Drawing Out Your Characters?

[PlsSenpai]

Does anyone else do it or am I just a nerd? LOL.

I drew a few face portaits for some characters,

wanting to do the rest and some body shots with

their weapons.

 

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/MissSenpai/kenniart0002_zpswbs2r7mx.jpg

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/MissSenpai/sully_zpsihs5h5og.jpg

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/MissSenpai/kenniart0001_zps5ri9vusp.jpg

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk161/MissSenpai/kenniart0004_zpsowiauft3.jpg

[Carlos Hazday]

Wish I could draw! I just use pictures of actual people as the basis for my character descriptions. Major ones I have an idea of what I want and look for a pic to get details. Minor ones I take a picture I like and develop the character's look around it.

[Graeme]

I try to avoid being too descriptive about a character unless it helps with the character development. I'm more interesting in making sure their personalities come over, rather than physical appearance.

 

So, no, not only do I not draw them, I generally only try to keep enough of an image in my mind that I stay consistent. That lets the readers visualise the characters however they want.

[Timothy M.]

I can't draw either and I'm no good at finding pics. So I use a third option and ask my readers to come up with ideas.

(Gets me something to drool over as well. )

[The Pecman]

I have occasionally run into a picture of a celebrity or even a nobody, and thought, "ah! That's sorta/kinda in the direction of one of my characters." So sometimes it helps.

 

I always write up a list (which no one ever sees but me) where I write a paragraph or so about each major character -- their age, their height, hair color, birthdate, a physical description, personality traits, a little background. At least this way, if I say in chapter 3 that Character Y's birthday is March 19th, I can look that up when I get to chapter 13 when March rolls around in the story. But I don't think you necessarily need a photo or a drawing to make them come alive.

[Warrior1]

I wish I could draw ... but ... unfortunately, I can't. Not even 'badly'. I just can't.

 

But my protagonist kinda looks like Logan Lerman  

[Adam Phillips]

If you draw out your characters, when they make it into a movie you'll be disappointed by the casting.

[methodwriter85]

If you draw out your characters, when they make it into a movie you'll be disappointed by the casting.

 

Speaking of...

 

Christina Applegate as Andy's mother. What do you think? She has the wicked wisecrackin' down, and she has the earthy sensuality vibe I've pictured Andy's mom having.

 

Can you see her as Andy Sharpe's mother?

Edited June 1, 2015 by methodwriter85

[Adam Phillips]

Speaking of...

 

Christina Applegate as Andy's mother. What do you think? She has the wicked wisecrackin' down, and she has the earthy sensuality vibe I've pictured Andy's mom having.

 

Can you see her as Andy Sharpe's mother?

 

 

Nope. But that's one of the beauties of written fiction. The reader is free--depending on how specific the author gets in descriptions--to imagine the characters the way he/she wants.

[Kitt]

If you draw out your characters, when they make it into a movie you'll be disappointed by the casting.

I am usually disappointed by the casting anyway!  They never seem to look like what my mind drew.

[Thorn Wilde]

I occasionally draw my characters, but it's more for the joy of drawing than anything else. In my head, I know exactly what my characters look like, but I tend to be somewhat sparing in my descriptions, usually limiting myself to eye and hair colour, height relative to one another in a romance, and occasionally vague descriptions of hair styles or skin tones. Other details, like scars, size of hands and feet, amount of body hair and so on may be revealed through narrative. I almost never describe the clothes my characters wear unless there's a really special reason to do so. For the most part, I work from the assumption that my readers already have an idea of what the character looks like from what little I give them when the character's introduced. I think it's because I think physical appearance is boring. It's what's inside the characters' heads that's interesting.

[JackBinimbul]

I often draw my characters, but I am an artist first, author second.  So that seems like a natural progression.  I also enjoy being able to share specific scenes in the way I envisioned them.

[wanda walker]

I always draw my characters, and if they aren't fun to draw, then they're not fun to write about (for me, personally). I'm also really specific about what they look like, if not in the text than in my own head. XD It's really hard for me to find celebrities or models that match up, because I try to keep my characters pretty average in the looks department and let's be honest, celebrities are usually the cream of the crop when it comes to attractiveness. I prefer Average Joe types. Model Mayhem is a great resource for people searching for "look alikes", since there's such a wide range of appearances (plus you can specify race, eye color, hair color, weight, etc). It's also good for drawing references!

 

I also like to draw characters for my audience, because I want them to imagine them at least in a similar way as I do. For example, it's pretty common that people assume the characters are white unless stated otherwise. Hence why I drew this book cover: 

 

 

For this, I used actual fashion models (Dominique Hollington) since the younger men are supposed to be really attractive, but the lower one was based on a picture I found on Model Mayhem, since he's supposed to be older and average. He kinda ended up hotter than he should have been. >_> Of course, now that I've used these references, this image is canon, and later I described my characters with these guys in mind. It's kind of a chicken-and-the-egg argument, because I don't know if the character description is based on the reference or if the reference is based on the character description.

[thecalimack]

I kinda do drawing and writing in unison. Seems like part of story-telling when you learn how to.

[JamesSavik]

While I can't draw, I can google up a storm.

 

Here are three of the characters from my upcoming story:

 

JD

 

Chris & Cole

[methodwriter85]

Wait, is that Young Matt Dillion?

[JamesSavik]

Wait, is that Young Matt Dillion?

 

It came from the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" 

 

[JackBinimbul]

I always draw my characters.  I'm an artist as well as a writer, so I can't help it

Wanda, your work is absolutely beautiful.