How do you bring out your characters?

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Rolenthegreat
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About the characters

Post by Rolenthegreat »

A couple things I notice quite a few artists seem to forget are..
1. Height - Some people are tall some people are short. Even in College Roomies From Hell all the characters are basically the same height, it isn't a necessary trait, but it can help a character stand out if they are a head taller than everyone else.
2. Skin tone - In color comics only obviously. Most comics there seems to only contain two skin tones, white and black. But, people are all sorts of shades of brown, geeks are usually paler, cheerleaders usually tan. They don't have to be very different, just if two people shake hands you can see two different skin tones.
3. Body shape - Not just fat or skinny. This can allow to basically similar looking characters to be easy to tell apart. Think construction worker, next to a gymnast, next to a middle aged CEO. I love the way Paul Taylor draws his <a href=”http://www.wapsisquare.com/”>ladies</a>...

Just a few things to keep in mind when you try to make a character stand out. Experiment a little. Play around with more than just facial features and hair.

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Post by Mr.Bob »

Dutch! wrote:I was being rhetorical...sorry if that came out otherwise...
What's the point of rhetorical questions?

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Joel Fagin
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Post by Joel Fagin »

Mr.Bob wrote:What's the point of rhetorical questions?
They express thoughts out loud for the benefit of others and also sometimes help with the cognitive process to put thoughts in a more linear and rigid form.

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Dutch!
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Post by Dutch! »

Yeah...exactly!
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Post by Jim North »

Dutch! wrote:Any other closet bed wetters out there?
If you're wetting your bed all the way from inside the closet, you might have some physical problems to address, let alone mental ones.

Unless their bed is in the closet with them, of course. But that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish . . .
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Post by Mr.Bob »

Joel Fagin wrote:
Mr.Bob wrote:What's the point of rhetorical questions?
They express thoughts out loud for the benefit of others and also sometimes help with the cognitive process to put thoughts in a more linear and rigid form.

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Great... You ruined it now.

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Post by Joel Fagin »

Mr.Bob wrote:Great... You ruined it now.
Good, good.

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Dutch!
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Post by Dutch! »

Yeah...exactly...
Remember when your imagination was real? When the day seemed
longer than it was, and tomorrow was always another game away?
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McDuffies
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Post by McDuffies »

Mr.Bob wrote:
Joel Fagin wrote:
Mr.Bob wrote:What's the point of rhetorical questions?
They express thoughts out loud for the benefit of others and also sometimes help with the cognitive process to put thoughts in a more linear and rigid form.

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- Joel Fagin
Great... You ruined it now.
Does my ass look fat in this hat?

Just rhetorical question.

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Jim North
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Post by Jim North »

Why are you wearing a hat on your ass?

Oh, wait, I get it . . . it's an asshat.

(Extra points for answering a question with a question, as well as answering my own question! Score!)
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Post by McDuffies »

Jim North wrote:Why are you wearing a hat on your ass?

Oh, wait, I get it . . . it's an asshat.

(Extra points for answering a question with a question, as well as answering my own question! Score!)
It's a hat with three holes for legs.

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Dutch!
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Post by Dutch! »

Oh...a hat for Jake the Peg...cool.
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Post by Prettydragoon »

Dutch! wrote:How mysterious a past can you have when you're eleven?
If your father is king of a South Seas island and your mother is an angel and you live in a house by yourself with only a monkey and a horse for company, pretty mysterious I'd say.
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Post by Ida »

Writing a more-or-less detailed character sheet is a great help when designing characters. You should try to include how they think about each other and why, what they like, their history, family, pet peeves, as much information as possible really. Hust don't feel bonded by it afterwards, leave room for development! As for physical design, the old shillouette trick works wonders, as about a thousand people have already said. Skin tones are also a great thing (I have a separate skin tone for every single character in my comic), and another thing you might try to look into is clothing. Not everybody runs around in jeans and a t-shirt, in fact, I only very rarely see people dressed that plain. Clothes can tell a lot about a character, so try to define a distinct style.

Of course, you could also just tell the reviewer to shut the f*ck up. :evil:
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Post by Wp »

Ida wrote:Writing a more-or-less detailed character sheet is a great help when designing characters. You should try to include how they think about each other and why, what they like, their history, family, pet peeves, as much information as possible really. Hust don't feel bonded by it afterwards, leave room for development! As for physical design, the old shillouette trick works wonders, as about a thousand people have already said. Skin tones are also a great thing (I have a separate skin tone for every single character in my comic), and another thing you might try to look into is clothing. Not everybody runs around in jeans and a t-shirt, in fact, I only very rarely see people dressed that plain. Clothes can tell a lot about a character, so try to define a distinct style.

Of course, you could also just tell the reviewer to shut the f*ck up. :evil:
Character sheet: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma? AC? BAB? Doombees?

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Post by Vorticus »

Ida wrote: Not everybody runs around in jeans and a t-shirt, in fact, I only very rarely see people dressed that plain.
You need to hang around geeks more. Lots of them run around in jeans and a t-shirt. That is until it gets cold out, then it's jean shorts and a t-shirt.

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Post by Nyke »

wp wrote:
Ida wrote:Writing a more-or-less detailed character sheet is a great help when designing characters. You should try to include how they think about each other and why, what they like, their history, family, pet peeves, as much information as possible really. Hust don't feel bonded by it afterwards, leave room for development! As for physical design, the old shillouette trick works wonders, as about a thousand people have already said. Skin tones are also a great thing (I have a separate skin tone for every single character in my comic), and another thing you might try to look into is clothing. Not everybody runs around in jeans and a t-shirt, in fact, I only very rarely see people dressed that plain. Clothes can tell a lot about a character, so try to define a distinct style.

Of course, you could also just tell the reviewer to shut the f*ck up. :evil:
Character sheet: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma? AC? BAB? Doombees?
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Post by Luprand »

wp wrote:Character sheet: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma? AC? BAB? Doombees?
Character sheet: Appearance, History, Personality, Likes/Dislikes, Intelligence, Quirks. Social Class. Doombees if necessary.

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Post by Blahsville! »

Sometimes I place a little character food just outside my character's cage, then I coax him out. When he goes for the food I hit him with a mallet.
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McDuffies
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Post by McDuffies »

Luprand wrote:
wp wrote:Character sheet: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma? AC? BAB? Doombees?
Character sheet: Appearance, History, Personality, Likes/Dislikes, Intelligence, Quirks. Social Class. Doombees if necessary.

--Sij
Webcomic character sheet: Normal/weirdo/goth/slut.

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