How easy is it for you to make characters?

[amberstrike]

I usually make up characters in my spare time, so i have alot of resources to choose from. Normally though, unless someone complains, i stick with my main three. Sometimes just two, and i use them for different roleplay settings. I'll change up the personality a bit, so that not every CS i make is the exact same, but sometimes they basically run along the same lines. If i need to make a new character, that takes a bit more time, as i want it to be a person nobody has thought of in the roleplay. If there is already a shy person, i pick someone who is adventurous, and vice-versa. Usually within a few hours i can have a pretty solid character. I can be made to reach a deadline however, and it'll still come out mostly decent.

[UnknownSoldier]

It really depends on the roleplay setting, and what is needed. If I need a serious character that I may choose to to use in more than one roleplay, or simply a character that I want to use for a specific roleplay. Specific roleplay setting like... Star Wars, not hard. Wanting to use a character that I use in Star Wars and the Wild West? Give me a few days, if not weeks, to make this man.

[Captain Jordan]

I generally start with either an image or an idea, but the other often follows the first. I'm a visual person, so I rarely proceed without having some kind of image. Sometimes I'll see an actor in a movie or TV show and think about how their appearance or behavior could fit a certain type of character, and roll on that. Other times, an expression in a photo will catch me.

Once I have an image, I create a name. With the name and image, I generally have a rough idea of age and physical characteristics. After that, I start thinking about the character, what kind of role they will play. My backgrounds often lend themselves to the character role, and will generally stop right before I pick up the story. My backgrounds can get very long depending on the character and how much information I come up with. I'm not generally one to reveal large character history through roleplay, more character personalities and trivial history bits.

The personality is often the hardest for me. I usually have a rough idea of what the character will be like, but translating that to words is difficult. I don't know why, as I excel in writing almost anything else. Sometimes I'll leave the personality blank if I can, or write something as a placeholder to keep for later. I feel terrible about it, but sometimes I don't know the minutia of my character's personality until I'm actually writing them.

As for ease of creation, I enjoy character creation quite a bit, but I find that some characters are easier than others. I know I've hit on a good idea when I churn out a character in a matter of days, but the toughest ones can take me weeks to think about and develop properly before I'm willing to let them loose.

[boognish]

It's pretty easy for me. The best way to come up with a character (when it comes to roleplay OR writing novels/short stories) is to come up with their flaws first.

Every person is flawed. Every great character you've ever read about or became attached to had flaws. Because if there's a flawless character, you won't like them because it's difficult to sympathize with them because it's just unrealistic for someone to be flawless. Hell, even Superman was flawed.

One thing I've noticed reading RPs here (and I'm by no means a seasoned RPer on this forum - I only have 3 characters total) is that there are certain characters I can't STAND, and more often than not it's because they don't give their characters very many flaws whatsoever, and in the end the only flaw they have is seeming incredibly arrogant and unrealistic.

Flaws, in my opinion, are the most important part of a character. For example:

In a Walking Dead RP, my character Rusty is a former science teacher turned scientist, researcher and zombie slayer. His main flaw is the fact that he's so infatuated with the science behind the infection and the possibility of a cure that it gets in the way of what matters the most - his survival, and he's come quite close to death as a result of it. He's also very old-fashioned, because of his old age.

Skip, on the other hand, is sort of an anti-hero. I'm trying to make him a character that's difficult to like. He's a convict who was on the run when the infection hit. A nihilistic, boozy, pill-addicted, chain-smoking freelance writer who only wants to save his own ass. He uses a fake identity and is constantly intoxicated, and doesn't do much to support the rest of the group. But he's strong-willed, driven to survive, and has nothing to lose, which is why he's still alive.

I'm sort of rambling here, but...this is just advice to anyone out there having trouble coming up with a character. Give them some FLAWS first and then give them some positive aspects. A well-rounded character is a good character.

For your health.

[Magic223]

Easy kinda unless having a creative block or too undecided on species of a character o,o but yeah depends lol usauly the name i sometimes take ages on

[Frokane]

the concept for a character just jumps into my mind if I like the RP, but the process of actually filling in the Char Sheet mentally drains me.

[Crimson Flame]

It depends on the RP and the world it takes place in, as well as how much detail is required.

It does take some effort though.