How To Draw A Reference Sheet

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When creating characters for a story, comic, picture, or anything really that involves characters, people usually use something known as a character reference sheet. This is a tool that allows you to explore diverse aspects of a graphic symbol. While you can notice pre-formatted reference sheets online, you lot may want to create a character sheet on your own so that you lot tin customize it to suit your needs.

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   Write or draw a rough sketch of a character. Before you start your character sail, write or depict a crude sketch of your character. The best character sheets tend to be specific to 1 item story or person. Spend a scrap getting acquainted with the character yous want to outline in your canvas earlier writing it down. Yous may work on 1 grapheme sheet at a time or piece of work on multiple sheets simultaneously, which may be beneficial if you want to map out graphic symbol relationships at the same time.

   • Who is your graphic symbol and what world does he or she exist in? A character sheet for a 28 year-old lawyer living in modern 24-hour interval Manhattan is patently going to look vastly different than i for a 45 year-old sorcerer living in a fictional universe of your creation.
   • Is your grapheme male or female person? What are the character'southward nearly notable physical characteristics? Does he or she accept a family? A spouse? Friends?
   • Draw a short moving picture if y'all're a visual learner or if yous're doing a graphic novel or comic. This tin help you get acquainted with your graphic symbol.
   • Go along in mind, this does not have to be terribly extensive notwithstanding. This is more of a brainstorming session to assist y'all figure out what about the grapheme would be helpful to know. Jot down a paragraph or two and consider what about the character needs further exploring.

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   Figure out the basic events of your work. A grapheme sheet should explore how your graphic symbol has responded to past events. It should explore how he or she's been shaped by life. Spend some time figuring out the major events in your work.

   • You practise non need to accept the entire plot of your novel outlined before making a graphic symbol canvass. Notwithstanding, information technology might not exist a bad idea to take some idea of what has happened to your character earlier the outset of your story. Typhoon a short, personal history for your character. Keep in mind null is set in stone at this point. You can always change or adjust things down the route.
   • Interpersonal relationships are also a huge office of your graphic symbol's history. What kind of relationships has this person had with friends, romantic partners, family members, mentors, and more? Having a skeletal idea of the major relationships in your character's life tin help y'all typhoon a solid character canvas.

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   Fill up out the basics. Make the kickoff role of your canvas that asks for basic data. Things like proper name, age, and occupation are a great identify to first when writing your own reference sail.

   • Start with the basics, such name, historic period, occupation, and physical description. Push button yourself to be detailed about description. What is your grapheme'due south style? What does their vox sound like? What sort of habits and mannerisms practice they display?^[1]
   • So, focus on your characters basic qualities on a deeper level. What are your grapheme's likes and dislikes? What is their marital status? Do they have children? Family? What is their occupation? Age? Are they introverted or extroverted, a leader or a follower?^[2]

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   Enquire more complicated questions. As you progress through your canvass, ask more than complicated questions. Allow yourself to branch out freely and aggrandize upon existing ideas.

   • From hither, push yourself to get more in depth. What conflicts does your graphic symbol face? How has he or she reacted to events in the past? How accept certain events shape your graphic symbol? For instance, say y'all're writing most a 58 twelvemonth-former widower named Robin Leland with two kids. How is he afflicted by the death of his wife? Does this affect his present relationships with his children or other family members? How did he cope when his wife died? How does he cope now? How long has his wife been gone? What was their relationship like? Every bit you can see, you can focus on i attribute of the past and branch out from in that location.
   • Talk about interpersonal relationships. All characters have relationships with one another and the world that impact how they move through life. Focus on the major relationships your graphic symbol has and ask questions specific to that relationship. For example, say Robin has a daughter named Rose who bears a striking resemblance to his late married woman. How does this resemblance bear on how Robin interacts with Rose? If Rose is, say, in her early on teens how does Robin handle talking to her about puberty, dating, etc.? Do these topics make him uncomfortable? If so, why? Is Robin a more conservative man? As you lot can see, yous can learn a lot virtually your character's personality by focusing on their relationships.
   • Talk well-nigh underlying motivations. What drives your character and why? What is their main motivating factor? All adept characters have something they want that drives their story. Talk well-nigh wants and needs. What does Robin want and why? Say his wife was killed past a drunk driver. Possibly Robin is taking initiative in his home town to reform drunk driving laws. But go deeper than that. Is Robin ignoring his grief by taking on this crusade? Is this a distraction from assuasive himself to mourn for his wife?

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   Ask questions specific to your work. As stated, a skilful character reference canvass is as specific as possible. There may be some questions that are specific to your story. Make sure to include these in your sail.

   • If you lot're creating a fantasy world, this is particularly relevant. If, for example, at that place are supernatural elements to your story you might need to include what powers your graphic symbol has.
   • In some stories, fighting and war is cardinal to the plot. You might need to focus on things like the weaponry and fighting style of your character.^[three]

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   Find a reference sheet that works with y'all. If y'all don't want to course your ain canvas, yous tin find many pre-formatted sheets online. Pre-formatted reference sheets can salvage you lot a lot of fourth dimension and may ask almost information you lot wouldn't have otherwise considered. Choose a reference canvas that works for your project.

   • If y'all're writing wink fiction, which is fiction that's generally 1,000 words or less, you lot may need a shorter reference sheet. It'due south easy to notice reference sheets specifically formatted for works of flash fiction. They generally ask for bones information on concrete appearance and personality.^[4]
   • Short stories, which accept a college word count, will inquire for more information from a graphic symbol reference canvass. They'll more often than not ask for some back story and mannerisms in add-on to the basics of concrete description and grapheme traits.^[v]
   • Character sheets for novels and novellas are generally a lot longer equally more data is required. They'll go into depth in regards to things like backstory and volition likewise inquire for information on religious beliefs, possessions, education, and more.^{[half dozen]}

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   Fill in the sheet with more than information than you need. You may feel certain aspects of a character reference sheet feel irrelevant. Some aspects of your characters back story, for example, may not arrive into the plot. Yet, it'southward better to have more than data than y'all need. Knowing your characters well tin make for richer writing. Even if you practice not directly reference a particular aspect of your character's backstory or religious behavior, they will testify up in subtle ways in the subtext of your writing.

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   Skip irrelevant parts of a reference sheet. Nonetheless, keep in mind not every function of a reference sheet volition exist relevant in your story. For example, details most a character's clothing may never make information technology into the writing. Some sheets may enquire for information virtually a character'south weaponry and special skills, in case you're writing a fantasy, but if you lot're story is realistic this is not applicative to y'all. While you should strive to fill out a reference sheet as fully as possible, skip sections that have no relevance to the work you're writing.^[7]

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   Push button yourself to include a lot of information. A character reference sheet is important to a work of fiction. Information technology allows you to become to know your character in every bit much particular as possible. Fill out your reference sail with as much information as possible. Spend a few days coming back to your character canvass and calculation new tidbits and facts most your grapheme as they come to you. Permit yourself to get lost in the world you're creating.

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   Continue reference sheets in a rubber place to consult later on. As you begin the bodily writing of your work, you'll need your reference sheet. Continue information technology on manus and so yous can consult information technology subsequently. It's a practiced idea to continue your reference canvas virtually the area where you commonly write or work. It might be a expert idea to become a specific folder to keep reference sheets so they don't get misplaced.

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   Use pre-formatted reference sheets with care. Pre-formatted sheets are tempting because they save yous some work. However, it'due south sometimes better to make your own sail. This style, your reference sheet is specific to your story and will exist as useful as possible to yous.

   • Some of the questions pre-formatted referenced sheets are somewhat vague. They often do not contain enough white space for you to actually expand in besides much detail. You want to make sure you don't oversimplify your characters by using a pre-formatted reference sheet.
   • Sure questions on pre-formatted reference sheets may be irrelevant to your story. For case, if you're writing a screenplay intended to exist acted out you only accept so much control over what a character looks similar. Very specific information nearly appearance is not really of import.
   • There is a lot of flexibility involved in a reference canvass you create yourself. Every bit outlined above, one question branches into another and then another. This allows your story and character to grow organically.

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Add New Question

• Question

  I'yard working on a novel with v chief characters. Should I work on creating them all at one time, or one at a time?

  

  I suggest creating them one at a time and gradually introducing them into the story. Then you won't have to worry most info-dumping and overwhelming the reader with too many new names and personalities at once.

• Question

  Can I brand a refrence sheet of an exsisting grapheme?

  

  Aye! This can help yous to sympathise an already developed grapheme, and what makes this character great (or non so great). If there are things you lot don't know, you can leave information technology blank or endeavor to brand something upwards based on what you know about them. This tin be an exercise in inferences and creativity.

• Question

  Should a character reference sheet include dissimilar main outfits? (For example: casual, PJs, sports, etc.)

  

  The Write Advice

  Community Reply

  In that location's really no limit to what you can add. The more detailed the reference canvass is, the amend. If you lot feel that their outfits alter often, and so that'southward definitely something worth mentioning. Likewise, I personally do write out a list of their different outfits and hairstyles, because I feel it gives them more depth early on.

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Article Summary X

A graphic symbol reference sheet is a proficient tool for keeping runway of the diverse aspects of your grapheme when writing fiction or developing characters for games. You can design your own sheet or find a template online. Start past cartoon your character or writing a physical description of what they await similar and how old they are. And so, listing some major events that accept shaped your character's life. For case, you might want to write down important friendships, romantic relationships, and family ties. After you have the basics, try going more in-depth with your character sheet. Jot down things that motivate your character, things that disappoint them, and what their dreams and needs are. To learn how to use multiple graphic symbol sheets at once, read more from our Writing co-author!

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