Personality Profiles of your Characters

[jono_thompson]

I like identifying other people's personalities and my own. I wanted to create personality profiles of each of my characters so I would know how they behave when in certain situations. I've based my characters loosely off different personalities in the Myer Briggs Type Indicator. My main character, Jay, in Moments comic, is based on my own personality and around the theme excitement. I also included the main facial expressions of the six main emotions.

---

Have you created your own personality profiles of your characters?

If so, are any of your character's based on your own personality?

[Sketchu]

ooo! For some reason I haven't thought of having a profile on my characters. whoops :s

The closest thing I have is a small list of things about their reactions and thought processes on different stuff. Kinda motivated to work on profiles now haha

[respheal]

Oooh these are always fun =D Your Jay and my Pascal are pretty similar (both ENFP) although Pascal's scores were way in the extremes of everything (I wonder if he actually ever thinks sometimes...).

Din - ENTJ. The chessmaster of the story.
Conan - ISTJ. Very smart and perceptive, but tends to keep to himself and perhaps doesn't have that much imagination.
Pascal - ENFP. Just...bless his heart. He could be smart if he would think things through for two seconds.

Those are the only characters whose I've forced into doing a MB test so far. I'm INTP myself.

[Rabbit]

I've never made a personality profile of this style - in fact, I think this is the first time I've seen one like this! It seems cool though
I usually have drawings of what every characters looks like with every major expression (happy, sad, angry, etc.), that I draw after designing the character just to make sure the way I draw that character is stable, and doesn't change depending on what expression they have on.
For their actual personality, as someone who writes, I'm much more inclined to write out a basic psychoanalysis paper (mainly because my characters often tend to have actual mental problems; post-traumatic-stress-disorder/lack of empathy, etc.), if I really want to be sure I've got my character down.
For my most recent series, however, since so much that really shapes each character is one particular memory of theirs, I decided to write the memory, and then write who they are today, and since I did that before I started the comic, I feel like that gave me a pretty good understanding of them mentally, and helps me write them well in the comic^^

[MissMagicGirl]

My characters usually come to me very gradually. Before I started working on my comic https://tapastic.com/series/magicadvisor I thought about it and planned it for a long time. Letting the characters develop inside of my head and come to me gradually.

Lizzy (my main character) was created to be like a persona of my swedish blog about the supernatural. It is weird to describe but she is my blog if it was a person LOL She is very thirsty for knowledge and looks at the supernatural as something real.
But over time as she became more and more of a real person in my head she also turned out to be really afraid of failure. She still has a lot to learn but likes to pretend that she knows more then she actually does. With is good because that opens up for a lot of humor in my comic

My antagonist Prim is like a dream character for me. I have always loved the villians in movies, cartoons and comics. Harley Quinn, Team Rocket, Loki and Magica de Trix are all big favorites with me.:)
I wanted to create my own villian that was kind of a nerd (like me!). Someone who has read to many comic books, always liked the bad guys more because they have cooler clothes and decided to be an evil mastermind just for the fun of it.
I wanted Prim to be a sort of contradiction. She wants to be evil but she is also cute, pink and fluffy.
I was inpired by princess dresses, japanese lolita fashion and the makeup from old silent films. With the big black eyes and the small lips.

[Wandercreature]

There's three main characters for my comic Superbia, and they're certainly all quite different. Superbia is a modern-day supercountry with some atompunk tendencies, inhabited by humans, who built the country, and non-humans, who are often seen as foreign and alien pests to be removed.

Petra Slate, the girl with the horns and the attitude, is a Nain Rouge, a species that's responsible for a lot of devil/demon mythology, and generally looked down on by society as a result. She's struggled a lot in her life already - being raised by a single mom on almost nothing in the megacity of New Albany's really forced her to be tough and fight for what she wants. When she's dealing with things, she tends to harden up and bury what she's really feeling, which can make it hard for the people that want to help her. She doesn't trust anyone - most humans in particular. Even though she's had it rough, she still looks up in life though, and firmly believes that she can make the best of things no matter the odds. She's got a bit of a temper when really enraged, and she's incredibly stubborn when she gets her mind set on something.

Sam Grizzle is an Atlas Bear, and it's hard to be a creature that's mostly extinct. He's never really found friends, let alone a relationship, of his own species, and as he's gotten older that's been hard for him. His parents were killed by humans during a period of mass non-human violence called the Fairchild Riots when he was a teenager, and it's never left him quite the same. He's been running his dad's tow business on Superbia's outskirts for years now, never really sure what to do with his life besides it. He's very gruff and a little rude on the outside, but that's who he's been shaped to become. Atlas Bears are mostly perceived as very rough. Inwardly, he cares for his friends like crazy, really treasures the feeling of family he finds with them, and would do anything or break anyone who tried to hurt them. - but he wouldn't admit it even to himself.

Mycena 'Micah' Magorius is, for lack of better terms, a magical mushroom. He's been around since Europe was habitable in the medieval period and wizards still wandered - shortly before magic mysteriously disappeared. Centuries later, however, he's taken to collecting the antiques and still-functioning artifacts he can find, and distributing them to high bidders and quiet causes. He's very eccentric, as one might expect, and lacks a lot of people skills. He's very solitary, and loves to live in the dark. He'd be perfectly content to organize and reorganize his bookshelves for a decade, but luckily there are people that care about him and push him to grow. He can be very generous and heartfelt, but also a little cruel - he's had to hurt people he loved for the greater good of things before, and it's made him a little cold in ways. At the same time, though, if you get on his bad side, stay far away. His centuries of study and research make him a formidable expert in what magical residues there are left, and he knows a great many things about non-humans in particular. Unknown to anyone, he's classified as one of the most dangerous beings legally allowed to reside in Superbia.

Anyways, I look forward to developing these guys and seeing them grow, and if anything piques your interest, please check out Superbia! I'm putting a lot of my soul into this comic, and I'd love for you to see it. Thanks!

[KSlinger]

I was really bored one day I ran my characters through the Meyer's Briggs personality thing (so, so bored).

Jed was an ISTJ
Serge was an ISTP
Morris was a ESFJ (i think)
Atka (future character) was ESFP
Eva (future character) was ENFJ

According to that site I am also an ISTP, same as Serge. That surprised me!

I'm not one for creating files and breakdowns of characters until I know them better, but little tests like these certainly allow me to see if the actions I have in mind for each character follows the overall 'code' they would have taken up themselves.

[shazzbaa]

I never got super into Myers-Briggs, but I could talk for ONE HUNDRED YEARS about the enneagram types! I find them fascinating because they're kind of based around insecurities, which is REALLY great for working with characters -- every type has a weakness of character that can also become the type's greatest strength.

Tareth is a Type 2, the most thoughtful and giving type; they love helping but also really need to be needed by others in order to feel valued. They tend to neglect their own needs and can get possessive if they feel unappreciated.

Severian is a Type 8, the most assertive & confrontational type because they don't want to be controlled by others. They're good at taking charge and defending and protecting but can have problems backing off.

Jonan is a Type 5, the most withdrawn type, who are essentially trying to avoid being overwhelmed by the world's demands. They're intelligent, good at thinking outside the box and challenging ideas and working with hypotheticals, but tend to have trouble taking down the emotional walls they've put up.

---

For me it's a cool insight once I have a good idea of who the character is and what they're like; it's kind of a chance to ponder the deeper insecurities and desires that drive that behaviour. For example, I could've put Tareth down as either Type 2 or Type 9 and gotten pretty close to the same character, but there's a subtle difference between a Type 9 driven to act by love for friends and a Type 2 hindered by shyness, so making that decision really solidified her character for me!

A lot of people expect me to be Tareth, but I'm actually Type 5, the same type as Jonan! He's, uh, not based on me, but we have more in common than I'd like to admit.

[punkarsenic]

I definitely do this for most projects; I have lists of questions to fill out on all sorts of things abut them - My current project's a little more complicated, to the point where I've neglected doing that / don't see it necessary.

All my characters are based on my own personality to some extent - I can only write what I know, and I only know me. I think you need to put a bit of yourself in a character to give it life. Some hit a little too close to home, partially on purpose, partially by accident, and partially because I started mimicking the character (chicken or egg? idk) but most of my characters are unique, with bits of people I know, and bits of me - my anxiety, or my familial relationships, or whatever.

Am I the only one whose created characters who look like them, for the purpose of cosplay? I mean, it's bleeding convenient.

[Ayomekum]

(right) Augustine got “The Logician” (INTP-A) Analyst, Confident Individualism which sums up his logical curiosity pretty well. He's a bit of an intentional asshole with the majority of people, but can be productive with other interesting associates.

(left) Trent got “The Campaigner” (ENFP-T) Diplomat, Social Engagement. Definitely captures his loud personality, but he's not as socially cooperative as the test implies.

[NickRowler]

I feel all of my characters take little pieces from myself.

But if there was any character which came the closest to how I am like IRL, it's Brad Bail from Crow's Worth

Well on a personality level, not on a looks level (I look nothing like him)

He's docile, not very expressive, artistic, and will try to sometimes avoid responsibilities. Other stuff about him (not yet stated in the comic) anxious, has an identity crisis, and has a shaky relationship with his parents.

Kev from Robot Zombie is also based a bit on me (not on looks) but he is a tad more naive. But similarly, he is not very expressive, he docile and he gets anxious.

I think by the time I get to page 150 or 200 of Crow's Worth, I might make character bios, however, I feel it is WAY to early to do it now. Robot Zombie is too short to need them.

[heterodont]

I've never seen someone do a personality chart like that! That's pretty interesting :o

My friend was super into MBTI and taught me how to 'type' my own characters pretty quickly without needing to do a quiz. It's ultra shorthand so I'm not sure about its accuracy but it's worked for me so far, which iirc was if they're introverted or extroverted, if they base their decisions on previous experiences (S) or if they're willing to try new things (N), if they're more inclined to listen to their feelings (F) or make decisions independent of what they feel about it (T). I forgot how I decided between J & P but apparently it's whether you like to follow a schedule/plan things out or being spontaneous/you're able to adapt to changes (P)

and so I used this knowledge to make a chart using my story's cast and/or characters that exist in that universe

(the 2nd and 3rd character on the top row are the same ones - it's just apparently you have a second 'type' you switch to in times of extreme/consistent stress which I Find Neat in context to that character)

[R.n.P]

COOL GOOD JOB ON YOUR CHARACTER
I don't make those for my characters at THE LAST SAMURAI so what I do is give info about them bit by bit since I don't like cutting to the chase because it might seem boring to me

[Rudydemon]

I've taken some of the myers briggs full tests for my characters, which was fun because I actually learn things about them that I didnt find apparent while writing. There was also this chart someone I watched for a while made of character strengths and flaws you could fill out, which I also found super fun and informative. Many times I wouldn't necessarily categorize a character as lazy or smart or charming(ect.), but when I really thought about it, they were those things.

I also find it good to make sure none of my characters are too similar in personality if I am not meaning to, or figuring out strange similarities that I didnt already know.

But yeah, I have always found character profiles a lot of fun when reading comics, so I have definitely spent time making some for my own. The one part I have a problem with thou are things like birthdays and bloodtypes. I guess since I don't link those with personality I feel like they can be arbitrary, but I know a lot of people who like knowing a characters birthday and little information like that.

Most of my characters have fractals of my personality but I think I only have one who really is similar to me. And he is sort of a side character. I didn't base him off myself on purpose, but when I was thinking about it, I realize he and his two brothers are me and my two sisters, which was sort of weird for a moment.

[azureXtwilight]

The two main characters of Re:Set have contrasting personalities:

Mike is an ISTP, she is optimistic, energetic, and spontaneous, but also cannot commit and easily bored.

Gerald is an ISFJ, he is extremely caring and patient, but represses his feelings too much to the point of using sarcasm, and he can be quite stoic.

[monotone_ink]

I'll usually have rough notes on character's general personalities and their backstories, but I've never really made full character profiles - my characters are like people to me, and people are too complicated to fully summarize into graphs and bars.