Character Creation

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Character Creation
by: Typhoon

So you think writing a detailed character is an extreme amount of work? Think again! Here are some tips and examples of how to make a full, well rounded character that can almost jump right off your page!

Of course these tips may not work for everyone. If you are still having trouble creating your character, PM one of the administrators.

Starting Off

Okay. Let's start with the basics. Getting to know your character before we do.

To make a unique character, they need to be personal to you. What kind of character are you creating? A evil, spiteful, proud creature or a good, wholesome, caring individual? Or perhaps somewhere in the middle? Coming up with a character is a lot easier if their personality directly relates to a part of your own personality. Eventually, you will be able to create amazing characters with their own unique personality that is totally separate from yours, but for now, make it easy on you.

Now, turn on some music.

Happy fluttery music with a uplifting beat can make your fingers type the words in the same fashion. Heavy, dreadful music with a lot of bass and guitar can make a evil character come to life. All other types of music will have the same effect on your unique character.

So you have your tunes on and the exact area on the personality spectrum selected. Great! Lets get to work on chiseling that character down.


On the Outside

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It seems like this is the toughest area for people to complete, and to do it well. This will hopefully make a very detailed physical description seem like a breeze, flowing together in your head and on the page very nicely.

Here are some important questions you need to ask yourself before starting;[/center]

General

• How much does your animal weigh?
  
• How tall is it at the shoulders?
  
• Is his body broad, thin or average?
  

Pelt

• What colour, or variations of colour is the fur?
  
• Does he have any specific markings, and where?
  
• What does it feel like to the touch?
  
• Is it curly, straight, wavy?
  
• Thick, with a double coat or thin?
  

Head

• What shape is his head? Large and bulky or slender?
  
• Ears - Do they stand upright or flap against their head?
  
• Eyes - What shape are they? Almond, round?
  
• Eyes - What colour are they?
  
• Does he have a long muzzle or a short flat one?
  
• What colour and shape are his teeth in? Pristine and untouched or yellow and cracked or missing?
  

Body, Legs and Tail

• Is he underweight, normal or overweight? Can you see his ribs?
  
• Is his back straight or does it have a curve to it?
  
• Are his legs long and slender for running fast or short and muscular for fighting?
  
• Are his paws small or large?
  
• What about his toenails? Overgrown, cracked, what colour?
  
• Is his tail short or long, does it curl upwards in any fashion?
  

By answering those questions to yourself, you can give a complete and perfect image of your character without a photo for verification and find it hard to keep the description under 100 words.

Research your breeds! Finding information on your breed such as average height, weight, typical colours and typical personality can be extremely helpful when creating your character. Do not copy and paste the descriptions in to your creation, we will know!

[Typhoon]

This section should be a good bit shorter than the previous because most members that have a character in mind, have the personality rough draft already planned out. Both personality and history really go hand in hand. If your character was beaten, manipulated and insulted all his life, chances are that he isn't going to be a bouncy happy-go-lucky ball of fun. Try to be realistic with your creations.

Some people like creating a personality and then a history to match it. Personally, I do it the opposite because it can make your character less confusing, more realistic and a lot of ends and beginnings meeting up a little better. So what you might want to do is decide on a basic personality. Mean. Sarcastic. Nice. Attention whore. Whatever. Got it? Good!

Sooo... lets start with your history.

History
And relating it to your personality!



Alright. Have that basic personality ready? PERFECT! Things happen in a characters life that molds who they are today. These are the things you need to focus on the most.

And here are the questions you need to ask yourself before those fingers start whacking at your keyboard.

Puppyhood

• How large of a litter was he born into?
  
• Were any of these puppies stillborn?
  
• Was your character treated differently by the other puppies?
  
• What was his mother and father like? - Were they around, helpful, mean, strict, etc?
  
• What was his personality like before any life changing events?
  

Life Changing Events

This should be the part of your story that you focus on the most. Don't just throw out a few details about something major in his life, we want to hear the whole story. We want to know when it happened, how it happened, how he felt afterwards. All the little details matter.

• How old was he?
  
• How did the day start?
  
• What was happening before the life changing event?
  
• What happened?
  
• What did he do while it was happening?
  
• Was anyone killed or injured, who?
  
• How did he feel, what was going through his mind as the event was taking place?
  
• How long did it last?
  
• What happened/what did he do directly following the event?
  
• How does he feel now?
  
• Did something change inside him? What was going through his head?
  
• How does this effect the rest of his life?
  

The Here and Now

• How long has it been since the event?
  
• What has he been doing during this time?
  
• What is his personality like now (just a sample)?
  

[Typhoon]

Personality


This section will be even shorter yet because I really think personality is probably your first thought on your creation, even before you decide the breed or species of canine you want to use.

Personalities can get confusing for readers if everything isn't really planned out, and you can end up repeating yourself. Hopefully these few little tips will help you avoid the headaches and confusion and help make your personality for your character nice and neat.

The best way to start your personality is to list the main key points of it. We'll start with a character I recently created myself.

• Liar
  
• Gambler
  
• Paranoid
  

Most personalities look something like this

Vegas is a liar, he'll lie about anything. And he likes to gambled, to place bets on thing he can do. He lies just to lie, just to be a liar. He is always paranoid that someone will catch him lying so he lies more to throw them off guard and changes his personality so they won't recognize him.

It's short. It's confusing. And he's not very interesting at all. I don't want to role play with him. So, this is what I want to do to make him seem a little more interesting, to bring a little more spunk out and to lengthen the personality at the same time.

Take your key points again, remember them?

• Liar
  
• Gambler
  
• Paranoid
  

You should focus on each bulletin individually, don't take the personality as a whole. The easiest way to create a nice looking, and easily read personality is as follows:

• LIAR

If someone is expecting to catch this brute in a lie, they probably never will. This is something he has perfected over the short three years of his life. Some kind of sick instinct he was born with. The perfect liar. If he thinks you might be getting too close the the truth, well, he'll just tell another lie to throw you completely off track. The major thing to note here, is that Vegas lies about everything. When approached by another canine simply inquiring what pack he is with, he'll tell them Tartarus, Loner, Metnal, Barzakh... anything but the truth. And all without a falter. What would he like to eat? Rabbit. In reality, he is craving deer. The simplest things are a complete lie. Nothing is ever truth. NOTHING

[/li][li]GAMBLER[/color]
If there is one thing in the world that Vegas is better at than lying, it would be betting. Although the end prize isn't something he is much bothered by; perhaps a scrap of food or some other meaningless item. What gets him excited is showing others that he can do something. He loves the bets, but he isn't stupid about it. He knows what he can and cannot do

[/li][li]PARANOID[/color]
Someone, somewhere is always out to get him. To figure him out, to catch him in his lies. So what does he need to do? Lie harder! Inside, Vegas is nothing but a shy, reserved coward. But with the brute always being so paranoid that someone wants to hurt or make a fool out of him, he has developed an additional persona; the braves, sociable, charming canine you see before you. Whenever he assumes that someone is about to figure him out, just like with his lies, he will quickly change his personality to something completely different for a few days, as if he believes that would be enough to throw is pursuers off.
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Maybe not the perfect personality, but it stomps all over the original, doesn't it?[/center]