Characters are perhaps one of the most recognizable of all human inventions. Ever since we have learned to write, literature has offered us countless characters to love, hate, to laugh at and to cry with. Books and games serve as great sources of entertainment because of how we can relate and interact with their characters. But how does one design a character? It's done through mind mapping. It's an excellent method for exploring ideas and concepts. To make your mind map, heck out our library of ready-made mind map templates! They're editable and customizable. Get yours now!
How to Create a Character Mind Map
Whether if you feel like telling a grand story of heroism, or showcase the embodiment of gallantry in an illustration, you must first conceptualize a character. And what better way to do this than exploring a character concept through mind maps? Mind maps allow an organized exploration of ideas. Since characters are fictional in nature, they would naturally be conceived from ideas. Learn more about making character mind maps with the few tips we have provided.
1. Identify a Main Idea
Mind maps are good for character design because it focuses on the exploration of a single main idea. From that main idea, picture what character you want to breath life to. Is that character the protagonist? A supporting character or the antagonist maybe? Once you have identified your character idea, you can make preparations for its exploration.
2. Identify the Categories for Exploration
To explore these ideas, you will have to think of a list of categories that will serve as your guide. It could be character traits, appearance, etc.
3. Branching Out
Mind maps are charts that follow a radial pattern. With your character idea at the center and the categories at its immediate periphery, you can begin to dabble with ideas using your categories as guides. For example, with the character traits as a category, using a certain keyword can give your character their personality.
4. Connect More Ideas
Aside from exploration of ideas, another aim of mind mapping is to show the connection between ideas. Even if such ideas can seem to be the last ideas you want to put together. Using your categories as reference, you should find more ideas to connect to your main idea. Find out if your ideas are compatible enough to be linked with your main idea.
5. Use Colors for Differentiation
Colors are great for organizing information and you don't have to be a graphic designer to use them. Use different colors to segregate ideas from one another. Assign a color to each categories and sub categories. This way your mind map won't be confusing to follow.