How to Write a Character Profile by Steve Dougherty
By stevedougherty | June 13, 2008
Kirin’s Note: This tutorial is courtesy of guest contributor Steve Dougherty. A few edits have been made to this tutorial so that it fits the Drawfurry.com format.
Cute kitty girl right? Well unfortunately this is all she is right now. You’ve most likely read “How to Make a Web Comic Part 1” and you have a basic idea who the characters are. But who exactly is your character? All we know is that they’re a person. But what’s their driving force? What keeps them going? Who are they? If you don’t consider this then you won’t get very far in the writing process of your story. Remember the character pushes the story forward, not the other way around.
Basic Info:
Alright, so let’s start with this young lovely lady. Let’s go for some very basic things for right now.
Name: Eleanor Young
Okay, so she has a name now. This can either be the easiest or hardest part of making a character. When considering a name you should think about what you’re story is about. In Eleanor’s case I’m going for a “real world” story. If you’re writing more of a fantasy or science fiction story, something a little more complicated would be appropriate. Just try not to go overboard.
Gender: Female
Pretty much a no brainer, your character is either going to be a guy or girl.
Species: Black and white cat
It’s not really difficult to pick out a species or race for your character when you’re writing out a profile for them. Just keep in mind your rough draft of your story. It may force you to make your character something other then what you want them to be. In Eleanor’s case, it really doesn’t matter what she is, and I decided on a feline since they tend to be smaller and I wanted a small character
Age: 20 (As of 01/16/08)
Birth date: January, 16, 1988
Birthday’s are important whether you make up the dates or not. They place your character in the time of the story. It also gives you a time table to work with.
Astrological Sign: Capricorn
Chinese Zodiac Sign: Rabbit
If you’re having a hard time coming up with your character’s personality consider their signs. You can either use this, or work against it. It’s your call.
Height: 5’3’’
Measurements: 32-24-32
Your character’s size. I’m glad I picked a woman so explaining measurements will be easier. Basically the measurements are in inches and go, from left to right, bust, waist, hips. Ideally a woman’s bust and hips should be equal while their waist is about ten inches smaller, thus forming the infamous “hour glass” figure. Generally men have a wider bust then both their waist and hips (Don’t be afraid to make it all even though, it could make for an interesting character).
Background Information:
Alright we got the bare bones of Eleanor. Let’s work on some background information.
Family Background: Orphan, adopted by Young family.
History, background: Was left on the door steps of the Young family. Was raised with the knowledge she’s adopted. A good childhood, but made frustrating with the lack of knowledge of her birth parents.
Whoa! Now we have something we can write about. Eleanor’s an orphan so there’s a number of possible stories right there. It also helps explain why she’s so reserved.
Home: Newark, Delaware USA
Birth place: Unknown
You’re character is going to need a place to live. And usually you know where they were born. But for Eleanor’s case we’re not sure.
Physical Description:
Alright time to move on to a more in-depth physical description. It’s at this point you might want to break out a Sketch pad or piece of paper while you write down the description.
Hair style: short, frayed but organized
Eyes: Gold
Body: Short, thin.
Physical condition: In shape, small all around.
Marks, scar, tattoo: Odd scar on the left side of her stomach, barely noticeable.
Clothing: Dark clothes. A couple of large sized boots.
Possessions, make-up, jewelry, etc: Choker, with a purple button on the front. Chained bracelet.
Well now Eleanor has shape. She’s an actual physical person in a story. But well, we’re still not sure WHO she is.
Personality:
Everybody says that personality is the most important feature in a person and they’re right. Without it you would just interact with the same boring persons over and over again.
Likes: Scott, her adopted parents.
Dislikes: Her birthparents for abandoning her.
Oh, who’s Scott? Character interaction is a nice thing to have, and it also builds up your cast. So Eleanor already interacts with at least three other characters. It looks like she doesn’t want to have anything to do with her birth parents though. Hmm, I smell a conflict in the story.
Fears: Meeting her birth parents.
Ah the conflict, at least something for the future. Maybe Eleanor will meet her birth parents. That would make for an interesting drama.
Goals: To get through life. Stay in a relationship with Scott.
What you’re character’s driving force is. She wants to be with this Scott fellow. So when writing out a story think of different things that might drive them apart. Remember this Desire+Conflict=Drama.
Vernacular (way of speaking): Quite, but sweet.
The way your character talks. Pretty simple at this point. You can either make it something expected or unexpected. Accents are a nice touch to have sometimes, just try to be careful with them.
Psychological condition: Stable.
Your character’s mind set. What they’re really thinking. Eleanor really doesn’t have any problems that she hasn’t come to terms with. So she’s stable.
Character behavior: Withdrawn to most, but extremely friendly to her friends.
Character behavior, this will affect interaction with other characters in your story, whether they are small secondary characters, major supporting characters.
Positive characteristics: Overall nice person. Cares for her friends.
Negatives characteristics: Quiet and reserved. Usually doesn’t talk. Holds scorn for her birth parents
Positive and Negative characteristics will impact the way your audience feels about your character. Generally, whether your character is “good” or “bad” you should fill this out. Character flaws make the protagonist feel more appealing, and something positive for the antagonist might make us hate them more.
At this point your character is pretty much ready to go into your story and do their job. You may want to consider adding “fluff”, basically information that isn’t one hundred percent necessary, but would make for interesting moments in the story. Also if you’re writing a fantasy story consider adding an abilities section, maybe your character has super strength, is a pyromancer, can transform into animals, or has magic blood…….right.
It may seem like a lot of work, but really once you write a couple of character sheets out you shouldn’t have a problem. It’s always a good idea to have a written out profile over a reference sheet any day. Simply put the more you draw the better you get, and you’ll have to update your reference sheet if you go through any major style changes. With a Character Profile you won’t have to update it so often. Really the only time you should update your character’s profile is when they go through a rather involved event that may change their way of thinking or life. 
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28 Responses to “How to Write a Character Profile by Steve Dougherty”
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May 19th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
very good, very basic tutorial, this is wonderful help to make simple, slightly “superficial” profiles
(because this is a profile tutorial I dont see the point on critisizing your character)
thank you its big help *claps* :3 definately will use it as a template for my own characters!
April 16th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
i like this. i guess. Anarchy89 do you or did you ever play D&D? it sound like you do. and another thing you could put on to your “fluff” is wisdom? mabye IDK
April 6th, 2009 at 1:15 am
This is a very good way to do a profile. The only thing I think that should be added is things like nicknames. The reason I say it should be added to what you have and not the fluff section is it fits right under the name section that it would be easier than scrolling down to see any nicknames.
And what I put in the “Fluff” was the following: Intelligence, Special Abilities, Powers, Fighting Style, and Weapons (though this one could be put in possessions.)
I may or may not put more into my “Fluff” but if you guys have any Ideas about it let me know
March 15th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Great list of information to establish a character. Gives the creator information to work with, that he didn’t even know he had.
So far, I’d been winging it with mental notes about my strip’s characters. I’m now going to set up bios based on this for each. I’m sure it will give them much more depth.
Thanks!
February 20th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
very good, very basic tutorial, this is wonderful help to make simple, slightly “superficial” profiles
(because this is a profile tutorial I dont see the point on critisizing your character)
thank you its big help *claps* :3 definately will use it as a template for my own characters!
January 30th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
i love your way to write stuff :3 it makes it so easy to read and understand, thank u for the advice, my characters are sometimes so difficult to make and sometimes there some lacks, but not when iuse your teknik (sorry, its the danish in me ^_^) keep doing what ur doing, domo arogatou!
December 17th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
-typo, I meant “make sure the bad qualities aren’t there just to make her look cute or innocent.” X(
December 15th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Thanks everyone. I don’t mean to ever sound harsh, but I have a pretty dry tone, and I really can get going when I talk about character development. So let me know if I ever sound a bit mean. (That’s my character flaw! XD)
Regardless of if you are making an anthro animal or human being or anything in-between, characters must have human flaws. But, in order to initially create a character, its always works best with me to look for inspiration from people I know personally. Look for the good and bad qualities in them, and make your own character based on them.
Most people like to start from scratch though, and this tutorial gives a pretty good starting point. My only advice is to balance out good traits with bad ones. If your character is gorgeous and likes kids and is a great musician, perhaps she is arrogant, selfish, and an attention-hog. Make sure other characters don’t like this about her, and she doesn’t always get her way. Make sure she doesn’t get all the hot guys, and make sure that the bad qualities you give her are there just to make her look cute and innocent. Make sure her bad qualities are real problems, not just bad habits like biting cheeks or staying up too late.
Also remember not to get too attached to the character. When they start to become your darling, you will feel inclined to give them too much attention and you’ll torture them just to make other characters, and yourself, feel sorry for them. While it is good to give your characters some hard times, overdoing it can get old fast.
Also, here’s some extra tips on writing a story. Make sure you have a goal to complete when you start a story such as, what kind of story are you trying to tell with your characters? What kind of point do you want to make with it? Do you want to tell a story about the beauty of redemption, or a story about friendship? Make sure you have a point with a story you are writing. Don’t just write it for getting your characters out there. It helps to have a general direction with a story before you get too far into it, otherwise you may find yourself veering around into multiple plot lines and it will become burdening to write and will begin to suck up a lot of your time. (Trust me- I’ve been there!) Your story doesn’t have to have a tacked-on Saturday Morning Cartoon moral to it- but it has to have a point. Make sure you know how to get your characters from Point A to Point B, whether they’re on an epic quest, or if they never even leave their house, every story has a point to tell, and every character should change.
Here I go again- this reminds me of another tip I can give you! :D
There are 2 types of characters, static characters and dynamic characters. Most secondary characters that appear once or twice in a story are static. What you know about them does not change. If they are mean and yell a lot, they will always be mean and will always yell a lot. However, most main characters and major characters are dynamic, which means they change. The change could be for the better or for the worse when they go from point A to point B in the story. A character might start out an honest, friendly man, but after all his money is stolen from him, he becomes a secretive and paranoid person when the story ends. He leaves with nothing, and he becomes paranoid- he changes. Of course, that would be a very sad story, so most people like a good change in a character before the story ends. So, its also good to have a character that CHANGES in the story. He could start out as a very sad old man who lost his wife, and he could end up getting remarried and becoming happy again.
Anyway. That’s all I have to say for now. Thanks everyone for the compliments. :) This makes me want to write an actual tutorial. But then again, this whole page, both the real tutorial and all the comments, are all helpful to read, so I hope someone looking for tips reads through this whole web page. :P