Designing a unique look for your D&D character

[@GinnyDi]

I've disabled this weird new "AI language dubbing" thing, but unfortunately it seems to still be defaulting to that on some browsers 😩 I've followed all the instructions on how to disable it both from my channel overall and on individual videos, but since it's a new feature, I think it's just buggy. Hopefully it'll be gone soon, but in case you're still seeing it - I'm sorry! I didn't choose this!!

[@UriMunoz490]

I knew the clones overpower you one day, RUUUUUUUUN!

[@ismirdochegal4804]

It sounded beyond weird. Not your fault, Ginny. KZbin won't even show me the original title.

[@relax2413]

Yeah I was about to comment about it. Your french IA VA is horrible xD

[@serahcornelia]

That was... creepy. But thankfully a simple settings change sufficed and all back to good ol' Ginny

[@alexanderblack1717]

See you at PAX!

[@tmcmurdo826]

I am a 63 y/o man who has been playing RPGs since 77 and I am a Ginny Di fan boy. I am constantly impressed Ginny’s ability to bring a fresh and creative approach to mundane tasks like this…creating characters. Ginny, you are a delightful original in a hobby filled with unoriginal me too’s. Love your sense of humor, your dedication, and that under everything, you give us solid advice that we can use at our tables…even after 40+ years of playing.

[@GinnyDi]

That is SO kind of you to say. I'm so glad you find the videos helpful, even after all those years of playing! 💖

[@tmcmurdo826]

@@GinnyDi Thank you for keeping this game fresh and fun. After this video, I will be looking at my character’s aesthetics in a new way. You’ve given me permission to be more creative than I would have been on my own. This old dog has a new trick to try out.

[@jeffdougan]

Just coming in to second everything else already says.

[@tomvaleri2642]

I’ve got you beat, I’m a 65 y/o man who has also been playing since 77. Other than that I fully second all your comments regarding Ginny Di. My whole group uses her videos as a source of inspiration.

[@tmcmurdo826]

@ Good to know that I am not the only old man Ginny Di fan out here.

[@pointyhatstudios]

Oh my god... the white and black crew neck PERFECTLY matches Blasphemy's black and white color scheme! Since Ginny and I are friends I think she should pair it with the hey friends t-shirt, available right now for 20% OFF at ginny's OWN STORE! 😌

[@GinnyDi]

Right?! Sadly, I didn't want to risk ruining a Pointy Hat hat with the horns 😂 And omg such a smooth segue - now I want to make a whole look with all our pieces

[@willbrashear]

I knew he would show up as soon as I heard the 4 step process!

[@DucksAndCatnip]

zesty besties fr????????

[@jeydomo]

I was waiting for this to pop up lol Gotta get the book too!

[@Caoghain]

Ginny casually giving a 20 minute workshop on brand design concepts disguised as a DnD video...which is more concise and clear than actual graphic design workshops I've sat through 😆💅🏼

[@1eonadawnn]

making a single color your personality is such a mood haha every character I design could work as a Clue character

[@GinnyDi]

hahahah time to make a reskinned Clue with all your PCs!

[@tmcmurdo826]

This is a wonderful comment. thank you for the hearty laugh.

[@VivaLaDnDLogs]

Listen, every single one of the Clue characters in the new game can GET IT.

[@samsampier7147]

@@GinnyDi Love the movie Clue. I can never deliver the 'flames lines' like Madeline Kahn Mrs. White: Yes. Yes, I did it. I killed Yvette. I hated her, so much... it-it- the f it flam flames. Flames, on the side of my face, breathing breathl heaving breaths. Heaving breaths... Heathing...

[@hel117]

@@GinnyDi wait no that would be so fun

[@ChadSparkes]

"Not sponsored, we're just friends." I have no connection to either of you but when I say this line made me grin like an idiot, you have no idea how much I'm understating the scene.

[@the.jamie.turner]

6:30 - My bard appreciates this exception, as their signature accessories are a rainbow patchwork cloak and an endless supply of pocket glitter.

[@3nertia]

You're the ONLY KZbinr who makes their sponsored ads feel like they're just an excuse for you to cos/roleplay - a creative outlet - and not just a way to make money and I really appreciate that!

[@park8801]

I agree mostly but I think dnd shorts and pointy hat also do a great job at making sponsorship ads fun to watch.

[@hyzmarie]

@@park8801oh yeah pointy hat has great sponsorships! DnD shorts tend to be a little… uhhh… edgy for me, but if you like animators, Ice Cream Sandwich always has hilarious sponsor segments too!

[@AMoniqueOcampo]

My main Baldur’s Gate 3 character is a Wood Elf with shoulder-length wavy pink hair and gold eyes. She's a Draconic Bloodline sorcerer, so she has gold scales on her forehead. I'm pretty sure my inner anime fangirl created her. Her aesthetic is fairycore crossed over with Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones.

[@GinnyDi]

This is such a cool inspiration!! I loved having fun with the BG3 character creator too 😂

[@MichaelHeide]

Baldur's Gate's hair, hair color and highlight options really tempt you to go over the top. I love it.

[@rroes7319]

Mine is a Nonbinary Drow that was born to a Lolth sworn family, but since they were empathetic af they were seen as weak and had to leave the underdark at a very young age once their father made the decision to try and drown them in an attempt at a "mercy killing".

[@elk45]

I love how this isn't just a generic character design video. While ticking all the general points, Ginny's four points are all geared towards one thing: sparking play and conversation! That's a priority that's very DnD specific, and it shows a really great understanding of what actually matters at the end of the day!

[@reaganmonkey8]

6:59 Color theory also talks about that specifically. Black and yellow together make us think of danger, its usually used in warning signs and stuff,

[@syriatheraken]

Thats why bees and wasps wear it :D

[@yostinator81]

And Batman

[@murphieslaw6932]

@@yostinator81 And Pikachu. What ? Ever petted a Pikachu against it´s will ? I´d rather tongue-kiss a bumble bee XD Okay, okay - Salamander would be a classic answer. Or some tropical frogs. Poison is the point. Lame. At least compared to electricity ^^

[@Heritage367]

I actually play a Trickery Cleric in our Pathfinder game, and her symbol is a wasp! I tinkered around with Bing AI until I created her in wasp striped scale mail armor

[@reaganmonkey8]

@ That’s great. AI is a cool way to get quick variations of your character.

[@RickardLejonhjarta]

one thing that helped me when i started thinking about this stuff is the 60/30/10 rule its usually applied to colors, white jacket and pants, black shirt and a red undershirt as a highlight but it can be used for all kinds of things, 60% biological, 30% mechanical and 10% ethereal or something like that

[@battlebardart]

As a concept artist specifically for DnD players this is so fun! Love watching how other people design! and I love the question of "What story do they want to tell the world?" I ask that every time and it's always so fun to see people live in their character and tell you what pieces really make them feel in character. Also as someone who gets commissions: I always ask for my players to send me a song that feels like their character. For me it gives me the vibes! And of course I love a little doodle! Little doodles are so helpful with the TYPE of things a character has when words aren't enough. Even a color palette they scribble out in MS paint! Great video, as always!

[@GinnyDi]

It's so cool you incorporate music into your process. I really enjoy making playlists for my character! "What story do they want to tell the world?" is a great prompt too 🥰 So much of our appearance is about how we want to present ourselves to the world - that's a unique way to drill down into that!

[@Doomsword0]

My dm also asked me for a song or two for my character! I put them in my backstory sheet as well as one for the related noteable npcs. it's a great way for them to help get a good general understanding of the characters

[@Aster-risque]

All of this. I too illustrate d&d characters for commission often and what I usually request is, like, a mood board or a pinterest board of their vibe. Playlists, animal associations, seasons, favorite foods, etc etc etc. Help me get in your head! Gush to me about your blorbos!

[@victoriagowans]

6:30 I was literally just thinking about my bard’s colorful, hand embroidered skirt. Thanks for the disclaimer

[@maaderllin]

5:30 About the color palette. The advices of your video talk about matching colors, but we can even open the possibilities by considering that people, in the middle-ages, LOVED flashy, contrasting colors and would just put them all over themselves with no concern if the colors fitted together or were complementary. I use this example not to say that we should follow that historical reality of course (We're talking about fantasy here), but to open the realm of possibility by taking the POV of another culture.

[@genericname2747]

Knights looked so bright and fun. I love making medieval knight characters

[@asliwins337]

I'm a simple person; when I can play a landsknecht I'll play a landsknecht. Gimme those flashy colours.

[@GinnyDi]

Definitely didn’t mean to imply that all colors should match! Mentioning complementary, split complementary, and analogous colors was my best attempt at suggesting that ANY color palette is valid and you should choose based on what suits your desires for the look. Just because my example characters tend to match doesn’t mean yours have to! That’s more indicative of my personal taste than anything else.

[@JRVan-ez4yi]

6:33 My circus born bard feels seen. Also she want to know, glitter is a color right?

[@qrowbranwen1864]

A very dangerous color

[@westonepstein]

I'm pretty sure that just by reading this comment I somehow managed to get glitter on me

[@murphieslaw6932]

It´s ALL colors. Call it - prismatic !

[@stm7810]

no, glitter is a gender and it's beautiful.

[@faemerothgoblinbane]

Glitter is what you add to color to make it SHINE.

[@johnhmaloney]

Great video! When I started watching, all I knew is that I wanted to create a human ranger and now, I'm kind of in love with the character I created while watching. I'm not at all a visual person, but I can completely picture them and describe them in detail and I even have a basic backstory. Your patented, copyrighted, trademarked and totally official four step character design process really does work wonders.

[@rabpanz6145]

Loved this WHOLE video, but just also wanna say I love that you and Pointy Hat are friends. The person I like is friends with the other person I like!! Aaaaahhhh!!

[@PirateBat]

My character I made while watching this video is: • A dragon born that's more bat looking • red and gold clothes but ragedy and torn with a captain's hat • rogue • 1 evebrow piecing and ear piecings • a sword on his hip and a pistol sitting in his belt

[@hyzmarie]

Cool! That sounds awesome!

[@Coldshrike]

Me, writing a character creation guide for my LARP team: "Do I... just link this video?"

[@GinnyDi]

Work smarter, not harder!! 🥰

[@kilachuart]

So true about details changing with times. After 3 years of playing (and 1 year and a half in game), my drow elf has long hair again. Because he had escaped from the underdark and distanced himself from his family he had cut his hair short to signify his "exile" from the culture. He later started growing a little braid because he formed a new family of his own. But after more than 1 year of adventuring and discovering new facts about himself and his bloodline, he started to really care about his party and finally found himself a true home for himself and his family. He's embracing elf culture... so he's getting a ponytail in his new portrait!

[@songofshadow5043]

Obligatory Zuko joke. But honestly, I love hair as a storytelling device.

[@kilachuart]

@songofshadow5043 haha maybe i was influenced by zuko and didn't realize

[@maskurade]

Just choked on my coffee the second you said "lunar moth". I just finished making my new D&D character last night that is based on the theme of "ArchFey lunar moth monk".

[@Persphone_cabin]

Character, aesthetic, and character design is probably my favorite part of DND! Right now I’m playing in an eladrin and daughter of Persephone (pjo themed campaign) i’m also a wizard because I’ve never played a spell based type before. All of the spells I chose were either nature or necromancy themed.

[@CinLightweaver]

A pjo campaign sounds awesome!

[@tonysladky8925]

I definitely deliberately broke the guideline about how many colors to use in a color palette because of my current character's duality. It was absolutely a deliberate choice to have a blue, yellow, and red color palette representing his fancy-pants wizard half and a green, black, and brown palette for his savage tribal orc side and not just me throwing random colors on the mini.

[@aiwendil_97]

I gasped when I started the video. You talk about PCs aesthetic, but, not wanting to be corny or anything, you are absolutely astonishingly fabulous. You wear these colors so well.

[@kandykitten]

I just have to say, I love your voice for Tasha so much! It sounds like of like Laverna from Barbie Fairytopia; sexy, kind of evil, but also really fun to listen to.😄 I hope you make more videos with her in the future!❤

[@GinnyDi]

Omg what a great comparison, thank you!!

[@bananatheo3796]

I recently got inspired to make a College of Dance bard after watching your video on the topic and this video made me think about his design in a lot more depth! The most i had before was "Elstair is wearing a purple mask and has an attention grabbing outfit." but now it's "Elstair is wearing tight purple-pink dance clothes that he sewed and dyed himself using his mother's tools without her knowledge, and on one of the sleeves is an embroidered symbol of his past lover's clan as a way to keep a part of him with him at all times. The most notable element of his outfit is his magical purple mask with pink glowing lines running across it that he commisioned with his parents money, again without their knowledge, which when worn supresses his memories of his past life and replaces them with the life of his new persona "Elstair" instead of the life he actually lived as Esther."

[@Santusknowsyourlocation]

I've never played DnD before- but I made friends a few months ago, and this one girl really wanted more people to play DnD with, so I said I would love to try- and now I might be invited to a session in maybe a few weeks-months. I've watched so many of your videos and made a bunch of character concepts on DnD Beyond and had a lot of fun doing so! But I do wonder whether I'm trying **too** hard at making my characters seem interesting, especially since I'm unsure whether the group I might join does the same or not

[@usagiikay]

9 out of 10 dentists joke was a 9 out of 10 joke. very well done friend

[@meduimrareberries5888]

*fiend

[@cuppatea5882]

9 out of 10 dentists approve of this comment

[@ivanljujic4128]

I have never played a single session of D&D but I have been watching D&D content for literal years, including your channel. And this video is a perfect example of why - even if it's not for a roleplaying game in my case, creating characters is fun, and seeing what/how other people create gives me a childlike joy - it makes me excited to work on my own creative works.

[@drakemarshall2155]

I'm 57 and I've been playing since I was 14; not just D&D but many other games as well. Ginni is the only person on KZbin that I will watch their sponsorship spots, and I'm especially glad that I did for this one. Went immediately to the link after the video and ordered the Worlds and Realms book as a Christmas present for myself! Thanks, Ginni, for all the fresh content you provide, the humor and the advice, the amazing outfits and character designs, the calendar and Deck of Boons and Banes. I've bought them all, and I've even watched your Mimic video multiple times to try and get your numbers up! :)

[@deeps6979]

So far as color theory and seeing many, many character designs that obviously didn't use it, it's a case of knowing the rules so you know how to break them. Added tip, don't just vary your hues, vary saturation (color/gray) and volume (light/dark) to create more interest and balance, and to highlight the parts you really want focus on.

[@madbro8848]

I love creating PCs that are "NPC" coded, my favorite of all time is my ratfolk Pathfinder character. He's a Chirurgeon (healer) alchemist, and has a white and red mask that he never takes off. Other than that, he could be an NPC given to the party. The most amount of my backstory that I want explored is the org that I bring with my character, that he's only part of

[@anonymousname5860]

I will not be satisfied with a dnd character for myself until I get the exact thing I want in a character modeler. Then I fill in that into my backstory. Anything regarding looks is basically Mad-Libs until then in the backstory.

[@GinnyDi]

That's a cool way round to do it! I know people who find cool character art online and get inspired to base their character's personality and backstory off elements in the designs.

[@verdurite]

​@@GinnyDi that's me half of the time lol

[@MonkeyJedi99]

My group uses HeroForge to make a picture of our characters, pasting it into our computerized character sheets. You have to use some tricks like PRINT SCREEN into a format you can use, but that makes it free. And if you want, you can have HeroForge make that very mini you've designed. It's a little pricy, but they can also print it in the colors you've chosen. - Not sponsored, it's just what we use.

[@TalesWithHaggis]

What an excellent step-by-step video, thanks Ginny! Using a colour palette was such a big help when I last created a character, will strongly recommend to everyone.

[@GinnyDi]

Absolutely!! I have so many characters now, when I need to create a new one, I often think, what color palettes have I not used yet? It really helps create visually distinct designs!

[@inkibusss]

18:29 Says the girl with bangs! Which NPC dumped you Ginny?! Let me at 'em!

[@thedayofhugs]

Obligated to give this video a like because of the makeup look at 00:45 alone!

[@jrpipik]

This is a terrific video for GMs as well as players. Giving key NPCs visual hooks that tell part of their story is such a great idea. I don't do enough of it.

[@lumusdaythgin]

20:26 Look at Magic the Gathering art. Even if you dont play, they have countless fantasy characters, and exciting scenes. I, myself, have designed deep (and awesome) characters from nameless MtG npcs.

[@tacitakoe5004]

It has become one of my favorite ways to build a character to start with crafting a design in a character creator before almost anything else, and then taking time to stare at the final picture asking myself who this dashing stranger that wandered out of the aether is supposed to be. It can be very fun to lose yourself in jumbling through face, hair, and clothing options until something cohesive just seems to materialize out of nothing and then build the rest of the character's concept off of how they look.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Our (former - sadness) group has so many minis that we often picked a mini and make a character to fit it.

[@kiara8121]

I just HAVE to mention Ginny's hairstyle! Soooooooooo pretty! I love how the braids create a layered look in the back of her hair!

[@elihemm828]

Character Designer here! Ginny hit the nail right on the head! When I make characters, I also like focus on silhouette! Do they have a unique hat? Hair? Horns? Clothes? Weapon? Tail? Playing with shape and size is so fun! If the silhouette was just one solid color would someone be able to point out your character?

[@seroTHANHin]

I'm about to start playing my first campaign in 6 years (the previous attempts to start ended pretty badly for me so I barely even made it past 2 session 1's) and I've been binging your content all last week. So excited to get started, thank you so much for all the helpful info!

[@GinnyDi]

That's awesome! I hope this time you have a better experience and that the campaign goes super well! 🙏

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I'm jealous! Our group finally came apart after about 40 years of continuous gaming. We have had membership changes from people moving away before, and even one dying (that sucked). But the last 5 of us finally apathy-ed away from gaming after one started working weekends and two moved halfway across the country. - Now I have about 100 pounds of minis (most of them are lead, pewter or other metal) and around 20-30 cubic feet of crafted table terrain just sitting around.

[@StephaniePlaysGames]

Me on day 6 of a backpacking trip - "It's dirt, I'm making it fashion" 😂 Great video! I love watching how people break down their design processes!

[@willemverheij3412]

Very good advice, while I don't have any personal checklist those points do tend to come into my thoughts of my characters appearance too. While I like my characters to stand out in some way, sometimes it's more subdued too. Like Baltazar my fiend pact warlock I went with the kind of vibe of the old coach driver in a gothic horror story who warns travellers of how cursed these lands are. An old human guy who clearly has seen stuff, fitting with his haunted background. He wears a somewhat tattered long black coat that's red on the inside, hinting at his pact with a devil and fitting for a coachman. He wears a teal padded vest underneath, providing some warmth and light protection and it makes for a gentler colour, fitting with his personality. He is not evil, he is generally a good man though acting as one without a soul to lose. He already knows he's going to hell when he dies. He will do the dark things for the greater good so that others don't have to. He has mutton chops with a moustache and a head full of grey hair, he is in his fifties. Facial hair that stands out can also add character after all, and a hairstyle. All his spells have a fire theme to it, like I imagine his eldritch blast having a deep red colour to it and his mage hand looking like a devilish claw. Flavouring your spells like that can also add to the look.

[@mjphyil]

Great vid as always, I always try to come up with a few catch phrases that my character says or gestures that they do to help define them at the table. I'm not one to dress up at the table, but the occasional 'dwarves do not ride horses' or 'when the cave toad speaks, you better listen' have made my character memorable at the table. Oh, and I usually have some object to fiddle with or set at the table - I'm always looking at garage sales for oddities I can use - nesting dolls painted to be animals for my druids focus, a radiant sun pendant for my cleric of pholtus, a big beer stein for my barbarian, etc.

[@ohdrinn]

This look is SO good 😄 The thoughtfulness of the design choices really come through to make a vibrant character. Also, I LOVE the transitions. Super slick.

[@GinnyDi]

Thank you so much!! 🥰

[@eighttimesnine]

incredible advice as always ginny! It's also very fun to make designs for characters that dont necessarily fit the "stereotype" of their class. One of my characters that i keep in my back pocket to either play or introduce as an NPC is Olefin (or OLFN-01 in my campaign's setting), a warforged druid with the Circle of the Blighted subclass from tal'dorei reborn. The theme i had when designing her was "Pollution", so her colour scheme is very industrial; iron greys and rusty ochres, with soot-black accents highlighted by the pearlescent blacks of an oil slick She's a warforged who retrofitted herself into a walking petrochemical refinery upon discovering this weird, sticky, black substance on an elemental subplane and realising the energy it holds that she can release as part of her magic, so she has smokestacks rising from her upper arms and steam vents in her torso, both of which are stained. Her body is criss-crossed with welding lines because doing surgery on yourself is messy, even when you're a robot. Even her wildshapes are part of the refinery; she can take forms reminiscent of various beasts to perform different kinds of refining processes, rerouting pipes and tanks within her. She's not overly concerned with clothes, but has welded bits of ornamental metal to her smokestakes, and engraved them with Primordial phrases; her left smokestack reads "All magic is but steam and tar" and her right smokestack reads "The circle of life is but another turbine for me to spin"

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

1:38 quote of the year!

[@nickkirsch163]

I love using Hero Forge to design my DND characters! It is basically the best if you have a decent idea of what you want to do but have zero artistic talent and love playing with character builders. Another thing I have used is AI art. Yes yes, I know, hating AI art is kind of the default these days, but if I have only a vague idea of how I want my character to look, plugging that loose description into one of those pages will often give me a much better idea of how I want things to work out. It can be great for making character portraits as well as prototyping for a hero forge build.

[@denisovan_the_menisovan]

I LOVE finding ways to incorporate a character’s past into their design. It’s why a Loxodon druid I created scrimshaws important life events onto his tusks, and his focus is a talisman made with his mother’s tail hair.

[@bethanybody2201]

Your hair is awesome. I’m loving the darker blue roots. I love having two toned hair.

[@marystuart933]

Ginny, you are not a boring human! You are the ultimate proof that you can make an interesting and colourful character, even when you pick a human!

[@tasslehoffburfoot4318]

Sillouette is HUGE! Its a common thing in lots of design but a characters base silhouette makes them immediately recognizable and interesting. Think- blasphemy’s silhouette is shaped by her small and burnt cloak. Nakrasha has her axe and general build. Morelia has the tall hat etc etc

[@frostkitsunelive7661]

Bringing up a yellow/black Rogue immediately had me think this up: A Swarmkeepee Ranger/Assassin Rogue, going by the underground name "Yellowjacket", for her command of a swarm, paired with her particularly... disturbing method of target execution. Being envenoming through small needle-like wounds. Either through darts, blowdarts, or her signature rapier, "Stylet".

[@l0stndamned]

To me yellow is the colour for cultists and warlocks. Hail to the King!

[@medve5555]

actually the _just Ginny_ look was already cool as f ;)

[@babybaklavagus]

Real, couldn't stop staring at the eyeshadow, she did it so flawlessly! I couldn't figure out what was making it REALLY pop to me until I realized her shirt matched it perfectly!

[@torifiiishiiipoo338]

This all is something I’ve been trying to piece together myself, trying to think about what my character WOULD wear instead of what I would want them to wear (maybe they don’t want to look like a medieval pop star, depending on background?). You explained it all so well and now I have a better grasp. Thank you Ginny!

[@MerryGrey]

I'm a man and I winced uncontrollably at the phrase, "was born with big golden horns"...

[@bassbone98]

What I tell my players, use hero forge and make a mini with color. It helps them and me to visualize their characters. I also like paint minis so we print them out and I get to paint them.

[@krispiek4084]

I love designing the aesthetic vibe of my characters and honestly it's such an important part of my character design process because it's such a great way to communicate your characters' personality and backstory. Physical habits and tendencies are another thing that I like to add to their visual aesthetic. I had a wizard who with a scruffy bird + urban courier theme who would "perch"/unconventionally sit on furniture when looking through his spells for the day and was generally flighty and would flit around. Then now I'm playing is a performative wizard sorcerer who hides his true feelings and emotions behind a masked "customer service" smile that I now communicate to the rest of the party is his habitually performative fake smile. Also working their style into their combat is always fun. Spellcasters are pretty fun to cosmetically flavor their spells to match their style and aesthetic and then martial classes are fun to describe how they fight and move in combat whether they're a highly skilled and disciplined warrior of the art of war or if they're wild, carefree, and swing their weapon around without a care in the world.

[@heaththeemissary3824]

Very well done. These small steps can make gaming so much more immersive and imaginative. Playing against type, or putting a twist on a type, or playing exactly in type but doing it well are all fun ways to breathe life into a persona. I agree, draw, paint, write a story, a poem, cosplay, write a song,...create a reality as rich and detailed as you like. Have fun.

[@hoid9407]

That Tasha design for the ad was fantastic! Impressed by the great work you put into every aspect of your vids

[@beancreative1408]

I’m an artist, and I love drawing my D&D characters (and my party’s characters). A strategy I use for color schemes and even just general character ideas is DICE! I like to go to game shops and pick out pretty dice, and then theme a character off of the dice I picked out!

[@pixxeldust]

For those wanting to go a bit deeper with details to ornament your character, some other character design tips from an artist: - think about silhouette. things that are spiky/point outwards tend to give a more chaotic or unruly vibe, while smoother lines and things curving back in towards the character’s body give more of a calm/refined impression. This especially works for things like hairstyles. - if you’re going for a more realistic approach, consider how long your character’s outfit takes to put on. Someone who’s more meticulous or put-together, like a noble or a studious wizard, might have more trinkets and tidbits on their outfit because they have the patience to put it all on in the morning. On the contrary, someone impulsive probably has clothes they can throw on quickly, like a scarf or poncho. - research accessories or clothing items for their current or previous job. Someone who tended ancient scrolls probably has gloves or a handkerchief to handle delicate paper, an archer likely has archery gloves, a rogue probably has a belt to quickly store small items, and a soldier will have good quality boots. - hair tells a story. It’s one of the best (and one of my favourite) ways to communicate visually. An elaborate hairstyle says the wearer either has patience and is well-prepared, or has a very caring friend or family member. Long healthy hair takes a lot of care and effort, while limp or greasy long hair might say the character neglects self-care. Short hair might be for convenience, but might also be related to cultural customs (an elf cutting off hair as an act of defiance, or a monk shaving their head). - fabric colours! If you’re playing in a typical high fantasy setting, your character likely lives in an era where purple clothing or vivid blues and reds are something only the wealthy own, while yellows, oranges, browns, blacks, dull blues and greens are easy to come by. - anatomy. If you’re playing a non-human, chances are you’ve got some sort of feature to accommodate atypical clothing. Tails could mean tail belts or bags, horns are another spot for jewellery, different ear shapes fit different piercings, animal legs might need a different shape of pants, and clawed feet can be difficult to wear shoes on.

[@hyzmarie]

I’m an artist with an ungodly amount of OCs, so here’s some things I always find helpful in character design: GOOGLE. I frequently save other artist’s work to copy a piece of an outfit or a pose. Charo Lyn has great ideas in her many YT shorts series about designing your own characters :) - what environment is this character from? Someone from a cold, snowy region will dress differently than a desert-dweller. - pick a shape that informs their design. Generally, a shape invokes a feeling (triangles = danger, etc) - what is normal for this species? I always do my research before diverging from the norm, so it can be a choice. - what things do they need? This can be their weapon of choice, protective clothing, or just a practical choice like not wearing a floor-length robe on a melee build. - what materials do they have access to? A Drow character might wear spider silk clothing, while a tribal barbarian might have lots of animal pelts.

[@WynneL]

My first BG3 character was a duergar bardlock of the Archfey, who liked to both wear bright colors and use illusion magic to change her hair (dark blue and magenta). She liked to try to pass for a surfacer. My favorite Solasta character is a half-elven Child of the Rift sorcerer who is visibly changed by his magical source: blood-red hair, blood-red facial markings that look wispy and stretch from the sides of his face toward the middle, and colored his eyes entirely, to the point where only his iris edges and pupils are faintly visible. I headcanon that he's had to deal with prejudice from looking spooky his whole life, and the party's like his family. This stuff is so much fun! I love the relationship between design and how it interacts with backstory and character choices.

[@g-racer6683]

You look like the start of an amazingly designed character yourself in this video. The hair, earrings, and makeup are seriously serving

[@danielherman7676]

Ha! When Ginny held up the "Today's sponsor" book I had to pause the video and swirl around in my chair... to confirm I already have that same book sitting next to my bed. I bought it 2 weeks ago after feeling especially inspired - after reading Time Magazine's D&D edition.

[@MalloonTarka]

All great advice! One aspect I'd add is to try and consider your character's _silhouette._ Good character design in games often leans heavily on this aspect, and it can work for you too. Though it's difficult (though not _always_ impossible) to incorporate if you're planning on cosplaying them. For example, I think my main character I play currently is pretty distinctive and memorable, despite being a 1. human, 2. fighter (& rogue & wizard, but that came later), who 3. has a colour palate consisting mostly of black (cloth, beard & hair), brown (leather armour & boots; wooden bow, weapon handles & toolbox) & cream (skin). His theme is, generously, "practical adventurer/monster hunter"; you wouldn't know he was the son of a wealth merchant, but ran away, lived on the streets, was drafted into the army, then became a bounty hunter, then monster hunter, by looking at him, and his choices for himself consist entirely of "things I can use" (swords, dagger, toolbox, longbow, etc.). So how is he still visually distinctive? Simple. He's short and fat. Muscular, sure, but certainly rotund. I made a HeroForge miniature of him, and while I'm pretty happy with the result, their sliders didn't allow me to make him quite as corpulent I would have liked. More in the range of 2/3rds of what I imagine. That and his omnipresent toolbox means you can pretty easily identify him by _just_ his silhouette, which I think is pretty neat.

[@martmantzt]

I usually build my characters based on mechanics i want to try or a central theme, but usually from something I've seen before. Thank you for breaking down how to design unique character aesthetics, because it's definitely one of my blindspots, and something I struggle. It gets me excited to design my next character.

[@Fiachnah]

This really helps as I narrow down the details on some characters. I have two characters that I've been dying to play but I'm currently the DM. While I've had fun coming up with both, I think Denrí is the most visually striking. They are a tiefling, with one half of their body being a deep pink with tall horns that curve gracefully to the side then back to center. The other half of his body is blue, with horns like a ram, compact and unassuming. Their hair is white and eyes are opposite colors on each side (blue and pink). He was made this way because their mother, a tiefling demigoddess, created him as a perfect combination of both her and her lover. Denrí represents duality, balance, curiosity, and independence

[@rossker123]

Anytime I do a campaign with friends who can't draw, I ask them to make a pinterest moodboard, or I will build one with them. Going through reference images and asking someone what they like about it can really help, and moodboards are pretty and can help give a vibe without needing a specific image! Then if I decide to draw the character for them as a gift, its a great starting point.

[@aarondavenport9488]

Ginny, just want to saw, "Wow! That look is amazing. You're a very imaginative creator and storyteller. I bet you make an amazing DM". Also, I am still trying to wrap my head around how to incorporate this into a game character. Aside from the initial "describe your character" moment, it seems like most of it is more useful for art commissions or cosplay, but I still love it all the same. Keep up the great work.

[@dmeep]

I have a very eclectic miniature collection having played a lot of different skirmish games over the years as well as GW army games so I tend to pick a mini and base my character of one of them Sportsteams very often has colour pairings that works. so in a pinch you can pick your favourite team and base your characters colours on it

[@RaptorsVevo]

I've recently been designing a bunch of Heroforges for my characters, and I'm really getting into character design thanks to it. One of the biggest things which your method highlights is that if possible everything should be there for a reason. It can sometimes be cool to go fully maximalist on a character design, and sometimes that can make sense for a character, but more often than not, its better to keep things consistent with the backstory and personality of the character. Less is more, as they say

[@toastoast]

This is actually a great little starter guide for character design in general! I’m an artist, and I always have a hard time making my characters more notable/interesting, so I’m totally using this in the future for my characters, dnd or otherwise!

[@mineflameblade8788]

One thing you might not have brought up is maybe your ascetic/visuals change during Gameplay. For example, my shifter warlock. Da Ji. (Background. Folk hero) After gathering info, training her @$$ off and a lengthy encounter. She slew a gorgon and literally dragged its corpse back to Sharn. (Its an Eberron westmarches) After making Val cry tears of joy. (A mothy sorcerer she's friends with) she realized that its her duity to slay monsters and protect the innocent. So. She had plate armour reinforced and transmogged by her patron to resemble a gorgon. Along with a freaking magical greatsword made from gorgon parts. Its honestly an important tip, don't be afraid to change your characters asterics. Especially if they went through major character development.

[@trollsmyth]

Ginny to play Tasha in the next D&D movie! But who to play Graz'zt? Hmmmm...

[@under20over40]

2:43 I think the vibe all my characters give off is, "ugh this guy again"

[@demetrinight5924]

I really like the concept of a regular human that looks like a tiefling. With so many different species that can be in a family's history, this is a possible thing that can happen. Or the opposite can be true with a tiefling that almost looks completely human. Bright orange eyes could be the only hint of the heritage. I love the creativity that RPG's can inspire.

[@nocturne3677]

after DMing for three years and cooking up a new character in OneD&D when i finally got to play, i was afraid of just creating my first ever character all over again, but thanks to this video i‘ve really been able to step up my game in that regard, thank you so much!! even though they are both troll rangers (trolls like in world of warcraft, but using the elf species in dnd) they couldnt be more different from one another. absolutely awesome video!!:))

[@socialcommentary]

Another great video, full of excellent advice and wonderful ideas! Tasha making an appearance (stylish as always) was the cherry on top of this delicious sundae! Thanks, Ginny!

[@IanScott-gl1mv]

I love this video! What I also find helpful for visual design is look I ng at what gear I've chosen. I character that uses a curved weapon might include other curved themes in the look such as swirl or knotwork tattoos etc

[@accellcaster5373]

I made Facade. They're a tiefling sorcerer based on a demon from the abyss made for the abyss. The demon feeds on creativity. Their design is fun. They look like an infinished statue in places. For example like a mask the area of their upper face is pure black rock that doesnt reflect light edged in metallic orange. Their eyes are permanently closed. Their hair is made from metal dreads woven in large braids. They dont have horns. They only have hands (like the wrist up without the rest) that float a few feet away from them. They always were revealing clothes that show off their parentage and no shoes. But their central outfit item is their arcane focus (gifted by their parent) a heavy choker and anklets linked by orange chains that wrap around their body. Their parents gave them to Facade for their birthday.

[@Quon_the_Destroyer]

This video is actually SUPER helpful. Also, a blast to watch. Really enjoyed it. Edit: Also, your character and their design, sick as hell! Love the detail about the holy symbol 16:46

[@harrydineley345]

Today I painted a new mini for my D&D character, using these ideas for inspiration. Her first mini was all brown leather and mud, which paired with her purple skin gave a very dark mini with none of the features popping out. However the second one looks much better. I chose green to compliment her purple skin but still kept a large portion of her clothes as damaged leather. Green serves as highlights on key clothing features, as well as her shirt and belt. The mini really stands out now, she no longer looks like a featureless brown NPC.

[@scbafreak]

When I saw your video on back stories where you said that you don't need to have a tragic background, just have the GM ruin your life and make that your tragic background, I ran with it. I told my GM to wreck my life and she has been doing it so much. Poor Amanor, every negative association in his list shows up nearly every session.

[@rindel9699]

1:39 |Lae'zel voice| "Teeth-ling."

[@VanNessy97]

My Tiefling's theme was "tiger's eye" when I designed her. My Celestial/Devil hybrid's theme was "Heaven and Hell". My Halfling Barbarian was inspired by Atalanta, and has the theme of "angry smol". I've got a theme for all of my D&D characters already.

[@stardust5544]

This is perfect timing, I’m in the middle of designing a new character!

[@Josh_Wen]

My process is a little less planned and a little more: “Hey, this is cool, let’s steal it and throw it in a blender with a bunch of other copyrighted stuff!” This is really helpful though! I also often create characters on the spot, based on songs or other media, distilling it into a story and vibe. It’s chaotic, but hey, it’s home! Great video, I love how so many of your past characters were fleshed out a little more! Can’t wait for more of them to interact with each other!

[@cubancavalier3051]

Pinterest mood boards are how I capture the vibe of my characters. Half of it might be completely unrelated things like artpieces but the vibe helps give the idea of the character

[@gabemiller7959]

As the resident rules lawyer/power gamer at my tables this couldn’t be more useful. Seriously I always see my characters as awesome in my head but providing a good description and design has always been a struggle. 10/10 I will be coming back to this video a bunch to reference it.

[@OtterlyChaoticProductions]

I have a druid character based around the theme of "destruction and rebuilding" and while I have a couple ideas (moon theming, forest fires, mushrooms) I kind of need more advice. Backstory-wise, they had a generally good life until war upended their home: both from an invasion force and the Feywild. They were conscripted young, and after the war, they were one of the few survivors. In order to escape enslavement from the tyrannical empire, they ran off into the forest and met a hermit who essentially saved them from themself. Shortly after, they met the current party, and everyone's been together as is ever since.

[@AquiJuanin]

As an artist, I am instantly analyzing my designs for my own characters as well as my party and coming up with ideas for the second art wave. Thanks Ginny! 💜

[@gorgonheap9770]

This is brilliant. I often get inspired by an image and *then* go through essentially the steps you outlined.

[@GeckoFM]

Watching the colour scheme section while playing a purple tiefling bard from the circus was crazy! You brought up all the key details of my character in the span of 30 seconds haha made me look around my room in confusion (I am learning I can use MANY colours and I love that for me)

[@sneepy9861]

I don't play D&D (yet) but World of Darkness instead, and your videos are still such a big help and serve as inspiration for things to think about and to explore! Thank you for that!

[@PlienxXxPandaSmiles]

I really love the way my partner designed his circle of stars druid. He is a kenku who is very into astronomy and became a navigator on a ship. So he is just this litte crow guy with a large backback filled with navigators equipment and star maps. The base of his starting outfit was a the coat of a navigators uniform he inherited from his mentor.