Secrets of Character Design- Build your Racer

So, you've chosen your point of attack for building your character. Now it's time to start putting pieces together into something functional, at least on paper.
In our previous article, we discussed the Three entry points for character design; Character First, Story First, and Worldbuilding First. Now let's take a look at how each entry point factors into how you build your character.

Chracter First

• Physical traits
• Likes and dislikes
• Education level
• Vices and Virtues
• hobbies

Story First

• Character Goal
• Internal Motivation
• Reputation
• Backstory & Traumatic events
• interpersonal connections

Worldbuilding First

• Hometown
• Occpuation
• Heritage
• Material Wealth
• General Survivablity

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Here's the secret to building a character: All of these aspects are important. Your Entry point is just that; the entry point into how you build your character, based on what Entry point you decided is most important or most relevant to what you are trying to create. Let's break some of these Character Traits down a bit.

Character First

With Character First, you've decided that the Character themself is the foundation for your project. So, just like meeting a new person at work, a new classmate, or that cute girl at the bar, you start with the surface.

Physical Traits

What does your character look like? Hair and Eye Color, Skin color, body shape, freckles, deformities or impairments, braces, and other physical attributes that define their shillouette. If you have 5 seconds to pick them out in a crowd, what's going to make them stand out as a character?

Likes and Dislikes

What do they love and hate? What is their favoritest food in the world? What makes them gag? Do they have any allergies? You don't need to know every single love and hate your characters have; If they have an 'emergency bad day' kit, what's in that kit to cheer them up?

Education

What do your Characters know? What level of education, formal or otherwise, they have recieved to help them survive as an adult. Also consider how much information they've retained, and how boastful they are of it. Are they likely to have diplomas hanging in their office, or serving as a doorstop?

Vices and Virtues

What are their Vices and Virtues? What's their one outstanding character trait, and their one flaw? This is the basis of character interaction of character development. Don't be afraid to give your characters flaws! If they had a office job, what would be called out on their employee review?

What are their hobbies?

What are your Character's passtimes? We all need ways to wind down and take a break after a long day, and our characters are no exception. What do your characters pursue when they aren't working towards their goal? If they lived in modern times, what museums would they go see?

Story First

With Story First, the story and its overarching narrative is the foundation for your project. Therefore, your questions regarding your character involve how they will interact with that overarching narrative and why they are the best person to tie into that.

Plot-based goal

What is the Goal of the Character within the Plot? Do they want to save the day, or destroy it? Does their goal run with or contrary to other characters, and why? Characters without goals related to the plot are minor characters and cameos, at best.

Personal Goal

What is the Goal of the Character outside the plot? What were they working on before the plot slapped them in the face? What great legacy did they want to leave, or what project did they want to finish? Was it grand, or small? Were they still sorting that goal out?

What's their Reputation?

What is their reuptation with others? Decide if they have a pre-existing reputation, and how that might change as they progress through the story. A good reputation will open certain doors and close others, and vice versa. Are they known doormats, or hard to intimidate?

Backstory and Traumas

What pre-existing encounters have they had? Do they have a long and storied history, or are they just stepping out of the backyard? What potential disasters, encounters or other events have shaped their personality, likes and fears up to this point in time?

Friend and Social Circles

Who are they friends with? Consider the 'social net' around the character, because this is who your character is drawing on for support. Big family, no family? Lots of friends or just a few? Good rapport with co-workers or a lone-wolf who hides in a corner of the warehouse. Keep in mind that the fewer connections your character has, the harder it will be to integrate them into the plot without excessive force.

Worldbuilding First

With worldbuilding First, you've decided that the World Itself is the foundation of your project. Your Character, therefore, will be more influenced by factors that shape the environment that they grew up in and the society they might be fighting against in their story.

Their Hometown?

Where did they grow up? The character's hometown, big or small, has a huge impact on how they see the world and their desire to change it. Town size, local imports and exports, political leanings (if any), distance to other settlements, who runs the town, underground dealings and so on can all be factors.

Their Occupation?

What do they do for a living? Your character's day to day activities not only indicate the kind of person they are and skills they have, but form an important part of their background. An industrial logger may be better suited for hiking than an office worker, for example, while a Student doesn't have experience dealing with large projects like the office worker would.

Their Hertiage?

What is their ancestry and ethnicity? The legends and cultural heritage of your character can define what they believe in, traditions or superstsitions they hold about The Woods, their solidarity with other people of their hertiage and potential dislike of other heritages. This can also influence what languages they speak.

Their Posessions?

What do they possess? The overal wealth of a character or geographic area will influence what they can afford, or what is available to them. A student's pocket money, for example, will pale in comparison to the office worker's savings. But money will mean nothing if the tools they need to survive the apopcalypse aren't available.

Their Survivability

How equipped are they to survive? How has their background and the world they grew up in prepared them to survive outside their safety net? Where can that survivability fall short, depending on the environments they are sent to? A survivalist might flourish in the wilderness and flounder in Ft. Lauderdale.

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Now, let's take a look at our theoretical protagonist from Lesson 1, through the filter of each of these Entry Points:

Character First

Physical Traits: Messy black hair, prepetual band-aid on nose, scratched knees under blue shorts. Tries to look taller than he is.
Likes and Dislikes: Loves Chocolate Ice Cream and Street Hockey. Hates math homework and 'girl cooties'.
Education Level: 4th grade student in elementary school.
Vice and Virtue: Sticks up to bullies and defends the defenseless, doesn't always respect his teachers and elders.
Hobbies: street hockey, video games with friends, bug-hunting.

Story First

Story Goal: Keep the bullies of Morgan Lane away from Fleenor Street
Personal Goal: Be the best Street Hockey player in town.
Reputation: Rowdy student, great street hockey player, 'rough around the edges rascal' to the neighbors.
Backstory: Got tired to watching bullies beat up his little sister, loves 'knight defending the weak' stories.
Friend Circle: Down-the Street neighbor kid, 3 friends in class, little sister, Mom and Dad, Ol' Gramps down the road.

Worldbuilding First

Hometown: Fleenor Street, in the small suburban town of Fresno Parks. Relatively wealthy, but still has shady areas like Morgan Lane.
Occupation: 4th Grade student and amateur street hockey player. Better at the latter than the former.
Heritage: Spanish heritage, 2nd generation immigrant from Spain, speaks two languages and not used to not having an afternoon nap at school.
Personal Posessions: Hockey stick and 'lucky puck', favorite red ball-cap and a book on spanish knights.
Survivability: Pretty decent, for a 10-year old. He'd put up a better fight if he weren't so short.

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See how you can get a basic feel for the character in each Entry Point? But how you only get the full image if you put them all together? In the next lesson, Gettin' Gritty, we can dive into some of the resources you can use to build your own character.