Draconic 101: Character Appearance
Section One: What the hell is this!?
Well, as usual, let's start this out with some general information.
Character appearance. It's a main element of your character, and great for adding some fluff (just don't go overboard). However, I often see many people leave this field blank or use only a picture. The truth is, it's nice to have both a description and a nicely sized picture. And by nicely sized, I mean one that doesn't stretch the hell out of my internet screen! Remember, upload to Photobucket and scale it down! It's good for all of us.
[center]Section Two: But...but...but!
Section One: What the hell is this!?
Well, as usual, let's start this out with some general information.
Character appearance. It's a main element of your character, and great for adding some fluff (just don't go overboard). However, I often see many people leave this field blank or use only a picture. The truth is, it's nice to have both a description and a nicely sized picture. And by nicely sized, I mean one that doesn't stretch the hell out of my internet screen! Remember, upload to Photobucket and scale it down! It's good for all of us.
[center]Section Two: But...but...but!
DraconicArcania slaps the but's upside the head!
Okay, now that that's out of my system, let's continue. Let's address the first problem people have...
Section 2.1: How to describe a character...the right way!
Yes, there's a right way to do it! You want to balance images with words. For example, if you have a 100x100 avatar, try and at least match the amount of lines of text which the avatar takes up. If you have a larger picture, do the same. If you don't think you can match the larger picture, then size it down a bit! It's not only better formatting, but it looks more professional, and makes you at least look like you know what you're doing. Hehehe. Oh, by the way, a picture's not always worth a thousand words. No, in writing, a trillion words is worth one picture. You want to represent the physical world in which you're immersing yourself in a way beyond the imagery we see constantly day after day.
Section 2.2: How to determine a character's appearance.
There's no wrong way to make a character look. Know that. You can make them ugly or pretty, short or tall, whatever you like! Appearance doesn't always have to match personality!
Section 3: Cluttered Profiles
Okay, cluttered profiles, one of my pet peeves. Yes, they have the tabs, but you should divide the tabs into narrower topic areas. For example, with my lovely Talon, I have divided each section further than RPG does by default. For example, under biography, you should probably break it down into sections like...okay, bad example. How about the information tab? Blah, you probably get the point from just scanning over Talon. Setting it up like that just adds to character appeal and makes it less of a hassle to weed out the information you're looking for when you need it fast. :) Anyway, I hope this helped, and have fun roleplaying!
