So I have been on episode for quite some time now, and in most stories, the background characters look tacky and unreal.
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Here are my tips on how to make better BG characters!
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Give them an ethnicity
When you design a character, you need to know where they are from. I use ethnicity generator websites and then base the character’s look on said ethnicity’s facial features. Like if I make a korean character, I want to see how koreans usually style their hair or do their makeup, or if I make a black character, I mostly give them natural/braided hair, because that is usually the hairstyle I see black passerbys wearing. -
Give most of them natural hair and eye colors.
I have seen many stories where the background characters look like they just came out of a Hot Topic store. For example, a black girl with no makeup and brown eyes, but then has a whole head of light blue braids, or pale characters with purple monolid eyes and long blond hair. It looks unreal. Maybe 1/10 people you see on the streets or school have unnatural hair colors, while the mayority have natural colored hair. -
Their outfits.
If they are in a club, give them club party outfits, if they are in school, give them comfortable casual outfits, if they are at work, give them a uniform. Also, if some of your BG characters are muslim women who wear a hijab, give them modest clothing, don’t give a character a hijab while having them walking around in a tank top.
