PROJECT STRIFE
How to Write Good Characters
It doesn't take much to write good characters. Using reference, doing some research, and being aware of the settings you want to place your character in really help make an in-depth character. Don't forget to make them relateable as well, since s a flat, two-dimensional character that lacks any kind of emotional ties tends to bore the audience.
This tutorial is specific to Project Strife. If you want general character creation material, I've provided some great links at the bottom of this page for you to look at in your leisure.
---
Everyone starts their character creation process differently. I personally vary between creating a design I like, a personality I want to try and write, and just having the character "fall into my lap" so-to-speak when I'm not looking. It's up to you to find out the most comfortable and rewarding way to start creating characters.
Pertaining to Project Strife, the character you'll create will need to have the following things: a design, a loose and open backstory (which will allow for more adapting as canon is revealed), and a relateable personality. You don't have to be an artist to create your character, either! Just see if you can imagine what they look like and research people who exist in our reality to try and match their faces. Celebrities and models are a good place to start.
As for personality, that's up to you. Pick both flaws and strong points you like and would think of as interesting for a person to have, then explore with them. Don't be afraid to change what you're doing if something isn't working. Explore and discover! There is no failure, just new opportunities. Remember to make them relateable, as people lean more towards characters they can personally relate to than those who are foreign.
Lastly, a backstory. I personally reserve these for last unless I absolutely know what I want to do and what the canon material I'm given is. You don't have to have every single detail set in stone yet. Start out with their family life, it's easiest and most familiar. Did they have a good family life? What was the environment they grew up in? How did it affect them? their parents? Ask yourself as many questions about the character as possible and see if you can feel or figure out what the answer would be. It might take a lot of time at first, but once you get into this habit, it will help you in the end. The more of a habit it becomes, the easier it gets!
--
For this character, we're going to use Ayumu as a reference and start with the basics.
When I created Ayumu, I knew I wanted her to be unique and different from any other characters I created, and I wanted her to be her own unique stand-alone character. She was originally designed as a fancharacter for the popular manga Bleach by Tite Kubo. However, as a copyrighted series, I couldn't claim any of that content for myself - but I really wanted to take the design I made and make the character a unique stand-alone individual. So, what did I do?
I removed her from Bleach completely and created an entire new world for her to live in! Which is what you're going to have to do if you end up enjoying your Project Strife character enough to want to use them personally. Here's how I did it as a reference for what you can do with your own.
I already knew what Ayumu looked like, but I needed to change her design up some regardless. An entire new wardrobe, some new facial scars, and a different hair design so that she could be her own stand-alone character. That's where her development started: her design.
Masterlist of Reference Materials:
From there, I went into her background a little bit. Whats her environment like? I knew already that I wanted it to reflect something along the lines of her being poor, since the concept I started out with had her struggling from "rags to military uniform." That core idea shaped Ayumu into who she was, so it was important it was still an element in her story - even though it couldn't be as direct of one as I wanted.
I tried to imagine something new. Something either no one had done before (which, to be honest, is impossible nowadays) or at least something that I could twist into my own idea. I needed something with a struggle, something that could possibly replicate the growth this character had gone through when she was fan-made. That's when the Monsters came in.
Ayumu's first ever design.
Ayumu's secondary design.
Ayumu's first Strife concept sans tattoos.
Monsters were created to give Ayumu a purpose. They were made for there to be Soldiers, and, in turn, there to be an objective for Ayumu to strive for. She also needed to have a reason to become a Soldier, so I gave her the four children she has (kind-of as a shout out to her old Bleach roots, too, because she used to have children there as well) in order to make there something worth protecting. Ayumu wouldn't become a Soldier just for herself; she needs the push to keep something else more fragile than her alive - a thing to be strong for, essentially.
That's when her personality came into play.
After designing her and getting the basics of her world down, I needed to reevaluate her character. Was she going to be the "same old Ayumu" as before, or would she be entirely different? She'd have to be somewhat different, just because different circumstances breed different kinds of people, but how different did I want to go?
She, in a sense, became a more emotionally open person after I recreated her for Strife. She was happier, but also more emotive, as she had nothing blocking her from being so. Ayumu could express herself, she could show her true colors, and she was unashamed and unabashed about being herself. That's what was most important, I think. Her being herself and showing the audience what she feels.
Which leads to another good point in character creation. Audience.
Ayumu's final Strife design, sans new wardrobe.
Audience is important in character design simply because they are the ones who will be viewing your creation. Even if you're just making your OC for yourself, you need to think about (or at least be conscious of) the way an audience will behave if they hear about your character and the world they live in. This is a good way to test your social awareness and learn new things about the world as well (if that's anything you're really interested in).
For Strife, I wanted to start out with a specific audience: The Tumblr Roleplay Community. The roleplay community is broad enough to where I didn't feel confined to just one type of person and allowed me enough room to expand my ideas and explore things that maybe were not as accepted in other communities or even other parts of my artwork, such as NSFW and emotionally dark content.
From there, more characters were created to accomodate both the topics I wanted, Ayumu's own growth, and the audience I sought out. I began to experiment in the roleplay community with Ayumu long before this project became a solidified concept, and felt out my audience before writing a more solidified biography for her. Not many people can do that, but if you get the chance to (even with friends!), take it! Critique is so helpful.
Her biography was already pretty solidified from my original concept, but there were details I never thought out before. Through interaction and friends' questions, I discovered more and more about her history with her parents (and how they abandoned her as a teenager) and how brutal her world was. It's amazing what having other people asking questions can bring forth for you!
After all of that exploration, it was time to finalize the project and present it. This is when the character designing really came into fruition for me. I had to go and make a character turnaround for her (which is still in the works), pick out a color palette, and then write out a page for her biography so people could understand her just as well as I did (to a degree).
Experimental expressions for Ayumu's facial design.
Original concept for Ayumu's Captain.
Ayumu's final design, wardrobe and all.
After that, there wasn't much else to do for her character. All she needs now is the audience's help to grow and discover her own way through Project Strife's plot. She's no longer anything like her inspired original concept, and is now a fully stand-alone character that is completely unique and lives in a world that caters to her intended growth.
There's a lot more to character design than what's just on the surface. Research, time, and dedication goes into it, but if you're willing to spend the time and do what's right by them, you should come out with nothing but satisfaction and a brand new character you can use for your own worlds!
---