Originally, I posted this on Fanimators Online's forum, but I thought that it might be a good help to some people here. This can apply to any and all types of characters. Although I personally don't like giving personalities or stories to UTAUloids, I know that people do, so maybe this can be a mini-guide in doing it.
I pull a lot of examples from what would've been my webshow Eva ~Eve~, but it turned into a song series. Hopefully this still helps in the characterization process.
So, first I make up their purpose in the story. Are they going to be labeled as a "good guy" or "bad guy"? Are they going to be mixed? If they're on the "bad side," do they have a legitimate reason to be bad? This I really hate a lot, in even professional media because people just stick on these labels: "This person is bad." There is no legit reason for them to be; no story given. I HATE THAT.
Who is the character? Are they a major character or minor? If they're major, how do they affect the story?? Is it a major character? I answer WHY is the character important.
Next, I design them and give them a name. I usually look on behindthenames for this since there's such a large range of suggestions and spellings. This is how I got my OCs Allison, Eve, Lynne, etc. For names that are from people of a fictional region, I make up the names based off sounds I think would be used in a fictional language. For example, my OCs Meln and Mieya are brother and sister, and the brother's name means what I think would be "night" in that language and Mieya means what I think would be "day". As for the design, I tend to look at a lot of fashion all over the internet for different things. If it's just an average person, like Eve or Allison, I look up fashion that would suit their personality. Eve is kind of.. a "girl next door," only a little different. Since she's human and used to the idea of hygiene/etc., I gave her a huge wardrobe of clothes so that I don't have to make up clothes on the spot. This is important in consistency because you don't want to give your characters the same clothes everyday if they're in that kind of society, but you also don't want them to be completely different. Her wardrobe consists of bright and pale yellows, and a lot of blue jeans with different designs printed on them. Eventually, someone gives her armor which she only uses when she needs to. Generally speaking, her wardrobe consists of average-fitting clothes, and a few skinny jeans. Allison, on the other hand, prefers loose-fit clothes with stripes, and likes the black-and-white style, etc. It's important to note the character's fashion sense.
In characters from developing countries or from fictional countries, it might be okay to use the same design every day simply because that's what they're used to doing.
For characters like superheroes, gods, warriors,Guardians from rotg, etc., it's fine to have the same clothes because they don't really have anything else to wear, and it's not like they're going to stain it or anything, given their status (well, if you wanna be REALLLY technical, superheroes might from beating the crap out of bad guys, but eh.)
Third, I fill out a character sheet! This helps me develop the character so I know almost every detail about them and can piece together more than just "Oh, they like this and dislike this." There is an outstanding one here on deviantArt that I love using.
While filling the character sheet out, it's important to note which characters would be appropriate to make their friends and which one their enemies. You can do this by seeing the likes and dislikes, etc. However, it's also important to note their backstories and not just them as, let's use Eve as an example, an 18-year old senior in high school. Realistically speaking, it's best to think of how the character grew up and what their parents made them like, and who their parents had them hang out with. For example, Eve, Lynne, and Allison were neighbors so naturally they grew up together, and Eve, being patient with people of all different interests, would link the three friends together, even though normally when you look at Lynne and Allison's character sheets they would look like fire and ice.
So, I hope this helps you, and remember to fill out a consistent character sheet! If you already have developed characters, it might actually be helpful to use the sheet anyway because you may discover when comparing them that you shouldn't have paired someone with another as a couple, or that some two characters would normally bicker a lot about a certain subject. Thank you for reading~!
~Avy
I pull a lot of examples from what would've been my webshow Eva ~Eve~, but it turned into a song series. Hopefully this still helps in the characterization process.
So, first I make up their purpose in the story. Are they going to be labeled as a "good guy" or "bad guy"? Are they going to be mixed? If they're on the "bad side," do they have a legitimate reason to be bad? This I really hate a lot, in even professional media because people just stick on these labels: "This person is bad." There is no legit reason for them to be; no story given. I HATE THAT.
Who is the character? Are they a major character or minor? If they're major, how do they affect the story?? Is it a major character? I answer WHY is the character important.
Next, I design them and give them a name. I usually look on behindthenames for this since there's such a large range of suggestions and spellings. This is how I got my OCs Allison, Eve, Lynne, etc. For names that are from people of a fictional region, I make up the names based off sounds I think would be used in a fictional language. For example, my OCs Meln and Mieya are brother and sister, and the brother's name means what I think would be "night" in that language and Mieya means what I think would be "day". As for the design, I tend to look at a lot of fashion all over the internet for different things. If it's just an average person, like Eve or Allison, I look up fashion that would suit their personality. Eve is kind of.. a "girl next door," only a little different. Since she's human and used to the idea of hygiene/etc., I gave her a huge wardrobe of clothes so that I don't have to make up clothes on the spot. This is important in consistency because you don't want to give your characters the same clothes everyday if they're in that kind of society, but you also don't want them to be completely different. Her wardrobe consists of bright and pale yellows, and a lot of blue jeans with different designs printed on them. Eventually, someone gives her armor which she only uses when she needs to. Generally speaking, her wardrobe consists of average-fitting clothes, and a few skinny jeans. Allison, on the other hand, prefers loose-fit clothes with stripes, and likes the black-and-white style, etc. It's important to note the character's fashion sense.
In characters from developing countries or from fictional countries, it might be okay to use the same design every day simply because that's what they're used to doing.
For characters like superheroes, gods, warriors,
Third, I fill out a character sheet! This helps me develop the character so I know almost every detail about them and can piece together more than just "Oh, they like this and dislike this." There is an outstanding one here on deviantArt that I love using.
While filling the character sheet out, it's important to note which characters would be appropriate to make their friends and which one their enemies. You can do this by seeing the likes and dislikes, etc. However, it's also important to note their backstories and not just them as, let's use Eve as an example, an 18-year old senior in high school. Realistically speaking, it's best to think of how the character grew up and what their parents made them like, and who their parents had them hang out with. For example, Eve, Lynne, and Allison were neighbors so naturally they grew up together, and Eve, being patient with people of all different interests, would link the three friends together, even though normally when you look at Lynne and Allison's character sheets they would look like fire and ice.
So, I hope this helps you, and remember to fill out a consistent character sheet! If you already have developed characters, it might actually be helpful to use the sheet anyway because you may discover when comparing them that you shouldn't have paired someone with another as a couple, or that some two characters would normally bicker a lot about a certain subject. Thank you for reading~!
~Avy