How to Create a 3D Character

Do you keep finding that people are telling you your characters are boring, predictable, unrealistic? Calling them Mary-Sues or paperdolls? This article should give you insight into how you can develop your character into a real life 3D person. Also, if you find this hard at first, maybe fill it in about someone you know in real life so you get the gist of it.

First off, you need a pen and paper or a Word Document on the computer. Now, write down the basic details first, as if it were a form for anything or even a passport. Name, date of birth, address, family members, age, nationality, religion. Now you've got to expand on that. I would encourage bullet points so that when you look over all this later it's easier to access.

Name: You have a name. Why did you name them that? Why did their parents or whoever it is that raised them name them that? What does it mean? Do they like it? Does it suit them?

Date of birth: Did they suit being born in this era? When were they conceived? What was their birth like? What's their star sign? Do they believe in it? Does it suit them?

Address: How long have they lived there? Do they like living there? What's their house like? Their room?

Family Members: Focus just on the main ones and then mention how big their family is past that. Their name, their relationship with them (if they get along), how old they are, what they think of them.

Age: Do they suit this age? For example, is your character twenty-five but acts like a three year old? Are they in school, work or what? What was their favourite age? How do they celebrate their birthday?

Nationality: There isn't much to do with this one, except if they're not your nationality, you'll have to do research about the details of that culture, what they look like, etc.

Religion: Do they like this religion? What are their beliefs? Any unusual philosophies?

Okay, next category is looks. This is the fun bit. You need to think about and probably get a few example pictures from Google Images and put them in your details:

• Face shape (pixie shaped, oval, square)
• Nose (Roman, pointed, small, snub)
• -Lips (pouted, long, thin, full, pink, red, colourless)
• Eyes (green, blue, light blue, icy, dark brown, chocolate brown, almond shaped, slitted, long eyelashes, thick eyebrows)
• Chin (pointed, double, fat)
• Hair (length, colour, health, straight, wavy, ringlets)
• Ears (big lobe, small lobe, large, stuck out)
• Arms (thin, muscly, tanned, hairy)
• Legs (short, fat, thin)
• Body (fat, thin, short, tall, willowy, pixie)
• Tattoos?
• Piercings?
• Stance
• Jewelery
• Clothes (just give examples of what you might find in their wardrobe, you don't need to mention every article of clothing - though that would be very helpful if you wanted to do it)

Next, you do their personality. This is the hardest section, because the personality of any real human being is so complex. I find it easiest when I use a list of random questions and then answer why they like that. For example, music is often definitive of people, so if I were to write about one of my characters:

He likes loud rock and roll, screamo and rave music. Anything fast and upbeat he'll enjoy, as he's very hyperactive and likes the energy of the music.

So I just gave a reason for why he likes that type of music. Here's a list of questions that could help you:

• Favourite colour
• Type of music they listen to (example bands and singers)
• Hobbies
• Style of clothing
• How do they laugh?
• Are they sociable?
• What aura would they give off to a casual observer?
• Do they have a hot temper? What do they do in situations where they might lose it?
• Do they cry easily?
• How do they do in school?
• What kind of movies do they like?
• Are they self conscious or confident?
• Do they avoid conflict?
• How good is their balance?
• Are they selfish?
• What calms them, or what do they like? (walking on a beach, sunsets etc)
• What are their best subjects?
• What do they want to be when they grow up?
• How would they act if they saw someone being attacked?
• How confident are they?
• How do they speak?
• Do they smile easily?
• Do they handle pain well?
• Are they patient?
• What's their sense of humour like?
• What's their opinion on sex and relationships?
• Favourite books to read?

If you can think of anything else, write it down. Every little detail helps define your character as a real person.

Next is working on their backstory a bit more. The reason we didn't do this first is because personality is defined by their childhood and how they grew up, so you can work their backstory around their personality rather than the other way around. Also, it's a good idea (this will help you whilst writing) to mention how this memory or any certain detail affects them as a teenager or adult. For example, one of my characters was ignored a bit by her father which is why she allows herself to be set up with boys constantly - she craves the male attention she didn't get as a child. So:

• What was their childhood like?
• Name a few childhood stories involving pets, siblings, parents, family gatherings, best friends (childhood being 3-10)
• Her parents jobs and any changes just before they were born and while they were growing up
• Details about her friends when she was small

This next bit is still backstory, but it's a good idea to answer it AS YOUR CHARACTER.

• What was your childhood like?
• Who were your parents?
• How do you feel about them?
• Is there anything you want to change about your relationship?
• How do they get on?
• Did you have a lot of attention on you growing up?
• Did you have a lot of friends growing up?
• What memories stand out and how did you feel during them?
• How big is your family? Are you close?
• What's your relationship with your siblings?
• How do you get on with your siblings' friends?

I know that it seems really silly when you've answered most of these questions already, but it does REALLY help to breathe life into your character.

Next is relationships. I don't mean with every acquaintance they have - that would be hell on earth having to answer all that. I mean their main relationship - love interest. If your character has more than one main one (like a love triangle) then you'll have to answer all questions twice.

The questions for this are also pretty tedious and annoying, but do help build a realistic relationship. Don't get confused - only answer these questions as the character you've been writing about all along, not both of them.

• Why do they love this person?
• Is there a connection physically or mentally or both?
• How would rows be solved?
• What do they love most about their partner?
• What do they hate most about their partner?
• Is this the type of person they usually get?
• Do they have pet names for each other?
• What kind of arguments do they have? What would cause it?
• What side do they bring out of each other?
• Where do they go on dates?
• What would their wedding be like?

Answer these questions AS YOUR CHARACTER.

• Write a paragraph about your partner'
• What's your idea of love?
• What's your opinion on romance?
• If you broke up what would your relationship be like?

Okay, you're nearly done! This is the last category, where everything you think of between now and finishing your book - every detail about this character - goes here. It is the random section! Everything unimportant goes here. Why would we write about unimportant details when we could be writing our story? I hear you ask. Because it makes your character a human being! We all either like oranges or don't like oranges or don't know whether we like oranges, and that makes us who we are.
These little details sometimes just help to give your character purpose. So:

• Do they like oranges?
• What food and drink do they eat?
• What TV shows do they like?
• What would they do if they got asked to model?
• What's their sleeping position, habits, timing like?
• Astrological sign?
• Are they tidy?
• What's their bedroom like?
• Are they ticklish?
• Do they like kids/animals?
• What part of the Olympics do they enjoy?
• What aspect of themselves do they take pride in?
• What's the first thing they notice about the opposite sex? (or same sex if your character is gay)
• What music do they hate? Why?
• How do they act when they're ill?
• Any phobias or serious illnesses?
• What traits do they like in people?
• What traits do they hate in people?
• What kind of artwork do they like?
• Any nervous traits?
• How do they dance?
• Are they easy to embarrass?
• What kind of house would they want to buy?
• Do they dress for style or comfort?
• Are they optimistic? Realistic, pessimistic?
• What do they do to relax?
• Where stands out as their home away from home?
• Politic view?
• How do they participate in a conversation?
• Public speaker?

If you answer those as that character, it might help. If you haven't, don't worry, it's not imperative.

Okay, that's everything. If you have all these details, your character is so close to being real. All you've got to do is use all of them to bring your character to life - their quirks, height, how they look at the world... All of these will make a character more human, because we all have them.

Now, I have a bit of bad news. All stories have more than one main character - so you should probably do this for all main characters. I did it nine times and it almost made me give up on writing, but I did it and now at least I have no Mary Sues and all my characters are different.

I hope this article helped you. Good luck!