Writing/ The 5 Most Important Keys to Anthropomorphic Character Development

This post is all about Anthropomorphic Character development.

Character development. Two words that have countless essays and books written about them.

What about when you throw anthropomorphism into the mix? What do you do then? What layers are added? How does it affect the process? Today, we will answer that question.

Here are 5 things to consider when thinking about Anthropomorphic Character Development.

1. Species Traits and Behavior:

This is, in my eyes, the biggest linchpin of working with anthropomorphism, period—It has to mean something. The species a character is, should affect who they are in all areas, be it physical, emotional, mental ect. What species a character is should affect every facet of their character, from their size and build to their temperament. Think about how species affects them. For example, a fox character may be small, but quick witted and adventurous, and a large, hulking lion—cautious but confident in his decision-making. Think about how species affects the character.

2. Cultural Background and Species Integration:

Another thing to think about is the cultural background of the characters and how the species you’ve chosen for them relates to that. Think carefully about these details. The ethnic cultural backgrounds of your characters and what species they are should at least intersect naturally. What I mean by that is simple, the species and ethnic/cultural background of a character should intersect geographically. You cannot have a panda that is natively Irish, for example, or a Kangaroo that’s Chinese. . .it’s just geographically impossible, fantasy world or not. What I like to do is look up every species’ geographic range on a map—both present and past—and then decide from the range which species can be X amount of ethnicities: for example, wolves and foxes are found virtually everywhere across the globe, so they can come from anywhere, whereas, say, a lion by contrast would be more limited. They were historically in Africa and also the Middle East, and Southern Europe (Italy, Greece), so by comparison, their pool of ethnicities is smaller to choose from. Think about these layers as you contemplate the ethnic and cultural backgrounds of your anthropomorphic characters.

3. Individuality:

Just like with any character, individuality is key. Anthropomorphic characters come with a few extra layers to chew on. Every character should be distinct, just like any well-developed character, and anthropomorphism gives you additional layers to add if you wish. What are the traits of your character’s species that you could incorporate into them? What would be the stereotypes that you could use to go with and against the grain? How could you either invert a stereotype or amp it up for additional effect? An example would be a lion that is quiet, reserved, and soft spoken, which is the opposite of how we think a lion would typically act? Or a fox that is loud, domineering and bossy when typically shy and quiet? Think about how you can use the intersection of various aspects of your character’s aforementioned species and/or including their ethnicity to add to their individuality.

4. Conflict and Growth:

Even though this is a shorter consideration, it’s just as important. Good conflict or character incongruities, and growth are fundamental to any character. How anthropomorphism can tie in, again, goes back to tying in what the characters are, with how their conflict and growth develops. What are the challenges that someone who’s a lion would naturally face compared to say, what an otter would, in their everyday lives? The best way to do character growth in an anthropomorphic setting is to simply allow the sum total of what the character is—all their parts summarized together—individual personality, financial and cultural upbringing, species, and so on—to create the best possible conflicts and growth unique to them.

5. Relationships and interactions:

Think about how the relationships of your characters impact them and the world around them. Think about how, once again, species impact things. How do different species interact with each other? Are there some that are drawn to each other more as far as friendships go or getting along in a work or social environment? How does culture— shared or lack thereof— play into the dynamics of inter and cross-species friendships? An example in my current project is a multi-species football team where you have a wolf that is a safety and a tiger that’s a quarterback. Working out the relationship dynamics of your characters are absolutely crucial, and again, it’s key that you look at a character in full before you decide what type of relationships and interactions are best for them.

In conclusion, Anthropomorphic Character Development has the same core tenants and components of any good character development or growth in any genre. The important thing is to look at your characters thoroughly and with great care; look at all their factors and explore the possibilities. The growth and development of characters occurs until the final page is edited, so enjoy the process.

This post was all about the 5 Most Important Keys to Anthropomorphic Character Development so that you can create your own unforgettable characters in the wonderful world of Anthropomorphism.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Character Development, or anything else on writing.