I just wanna thank god for giving me a top and a bottom lip. I know others aren’t so fortunate.
quick
sketch of one of my favorite Marvel characters, Vision. Tried some shading type stuff too.
hey did you know how big an albatross was because I
VERY
fucking
did not
i’m so glad people are learning this.
I… I knew in numerical values how big they were, but I’ve never seen them next to humans before
A LORGE BIRB
I thought albatross was another word for “seagull” not for “terror of the fucking sky”
They met in preschool. Once, he stood up in class and declared “I’m gonna marry her someday!”
He kept his promise.
Writing Tip: Character Webs
So you have a set of characters ready for the curtain to rise and the story to begin. But how do they get along with each other? Do they even get along at all?
Character relationships are REALLY hard to do. But character webs have helped me keep track of how everybody relates to one another. They’re a way to visually connect characters to help you remember what they think of each other.
They end up looking something like this:
And honestly? They’re just as cool as they look. Let’s go through a quick rundown of how they work.
Eyes, Skin, Face, Hair, Build: Character physical descriptions.
Eyes – General
large, small, narrow
sharp, squinty, round
wide-set, close-set, deep-set
sunken, bulging, protruding
wide, hooded, heavy-lidded
bright, sparkling, glittering
flecked, dull, bleary
rheumy, cloudy, red-rimmed
beady, birdlike cat-like
jewel-like, steely, hard
fringed with long lashes, with sweeping eyelashes, with thick eyelashes
Eyes – Color
chestnut, chocolate brown, cocoa brown
coffee brown, mocha, mahogany
sepia, sienna brown, mink brown
copper, amber, cognac
whiskey, brandy, honey
tawny, topaz, hazel, obsidian
onyx, coal, raven, midnight, sky blue, sunny blue
cornflower blue, steel blue, ice blue
Arctic blue, glacial blue, crystal blue
cerulean, electric blue, azure
lake blue, aquamarine, turquoise
denim blue, slate blue / slate gray, storm blue / storm gray
silver / silver gray, chrome, platinum, pewter
smoky gray, ash gray, concrete gray, dove gray
shark gray, fog gray, gunmetal gray, olive
emerald, leaf green, moss green
Eyebrows
arched, straight, plucked, sparse
trim, dark, faint, thin, thick, unruly
bushy, heavy
Skin – Color
amber, bronze, cinnamon
copper, dark brown, deep brown
ebony, honey, golden
pale, pallid, pasty
fair, light, cream / creamy
alabaster, ivory, bisque
milk, porcelain, chalky
sallow, olive, peach
rose / rosy, ruddy, florid
russet, tawny, fawn
Skin – General
lined, wrinkled, seamed
leathery, sagging, drooping
loose, clear, smooth
silken, satiny, dry
flaky, scaly, delicate
thin, translucent, luminescent
baby-soft, flawless, poreless
with large pores, glowing, dewy
dull, velvety, fuzzy
rough, uneven, mottled
dimpled, doughy, firm
freckled, pimply, pockmarked
blemished, pitted, scarred
bruised, veined, scratched
sunburned, weather-beaten, raw
tattooed
Face – Structure
square, round, oblong
oval, elongated, narrow
heart-shaped, catlike, wolfish
high forehead, broad forehea, prominent brow ridge
protruding brow bone, sharp cheekbones, high cheekbones
angular cheekbones, hollow cheeks, square jaw
chiseled, sculpted, craggy
soft, jowly, jutting chin
pointed chin, weak chin, receding chin
double chin, cleft chin, dimple in chin
visible Adam’s apple
Nose
snub, dainty, button
turned-up, long, broad
thin, straight, pointed
crooked, aquiline, Roman
bulbous, flared, hawk, strong
Mouth/Lips
thin, narrow, full
lush, Cupid’s bow, rosebud
dry, cracked, chapped
moist, glossy, straight teeth
gap between teeth, gleaming white teeth, overbite
underbite
Facial Hair
clean-shaven
smooth-shaven
beard
neckbeard
goatee
moustache
sideburns
mutton-chop sideburns
stubble
a few days’ growth of beard
five o’ clock shadow
Hair – General
I threw a few hairstyles in here, though not many.
long, short, shoulder-length
loose, limp, dull
shiny, glossy, sleek
smooth, luminous, lustrous, spiky
stringy, shaggy, tangled
messy, tousled, windblown
unkempt, bedhead, straggly
neatly combed, parted, slicked down / slicked back
cropped, clipped, buzzed / buzz cut
crewcut, bob, mullet
curly, bushy, frizzy
wavy, straight, lanky
dry, oily, greasy
layers, corkscrews, spirals
ringlets, braids, widow’s peak
bald, shaved, comb-over, afro
thick, luxuriant, voluminous
full, wild, untamed
bouncy, wispy, fine, thinning
Hair – Color
black, blue-black, jet black
raven, ebony, inky black
midnight, sable, salt and pepper
silver / silver gray, charcoal gray, steel gray
white, snow-white, brown
brunette, chocolate brown, coffee brown
ash brown, brown sugar, nut brown
caramel, tawny brown, toffee brown
red, ginger, auburn, Titian-haired
copper, strawberry blonde, butterscotch
honey, wheat, blonde
golden, sandy blond, flaxen
fair-haired, bleached, platinum
Body Type – General
tall, average height, short
petite, tiny, compact
big, large, burly
beefy, bulky, brawny
barrel-chested, heavy / heavy-set, fat
overweight, obese, flabby
chunky, chubby, pudgy
pot-bellied, portly thick
stout, lush, plush
full-figured, ample, rounded
generous, voluptuous, curvy
hourglass, plump, leggy / long-legged
gangling, lanky, coltish
lissome, willowy, lithe
lean, slim, slender
trim, thin, skinny
emaciated, gaunt, bony
spare, solid, stocky
wiry, rangy, sinewy
stringy, ropy
How do you know if a scene is too dialogue heavy, and what can you do to change it?
You read it out loud and if it’s
- repetitive
- redundant
- unnecessary
- unnatural
- out-of-character
- awkward/creepy/silly/boring when the scene doesn’t call for it
- a mouthful; the other characters are just waiting for them to shut up
- hard to remember where they are and what they’re doing besides talking
- clear they don’t even need to be talking that much anyway (especially if it’s a stealthy, sneaky scene which seems obvious but apparently some writers need to be reminded, mkay)
then the scene probably needs help. You change it by reading it out loud (or listen to it being read out loud) and cutting/revising/adding the parts your ear hears as problematic. If you can, read it with another person.
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AngelMihe 