Tips For Creating A Character-DNP

by **Kisuke** July 17th 2008, 7:01 pm

DNP stands for Do Not Post

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Below are some tips when it comes to creating characters. I will use the template and break that down for you and hopefully inspire you to create more characters efficiently as well. Just as an initial tip to start things off,
remember that you should make characters that are your own creations or characters that fit into situations if they happen to be real.

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To start, I'll mention a few ways of thinking of a character to use. Some old methods are just having pure inspiration at any possible time and thinking to yourself of a cool character with a good history that you might have wanted to make and show others. Sometimes, good ways are finding good pictures and developing ideas on that character based on the picture. For example:
Tips For Creating A Character-DNP COOL_LIGHT_by_heise

Tips For Creating A Character-DNP COOL_LIGHT_by_heise

This picture is great for a person who can't think of a good character. The picture above has good detail in it and it would help a person decide on a history as well as techniques he could possibly use and even a personality. The person has dragons on his clothing and gloves with electricity coming out. From that, you can come up with a story like: This warrior was raised in a land where dragons reign. High on the mountaintops, young children where raised in the art of Lightning Mastery by honing their skills on the highest mountaintops, dodging bolts of lightning and fierce storms. I came up with that from simply looking at that person. So overall, what I'm trying to say is: Detail In a Picture Can Make a Great Character. Another way is using Tektek, which is actually how I came up with the idea of Kisuke along with some other things. When I first started RPing and wanted to make my first character, I thought of multiple things that came from cartoons and anime. The name Kisuke came from my favorite anime Bleach's own Kisuke Urahara. Sunosuke came from Rurouni Kenshin's Sanosuke [I just changed the A to a U]. I wanted my character to be evil and thought about the whole idea of Soul Reapers, Shinigami, and Grim Reapers. That allowed me to think of the scythe for Kisuke as well as his shadow powers. After some thought, what you see now is the current result. Of course, thinking of what my character would look like on TekTek.org helped me too. Basically what you need to know here is: Envision Your Character and Decide What He/She Does, Can Do, or Will Do After Making a Customized Picture or Image of Some Kind.

Another method that I'll explain a bit is the simple step of thinking of a character all on your own with very little aid of anything but your mind and your creativity. I see this often from the more experienced Role-Players that have done this for a long time. They come up with a character all on their own from scratch and start to type. They ask themselves questions like: What if..., Should he/she...., or Could he/she....? These questions are always good to consider and will help you greatly. Many people using this method often have no picture because their character is so original that no one has thought of anything similar to it or another picture wouldn't even give as much detail as their words. Some can find pictures by luck although others take a picture with a resemblance and then they take their time to edit the picture until it looks exactly the same as what they envisioned or extremely close to it. The key here: Create A Completely Original Character By Asking Yourself Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How Questions.

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Tackling The Template::Easier Steps to Forming Your Character

--I'm going to go through the template one option at a time and as I do, I'll give you suggestions on how to create a great character. You may take the advice or not--

Name:
The template asks for a character's birthname. Often on forums people use excuses like: My character doesn't know its name or simple Name Unknown. I wouldn't recommend this. It asks for a character's birthname so unless your character wasn't born, their should be a name in my opinion. It isn't bad to use a name and it would probably help you when it comes to your background history and even personality. Names can be anything but I think many people use names that have specific meanings which is good. I too think that a name should have some meaning and I also think that names are more creative if they aren't straightforward Japanese but instead a language that not many people [like in Asia, Europe, America or wherever you live] know about or even a name that you made up off the top of your head or by combining words.

Gender:
Gender is something easy and simple that I won't get into.

Race:
Race is something that is also self-explanatory. I won't go into detail on it but I will comment and say that making a character that isn't simply Human or Demon would be good. I say this only because too many people use Demon and Human although Human is better than Demon or mixed breeds of the two. It brings to mind anime like Inuyasha.

Alliance:
Self-Explanatory

Age:
Age can be very important. Age will often determine how powerful your character could be and how other characters will see him or her. Old characters can symbolize wisdom while younger characters can sometimes symbolize growth or immaturity. Based on your character's personality, older age may not mean much while younger age could mean brave and a fierce fighter. Make sure your age makes sense too.

Homeland:
Homeland is also of great importance. The description of your homeland could easily determine how your character was raised and how he or she fights. If your character was raised in a war-driven area, he/she may be poor or even powerful based on where exactly they came [as in close to the wars or far away--taking only the hardships of the war effects]. The description is also nice as it adds to this forum's world overall. You would want to give your homeland a story since it will have something to do with your character's background. Make sure that you describe the terrain and the people of the Homeland as well, not just the location of it and how far it is from the school. Conditions of the land are great as well and the more detail you can provide, the better.

Appearance:
Appearance should be something to enhance the personality of your character as well as the world's perception of him or her. You want to have their personality reflect something about themself and that should include their facial expressions, clothes they wear, color of eyes and hair, etc. Appearance should allow you to freely express your character other than the history.

Ranking:
Self-Explanatory, just pick from what's provided.

Personality:
Your character's personality can determine everything. A character with a reckless personality may be blindly destructive while a timid person may have hidden potential that needs to be unlocked. Personality should be as descriptive as it can be. I think personality should match a character's warrior types and their elements that they use. Keep this in mind and don't slack off on your character's personality and remember that the world has many different people with different outlooks and personalities.

Type of Warrior:
The Type of Warrior you choose should be something your character would be fitting at fighting like. Don't choose something like a puppeteer if your character doesn't like aid or things like that.

Elemental Affinity:
These are the elements your character can use. On this forum, there are many elements that can provide different fighting styles and personalities of your character. Fire is destructive and powerful; choosing it may cause your character to seem powerful and fearless even. Water is calm and pure; choosing it may cause your character to seem easy-going or even supportive. Lightning is swift and precise; a character with this technique may seem witty while maintaining a balanced amount of power. Wind can be calm or fierce; someone with this element could have a variety of personalities that may revolve around wisdom or quiet skill. Earth, the opposite of wind, is hard and powerful; someone with this might be described as tough or strong and sometimes dominant. Keep these things in mind and decide for yourself what personalities could come with the other elements.

History:
This is what the template comes to. Your personality, elements, warrior types, appearance, homeland, and even your name is a factor that should be greatly taken into account when making your characters. Remember that all histories don't have to be tragic and they don't all have to remind us of the story of Sasuke Uchiha, who most of us know had his entire family killed and was the last of his kind. Those stories get old fast and other stories are recommended. IN A HISTORY, YOUR PARENTS DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO DIE. Some histories may have nothing to do with your parents at all. Keep all of these things in mind. Remember to put your creative genius into your character or characters. They are different and unique.

~Permission To Make This Post Was Given To Me By Jisenki-Admin