{"id":811916,"date":"2024-09-29T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-29T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/?p=811916"},"modified":"2025-11-24T13:50:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T21:50:01","slug":"how-to-tell-story-through-character-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/how-to-tell-story-through-character-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Etherington Bros\u2019 Comics Crash Course #4: Storytelling through character design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>The Etherington Bros<\/strong> are well-known as one of the greatest teams of drawing teachers around \u2014 their <a href=\"https:\/\/theetheringtonbrothers.blogspot.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Think When You Draw<\/a> series of books, and their blog, have helped millions of artists learn how to draw essentially everything.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>In addition to the free drawing tutorials on their blog, they\u2019ve released a free ebook just for young, beginning artists \u2014 <strong>How to Think When You Draw Junior<\/strong>. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1S7QPBa_xySuudj3capI4yzG2KajfuD48\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">download the entire ebook here for free<\/a>, or read on to get a sample of one of the tutorials.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This mini-lesson is Part Four in a Five-Part series! Here are all five parts<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/etherington-bros-comics-crash-course-1-how-to-draw-heads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1: How to draw heads<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/etherington-bros-comics-crash-course-2-hair-and-head-shapes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2: Hair and head shapes<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/etherington-bros-comics-crash-course-3-character-design-and-costumes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">3: Character design and costumes<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/how-to-tell-story-through-character-design\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4: Storytelling through character design<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/etherington-bros-comics-crash-course-5-concept-art\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">5: Concept art<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Using character design to tell a layered story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Designing a character isn\u2019t just about their look \u2013 their outfit also tells a story itself! We can use our character\u2019s clothing or uniform to tell a layered story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Choose a type of character \u2013 it can be a human, monster, or your favorite animal. For example, an ogre. Below, we have a pretty normal ogre. He\u2019s very conventional, meaning he\u2019s exactly what we\u2019d expect an ogre to look like. His outfit is traditional fantasy clothing. He\u2019s big, and strong, and he doesn\u2019t look too clever. He doesn\u2019t really seem like he has much of a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"691\" height=\"665\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/Etherington-Story-through-design-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-811917\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/Etherington-Story-through-design-1.jpg 691w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/Etherington-Story-through-design-1-480x462.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 691px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, write down a job for your character. It can be boring, or difficult, or tiring, but whatever the case, make it a job that your character <strong>doesn\u2019t <\/strong>enjoy! Our ogre below works in a bank. I\u2019ve changed his facial expression to show he finds the job stressful. His clothing doesn\u2019t fit because his job doesn\u2019t suit him. This is called a <strong>visual metaphor<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"691\" height=\"665\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/Etherington-Story-through-design-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-811918\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/Etherington-Story-through-design-2.jpg 691w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/Etherington-Story-through-design-2-480x462.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 691px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now our character has more interest, more of a story, but we need one more layer...<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Imagine a hobby or interest for your character, something they\u2019d much rather be doing! But don\u2019t make it obvious \u2013 try to think of something unlikely, something which has nothing to do with the type of character they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"691\" height=\"665\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/Etherington-Story-through-design-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-811920\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/Etherington-Story-through-design-3.jpg 691w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/Etherington-Story-through-design-3-480x462.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 691px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This ogre secretly wants to be a birdwatcher! He still has to work in the bank, but we\u2019ve added costume details to show his real interest! His facial expression directs us to his interest. This character now has layers of interest!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Try out the technique with this exercise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ogre we designed by mixing in a job and a hobby not only looks more interesting, but he makes it very easy for us to start telling a story. We could tell his story from any time point in the ogre\u2019s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The past<\/strong> \u2013 how did the ogre end up working in a bank? <strong>The present<\/strong> \u2013 what is a day in the bank like, for the ogre? <strong>The future<\/strong> \u2013 how does he become a professional bird watcher?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or, a story about <strong>what motivates him<\/strong> \u2013 why doesn\u2019t the ogre like working in the bank? Why do birds love him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" style=\"list-style-type:1\">\n<li>Choose a character type<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Give them a job they don\u2019t like and that doesn\u2019t fit their character type<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Give them a hobby that they wish was their job. This works best if the hobby has nothing to do with their character type!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Draw them, remembering to put them in a uniform or outfit for their job, and add elements of the hobby<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Write down three different one-sentence story ideas you could tell about your character!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remember, the entire PDF of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1S7QPBa_xySuudj3capI4yzG2KajfuD48\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How To Think When You Draw Junior&nbsp;is available here<\/a>. You can also stay tuned to this blog, as we\u2019ll be posting many more of these quick comics tutorials!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want to learn to draw comics? The Etherington Bros have created hundreds of free tutorials and resources. Here&#8217;s a preview &#8212; how to tell a story through character design.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":811921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2325,2919,2317,2338,6124,2553],"tags":[56,149,2519],"class_list":["post-811916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-back-to-school","category-manga","category-digital-drawing-painting","category-how-to","category-learn-character-design","category-learn-manga-anime","tag-character-design","tag-comics","tag-etherington-bros"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}