It’s late, too late, and you’re staring at a blank page, trying to conjure life from nothing. A character, a figure, a face. Something that will stick in people’s heads long after they’ve put the book down or closed the game.
Character design isn’t about making something look cool. No, this is deeper than that. This is psychological warfare. The best characters don’t just have a design, they have a presence. They demand attention, whether you love them, fear them, or can’t stop thinking about them at 3 a.m. in a cold sweat.
And when it comes to indie creators, every stroke of the pen, every pixel, and every deliberate choice matters. Because unlike big studios, you don’t have the luxury of hundreds of iterations, of focus testing, of an army of marketing executives to tell you whether your character will sell action figures.
You have one shot to make them unforgettable.
Step One: The Silhouette Test (or, Why Nobody Remembers Bland Characters)
Close your eyes and picture a great character.
I’ll bet you can see them immediately, their shape, their stance, their energy. Whether it’s the wide, angular menace of Darth Vader, the stocky, mustache-powered silhouette of Mario, or the unmistakable gangly limbs of Jack Skellington, the best characters can be recognized just by their outline.
Indie creators don’t have time to waste on forgettable designs. Your characters need instant readability.
- Is your protagonist a towering, broad-shouldered bruiser? Then every pose should emphasize that weight.
- Is your villain all sharp angles and unsettling posture? Make sure even their idle stance screams ‘something’s wrong with this guy’.
- Does your main character have an iconic accessory or weapon? If so, they better not blend into the background.
Silhouettes create instant memory hooks, and if you don’t have one, you might as well start over.
Step Two: The Color Psychology of Emotion (or, Why Red Means ‘Danger’ and Blue Feels Safe)
Color isn’t just aesthetic choice—it’s psychological manipulation.
There’s a reason heroes wear bold blues and fiery reds, while villains lean into sickly greens and shadowy purples. These aren’t just traditions—they’re hardwired into our brains.
- Red = Power, rage, urgency (think Akuma from Street Fighter, Carnage from Spider-Man).
- Blue = Calm, intelligence, reliability (Mega Man, Sonic, Superman).
- Green = Trickery, poison, something unnatural (The Joker, Maleficent, creepy NPCs in every RPG ever).
- Black & White = Mystery, duality, ambiguity (Samurai Jack, Monokuma, No-Face from Spirited Away).
Want your character to feel a certain way before they even say a word? Color is your first weapon.
Step Three: The Eyes, The Stare, The Soul of a Character
If silhouette grabs the memory and color sets the tone, then the eyes tell the truth.
We are biologically programmed to look at faces, and nothing sells a character more than their eyes, their expressions, their subtle, almost invisible micro-reactions.
- Big, round, soft eyes? You’ve just made an instantly lovable character (think Steven Universe, Astro Boy, Kirby).
- Narrowed, predatory slits? They don’t even have to speak—we already know they’re dangerous (think Sephiroth, Orochimaru, Ryuk).
- No visible eyes at all? Now you’ve tapped into deep-rooted primal fear (think Hollow Knight, Pyramid Head, the Rabbids’ unsettling blank stares).
Expression sells the personality—if your character’s default face isn’t telling us anything, you’ve already lost.
Step Four: The Details That Break the Mold
This is where indie creators get to flex.
Big studios love safe, marketable designs—rounded features, symmetrical faces, everything designed to be as easy to mass-produce as possible.
But indie artists? They create the characters that stay in our heads forever.
- Chainsaw Man? A dude with a literal chainsaw for a head. Unforgettable.
- Hollow Knight? A silent, tiny bug warrior in a vast, tragic kingdom. Unique. Iconic.
- Undertale’s Sans? A simple, grinning skeleton—but that damn hoodie, that laid-back stance, makes him instantly memorable.
Small, deliberate imperfections—asymmetry, a missing limb, a slightly unnatural movement— make a character feel real.
Weird is memorable. Polished is forgettable.
Why It Matters (Or, How a Good Character Design Sells Your Whole Damn Story)
Great character design isn’t just visual flair—it’s a promise. A contract between creator and audience.
Before a single line of dialogue is spoken, before the story unfolds, the design already tells us something.
The moment someone sees your character, they should already be asking questions.
- Who is this?
- Why do they look like that?
- What kind of world do they belong to?
Get this part right, and people will remember your character long after they’ve forgotten the plot.
The Indie Creator’s Edge: You Make the Rules
Character design in indie comics and games isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s psychology, emotion, and manipulation—all wrapped into one.
Big studios play it safe. Indie creators break the mold.
And if you’re going to create something that lasts, you better make sure your characters burn themselves into people’s brains.
Because at the end of the day, a good character isn’t just designed—they’re felt.
(And if you need proof, just look at the indie creators making waves right now—maybe even a few coming out of Studio INTI.?)
– PALADIN aka P.A.L.
