Envisioning Fantasy Characters

[WhiteKnight]

I'm curious about how others here develop the mental images of characters, settings, and magic systems. Because I'm lacking in the imagination department, I often have trouble nailing down a consistent mental picture of characters, places, etc. Especially so when the author throws in narrative descriptions later in the novel that contradict the images I'd already established for myself. Sometimes I wish I had creative imagination to envision the story as vividly as a movie. For some reason, I find I do very well with battle scenes and magical elements, but really struggle with landscapes.

 

[Scrambles]

I dunno how i do it but it seems to come pretty easy for me, authors description helps a bit. It is strange though conjuring up a face/body etc and partly a reason why i hate cover art with characters portrayed on them, it robs the reader of personalising the characters.

 

[SLASH]

I always seem to get it wrong compared to the character that's on the cover

 

[WhiteKnight]

I always seem to get it wrong compared to the character that's on the cover

Amen brother. Either that or I just can't seem to envision the cover character as looking that way. At other times though it has helped me

 

[Loerwyn]

Hmm, tough to say.
In a way, this is why I sometimes prefer movies to the books and why I prefer comics at times - You don't have to worry about visualising things and can concentrate on the story
But to answer your query; I find it quite hard too. You get an image in your mind and then suddenly the author will write something and your image is completely wrong, or you think of two points of interest in a certain way (e.g. back to back) when in fact they're not.
I found Hobb (from what I've read of Assassin's Apprentice) to be very good at clearly explaining a place without going into a lot of detail and it works perfectly.

 

[RedMage]

I don't normally envision faces. My mental picture comes, with characters, from the character's dialogue and thoughts with maybe 25-40% from the author's description. For me, hair color doesn't usually clash with what characters say but how tall and how heavy, thin, muscular they are, or even what color their skin is, does. And I'm not saying that a black character has to talk like he's from the hood or an asian character has to talk in soft, broken english with a thick chinese or japanese accent.

As for locales, well, some authors do a great job and others are really lousy. Other than that I don't really know how to describe the way in which my mental pictures get formed.

 

[ebusinesstutor]

I usually have a visual in my head. The problem is when they make movies, it is usually very different.

The Conan in my head and illustrated on the books did NOT look like Arnold.

The Lord of the Rings stood up pretty well to my mental picture though. It was like seeing a picture in my head come alive.

 

[Dirvani]

I don't normally envision faces. My mental picture comes, with characters, from the character's dialogue and thoughts with maybe 25-40% from the author's description. For me, hair color doesn't usually clash with what characters say but how tall and how heavy, thin, muscular they are, or even what color their skin is, does. And I'm not saying that a black character has to talk like he's from the hood or an asian character has to talk in soft, broken english with a thick chinese or japanese accent.

Something like this. A lot of times I do develop clear visions of characters, but they may not be completely accurate according to an early description or they end up proving inaccurate after a late description. I mostly just concentrate on key features, like body type and skin color and if the author focuses on scars, eye color, hairstyle/color, I may remember them but the face isn't always too clear.

I think clothing is what I forget most often. I tend to just assign a look for the clothing based on the type of character despite what the author might describe.

 

[Twinner]

I think I actually ignore much of the detail at times and instead internalize the major characteristics of the person as described by the author. These would be mostly the same major aspects mentioned by Dirvani in the previous post. This is especially true when it begins to feel like I am being given more detail than I want or need. I am a fan of Robert Jordan's WoT books but for my tastes he would go into far too much detail in describing the color, fabric, stitching, patterns, etc... of every dress someone would wear throught an entire book it seemed. I would simply filter most of that out and go with just my mental picture based on the major characteristics.
It would be convenient to be able to envision uber hot movie stars for each role in a novel, but it just doesn't work for me. But..... hmmmm... Vin from Mistborn = Kate Beckinsale (w/o her vampire fangs).... Elayne Trakand in WoT= Scarlett Johansson Hmmm... could be fun!
Respect and good reading-
Roy

 

[Eldubb]

What an excellent question....

and rhallva, i cant believe you said that....i am half way through reading Mistborn book 1 and had my own ideas on Vin's looks and now....i cant get Kate's face out of my head!

Correct my if im wrong though, isnt Vin only like 16 years old? How can you think of kate?

 

[WhiteKnight]

I think I actually ignore much of the detail at times and instead internalize the major characteristics of the person as described by the author. These would be mostly the same major aspects mentioned by Dirvani in the previous post. This is especially true when it begins to feel like I am being given more detail than I want or need. I am a fan of Robert Jordan's WoT books but for my tastes he would go into far too much detail in describing the color, fabric, stitching, patterns, etc... of every dress someone would wear throught an entire book it seemed. I would simply filter most of that out and go with just my mental picture based on the major characteristics.
It would be convenient to be able to envision uber hot movie stars for each role in a novel, but it just doesn't work for me. But..... hmmmm... Vin from Mistborn = Kate Beckinsale (w/o her vampire fangs).... Elayne Trakand in WoT= Scarlett Johansson Hmmm... could be fun!
Respect and good reading-
Roy

I just finished that series not too long ago--really enjoyed it. But I pictured Vin as much younger. Actually, it kind of scared me because by the time I got to Hero of Ages, I realized the cover was almost exactly how I pictured her. What a cutie

 

[Twinner]

Well... I can always think of Kate. But in fairness to good casting, how about if I say,
"A young Kate Beckinsale"?
(This is probably one of the reasons I will never be a casting director!
Roy

 

[tyriseus]

I think it's hard to envision a character due to the difficulty involved in accurately describe the nuances of a face. You can give broad descriptions and accentuate the dominating (or lack thereof) features but try for yourself to paint your own portrait with only a page for your canvas. Try it and see how hard it is. Then consider the need for berevity and then ask yourself how much detail do you as a reader really want to wade through? Further descriptions are one of the first things that feel the wrath of the editors pen when length of a work is an issue. The best writers give you a brief outline and let the reader fill in the blanks.

 

[johnkarr]

The best writers give you a brief outline and let the reader fill in the blanks.

Agreed. A few explicit details (height/hair color/bald/clothing), an impression or two from another character's point of view ('he glided like a jungle cat despite the brawny build') and leave it there.

 

[E_Moon]

I always seem to get it wrong compared to the character that's on the cover

Sometimes the character on the cover doesn't look anything like the author intended (depends on publisher and also on writer clout with that publisher.) You're allowed to imagine the character any way you want. A visual form forces a visual image on you...in a book you can choose for yourself unless the author has insisted on something that's plot-significant. (If the main character is shown to be shorter than average, and it matters--he can't climb that tree, she can pass as a child--then you're sorta stuck, but on other details, it's all yours.)