Very often the players that are new to Character Applications consider the appearance to be a very important part of their biographies. While appearance can play a part in making the character interesting to play with, one should be very careful when writing appearance. It is in human nature to migrate towards more appealing physical features, but this can cause a character to become predictable and shallow, and one the other players will avoid.
This does not, however, mean that a player must create characters that are always physically unappealing. Often in their attempts to avoid creating characters that are too perfect, players create characters that are fantastically monstrous and thus not believable or fun to play with. One must find a balance between these two extremes1 to create a unique and believable, yet interesting character.
The Basics
Before thinking about elaborate features for a character, a player should take the time to consider what he can describe. Creating a list of these key words can be done by starting at the top, such as hair, and proceeding to the bottom, like feet. Hair, Eyes, Facial Shape, Nose, Chin, Neck and Shoulders, Body Build, Legs, Feet, Gait; all these are things that can be described in detail.
The Creator shouldn't be afraid to think outside the box when decided what to describe. Even finger- and toenails can be on the lists of basic items to describe. One should also think of things like earrings, tattoos, scars and clothing. All of these make up the general appearance of a character.
'Fleshing Out' the Basics
Once a player has an idea of the basic elements he needs to describe his character's appearance he can proceed to add more details. By using the list of basics as mentioned above he can be sure that most areas of appearance will be covered by his description. Remembering the senses can be very useful here - seeing, feeling, hearing and smelling.
Don't hesitate to use colorful descriptions, literally and figuratively speaking. Describe the textures of the clothing the character likes to wear, what color his hair and eyes are, what his voice sounds like; a creator can even describe the way his characters smells. For example, a rich heiress might smell like Chanel No.5 while a fisherman might be unable to rid himself of the smell of fish.
Thinking outside the box is what counts here. These descriptions are what make a character appearance unique. However, a player should be wary of making his character too fantastical or abnormal. Deep green or emerald eyes are nice, but "Chartreuse colored orbs" sound odd. According to a thread on RPG-D, odd descriptions like these only serve to irritate players, and are considered a sure sign of a 'player's pet'2.
Things to Avoid
A Creator should be wary of using a definite description such as "Her smile will make any man swoon." or "The hideous scars on his face are enough to frighten any man". By doing this a player creates the impression that he will not allow any other opinion of his characters be played, thus annoying some players. He should try instead to say "In her opinion every man should swoon when graced with one of her smiles." or "He had yet to meet a man not frightened by his hideous scars.", thus leaving an opening for other characters' reactions.
Players should also be wary of 'too perfect/too imperfect' descriptions. If a character has a good reason for being covered in scars over ninety percent of his body it could work well for developing your character - heroic successes against the odds, for example, should be avoided as much as possible. The same goes for the popular 'thin, well built, perfect height to weight' descriptions. Not every person in the world is perfect and the same goes in the RP world.
While the outline above should help a player to write an appearance that will get him accepted on many RP Games, nothing is ever set in stone. As a creator, the player should be creative and try to make his character as unique as he can, but also try to be as believable as possible within the genre the character is being created for.
Footnotes
1 Characters that migrate to extremes are called Mary Sue's or Gary Stu's. You can read more about them here
2 See description above.
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