise would be to never mention you heard any of this from me.

 

[Wahsobe]

I normally go off of a forum, though I do get very inspired by the music I listen to as well as the plot when I make the character. It really depends on what the plot is and how excited I am for how my character turns out.

 

[Slug7447]

good stuff thanks for helping me with making a character

 

[Lappi]

I find a fun idea and slowly build upon it until I have a good, fleshed out character.

 

[elextrified]

i cry a lot & make a couple sacrifices until inspiration hits me

nah, but 9/10 times i get inspiration from a song. usually a particular line strikes a chord and up comes a character.

 

[. l e m o n c h i l d .]

for some reason, my head bases my characters off of what has happened to me in the day, kind of like a dream
if i feel like writing a lot, i'll type up the bio and personality easily
usually i just use a generator

i prefer to make my characters with music playing in the background because if i need a quote, i can use one of the lyrics.

 

[Skyward Sword]

After posting 10+ times I just do it... too bad Im only on post eight.

 

[esotericthing]

Most of my characters are inspired by my surroundings. Say it's snowing out, my character either loathes the cold or they embrace it. If I was watching Mr Robot I might make a hacker or mentally ill character. I've been taught by professors and the world alike, to use my own experiences and observations for the most vivid writing.

 

[Gaotau]

I mostly just create characters that suit a certain narrative. Only sometimes do I make a character that resembles me and my own personality. I mostly get inspiration from my imagination (it's quite active).

 

[Chimney Swift]

I always start with a name. Names have a lot of meaning to me... I feel like every name carries a connotation as to who that person is, whether it be perceived or actual. I decide what their voice sounds like (if they speak), their posture, gait, and general composure. I have a rough idea of what I want them to look like, and usually write up a description which may or may not later be replaced by an image.

From there, I formulate a rough personality based on just a few traits, which I'll flesh out as I continue with the process. I tend to look at social habits, morals, and boundaries to start with, then get nitpicky later.

The next step is usually to check to make sure that the character fits in well in the setting. For RPs, this means checking for age limits and other restrictions, looking at other people's characters to gauge the power balance, etc. This is where I start to piece together a backstory.

For me, the backstory process comes naturally. I already have an idea of who the character is; I just have to decide how they got there. I think about their family, early relationships, interests, etc. I check back with the other characters again to make sure my character isn't disproportionately important, tragic, or otherwise. I like to think about memories that may have stuck with them, for whatever reasons. Usually I aim to keep some things unknown so I can build on it over the story, but I keep a more complete version in my head.

And finally, it's just a matter of elaborating. Anything that I haven't decided on gets brushed up and added in. I add a picture, fix the formatting as needed, and then it's done! Well, as done as it can be. My characters are never set in stone.

 

[Fol]

i usually base my chars off the rp i intend to join. so i’ll read through the plot and ask myself ‘what kind of character do i want to play?’ then when i have a rough idea of the chars personality/what role they’ll fill in the roleplay, i’ll start looking for face claims and continue building from there. the name usually comes last bc it has to feel right/match with my fc (:

 

[Winter_]

I make shit up on the fly for 15 minutes, and then spend about 7 hours on the coding. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Glad I'm not the only one!!!

Anyway.

I make muses for each RP, whether it be a one on one, or a group board. Nowadays I have certain muses who are highly versatile and large aspects of them carry over into new ideas, but they're still tailored to match the world and setting. But I always start with the plot, look at the location, and then if its a group thing, I skim other profiles. See if there are any connections to be made, no matter how big or small (or insane - I have a muse who likes to stalk people).

From there I start out with an idea. Could be just a word, just a trope or even a face (if the RP is based off PBs) and then I take that idea and start making crazy connections from there. Another big thing for me is making things different. Like, how can you escape typical character tropes and make things interesting? Once I hit this stage, it's normally time for a glass of wine and some abstract thinking. It's how I've had a 5 foot 4 GIANT before (he was the runt of the family; had to leave home after almost being squished by a serving platter), or how I managed to get The Artful Dodger (from Oliver Twist novels) into a Peter Pan setting.

I don't believe in putting any real aspects of myself into my muses. Why? Because I'm boring! I'm sitting at home RPing! Lol. They do tend to frequently take on traits that I wish I had though (super sly, overly charming etc). Funny thing is that a lot of the time these muses will impact my life, instead of my life impacting them. For instance, I ended up teaching myself how to pick a lock because I had a long-term muse who was a thief and I thought it would be cool to understand the basics. I also know a bucketload about roadside motorcycle repairs even though I've never ridden a bike in my life. Why? Because I had a bosozoku muse with a back dock chop shop and I wanted to know what he would know.

All in all, it's a pretty crazy process that can drive me a little mad at times.

 

[Flowiest D]

I create my characters out of fire and lol’s
Sometimes I add some rhymes and some addictions for good measures..

But usually depends on the role play.

 

[SheepySharon]

I made my own very descriptive Character Spreadsheet and I dunno.. When I usually had a name in my mind, I just start filling everything in.. It just happens..

 

[spektri]

i tend to start with the plot/idea. i pretty much always make new characters for each game, though they might well resemble each other at times.

then i just let it... sink in with me for some time. i don't want to rush it. the plot will be in my mind and at some point, something will emerge—a trait or a look or an occupation—and then i just go from there.

i like to do some personality tests in the beginning of planning (myers-briggs and/or d&d alignment depending on the setting, sometimes just like, dumb buzzfeed quizzes. it's fun and often helps you think of qualities you might not have remembered to, otherwise).

when i have an idea, i look for a name (i usually go to behindthename.com) because it's super important for me to find a fitting one. plus i really don't like leaving blanks or placeholders when i write anything, so i gotta have a name or writing a character sheet will be really difficult lmao

and then i just. go to town. following the things i've already decided i write a character sheet. assigning music for your character is often a good idea, whether it's something they listen to or just fits their personality (or even the setting). but the most important thing for me is to not to get too detailed, because my characters don't often start to really live until i actually get to use them, and if i make my sheet too detailed there's a chance i'll forget some of the details and go off it, or it gets too restricting.

if face claims are required that's usually the last step, and i can spend tons of time trying to find the best possible one.

(that's not 100% always what happens; sometimes i get inspired by a character in some other thing or an actor or a concept or a name even but after that i usually follow, approximately, the steps i described)

 

[riodragon]

I like to build characters with some degree of alienation, damage, or flaws in mind. If I made a character with a special power for example, I'd try to implement that power in such a way that makes the living of their life from day to day more of a process or difficult. Barring that, maybe a character who has some aspect that's not commonly expressed in the fiction I've seen and read.

 

[Wreadite]

Whenever I make a character, I go with a general idea like, a fun person or an angsty person, etc. Usually, I go looking for theme songs and elabarote my character more based on a song. Though the reason I take too much time is because of coding. I like coding and making my sheet look nice. Hehe...