Profile Pic: Making A Character Profile Sheet

First of all, I freely admit that what I say isn't gospel. I am a total amateur at art and writing. I've learned everything that I know via the internet and a few drawing books. It's just that I appreciate all of the tutorials here on dA that have helped me out, and I want to put a little bit of my own methods back in.

Once upon a time, I ran out of things to complain about.  And so it was with a heavy heart that I hung up my tutorial-guide hat forever, never to be heard from again…

Just kidding, my life just got massively complicated for a year or so and I didn’t have the time to write anything.  I doubt I’ll ever stop complaining.  It’s for your benefit.  I promise.

Now, how about we smoothly segue into the topic of character profile sheets?  For the sake of this guide, I’m talking about sheets in which people include an image of a character they’ve made, along with a slew of information about the character, including their name, age, height, favorite food, penis length, quickest time to take a dump… you know, the usual.  Personally, I’m not really a fan of these.  I’ve read a LOT of character sheets over time, and I tend to find them uninteresting, unnecessary, and sometimes annoying.  But I understand that other people like making them, and really, who am I to judge?  Hell, maybe I’d like them more if they were done better.  So here are a few things you might want to think about the next time you make a character sheet for your super-lovely OC’s.


Who and Why?

First of all, why are you making a sheet in the first place?  For funsies?  To attract interest to your upcoming story?  The purpose of your character sheet will have a huge impact on the content you choose to include.  Also, consider who you are making them for.  Is it a sheet to be seen by people who have never read your story?  If so, you’re going to want to include pertinent facts so that you can both clue them in to what you’re talking about and seduce them into reading.  Is it a sheet for existing fans of the character or story?  If so, I’d recommend a focus on providing new content that fans would enjoy.  Quantitative facts about the character, like win-loss ratios or the number of issues featured in can make for interesting new information.  A focus on the art aspect would also be a good idea, since excellent artwork could count as “new content” even if it were presented alone.


Serious Implications

Now, who can tell me the golden rule of storytelling?  Did I hear “show, don’t tell?”  Because that would be absolutely correct.  If you’re including an image, pack as much information as you can about the character’s personality into the image.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told that a character is “feisty” or “laid back.”  However, when I can see this in the posture or expression of the character, I’m always way more convinced and emotionally engaged with the character.  In fact, I personally don’t feel that you should directly say anything about your character’s personality in the entire sheet.  Show the viewer the character’s personality in more subtle ways, through actions and choices, just like you would in a real story.  Maybe it’s just me, but I often feel like the author of a sheet that tells instead of shows is saying, “My character is really cool and interesting, I swear!  I don’t know how to prove it to you though, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.”  If you can’t show things in a simple character sheet, how can the reader expect you to show them in your writing or comic?


Useful or Not?

“Well,” you might be wondering right about now, “What should I include on my character sheet if I can’t include personality among the stats?”  To which I say, “Include anything important.”  Sorry.  I don’t know what your story is about, so I can’t say what your sheet should have on it.  But here's a couple guidelines.

My biggest gripe about character sheets is that they often include information that has almost no relation to the actual story.  Is your story about basketball players?  If so, height would be an important stat, as well as team.  Is your story about a high-school romance?  Then don’t include height.  Height has no importance to your story.  Including unimportant information takes up valuable real estate on a page that could include something interesting instead (the big exception being if you’re following a specific format for your sheet, like a medical or police file or a social networking page).

People don’t tend to have long attention spans.  If your sheet for a character in a story about astronauts makes the reader go through all of the character’s family, every teacher they’ve ever had, their favorite colors in order (with explanations!), they’ll probably get bored and move on over to their porn tab.  As the author, you’ll probably find this information about your character fascinating.  However, most people just won’t care, at least not most of them.  Remember: you’re competing with the largest, most easily accessible cornucopia of pornography that mankind has ever known.  If you bore people, they have other options.  They don’t need you, so don’t abuse their attention.

The only information that I think would be helpful on most character sheets is relationship information.  Who are friends?  Who are relatives?  Who are romantically involved?  Again, only include the important stuff, mostly how the main or secondary characters relate to one another.  People like relationships and social connections, and showing the reader how everyone works together can be really helpful in establishing your character’s identity in their world.  But listen to me:  Don’t.  Go. Overboard.  Make sure, above all else, that the information is actually useful.  Porn is just a click away.


Structure Warnings

Your choice and ordering of stats can carry a lot of information to the reader about you and your story, often on accident.  What would you think about a sheet that included bra size as the very first stat on the list?  Hell, what would you think about the author?  Be very careful when choosing how your list is structured and the message it may send people.  Usually, the higher up something is on a list, the more important the reader thinks it is to the character, the story, and the author.


Reading at Gunpoint

The final thing I want to mention is that a character sheet is not a plot synopsis.  Don’t include any big spoilers if possible.  Also, don’t hold the reader hostage.  By this, I mean that it’s probably a bad idea to include a huge wall of text that you expect the reader to read detailing the entire backstory of the character before they’re allowed to leave.   That’s what the actual story is for.  If they’re interested in the story, then they’ll go read it.  Less is more, especially when it comes to enticing people to your work.  Always leave them wanting more, not choking on the wad of text you’ve shoved down their throat.


And never, ever forget: I might be wrong. I try not to be, but nobody's perfect. Art is one giant matter of opinion. Feel totally free to disagree or to only utilize the bits that you agree with. If you found this helpful, disagree with me, or just prefer another method to my own, feel free to tell me about it in the comments. After all, I'm here to learn too.