Forums » RP Discussion » how do you create a character?

So im sitting here wondering how to make my own character so quickly. Venya is a character that is me. so personality wise is good but looks.... its been years. I'm still changing her look hell I went from female to hermaphrodite but it took me a week to decide whether to do it or not. Also I write stories but characters are never finished. they are just there and kinda feels like a waste of time. (what I wrote anyways)

So im wondering how you make your character and how long it usually takes. I've been trying to finish one character but honestly I don't know how.

That's a good question!

For me, I don't really create characters until I have something solid in my head to work with. Usually I just ask myself some questions to help me determine the basics, and then work from there.

- Where are they from?
- Where are they now?
- What kind of culture is in this place?
- How did it affect them? As in, did it shape their views on the world positively, negatively or not at all?
- What hobbies do they have? Are those hobbies originating from their home or were they influenced from somewhere else?
- What is their occupation?
- What drives them to have this occupation?
- What is their long-term goal in life? (e.g. "I want to be ___ when I grow up" or "As a knight, I want to make the world a better place by serving my king and retire with a family" or "I want to get rid of this curse that has plagued me since I was an infant" or "I want to make a big important discovery in science that will put my name in books for centuries to come" etc.)
- What is their short-term goal in life? (e.h. "I want to visit this city to see my cousin" or "I want to slay this witch who cursed me" or "I want to go on a date with ___" etc.)
- Who is close to them in their life?
- Do they have enemies?
- Has anything traumatic happened to them?
- Has anything wonderful happened to them?

When I answer these questions, I find I have a very detailed and motivated character with clear goals and a personality. Then there's also this guide to creating kick-butt character profiles that has awesome tips on what to add to your profile.

Most of my characters are never quite 'finished', the more I RP them the more they change and develop, and that's fine! Characters that never change can be challenging to work with for both you and your partners, so it's perfectly fine to have a character who doesn't feel 'done'.

I always have a lump of ideas -- themes I want in a character, designs I want in their appearance, genres/fandoms I want to make something in -- and when I suspect I have some concepts that'll go together nicely I draw them and see what happens. The process takes about 3-4 hours or is constant, depending on your point of view.

Personality-wise I hash them out by imagining the sort of things they'd do. If I need something more concrete, any old character building prompts are fine as long as I answer without overthinking them - then look and see what kind of character they've given me. I make sure to avoid tests or questionnaires; the answers themselves will tell me what my character is, not Myers-Briggs or Quizilla.

Lastly I have to echo Sanne in that never aspire to make your characters a finished product, that thinking will paralyze you (if it hasn't already).

I always spend a weird amount of time on tiny idiosyncrasies, like how much they wash their hands and whether or not they jump when putting on their pants... It sounds weird but it really, really helps with characterization and the tiny details of their personality. I always see people filling out those little survey skeletons for their characters but it honestly does help. Also, doing a lot of stuff ICly always helps me develop, like, filling out those surveys not as yourself but as your character.

I always end up doing physical design last and will change it a lot before I settle on a solid one. I go through different details like hair length and eye color/eye shape a lot (i.e. changing their hairstyle like fifty times before I decide what one I like best). I put a few themes in my characters always too and will build them around that theme or feeling I get from whatever it is. There are always some subtle references to things in my characters and that always helps me get a feel for them, too.

Making a character takes ages for me. I've had Wallace for almost two years and am revamping him (pun intended) AGAIN. Quality and the time it takes for me to finish a character always depends on how inspired I am by them. I'll always notate the fact that every person's character contains a piece of themself, too.

I have a weird process myself and half the time I'm not trying to do it. But Ill listen to music and then sometimes something in the song sticks out to me. And even if I take the line completely out of context it can spawn just enough of an idea in my head. I get the start of a character going and I keep working out details probably for about a week at least. And as I listen to more music it kind of pieces together their personality. Like my character Jabez, he was born literally from listening to the music from prince of Egypt and songs from the hunch back of Notre Dame. I can create cohesive idea of small lines. Then I just beat out all the kinks as I work throughout the week. I usually end up using like 5 sheets of paper working out the details and that's even before I decide what they're going to look like.

Usually, when i want to create a character, i start with a general idea like the Era of the character (Pirate, Medieval, Etc).
Then i smash my head on my keyboard to find a good name. Nah, but really, i try to find a good name that fits. After that, i generally think of how the Character is going to act so i can define their personality, likings and dislikings. And pretty much while i do that, i find ideas for the appearance of the character and the manner he/she is dressed. And by what i experienced, i can say that sometimes the personality can help to make a backstory.

Sometimes, i also happen to inspire my characters from other characters from TV shows and stuff. Some details wil be similar, but really not all of them.

Then, you can add more details and you're pretty much ready to RP. Althought, the character never really has to be 'finished', like Sanne and Sland said. Also, i'd say the time to make a character depends on how much backstory and details you put into it. But ya know, that's just me.