How to come up with a character. How do writers create their characters? Here is a partial list of his controversies

Hero work of art could be anyone - from a cockroach to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But we fully get used to only the image that resembles ourselves - that is, it has such human characteristics as character, habits, advantages, disadvantages, memories, dreams, plans for the future, etc.

If your heroine is distinguished only by her velvety skin and elasticity of form, then reading about her will only be interesting to prisoners who have already forgotten what a real woman looks like.

Number of heroes in a work of art

How many heroes should there be in a novel? As much as you can hold. In Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace there are more than two hundred named characters. In the tale of the heron and the crane there are only two.

It is believed that three - optimal quantity main characters in genre novel. One character is missing conflict situations: It will be difficult for the reader to empathize with him. Two is better, but someone else is needed to bring chaos to the relationship between the two main characters. Three is just right.

But even the intellectual novel and the mainstream should not be overpopulated. If the reader begins to get confused about the characters and forget who is who, this is a bad sign.

Reader's emotions

When the reader accepts the hero with all his heart, he experiences:

Sympathy - approval and sympathy;

Empathy - the reader easily imagines himself in the place of a literary character.

For this to happen, the character must be charming. Prince Bolkonsky, Carlson, Behemoth the Cat - all these and other memorable characters have the following in common:

Reliability - they are described in such a way that the reader seems to see them with his own eyes;

The ability to imitate - you want to copy the habits, words and style of behavior of the characters.

Heroes that inspire admiration

IN good novel The characters cope with their problems in a way that is admirable. By getting used to a successful literary image, the reader feels smarter, stronger, more charismatic - his life is filled with new colors. And I no longer want to let go of this illusion of another “I”.

An ordinary person as a character

Many people believe that perfect hero- this is a simple person. That’s why there are so many faceless girls in the manuscripts that come to publishing houses, looking for love, and boring men with a midlife crisis. And even more - characters suffering from binge drinking and psychosis. The fact is that the authors of such works are not engaged in literature, but in self-medication - they describe themselves and their problems.

Who do you want to spend time with?

One of the leading American literary agents, Donald Maass, invites authors to imagine that they are traveling on a train. Who do they want to be in a compartment with for the next ten hours - a bright, witty person or a dull neurotic?

That's it.

If we want people to spend ten hours with our characters (which is how long the average book is read), the characters must be interesting.

We're not talking about characters like Superman or Batman. It's about charm. And the hero can be either a fool like Forrest Gump or a misanthrope like Dr. House.

How to show a hero with qualities that are difficult to convey in words (beauty, power, fame, etc.)?

If we describe a beautiful girl in a standard way - what color her lips and hair are - it will all look like a template. But if we show her through the eyes of another character, describe what he experiences when looking at the heroine, then the scene will play completely differently. The main thing is to focus on subjective perception.

The same technique can be used in scenes with kings and others significant persons: demonstrate not the imperious sparkle of the eyes, not the noble position of the head, but the feelings of another hero who comes into awe at the sight of the ruler.

It’s also worth including all the scars and features of the body. Each big or small scar has its own story and the character's reaction to this story, positive or negative, with irony or nostalgia. The same is with body features, large lung capacity - runs longer, more convolutions of the brain - smarter, no fingers right hand– maybe he’s clumsy;)

• We give a name

Eh, very important point in my opinion, but at the same time, logic fades into the background if you want to call your hero something cool name and you don’t care that a name also affects a person’s life.

Let's subject ourselves to common sense and define it this way: if the actions take place in our world and in our time, then you go into the directory and choose a name in accordance with the character; if in our world, but in the past you give names in accordance with that era and place, it is possible without character, but with meaning; if the action takes place in a fantasy or fantasy world, then you already have complete freedom of choice.

If you have trouble coming up with a name, then various kinds of geographical, astrological, biological and other reference books will provide good help - you open them, find an alphabetical index and transform the names of places, terms and phenomena into the names of your heroes.

• Life story

And my favorite part of creating a character is combining everything described above and creating a complete personality out of it.

History, or the biography of a character, is the “lubricant” that will allow you to link some character traits with others and “revive” the hero of your story. In the biography it is also worth mentioning the parents and how they influenced the character, their personal qualities, something our subject could adopt from them, refuse something, they could force him to do something, how they pampered him, how they punished him. .d.

If your character's behavior has any unique habit or feature, it's time to describe the history of its origin here, and make it as vivid and memorable as possible for the character.

In general, having the traits described in detail from the previous paragraphs, you are ready to create a “living” and unique personality, which has no analogues yet. You can do a little test, do everything described above for a character, then take one of your friends and do the same steps, and then let your friends compare and say that one of them was invented by you, and the other real man. So let them think who is who, and you can check how much real hero you created.

1. How to prepare to draw a comic
2. How to invent a comic book world

P.S. Guys, listen to those who don’t know, I’m in my twenties and I heard that at this time, if you have scoliosis, you can’t straighten your posture. But found it here“corrector” and there was a desire to buy. When I run, my back hurts terribly - I need to fix it. Has anyone tried these correctors? I want to take it, and I will take it, but I’m interested in the successful experience of my readers, has anyone tried it? =)

That's all for today, everyone creative mood Friends!

(estimates: 3 , average: 5,00 out of 5)

For real good book includes not only carefully thought out and interesting story, but also characters we can’t help but love, who touch us to the core and make us experience the events of the book with them. So why do they still capture us?

In this article I will tell you simple secrets that you will use to come up with a character for a book.

First of all, we must decide for ourselves what our main character and how it might interest the reader. Reading a lot of books, you might think that some writers have a real talent for creating unusual main characters for books that attract attention, that they just came to the author’s mind one day and declared themselves. But, of course, this is not entirely true. Each hero is a person thought out to the smallest detail, who has own worldview, some kind of past, carries a certain experience in life. Have you thought about how much work we have ahead of us?

1. First and last name For the reader, getting to know your character begins with his name. Therefore, of course, it is better to choose an original name. It is very good if you have the habit of writing down ideas that suddenly arise on the street or in any other place, because in this case you probably already have a couple of beautiful names in your pocket. If not, be sure to try it! In the meantime, the all-encompassing Internet is quite capable of helping you. There may even be some story associated with the name. If there is one in your imagination, write it down in the same paragraph. Your character may not need a surname. If you nevertheless decide that it is necessary, then do not forget about the relationship between the surname and origin. For example, if you write in the fantasy genre, then the names of the representatives different nations must emphasize their belonging to it. Also special beautiful surnames found in descendants of an aristocratic family.

2. Age In this paragraph, indicate the approximate date of birth of the character or how old he is at this moment. You can try using the astrological signs of the Zodiac and choose a date that matches his desired character.

3. Origin Here write where your hero was born, is there any story connected with this? If he now lives elsewhere, for what reason did he leave? Don't forget about nationality. If it matters, then go back up two points and think about whether the character's first and last name matches it.

4. Appearance Now that we know where our character comes from and what his name is, let's try to imagine what he might look like. Don’t rush to start describing it right away; first, just create an image in your head and study it carefully. It should contain some special details that will help you and the reader with you perceive your character more realistically.

5. Family Here you need to decide who your character’s parents were, what kind of relationship he had or has with them. Your hero may have learned something from his parenting experience, or maybe he was closer to his mother than to his father, or vice versa. There must be reasons for all this, indicate them too. Family status. If your hero is divorced, then tell him about his feelings for his ex-wife, and what story is connected with it.

6. Character This is perhaps one of the most difficult points, and one of those that you will definitely need to supplement from time to time. Describe your character's behavior and temperament here. You may not be able to write anything specific at first, but unfolding the following points will gradually tell you more about that person.

7. Aspirations Your hero may have some kind of dream. Even if there is no dream, he should definitely have some goals in life.

8. Fears There are no people who are not afraid of anything at all. At this point there may be superstitions that your hero believes, or maybe something in the past is connected with his fears, then this should also be mentioned.

9. Relationships with people First, identify what your character truly values ​​in people. Take this seriously because this trait sometimes determines the initial relationship with strangers. Here are the hero's views on love and sex. What role do relationships and feelings play in his life? What are his moral qualities?

10. Work and education Where the hero studied and how well, where he worked (is working), what kind of relationship he has with his colleagues. Does he like his job? Write.

11. Place of residence Where does your hero live and who lives with him? Why did he settle here, maybe there is a whole story connected with this?

12. Pastime Every person has a couple of personal hobbies, and your hero is most likely no exception. At this point you should also talk about how the character prefers to spend free time: walks around the city, friends, bar, books?

13. Friends Friends can tell us something about a person, so this point is also important. You should think about whether our character has many friends, if there are any at all. It may turn out that he really does not have close friends, but he has several friends.

14. Bad habits What person has no vices? The description of this item can greatly help you in adding some personality to your hero. Or maybe he repents and decides to give up everything? However, some little things must be present, he is not an angel.

15. Attitude to society and the situation in the world Of course, it may also be that your character doesn't really care about anything that happens outside of him. own life, but if not, then you should write here how he feels about talking about politics, and which side he usually takes. Does he follow the news?

16. Faith Your hero's attitude towards religion can change a lot in his perception of the world. Write down what religion he belongs to and what he believes in. Is the hero fanatical or is he a convinced atheist? If so, why?

This is what your character dossier will look like. For convenience and clarity, you can use, many of which were discussed by me in the previous article. Be prepared for the dossier to change and be supplemented. This doesn't mean you have to change it completely, just don't be afraid to make changes, they definitely contribute to growth. Of course, the reader will not immediately recognize your entire character, and not all the details will be revealed by you in the book. But all these points will create a living, holistic image, which will then be much easier and more interesting for you to work with. In the end, who would the reader rather fall in love with - a superficially described hero, or a real, living person, with his own thoughts, emotions, and understanding?

Somewhere I read the following phrase: if the hero you invented begins to do things that are unexpected for you, rejoice, he was a great success. This is already a full-fledged personality, about whose actions you do not have to think deeply. The character begins to live his own life.

Well, the last tips. If you started great work, pay close attention to your character's background. Skeletons in the closet are just wonderful, but it’s better if there are more than one of them, and they will appear gradually, step by step. It's very interesting to intertwine two storylines: past and present. By the end of the novel, your character must reconsider his views on certain things. Perhaps, for this purpose, a difficult dilemma will be presented to him, which the hero will not be able to solve, adhering to his initial beliefs. Eventually he will change his inner world, which is exactly what we are trying to achieve.

Now you know how to come up with a character for a book. On our website you can also read tips on how to avoid and. Good luck!

This article describes the process of creating a character for the game engine. The article is primarily addressed to those who are interested in the process of developing next gen models, as well as to everyone who wants to look behind the scenes of modern game making. I made the character for my portfolio, I switched to characters quite recently, we can say that this is the first character brought to mind. Because the this work- my personal project, I set the triangle limit to 20,000, textures to 2048*2048, the work was planned under PBR.

Pipeline

1. Verbal description
2. Concept
3. Modeling/sculpting general forms high-poly model (HiPoly)
4. Retopology of the HiPoly model (creation of final HiPoly geometry for detailing)
5. HiPoly model detailing
6. Retopology of the HiPoly model (creation of a game lowpoly, which goes directly into the engine)
7. LowPoly Unwrapping (creating texture coordinates)
8. Baking maps: normals, ambient occlusion, color map (transfer information from HiPoly to LowPoly)
9. Creating textures: Diffuse, Specular, Gloss, Normal
10. Render in engine
11. Character rig and skin (skeleton rig and binding to mesh bones)
12. Animation

Concept

Scultping

Even though the model turned out to be clumsy, the idea was embodied, and the matter moved on.

Several iterations of the search, and a form was achieved that satisfied me.

Retopology of HiPoly model

When it seemed to me that the model was ready for retopology, I switched to another program to create final geometry for sculpting - Topogun and 3ds Max. The essence of retopology is that a mesh of another is built on top of one model. Retopology can be done by many 3D graphics programs, such as ZBrush and 3dsMax. However, retopology there is very inconvenient (although some retopology is done in a brush) and has little functionality. Topogun is a program created for retopology and has many advantages over combine editors. There are also disadvantages, after ten hours of working in it I came up with a number of improvements, but who cares about them :) An important disadvantage: the lack of a normal auto-backup and frequent crashes of Topogun. The peculiarity of the new topology was that it was prepared for anti-aliasing (Turbosmooth), so there are almost no triangles, I tried to use quads (square polygons).

An example of the new grid next to the old one.

In Max I fixed all the bugs and made the geometry clean. Retopology was long and tedious, because... I exported each detail from brush, then rebuilt it separately in Topogun, then transferred it to 3dsmax, edited it there and imported it back into Zbrush. Part of the model was made directly in max (for example, knee pads).

In the end, the model was almost completely meshed into a new, clean mesh and loaded back into Zbrush.

This is what a remelted mesh looks like inside Zbrush.

Final detail

In the end the model looked like this.

Retopology, creation of LowPoly

This is what the new grid looks like.

LowPoly model assembled in max. Now it's time to UV Unwrap.

Creating Texture Coordinates

Proper unwrapping ensures simple and correct texturing, map removal and can affect the quality of textures.

This is what the layout of the UV pieces looks like.

Baking cards

This is what the model looks like in the engine with normal map and ambient occlusion. Engine Marmoset Toolbag. There are still baking errors that were corrected in Photoshop.

Creating textures

The resolution of the textures I worked with was 4096*4096, the Photoshop file quickly grew to 6 gigabytes. I was glad again that I have a pretty fast computer :)
In the end, despite the fact that I redid the texture several times (because Photoshop killed the file several times), the textures were created.

And finally, the final render! Although essentially this is a preview of textures, I did not load the model into a real, adult (UDK, Unity3d, CryEngine) engine. Each engine (as well as the setting, location and individual color scheme of the game) most likely required its own texture tuning.

Actually, that's all. Thank you for watching, ask questions in the comments, maybe something will be interesting.

P.S. This is my first article on Habré, so if I did something wrong, please let me know.

I also want to immediately note: regarding the realism of the armor, questions to the concept artist, also do not forget that the art component is often more important than functionality and realism, although ideally, of course, this should be combined.

Character- a fictional animate person with a certain character and unique external data. IN fine arts characters are divided into two main categories: animated and static. The fundamental difference between an animated character and a static one is the special construction of the character, thanks to which the work of animators with the hero will be significantly easier.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Finding a character image is the most responsible and interesting stage. When choosing an image, it is necessary to take into account not only the personal qualities of the hero, but also his harmonious combination with the outside world. Also, the character must be expressive and not hackneyed, and have a certain amount of charm.

First, you need to study the introductory materials (TOR, script, literary and director's description of the characters), communicate with the director, who will try to convey his thoughts to the artist as accurately as possible. Familiarize yourself with the stylistic features of the project, which the production designer will tell you about, or the director, if at the stage of creating the characters there is no production designer on the project yet. Based on the results of getting acquainted with the project, it is worth making a number of sketches, noting for yourself some of the most important points, which will be useful in further work with the character.

First of all, you need to present the most striking episodes from the script you read, and try to sketch out simple concepts for the most impressive scenes involving the main character. This is done in order to feel the main characteristics of the future character - his weight, posture, physique.

After you have managed to catch an image that suits your opinion, one that has blurry but more or less clear outlines, you can begin to clarify the style - searching for the shape of a hairstyle, clothes, personal items without going into details. At this stage, you should not cling to some successful image. The artist's task is to draw a lot various options unrelated, from which the most successful one will then be selected.

We should also not forget that the character should be easy to “read” for the viewer. To check the readability of a character, just paint it black, after which the character’s silhouette should be recognizable and look quite impressive.

The next stage is “running in” the character.
The chosen, but still crude, option is played out in action. To do this, you will need to draw the character in his characteristic poses. As work progresses, unnecessary parts are eliminated and replaced with new ones that are more suitable for the hero and more convenient to use.

The final stage in creating a character’s image, as a rule, begins after approval and adjustment of the most suitable option chosen by the director (customer). Now the artist’s task is to work with details and complete the image.

The final touch is character painting.
The final version of the character in color is accompanied by comments that indicate the color values ​​used for each individual element of the image in RGB or CMYK (depending on the software used in the project). The use of non-traditional style when applying light and shadow to a character implies additional development of the light-shadow scheme.

CHARACTERISTIC POSE OF THE CHARACTER

Characteristic poses of the character complement the description literary image hero. They help visually show the character of the hero, his habits and behavior. The key task of the artist is to convey the director’s idea as accurately as possible, endowing the hero with qualities characteristic of him (according to the script).

The characteristic poses of the character are “Natural” (relaxed), “Habitual” (reflexive) and “Staged” (emotional):

- "Natural poses" - these are the calm states of the character in a standing position with support on one leg. Less often, both legs are supporting, with an evenly distributed center of gravity.

- "Habitual poses" - body positions characteristic of the hero, taken reflexively in accordance with the character’s mood, for example: thoughtfulness, excitement, fatigue.

- "Poses" - deliberately exaggerated poses taken by the hero in the presence of a third person, for example: flirting, delight, surprise, shame.

Regardless of the type, the pose should be quite bright and expressive. The desired effect is achieved through posture*, placement of arms and legs, head position, facial expressions and gestures.

Fun fact:

When creating characters, many artists involuntarily endow their heroes with a crooked, medically speaking, posture. If we consider Various types posture according to F. Staffel, then curvature of the spine is inherent in almost all types:

- "Plano-concave"the back is characteristic of women. This arch of the back emphasizes well female forms in the waist and hips area;

- "Flat back"typical of the military when it is necessary to exaggerately show bearing;

- "Round back", as a rule, belongs to a lanky, insecure young man or a tall, thin old man;

- Monsters with a powerful torso have a “concave-round back”.

The position of the head, combined with facial expressions and gestures, more expressively conveys the character’s mood. The head has five main positions: straight, down, up, up, sideways, to the side.

The position of the character's head is directly related to the hero's mood. For example: a raised head will emphasize confidence, arrogance or daydreaming; omitted - rage and aggression, fatigue or sadness; slightly lowered and tilted to the side - embarrassment and flirting, and in a straight position - surprise, fear or irritation. Despite a certain pattern, there are techniques that violate these principles, but this can already be considered an exception to the rule.

Unlike experienced artists who rely on their experience and intuition, novice artists would do well to read special literature on the psychology of facial expressions and gestures, especially since this topic is quite interesting and helps the artist to identify certain patterns in human behavior on their own.

CHARACTER BUILDING

When creating an animated character, the artist must not only imagine how the character will move, but also clearly explain this to the animator, who will subsequently work with the character. To do this, the character is disassembled into so-called “blanks”, after which drawing a character diagram.

As we know, any complex object consists of simple shapes (circles, ovals, triangles, rectangles). The artist’s task is to analyze his character in detail simple shapes, show ways of connecting them on center lines and clarify proportions. The character building scheme should be simple, logical, convenient and understandable. The more well thought out the construction scheme is, the easier it will be to further work with the character. It is worth noting that the technique of creating a character is individual for each artist - some immediately build a character when creating it, others draw a character without building, focusing on their experience and intuition. Nevertheless, regardless of the technique for creating a character, you will still have to disassemble it into “blanks”, unless of course we are talking about a special animation style, where only the image is important, and the construction of the character does not play a big role.

This is what the character might look like

There are often times when there is a need to adapt (adapt) a static character from an illustration for an animation project. To do this, it is enough to re-build the character, breaking it into “blanks”, at the same time simplifying the small details.

An example of a static character adapted (adapted) to animation.

The work with animals follows the same pattern as with people.

CHARACTER EMOTIONS

Any character should be able to express their emotions to current events. The brighter and more varied the character’s facial expressions, the more interesting you can play out his reaction to a particular event. The style of the character sets the framework within which emotions are created in an exaggerated form, the degree of which depends on the “cartoonishness” of the character.

Depending on the complexity of the project, the emotion map can vary greatly. Specific emotions and their quantity required for a particular project are usually determined by the technical specifications.

CLARIFICATION OF DETAILS

Accessories, clothing items and a character's hairstyle play an important role in creating a unique, memorable image. In the process of developing details, it is important not only to visually embody the idea of ​​​​the arrangement of additional elements in the character’s image, but also to clarify how these details “work”. The artist must understand the functional purpose of the elements he has invented, their practical use, interaction with the character, how they will move in the animation, to convey this visually in a set of character development documents.

Additional sheets are created to clarify the details.

COMPARISON TABLE

Comparative table of characters (line) - a lined sheet on which all the characters are placed animated film in such a way that, using comparative lines or a scale grid, it is possible to clearly demonstrate the proportional relationship of the characters (primarily their height).

Episodic characters, as a rule, are not included in comparison table. A separate sheet is created for them, linked to the “ruler” using a scale grid. Or a comparison is made with the hero from the table (with whom the episodic character interacts).