Mastering Character Design: Center the Story

Illustration is, at its core, a storytelling medium that helps readers and viewers get to know a character beyond their appearance. In this sense, centering the story before you even start thinking about the visuals is almost essential if you want to lay a strong foundation and add depth to your character design.

But “centering the story” sounds pretty abstract, so let’s break it down a bit further.

1. Give your character a backstory

A first step to center storytelling is to start thinking about backstory. You don’t have to go as in-depth as an author might, but having an idea about who the character is and what they do can help spark your imagination and draw something that jumps off the page.?

For example, when you’re trying to develop a unique silhouette or exaggerate a particular feature (something we’ll talk more about later), knowing your character’s backstory can inform everything from their attire to their posture.

??Psst. Make sure that the character’s outward appearances match their narrative arc so there’s no distracting dissonance between the two!

If you’re working with a client who already knows the backstory of the character — like an author — you can simply ask them for the information you need to proceed. This way you can make sure that the character’s hair is actually flaming red or that they’re holding an archery bow, like they asked. But if that’s not an option, invest some time in coming up with a rough profile of those characters — it’ll help you create a more coherent and consistent design, and will be worth it in the long-run.?

If the character you’re designing is based on a person you know in real life, you can get a headstart on building backstory into your illustration. Here’s an example of Reedsy’s Co-founder, Ricardo Fayet, designed by Raúl Gil for his latest book Amazon Ads for Authors. The backstory follows from his first book, How to Market a Book, where Ricardo lights the way through the publishing jungle. Now, he’s made it to the heart of the jungle and has found the Pandora's Box known as ‘Amazon Ads’ and he holds the key to unlocking its mysteries.

This process can be as simple or as complex as you want and need it to be. Check out our free template to get started.

2. Remember who the target audience is

Illustrators, much like authors, need to have a good idea of to make sure you’re speaking a pictographic language they will understand.?

Ideally, the whole world will enjoy your work, but realistically, your audience will be more narrow, so creating a hypothetical ideal audience member can help you make better design choices. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and consider what other references they have before coming to your work and what they expect to see in the type of story you’re trying to convey.

Helpful questions to determine target audience

• What is your target audience demographics? Your niece might like one type of character, while your uncle will likely prefer something else entirely.
• What previous references and experiences does your target audience have? Are they an experienced Manga reader, a Classic Arts major, or a complete beginner to visual storytelling?
• What genre or type of illustration are you doing? Superhero graphic novels, slice-of-life manhwas, and whimsical picture books come with different stylistic and thematic conventions which the audience will expect you to either comply with or challenge, but at the very least acknowledge.?

You can’t custom design a character for every type of reader, but asking yourself these questions is a great way to start a thought process that will help inform your design. This can ultimately have a great impact on your ideal reader’s ability to interpret, resonate, and enjoy your work.

3. Focus on communicating one message

Lastly, when it comes to centering storytelling, you should ask yourself what lasting impression you want your design to leave. What is the primary message — the larger story — you want the character to convey? Is it empathy, sadness, fierceness, or anger, for instance? Good vs. evil? Political satire?

Illustrators have different tools than authors: they can go into detail and explain any uncertainties or contradictions with words, but you don’t have that luxury. Instead, you are much better served by focusing on one central aspect you want your design to communicate, and make that as clear as possible 一 by removing or toning down any distracting or conflicting elements that might muddle the message.

Now that you have an idea of the foundation of the character, you can start gathering reference material and beginning your design process!

Want to get more tips on how to do it all effectively? Check out our full blog post of 30 comprehensive tips for iconic character design. Be sure to follow our Linkedin for more tips like this!