Rant of Ferox

I can’t draw.
Sure, I can edit photos and mash them together to look interesting, but I can’t create anything from scratch. So although I can make my Spirit Concept images I can’t draw my characters. But fortunately I’ve found a few quick easy ways to make an image I can work with, without taking art lessons or hiring a sketch artist.

Way back when, in the days of high school, one of my friends was into Dollz for a while. For those that don’t know, they’re the internet equivalent of dress up dolls that you, well, dress up. Most of them are in modern themes, but there are a few gems that suit the fantasy genre.

My number 1 pick for this job is “Fantasy Dress Up Dolls” by SelenaFenech on deviantART. You can visit her doll maker by clicking HERE. She has several coloured dolls, including human male and female elf (you can always ignore the ears if you need human female). My favourite is the plain white doll that you can copy (use print screen), print and colour in yourself. It’s the one I use most because it suits the setting I write in.

 A close second is Hero Machine. It’s more limited because all the characters end up looking the same, but it’s decent enough if you can ignore the limited range of colours.

As you can see, it’s a very basic concept, but it will work well if you jsut need a basic idea or reminder to pin above your desk.

If you were hoping for a more modern character, there are countless doll dress up games on Google, and they’re all pretty similar. You just have to search through them and find the one you like most.

Hopefully this little tip will help you remember what your characters look like, and help you to keep describing them throughout your work.

Tags: character, fantasy, fiction, image, visualisation