Character creation faux pas?

[Quiver he/him]

Something I've been thinking about lately, and curious what your thoughts are.

Is it poor form to base a character on a picture?

Lately, I've been looking at some fantasy artwork to try and spark some ideas. The results have been...mixed, but it has gotten me worried about something; is it a bad idea to draw inspiration from a piece of artwork?

For instance, suppose I see a picture of a Knight and something about the character sparks my creativity. Is writing a story based around that character acceptable? Does the fact someone else drew it make any ideas I might get from it less meaningful?

Or, is swimming through artwork to find stuff that sparks creativity a perfectly okay way to get idea's?

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

I'd say it's a perfectly valid way to create characters. Writers and artists have been drawing inspiration from each other since art began, painting scenes from Greek mythology or the Bible and writing stories based on earlier published works. Heck, Dante's Inferno is basically just one big expanded universe Bible fanfic. If it's okay for the greats to draw inspiration from the classics, it's okay for you to draw inspiration from paintings. 

[Kaymyth she/her]

I don't see why it wouldn't be OK.  Having a mental image of a character in your head can really help when you're picturing scenes in your head.

 

(and seriously, if I can get an entire trilogy of novels worth of story ideas out of what was supposed to just be a dang cosplay persona...)

[Alfa he/him]

We're on the 17th shard, so it is my holy duty to inform you, that there is a statement somewhere that Brandon Sanderson draw the inspiration for Elantris from this painting.

http://www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/passage-verge/

[Kobold King he/him]

We're on the 17th shard, so it is my holy duty to inform you, that there is a statement somewhere that Brandon Sanderson draw the inspiration for Elantris from this painting.

http://www.michaelwhelan.com/shop/passage-verge/

 

 

Yes, but is it not true that Brandon Sanderson is a divinity that operates on a higher plane of morality than us lowly mortals? Can we seek permission from his actions, as we are but ants compared to his sublime, even supernal glory?

 

 

(For the record, I see no reason why anyone shouldn't do this. )

[Oversleep]

What if I based my characters on people I know (mostly my friends)? It all began as when I was bored I would picture some fight going on (and I was bored mainly during school) and before I knew it main characters were few of my friends. When I started seriously developing the world and magic I went with an axe to the characters and chopped off the majority of it, but few traits remain (one character's power is derived from the nickname my friend goes by, the other character's rivalry trait is based on my friend with strong leading characteristic and so on). Right now it's kinda hard to do something about it, as I know nothing about inventing characters (but I try).

[CarolaDavar she/her]

What if I based my characters on people I know (mostly my friends)? It all began as when I was bored I would picture some fight going on (and I was bored mainly during school) and before I knew it main characters were few of my friends. When I started seriously developing the world and magic I went with an axe to the characters and chopped off the majority of it, but few traits remain (one character's power is derived from the nickname my friend goes by, the other character's rivalry trait is based on my friend with strong leading characteristic and so on). Right now it's kinda hard to do something about it, as I know nothing about inventing characters (but I try).

I tend to base my main characters off of myself and my friends

[Ookla the Absent]

Nah, man, nothing wrong with that. Ever read "My Last Duchess"?

 

Honestly, I usually base my characters either off a tabletop RPG or a mental "painting".

I can't do photos... just paintings...

[DreamEternal]

Generaly, I start my characters as fragments of myself, then make them different by taking pieces from music, other people and even other characters and mixing those pieces together.

Of course, this method has some failings, as no matter how different my characters are between one another I am unable to write someone very opposite to me.

Basing things on pictures sounds perfectly fine. I generaly use music, but whatever sparks your spark of creativity is what you should use.

[Stormgate he/him]

You can get inspiration from anywhere. If you get an idea while staring at a blank wall, good for you.

[Ookla the Absent]

That's... actually happened.

[DreamEternal]

I generaly prefer to stare at blank ceilings, but each to their own.

[Ookla the Absent]

Yeah, ceilings are easier, but in a pinch walls work too.

[Young Bard he/him]

Oh no... not this again. The Shard only barely survived the Great Wall vs. Ceiling War last time...

[Ookla the Absent]

The Great Ceiling of China was built in approximately 5000 AD by the Qa Xing Dynasty to repel Space Mongul invaders...

[Quiver he/him]

Thanks for the responses everyone!

 

And apologies for such an odd question to begin with. I admit, I have a bit of a fear that -unless I build everything from scratch, and I don't get an idea from anything else- my ideas don't "count" as real. So... uh... yes. The fact that I looked at some art work people did and started wondering about stories based around those character sort of... bothered me a little bit. Thanks for validating my work method!

[Kaymyth she/her]

Thanks for the responses everyone!

 

And apologies for such an odd question to begin with. I admit, I have a bit of a fear that -unless I build everything from scratch, and I don't get an idea from anything else- my ideas don't "count" as real. So... uh... yes. The fact that I looked at some art work people did and started wondering about stories based around those character sort of... bothered me a little bit. Thanks for validating my work method!

 

Always happy to stomp on some brain weasels for a friend.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Thanks for the responses everyone!

 

And apologies for such an odd question to begin with. I admit, I have a bit of a fear that -unless I build everything from scratch, and I don't get an idea from anything else- my ideas don't "count" as real. So... uh... yes. The fact that I looked at some art work people did and started wondering about stories based around those character sort of... bothered me a little bit. Thanks for validating my work method!

 

No need to apologize. And there's no need for you to feel guilty over borrowing ideas, in my opinion. All art borrows from earlier work, in some respect. Just look at that no-good, dirty-rotten, idea-stealing JK Rowling. Harry's arc? The Hero's Journey. His friends, teachers, and classmates? Walking archetypes. That hippogriff? 

 

 

Clearly a ripoff of horses, owls, eagles, and who-knows-what. Couldn't even invent her own animal without plagiarizing the whole ecosystem. And for all of this blatant thievery, Rowling was punished with a readership in the millions, the love of multitudes, and more money than the Queen of England. 

 

Sarcasm aside, it doesn't matter where you get your ideas or how many people have used them before. What matters is that you enjoy using them and you breathe new life into those ideas. If you're enthusiastic about your work, it'll come through to the readers.