Where do you get inspiration for creating killers or villains?

valerijsdombrovskis 2025-09-30 12:43:39 UTC #1

I wanted to share a couple of illustrations from my webnovel Gobby’s Adventure – meet Ulrich and Vann, two very different killers. They appear in Episode 5, which is not yet on Tapas but will be uploaded soon. For now, here’s a little preview.
In my work as a psychologist, I had the chance to study people who crossed the line into crime. Observing how they looked at the world gave me a lot of inspiration for shaping fictional characters, and that experience now plays into how I create killers and villains in my story.

I’m curious – where do you find your inspiration?
* If you have illustrations, please share them here.
* If not, even a short description of your villain’s mindset or behavior would be great.
* And of course, feel free to drop a link to your comic or novel, and point out the chapter where your villain appears. I’d love to take a look.
Here are my characters:

And here’s my webnovel if you’d like to check it out. Vann and Ulrich will show up in a future episode on Tapas:

CarltonIsaac 2025-09-30 13:14:39 UTC #2

MK_Wizard 2025-09-30 13:31:20 UTC #3

I base my villains off of real life experiences (not actual people who wronged me) and a combination of different historical figures including criminals who were evil as well as scandals that went down in history. The main villain of this story is your typical conqueror obsessed with power and has a God complex like many monarchs in history.

valerijsdombrovskis 2025-09-30 13:55:43 UTC #4

And what about the behavioral style and psychological portrait? Do you also consider habits and reactions when shaping your villains?

valerijsdombrovskis 2025-09-30 14:04:28 UTC #5

Fair point – I guess Ulrich and Vann take their jobs a bit too seriously. Delphine and Zigadias would probably laugh at them while stealing the spotlight.

kyupol 2025-09-30 21:06:20 UTC #6

I get them from a combination of archetypes and real people I've known. Sometimes they just "download" into my head.

My newest villain... Akala...

When I first showed off her char design and asked "does she look like a hero or villain? I got "either way" or "anti hero". She's approachable and nice on the surface even if she's definitely dark tetrad. (Narcissism, Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and Sadism)

Her name means "thought / perception". Major illusion user. Can isekai herself at will, and create illusionary worlds that are still "real" even if you're aware it's an illusion. Her illusionary worlds are set with different parameters like you're in a video game.

Akala is definitely a "download". Here's her name in baybayin (ancient Tagalog script)

See how it resembles her hair? Honestly I had her char design before I looked up how her name looks like in baybayin

Another villain... Cedrick. Based on the demon "Legion" in the Bible. Merges with Cedrick...

He has a god complex.

The last villain I based off a real person... is "Lucia". Traumatic past. Demon possessed super soldier.

One of my humanized villains though she's based on this woman I knew who was definitely a narcissist because of her good looks and her high iq that got her far ahead in life in her early 20s...

valerijsdombrovskis 2025-10-01 06:36:48 UTC #7

Akala sounds fascinating – especially how her name and design lined up so naturally with baybayin. That kind of “download” character always feels powerful, like they come with their own destiny attached. The dark tetrad aspect makes her even more intriguing – an anti-hero mask over something much more dangerous.
I also checked out your work (AngHell Dela Blackpill) – really impressive worldbuilding, Akala fits right into that atmosphere.

valerijsdombrovskis 2025-10-01 07:34:17 UTC #8

My illustrator recently finished the design for Vann, one of the killers from my webnovel.
Funny story: instead of giving him a blowgun, she drew a regular rifle. Turns out she didn’t know blowguns existed (or that they still do!). At first I didn’t even notice myself – but once I did, I started to appreciate how the change makes Vann look a bit different.
So here are both versions of Vann – the original and the updated one. What do you think of the change? And be honest… does he look a bit monkey-faced now?

kyupol 2025-10-01 07:51:06 UTC #9

Prefer the one with smaller eyes. Bottom panel. Villains are generally drawn with smaller eyes than the heroes lol

valerijsdombrovskis 2025-10-01 09:07:11 UTC #10

He can have smaller eyes, sure – but in the novel at that exact moment he’s firing the blowgun, so the tension is high and his eyes widen from the strain.

stiatent 2025-10-01 09:28:04 UTC #11

Thats awesome your psychologist skills inspire your works, and a great groundwork for layered character writing too I don't have indepth psychology experience but did psychology for one of my ge courses in undergrad (game design), similar to you it brought me awareness of how others see the world too, expecially when we got into the topic of serial killers. Awesome artwork and use of contrasts with the black n white

In Sickboy (Series) the Main Characters (brothers Owen and Evan): their 'virus' is their own worst enemy, once they get within 15 feet of another human, the human will instantly convulse and turn into a feral monsters, Evan the older brother pukes a substance that gives birth to one of the villians below.
I saw the virus as my own fear of inconveniencing or causing harm to others. The horror of not being able to control a stuation that leads to a domino effect of you unwillingly harming innocent persons etc.

While the true antagonist isn't made clear yet, there are two potential candidates for the position.

1 FPS guy-
The first character you meet in series, and presented in 1st person (like a FPS player character). Who & where he came from is revealed over time, but little clues like handcuffs, tattoos and orange sleeves can quickly hint some origins. He's the reverse of the heroes, also displaying the virus. But while the heroes would become cautious to avoid spread, he takes pleasure in testing the mechanics of the virus
He is polite and chatty while casually killing townsfolk he comes across, in order to test out things like "how far he needs to be in order to spread the infection" and "test other superhuman symptoms that came with his 'virus'. It's clear he's no stranger to murdering others but is also an opportunist who makes a game of the situation. He hasn't encountered the
MCs yet but if you look between the clues there are some answers already there.

Spoilerish- researching prison culture and gangs documentaries on YT etc was helpful for him, playing GTA (videogame) was an early inspiration too, the heists etc. Also I remember during Covid there were videos of vile people who did horrid things like spit on public services like busses etc, so that also inspired ideas too. At one point he was going to be a serial killer but decided to keep that role to a future character, someone he would take pleasure pissing off as he lacks the meticulous-ness of a serial killer.

2 PUKE-Zilla
This one is more fantasy style, inspired by my love for Godzilla, Dinos, Cryptids and Cosmic Horror. It adds an extra limb to the damage the brothers unwillingly cause. The bizarre 'virus' activates after the brothers and FPS guy hear an eerie sound broadcast one night. And while hearing the sound, Evan (older brother) pukes out a gelatinous life-form that rapidly begins to evolve to Kaiju size. While FPS guy is busy causing chaos from a human scale, this creature flattens towns in its path.
The creature appears to lack signs of high intellect, however it further pushes the mindsets of the brothers:
Owen (the younger brother) has a hard time coping with the mass destruction and begins to blame Evan for Puke Zilla's existence. Meanwhile Evan's thrill for adventure and optimism kicks in and he sees the creature as his responsibility to defeat. Similar to FPS guy, Evan finds joy in testing his limits against the monster.

The FPS guy also has a run in with Puke Zilla early in the series. The creature sends an explosive beam his way. FPS guy is thrilled but remains careful and observant, for an opportunity that would benefit him:

FPS Guy vs PukeZilla:

and here's the series link:

valerijsdombrovskis 2025-10-01 11:13:40 UTC #12

That’s a really impressive breakdown – I like how you connect the virus concept with personal fears, it makes the whole story feel layered and relatable. FPS Guy as a “polite killer” testing mechanics is a chilling idea, and Puke-Zilla brings a strong kaiju vibe that contrasts nicely with the more grounded horror elements.

I checked out I’m not a Sick Boy! – the artwork is really high quality, with great contrasts and atmosphere. Subscribed – looking forward to seeing where the story goes!

stiatent 2025-10-01 23:25:15 UTC #13

Thanks yep layered and relatable is the goal. Also enjoy making the world feel lived in, inspired by the way Videogames and films use environment props to allow the player/viewer to piece other layers of story.
Glad you like the contrast too, yep been fun using the 'two potential villian idea' to keep some unpredictability.
But imagine given the brothers situation everyone they come around may look like a threat about to happen, so there's possibly other characters can be assumed by readers to be villians too.

Speaking of inspirations, i had to do a q&a in one of the recent episodes as FPS guy. Another form of inspiration was looking at cast actors interactions at horror parks, and the Evil Viral Queen at Disney themepark (her roasts are hilarious). Enjoy seeing how they remain in evil character and keep the visitors engaged.

Thanks for thinking its high quality and the subscribe, your words keep me motivated as its been a learning process with each episode I subscribed to Gobby's adventure too and will keep a look out for Ulrich and Vann.

valerijsdombrovskis 2025-10-02 06:12:22 UTC #14

stiatent:

Thanks yep layered and relatable is the goal. Also enjoy making the world feel lived in, inspired by the way Videogames and films use environment props to allow the player/viewer to piece other layers of story. Glad you like the contrast too, yep been fun using the 'two potential villian idea' to keep some unpredictability. But imagine given the brothers situation everyone they come around may look like a threat about to happen, so there's possibly other characters can be assumed by readers to be villians too.

Speaking of inspirations, i had to do a q&a in one of the recent episodes as FPS guy. Another form of inspiration was looking at cast actors interactions at horror parks, and the Evil Viral Queen at Disney themepark (her roasts are hilarious). Enjoy seeing how they remain in evil character and keep the visitors engaged.

Thanks for thinking its high quality and the subscribe, your words keep me motivated as its been a learning process with each episode I subscribed to Gobby's adventure too and will keep a look out for Ulrich and Vann.

I really like that idea – when every new character could be perceived as a threat, it keeps readers on edge and makes the world feel even more lived in. Using Q&A in character as FPS guy sounds like a brilliant way to deepen immersion (and I need to check out that Evil Viral Queen now ).
Thanks a lot for the sub to Gobby’s Adventure – really appreciate it! Ulrich and Vann will be making their entrance soon… though unlike your Evil Queen, I don’t think they’re going to roast anyone, just finely carve and break them apart.
By the way, since you already have strong experience in comics – once I finish the first full chapter of the webnovel (about 11 episodes), would you mind if I asked your opinion on whether it might be worth adapting into a comic?

Oriflamme 2025-10-02 23:43:12 UTC #15

Alex is basically the current main villain.

Since the character is supposed to be redeemed, I have to walk a fine line between making him horrible to the main character, but not a complete monster. Up to this point, a lot of the interactions with Corrine, the protagonist, are carefully crafted to strike that balance, and for that, I try to take inspiration from things I would do, but put them in situations where from other’s perspective, they would inadvertently become harmful.

The other angle I use to motivate his actions is deeply based one the situation he’s in. Due to childhood events, Alex has massive self loathing issues, and some of his coping methods are not only self destructive, but also have collateral damages. This is not helped by the fact he’s caught in a prison of his own making, doing a massive con in order to become Duke of the Abyss. By the story’s start, he has long lost control of the situation, and getting married to Corrine is just one aspect of that. A lot of his actions just to keep his head above water harm the people around him, which only strengthen his self loathing issue.

He's also a killer if you think people like Douglas Haig as a killer, but that part of the character is not really relevant to the narrative.

stiatent 2025-10-03 03:06:41 UTC #16

Yep poor Owen got lots to be scared of ahead with these precieved threats, Evan's overconfidence is a different story lol
Yea its a fun way to keep immersion with the q&a, always hilarious some people ask questions for the creator, so always a fun challenge finding ways to respond in character, kept myself out of the special episodes too, so the charaters can have that sense of realism. FPS was asked about meetng his creator Stiatent, he thought it was someone trying to indroctinate him into a new age religion XD
Yea I hooked on Viral Evil Queen vids, she got tons of videos online, people go to the theme park to get roasted by her XD This was the last one i saw, someone asking Evil Queen how to deal with the haters only for her to give em a 1st hand experience XD

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WCrq7tt1f10

Yep glad to support back, lol @ finely carve yep, your mc deffo got to watch their back with those two.
Yep more than welcome to ask opinion Before publishing I was considering novel too, but felt much more comfortable doing art than creative writing, your art is impressive and has that cinematic feel too so can deffo see yours transitioning into a high quality comic, keep it up!

stiatent 2025-10-03 03:21:57 UTC #17

That real cool seeing the Tagalong for Akala, always seeing diff font styles and how curly they look and stylish they look with those sharp features
Nice connection that they resemble her hair too, yea deffo looks like hair squiggles

Cedrick - I am omni potent every place at once yadi yada

Me- sure.... so omnipotent he couldnt bring his abs and boyband hair onto Hunks Thread

valerijsdombrovskis 2025-10-03 07:23:21 UTC #18

Haha, poor Owen indeed – and Evan’s overconfidence might just make things worse . The Q&A idea is brilliant, keeping yourself out of the special episodes so the characters can answer feels like a great way to boost immersion. That Viral Evil Queen clip is gold, thanks for sharing – now I get why people line up just to be roasted. Really appreciate your thoughts on the transition too, that means a lot. I’ll definitely ask your feedback once I’ve got that first full chapter ready.

valerijsdombrovskis 2025-10-03 07:30:30 UTC #19

That’s a really thoughtful approach – keeping Alex horrible enough to be a convincing antagonist, but still redeemable, feels like walking a tightrope. The mix of self-loathing, destructive coping methods and collateral damage makes him sound layered and human, even when he’s harmful. “Duke of the Abyss” as both title and situation has such a strong atmosphere, and Corrine’s perspective adds even more weight to it. Definitely sounds like a story where the villain is just as compelling as the protagonist.

kyupol 2025-10-03 16:14:11 UTC #20

Lmao never thought Cedrick had boyband hair and there should also be a thread for attractive female ocs.