DEVELOP A STORY FOR YOUR CHARACTER WITH HO WEI RONG
1 Creat ing a Focus: The One-Liner
The key to creating a good character story is to have a strong centre to build your story around – the selling point that your readers can instantly recognise. It should be easily described in one succinct line. I use this one-liner to provide direction from which I develop the rest of my character’s story. Something as simple as “a girl with a love of stationery and humanity thrust into circumstances beyond herself” can be enough to form the base of your character’s story.
2 Colour Coding
When differentiating characters, the quickest and most visible way to do so is by the use of colours. Colours can tell a story on their own, whether through the meaning of individual hues, or the relationship between certain colours. I use purple for a character with royal poise and wit, and red for a go-getter type with a childish lilt. And the contrast between red and blue enables me to create a story of contrasting opinion and values.
3 Creat e a Distinct Silhouett e
Bodies come in all shapes and sizes in western comics. However, for manga, most body types and sizes fall within the same general categories, only differentiated by gender. In trying to create a distinct silhouette within the stricter rules of manga, I often fall back on two specific areas: hairstyle and unique design elements. I use contrasting hairstyles for my different characters, which allows for the variation in silhouette demanded for distinction. Where available, I also add unique shapes and objects to my clothing design to further set the silhouettes apart.
4 Tell ing a Story Through the use of strong Visuals
When introducing a character, it’s important that both their personality and abilities are displayed within the first few frames. To that end, in battle comics I ensure that their introductions enable them to fight an enemy. I use this approach to establish the character’s verbal tics and choice of actions, as well as the powers and capability that they’re able to display. For a comic set in everyday life, I use a mundane daily task or scene for the same function, showing how the character approaches a problem that would be immediately familiar to the readers.
5 begin with an End in Mind
I quickly decide what purpose this character will play in my overall storyline
It’s relatively easy to create a character’s personality and traits. What isn’t easy is creating a role for the character. I begin this task by deciding what purpose this character will play in my overall storyline. I use something vague, but directional, like “background character in the second arc”, or “mid-stage villain boss for the hero’s first battle.” This influences my choice of colours, elements and extravagance of design. After all, a throwaway character who appears in the background of two chapters will be much more subdued in design than one who has a major role in the hero’s development.