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Potoh
Aug '16
1

It's probably to early for me to give a good analysis of my characters since my comic basically just started.
So I'll will just try to give my thoughts on "strong" characters in general. Hope that's okey, haha.

I have a bunch of characters with whoms actions I couldn't disagree more. Murderers, cowards, annoying big mouths, stubborn idiots, naive forgiving do-gooders, traitors... But they all have a story that made them the way they are and follow strong believes. Not to justify their actions. But to make the reader think for themselves about the meaning that character has within the story.

I think a meaningful character is built through a compelling life-/background story and interesting motives. Something that makes people understand why they act the way they do. This applies likewise to good guys and bad guys. Let's take the bad guy for example. It's easy for the reader to judge the bad guy, because he's an asshole. He runs around, hurts and kills people and says bad-guy stuff. So the reader thinks: ugh, I don't like him. But then the reader gets some insight of his life and what he went through, and suddenly the bad guy becomes the representation for struggle and not giving up, because after everything he went through he's still going on with life. The reader hasn't to agree morally, but thinks: oh well, he's bad, BUT -

Moira, from my comic Amaranth, could be a representation of strength, because she went through some serious shit that hasn't been revealed yet. But she also has her weak moments and struggles that will show during the course of the story. I find it difficult to put her character in 1 or 2 words, because I see a character more of a representation of a mind set to deal with certain things in life.

I hope I didn't miss the point "too" far, but I find it interesting to think about the subject in general.

timinabox24
Aug '16

nothing really, if anything, the characters in my comics each represent my own personality trais and such but I don't know if any of that counts for anything

vongcw
Aug '16

Sure it does! What we give our characters and then determine how our comic worlds/universe treats our characters inform others and ourselves what we think of those traits. If you think a trait is cool or good, you'll reward it, otherwise you'll punish it. (Of course it gets more complex than that, but it's a simple idea to build from)

angelfire
Aug '16

timinabox24 timinabox24
angelfire
angelfire1m
I dont have a comic here however i do creste stories and characters often.

For me i first take an aspect, then create the character. And it could be anything. For example i have a character based on sunflowers who's trying to be like the character that is based on the sun. Because sunflowers stretch to the sun.

I try to make it as obvious as i can by looking up the etymology for each word and creating a name for the characters from it. Thats also how i choose which race/country the character will be from

"Sun" could come from Proto-German, Old English, Old Saxon, Old Norse, or High German, Middle Dutch, Dutch, German, Gothic, or Old Irish. So i look at all the origins, and pick one I like. In this case, i like "saewel" which is an Old Irish root word that literally means "personification of the sun". But i dont like the whole thing so I'll edit it to fit my perception of what a name should be and give that to the character. Of course this could result in a change of meaning but lets ignore that part for now....
The characters name is "Aywel" and her ancestery is Old Irish

Same thing with the sunflower character.
Looke up the etymology for sunflower
Theres not much so look to other words close to it too. I found the world "girasole" which is italian and means "turning towards the sun"
Change the word to fit my naming standards,
Character name: Gira
Ancestory: Italian

Of course this does sometimes end up where I have a bunch of characters from Europe instead of a diverse group, in that case, i'll change the ancestory but still keep the name.
So for example Aywel has an Irish background because of her name but since I want a Pakistani girl, I'd make her Pakistani but her name is still Aywel.

What I'll do sometimes is find the language equivelent. So sky in urdu is Asman, i'll call her Asma (even though asma is an actual name that doesnt mean sky it means "loftier" or "more eminent" and is an arabic word. I know that because asma is a popular name. But im not going to do that for every name that comes up)

And thats what my characters represent. Anything at all ^^

KSlinger
Aug '16
1

Really good topic!

I haven't ascribed an overlying concept to any of my characters but if I had to boil them down I think it would go like this:

Jed = Compassion and humanity

I was really torn here because Jed could just as easily come under 'duty and justice' because of his motivations throughout the story, however I feel it's more accurate to say that the reason Jed maintains those core values so strongly is because of his compassion and humanity. Jed feels very intensely for other people and their situations. He also trusts people he meets on his journey to the point of naivety. He is raw and honest, like a child in many ways, and gentle in the way of a child as well despite his dark history. His major flaw is his hubris.

Serge = Vengeance and loyalty

Serge is most certainly Jed's foil. At his worst he is everything Jed is not-- ruthless, cunning, hateful, cynical, desperate-- all under a mask of complete indifference, and at his best he is a pure representation of unshakable loyalty. His dedication to those he respects is inspiring to those he meets, including Jed, and his unusual tendency to put his faith in odd or unexpected characters is also confusing to those who witness it.

Morris = Wisdom

Despite appearances Morris is most certainly the wisest of all my characters. He is the first to question what he sees and those he meets in an attempt to better understand the world around him and is impartial to any form of justice. He takes the notion 'what will be will be' to a whole new level and quickly sees through the actions of most other characters, interpreting their intentions from a place of curiousity rather than judging them by what they do. Where as Jed and Serge are general representations of good and evil, Morris is neither, and seems content to go along with Serge's plans out of nothing more than boredom and fondness.

There are other characters as well but I won't include them.

vongcw
Aug '16
timinabox24

Hahaha - that's where it gets complex I suppose. In a Grecian worldview it's what they call a Tragedy lol.

vongcw
Aug '16
KSlinger

Ooooh - those sound like really interesting characters. The vengeance loyalty combo is certainly curious. I feel like Morris would almost represent the entire generation Y and alpha hahahaha.

vongcw
Aug '16
Potoh

Not at all. I like to think characters don't just appear immediately as the embodiment of some universal concept. Rather they evolve into it. Batman and Joker are obvious references for that. Batman was initially a bit of an anti-hero, Joker a perverse crime boss. Only after decades did Batman come to represent the force of humanity (which is why he will always defeat Superman), and Joker ascend into the embodiment of chaos and meaninglessness itself.

It'd be cool to see where your characters end up.

vongcw
Aug '16
mariusthered

Sweet. It's like one of those things right? I was always taught that hard work would pay off... then the internet appeared and it was as if hardwork was for schleps. Next thing I know, two decades after the rise of the internet, it's all hardwork will bring you success again.

How far in are you into your comic? Do we get to see some of the results of these characters yet?

mariusthered
Aug '16

my comic is long running and it's called Talesfromswipecity

some story lines have been finished with the different characters but it's like one big story. I was posting daily but i have now had to slow that down to posting when a page is finished.

Cassie and Jane Jones have some big story's it's got loads in the comic but it's mainly based around the girls

indagold
Aug '16

I guess the nameless character from Garden Of Mold represents isolation, running from your problems and neurosis.

It's a short comic, so i'm not spoiling much. They go from isolating themselves to extremes to finally the comic ending with them going outside.

WakaXO
Aug '16

I guess my characters altogether represent disrupted normality or people's natural ability to adapt to change... if that makes sense 😅
Dakotas chief trait is loyalty but I don't think she represents it. She won't always put others before herself and she wouldn't blindly follow orders, even if they come from her best friend.
And Ai is positive and trusting but they're not her whole character. So I'm not sure if one character represents one thing well/completely.

Zanreo
Aug '16

My characters all represent... game companies xD that's literally what they're personifications of
A different way of telling game history and news, you could say...

glennsong
Aug '16

I know for me, after years of working with Kamiko as a character, I've come to see her as someone who represents willfulness, risk, recklessness, hubris, and arrogance. Those are the qualities I want to explore more in her character.

Momomori
Aug '16

Well thinking about it that way, in my comic I have 2 characters, the first, Raon is my curiosity; she's always looking around. While Alex is the one who is afraid of Raon finding something she'll regret, he believes that ignorance truly is bliss because he thinks the more you know the more you fear, but overall he's the part of me that thinks ahead and makes sure to keep emotions in check. It's called Silence if anyone's interested.

youngaustin
Aug '16

I really like this question because I have really put a lot of thought into my main character and what she presents.

My only webcomic called 'Coffee, Blood' Rust, Sweat, and don't forget the Violence' has a man character named Augustine. For her, her ultimate ability and personality trait is clarity and peace. The only reason why she is good at anything is because I made her to be someone who has a small social disability, but in a way that had allowed her to tap into complete peace. So she seems normal, and a little weird, but can remain completely chill and calm during really intense battles! For the most part, she is not void of emotion she just accepts her emotions, deals with them, and moves on at a much quicker rate than most people.

Ha, I feel like a doof saying so much about my character. I feel like I am just bragging.

mintycanoodles
Aug '16

hm. im not really sure what alec represents, so maybe he represents that really uncertain phase we go through as teens

interesting thing to think about.