Should I show images of characters that haven't been introduced into the story?

[SkittishMoon]

I'm trying to make an extra post for my comic, so I'm thinking about showing character profiles, HOWEVER, I'm debating if I should show all of them at once! characters that haven't been introduced in the story yet, it might hold a few spoilers, but maybe I can blur them out? what do you think?

also, I really want to draw fanart of these characters that haven't shown up yet, should I?

also, if you need the link for the comic, here it is!

Edit: I think Profiles seem like the safest bet, and I'll throw in some fanart to make it a real meaty post, but do you have any other ideas for the lore of the comic? Just so I have more backup posts?

Angel's Curse | Tapas

[iHateFridays]

Hmm you could maybe draw silhouettes of the characters instead?

[xstarx07]

Depends on if it makes sense to you to introduce them all at once.
If you don't want to spoil your readers, however, maybe you could go for one or two profiles every once in a while, depending on how many characters you made a profile for and which once has already appeared.

For example, maybe make little groups of a little amount of characters, which you post about when they all have already appeared in your story?

[Breezy]

Personal opinion? No, you shouldn’t.

From a reader’s perspective, I really don’t like it when the first time I’m introduced to a character is through their profile. Profiles should be something your readers are interested in, because they are invested in your character. They also can act as reminders for small bits of information that you have already shared with the audience.

[Legendofgenii]

I do this on instagram all the time. I just don't say who they are and if anyone asks in the comments I just respond with...

[SkittishMoon]

The silhouette idea sounds like a smart idea, but the extra information might give it away as well. I'm open to other ideas, I just need something to put for my comic, I'm one post short for my comic, Angel's Curse.

[LadyLily]

Readers should learn about characters as they are introduced in a story, not before. It interrupts the flow and ruins the experience of meeting the newcomers.

Now, if you want to give glimpses as teasers, that could be okay. Just show a small portion without explanation or context. A silhouette is good or even a square close-up of a part of the character. No names.

I know we can get impatient as creators, but let your readers enjoy the suspense. I posted a couple of teasers from two early episodes for the novel I'm currently writing, but there will be no more because it would be too revealing and spoil the experience. You can see what I did. I'm currently writing Chapter 34, but there will be no more hints or teasers or reveals of any kind.

Xiezhi | Tapas

[GGOkumura]

I mostly just say it's a random character for practice (usually it is) and then BOOM... they're in the comic a few chapters later.🤷🏻‍♀️

[Legendofgenii]

then BOOM... they're in the comic a few chapters later.

Tehehehe.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

(No, I totally don't draw characters who will appear 20 chapters later in the story)

I actually don't mind and don't think is bad if there's no spoilers attached to it. A mere appearance is just like a teaser to me. Instead, seeing an upcoming character that interests me motivates me to stay around and expect future chapters.

[wispysing]

I do it exactly like @GGOkumura, I post my characters randomly everywhere, but not the villains though, 'cause I mostly put more mystery on the villains' identity compared to the protags

[kaetana]

I don't post anything related to not-yet-introduced characters on my comic itself (with a couple exceptions - my current banner shows the main cast including a couple characters that haven't shown up yet, and in one of my QnAs I took the opportunity to tease a future character by showing some art of them in answer to a question). But on my social media and other stuff, yeah I'll post any comic related art that isn't too spoilery, including un-introduced characters and ship art. Gotta tide myself over until they appear in the comic somehow lol.

For what you're talking about with the character profiles, my personal recommendation would be to stick to only showing them for the characters that have been introduced, and save the others for after they show up. That way you avoid spoilers, and you're focusing on giving that extra info about the characters your readers already know and have investment in.

[AmysGames]

For me, it depends on how important the character's reveal in the story is. For example, if it's a character who shows up in the first few chapters, I'm more likely to share info about them openly. If it's a character from several chapters in, I might post some teaser images of them, but not share much info about who it is. If the character's reveal is critical to the plot, then I won't share info about them at all.

That being said, I agree with the general consensus of showing only the profiles of the already introduced characters, and maybe including some teasers of upcoming characters if you think they're worth teasing.

[Bokyongyo]

For this I tend to not want to reveal much in terms of character art regarding characters that haven't been introduced.

I really like to not only keeping things in the dark but also having the focus of the story be on the characters currently in that story and not a character that will be in it sometime in the near future. I feel that it kind of takes away from not only the surprise factor of a reveal but also taking attention away from the main focus of what is happening with these specific characters in the current story.

[SkittishMoon]

what about characters that are deceased?

[fleurravenbooks]

i mean you could do it, it would build up the tenison, i'm a novelist so it isn't the same, but i had picture of character that will show up i today's chapter in quiz i made at the start of my novel, and also few days ago i posted picture of said character on my tumblr