Character Descriptions (How to Do It Properly?) (Ignore)

[MakBow]

I have no actual understanding of how to do a character description to their look, and I feel as if I'm either under-doing it or overdoing it.

Example of Mine
She was quite a strange creature, giving me the view of a gremlin.

White skin with hair as octopus tentacles, starting as multi-colored, but with green then pink tips, curling towards the end.

A witch hat that had no design, instead being clear and see-through.

Multi-colored eyes that mixed the colors together like mixing paint.

Sharp teeth that added to that gremlin look, and ears that reminded me of the elves.

What she wore was also quite interesting and even reminded me of myself a bit.

An unkempt gray shoulderless dress held by straps and delicate in design and flowers, with slits that made it look like petals, multi-colored flowers around her neck as well other parts of her dress, even her own wrists, an appearance as if they were painted on with multiple colors.

It made me think of a poor person putting together what they could to look decent, with no footwear, but anklewear with a rose.

She was also quite small.

I would say about 139 cm tall, but I could be wrong.

She was also grinning, her smile present always.
--End--

Are you able to get an idea of what this character looks like or do you think it needs work?

And tell me what you do in order to get it right when it comes to the fictions you write or read?

Revised
Emerging from the light was a spirit. (Should have added this line for a little more context)

A strange creature she was, a gremlin I would say, petite and adorable.

Her skin white, the octopus tentacles that were her hair moving around, multi-colored, curling towards the end.

Having been levitating, she fixed her witch hat, clear and see-through like plastic.

And when she looked at me, her eyes were captivating, multi-colored that mixed the colors together like paint in a bucket.

She grinned at me, her sharp teeth visible to me, threatening, yet cute on her.

What she wore had caught my eye to its simplicity, yet relatability.

An unkempt gray shoulderless dress held by straps and delicate in design, slits that looked like petals, multi-colored flowers around her neck and parts of her dress and wrists, with cracks in the delicacies, like dried paint flaking off.

She twirled in the air like a lazy spirit, letting the natural flow of defied gravity do its job, no footwear to be seen, instead anklewear with a rose.

Cursed Hand: With Simple Curses, I Annihilated Everything Using the [Cursed Hand] | Scribble Hub

 

[Envylope]

I dislike this way of describing things. The way I do descriptions is by including them when they make sense. I don't start describing every character we come across, until the description would flow naturally.

For example, let's say that a character has green eyes. You can use a description while also forming an action.

Her green eyes looked up to the clear sky.

In this example, you have an action that also describes two things. You get a description of her eyes and the sky. Typically only describe things when they become relevant. Let's say that a princess is dancing in a field of flowers.

The princess twirled, her long silver hair flowing with her movements. She clutched a crimson flower in her chest, reflecting the color of her eyes.

This is generally how I do things, and you can reinforce descriptions later. Like if that same princess had a battle later in the book after a grueling journey, it would be great to compare descriptions.

Mud matted her once beautiful silver hair, and splotches of red blood clung to her torn white dress. Her crimson eyes dulled more over the long battles.

As a rule of thumb, only describe things when they are important or relevant.

These are two actual examples of weaving descriptions in my story:

Spoiler: Description 1

When Emma opened her eyes, she felt warm. A well-lit cave had become her surroundings. Her gears began to turn as she blinked her eyes several times.


The cave around her was slick and frozen over. The walls were a crystal blue, and her face reflected back to her. Emma’s hands traveled around the unfamiliar image.


Her face had become noticeably thinner, and her pupils had become smaller. Moreover, her irises had become a creepy creamy color. She gasped, and the mirrored image repeated the gesture.


Two pearly fangs were reflected. The shock of the canines almost made her forget her nudity. Perhaps her sunken stomach and skin clinging to her ribs should have been more terrifying. It was like looking over a corpse, and her white hair and pale skin reinforced this image.


However, the most terrifying was her lack of aversion to this form. The small woman stood up on the icy floor, yet her feet didn’t slip. She clenched and opened her fists a few times.


The pale woman covered her throat with her thin hand before trying to speak.

Spoiler: Description 2

Evelyn looked towards her hands where unfamiliar pale palms sat, and her eyes rolled up and down her arms. Finally, she noticed something else in the room. It hadn’t been as empty as she thought.


A small protrusion on the wall caught her eye. There was a little metal hook, and on it sat a familiar outfit. Long and flowing black robes caught her attention.


Her crimson eyes narrowed, and her face contorted into a wider smile, showcasing her beautiful white fangs. She practically danced to get into the outfit.


The vampire’s hands felt the soft texture of her robes, and she hurried to put it on. She slipped it over her body, and instantly she felt whole.


It was strange. Evelyn imagined that if she was ever transported to an unfamiliar world, a bunch of questions would be rolling around in her mind. However, in this circumstance, in that room, in that outfit, she felt oddly serene. Her fine mana-tuned senses blocked everything out for a moment.

 

[SouthernMaiden]

One general tip I would give: You don't need so many details and this much description. Many extremely famous authors only give a few descriptors of their characters; when the time for a movie adaption they don't even know the skin color of the character, height, ect.

The reader's imagination fills A LOT in. Determine the most important details, ones that allow the reader to fill in the rest.

-Dont quote an exact height
-dont say "quite" so much, drop filler words like these when you can, thats a tip ive gotten often from multiple writers
-also remember if you want to include additional description you can include it later on, or even in later chapters. No need to front load it all

I dislike this way of describing things. The way I do descriptions is by including them when they make sense. I don't start describing every character we come across, until the description would flow naturally.

For example, let's say that a character has green eyes. You can use a description while also forming an action.

Her green eyes looked up to the clear sky.

In this example, you have an action that also describes two things. You get a description of her eyes and the sky. Typically only describe things when they become relevant. Let's say that a princess is dancing in a field of flowers.

The princess twirled, her long silver hair flowing with her movements. She clutched a crimson flower in her chest, reflecting the color of her eyes.

This is generally how I do things, and you can reinforce descriptions later. Like if that same princess had a battle later in the book after a grueling journey, it would be great to compare descriptions.

Mud matted her once beautiful silver hair, and splotches of red blood clung to her torn white dress. Her crimson eyes dulled more over the long battles.

As a rule of thumb, only describe things when they are important or relevant.

These are two actual examples of weaving descriptions in my story:

Spoiler: Description 1

When Emma opened her eyes, she felt warm. A well-lit cave had become her surroundings. Her gears began to turn as she blinked her eyes several times.


The cave around her was slick and frozen over. The walls were a crystal blue, and her face reflected back to her. Emma’s hands traveled around the unfamiliar image.


Her face had become noticeably thinner, and her pupils had become smaller. Moreover, her irises had become a creepy creamy color. She gasped, and the mirrored image repeated the gesture.


Two pearly fangs were reflected. The shock of the canines almost made her forget her nudity. Perhaps her sunken stomach and skin clinging to her ribs should have been more terrifying. It was like looking over a corpse, and her white hair and pale skin reinforced this image.


However, the most terrifying was her lack of aversion to this form. The small woman stood up on the icy floor, yet her feet didn’t slip. She clenched and opened her fists a few times.


The pale woman covered her throat with her thin hand before trying to speak.

Spoiler: Description 2

Evelyn looked towards her hands where unfamiliar pale palms sat, and her eyes rolled up and down her arms. Finally, she noticed something else in the room. It hadn’t been as empty as she thought.


A small protrusion on the wall caught her eye. There was a little metal hook, and on it sat a familiar outfit. Long and flowing black robes caught her attention.


Her crimson eyes narrowed, and her face contorted into a wider smile, showcasing her beautiful white fangs. She practically danced to get into the outfit.


The vampire’s hands felt the soft texture of her robes, and she hurried to put it on. She slipped it over her body, and instantly she felt whole.


It was strange. Evelyn imagined that if she was ever transported to an unfamiliar world, a bunch of questions would be rolling around in her mind. However, in this circumstance, in that room, in that outfit, she felt oddly serene. Her fine mana-tuned senses blocked everything out for a moment.

Great advice!

 

[MakBow]

One general tip I would give: You don't need so many details and this much description. Many extremely famous authors only give a few descriptors of their characters; when the time for a movie adaption they don't even know the skin color of the character, height, ect.

The reader's imagination fills A LOT in. Determine the most important details, ones that allow the reader to fill in the rest.

-Dont quote an exact height
-dont say "quite" so much, drop filler words like these when you can, thats a tip ive gotten often from multiple writers
-also remember if you want to include additional description you can include it later on, or even in later chapters. No need to front load it all

Great advice!

What do you think?

Revised
Emerging from the light was a spirit. (Should have added this line for a little more context)

A strange creature she was, a gremlin I would say, petite and adorable.

Her skin white, the octopus tentacles that were her hair moving around, multi-colored, curling towards the end.

Having been levitating, she fixed her witch hat, clear and see-through like plastic.

And when she looked at me, her eyes were captivating, multi-colored that mixed the colors together like paint in a bucket.

She grinned at me, her sharp teeth visible to me, threatening, yet cute on her.

What she wore had caught my eye to its simplicity, yet relatability.

An unkempt gray shoulderless dress held by straps and delicate in design, slits that looked like petals, multi-colored flowers around her neck and parts of her dress and wrists, with cracks in the delicacies, like dried paint flaking off.

She twirled in the air like a lazy spirit, letting the natural flow of defied gravity do its job, no footwear to be seen, instead anklewear with a rose.

 

[SouthernMaiden]

I personally think this is a big improvement! I can picture the character much better now. A few things I took note of though. Keep in mind that some of these are nitpicks, and all are just my opinion:

A strange creature she was, a gremlin I would say, petite and adorable.

Having been levitating, she fixed her witch hat, clear and see-through like plastic.

You're doing an inversion thing in a few places. Does speaking like this make sense for your character and setting? Regardless careful not to overdue it!

Having been levitating, she fixed her witch hat, clear and see-through like plastic.

You're saying the same thing here, clear and see through like plastic.

She grinned at me, her sharp teeth visible to me, threatening, yet cute on her.

What she wore had caught my eye to its simplicity, yet relatability.

Used the same sentence structure here "yet __", be sure to mix it up.

What she wore had caught my eye to its simplicity, yet relatability.

An unkempt gray shoulderless dress held by straps and delicate in design, slits that looked like petals, multi-colored flowers around her neck and parts of her dress and wrists, with cracks in the delicacies, like dried paint flaking off.

I think this part can be made more concise and clear. Second sentence runs on very long.

Two more general things:
-Vary your sentence length more. All the sentences are of similar length and structure. It should flow, throw in shorter snappier sentences to mix it up.
-Could still be more concise overall, dont need to front load every detail

She twirled in the air like a lazy spirit, letting the natural flow of defied gravity do its job

I really like this description! My fav part of the whole passage. I would consider dropping the second part of the sentence, as it makes this great description weaker. Or at least make it more concise.

 

[Jerynboe]

Cassandra woke up to the rays of the sun streaming through the slats on her blinds, cascading over her naked chest. She stretched, her breasts lifting with her arms as she greeted the sun. She rolled out of bed and put on a shirt, her nipples prominently showing through the thin fabric. She breasted boobily to the stairs, and titted downwards.

But actually the way I do it is that I have 1-2 traits per character that I bring up frequently and only go into the rest of their look occasionally. I include reference images, but if I didn’t I’m pretty sure most people would just build the rest of their appearance around those few traits, informed by their personality and speech.

Emrys (when he’s not the pov) Dark grey skin, extremely white teeth in an easy, frequent smile.

Sandara: Very tight clothes consisting of a white blouse and black leather pants, red hair.

Rowe: Manic smile, short hair, twitchy movements.

Sosima: luminous golden eyes. The click when she walks, either from hooves or heels. Refined poise.

Filli: Misshapen, massive muscles. Beady black eyes, red hair that’s almost too pretty to go with the rest of her.

 

[Eldoria]

Wouldn't you consider to "show it" rather than "tell it" in your character introduction?

Let the reader infer what your character is like through cinematic action narratives.

Personally, I usually emphasize aspects that emphasize appearance, personality, and ability when describing "named" characters. Example:

"Aaauu..."

His black eyes widened as he watched dozens of werewolf monsters approach from the eastern horizon.

He raised his wand vertically in the air. His glasses glinted as the tip of the wand's beam glowed into a ball of light.

"Harry... shoot them now!" his best friend shouted, seeing the monster in his sight.

Harry nodded and threw the ball of light forward with all his might. Then—

"Doom!"

"Aarrgghh..."

The fireball exploded, incinerating dozens of werewolf monsters.

His dark robe and black hair fluttered in the blasting wind.

"Your fire magic is too powerful!" his best friend said, covering his eyes with his arm.

The prominent characteristics of the character stand out in this scene. Harry is dressed in a dark robe, a high-level fire magic user; appearance descriptions: glasses, black eyes, black hair; and personality: calm and protective.

Without the narrator summing up the character, the reader will recognize the character because the character stands out from his action.

 

[MFontana]

I have no actual understanding of how to do a character description to their look, and I feel as if I'm either under-doing it or overdoing it.

Example of Mine
She was quite a strange creature, giving me the view of a gremlin.

White skin with hair as octopus tentacles, starting as multi-colored, but with green then pink tips, curling towards the end.

A witch hat that had no design, instead being clear and see-through.

Multi-colored eyes that mixed the colors together like mixing paint.

Sharp teeth that added to that gremlin look, and ears that reminded me of the elves.

What she wore was also quite interesting and even reminded me of myself a bit.

An unkempt gray shoulderless dress held by straps and delicate in design and flowers, with slits that made it look like petals, multi-colored flowers around her neck as well other parts of her dress, even her own wrists, an appearance as if they were painted on with multiple colors.

It made me think of a poor person putting together what they could to look decent, with no footwear, but anklewear with a rose.

She was also quite small.

I would say about 139 cm tall, but I could be wrong.

She was also grinning, her smile present always.
--End--

Are you able to get an idea of what this character looks like or do you think it needs work?

And tell me what you do in order to get it right when it comes to the fictions you write or read?

Revised
Emerging from the light was a spirit. (Should have added this line for a little more context)

A strange creature she was, a gremlin I would say, petite and adorable.

Her skin white, the octopus tentacles that were her hair moving around, multi-colored, curling towards the end.

Having been levitating, she fixed her witch hat, clear and see-through like plastic.

And when she looked at me, her eyes were captivating, multi-colored that mixed the colors together like paint in a bucket.

She grinned at me, her sharp teeth visible to me, threatening, yet cute on her.

What she wore had caught my eye to its simplicity, yet relatability.

An unkempt gray shoulderless dress held by straps and delicate in design, slits that looked like petals, multi-colored flowers around her neck and parts of her dress and wrists, with cracks in the delicacies, like dried paint flaking off.

She twirled in the air like a lazy spirit, letting the natural flow of defied gravity do its job, no footwear to be seen, instead anklewear with a rose.

Cursed Hand: With Simple Curses, I Annihilated Everything Using the [Cursed Hand] | Scribble Hub

Okay, quick notes. The revisions are definitely a vast improvement over the original, but you've still got a long way to go.
As a general rule (and piece of advice), Description should follow Action.
Also, as a light nitpick; "shoulderless" should probably be "sleeveless" and "anklewear" should probably be "ankle-wear"

Most of the descriptions are still static. They're closer to telling, rather than showing through action.
Some questions to help point you in the right direction:
What is the thing you are trying to describe?
What is the thing you're trying to describe doing?
While it is doing that thing:
How does it feel? (if applicable)
How does it look?
How does it sound? (if applicable)
How does it taste? (if applicable)
How does it smell (if applicable)

Additionally, there are a few more things to consider.
"Why are you describing it?" being a big one.
In the case for those samples, it is clearly from the Protagonist's PoV in 'first-person' so ask yourself these questions before you describe anything:
Why does the thing matter to the story, in this character's perspective?
Why does the character themselves care about it?
What is the lens the character is viewing the thing through?

Hopefully this helps.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I have no actual understanding of how to do a character description to their look, and I feel as if I'm either under-doing it or overdoing it.

Example of Mine
She was quite a strange creature, giving me the view of a gremlin.

White skin with hair as octopus tentacles, starting as multi-colored, but with green then pink tips, curling towards the end.

A witch hat that had no design, instead being clear and see-through.

Multi-colored eyes that mixed the colors together like mixing paint.

Sharp teeth that added to that gremlin look, and ears that reminded me of the elves.

What she wore was also quite interesting and even reminded me of myself a bit.

An unkempt gray shoulderless dress held by straps and delicate in design and flowers, with slits that made it look like petals, multi-colored flowers around her neck as well other parts of her dress, even her own wrists, an appearance as if they were painted on with multiple colors.

It made me think of a poor person putting together what they could to look decent, with no footwear, but anklewear with a rose.

She was also quite small.

I would say about 139 cm tall, but I could be wrong.

She was also grinning, her smile present always.
--End--

Are you able to get an idea of what this character looks like or do you think it needs work?

And tell me what you do in order to get it right when it comes to the fictions you write or read?

Revised
Emerging from the light was a spirit. (Should have added this line for a little more context)

A strange creature she was, a gremlin I would say, petite and adorable.

Her skin white, the octopus tentacles that were her hair moving around, multi-colored, curling towards the end.

Having been levitating, she fixed her witch hat, clear and see-through like plastic.

And when she looked at me, her eyes were captivating, multi-colored that mixed the colors together like paint in a bucket.

She grinned at me, her sharp teeth visible to me, threatening, yet cute on her.

What she wore had caught my eye to its simplicity, yet relatability.

An unkempt gray shoulderless dress held by straps and delicate in design, slits that looked like petals, multi-colored flowers around her neck and parts of her dress and wrists, with cracks in the delicacies, like dried paint flaking off.

She twirled in the air like a lazy spirit, letting the natural flow of defied gravity do its job, no footwear to be seen, instead anklewear with a rose.

Cursed Hand: With Simple Curses, I Annihilated Everything Using the [Cursed Hand] | Scribble Hub

Not a fan of that kind of choppy style for description (for dialogue, yes, action probably, not description).
A small creature suddenly appeared, twirling in the air. It was clearly some kind of spirit, and one able to define gravity. It wore a dirty shoulder less dress that had once been delicate in design but not well-cared for, suggesting it was a female of whatever type of creature it was - perhaps a gremlin of some sort. It was strangely adorable yet utterly alien. Its skin was white and it had tentacles like those of an octopus in place of hair - tentacles it was busy stuffing into its hat, a transparent affair that brought to mind the classic witch's hat of fiary tales. Her eyes turned to me - they were swirling pools of color, like unmixed paint in a bucket. She smiled - though her teeth were many, sharp, and pointed, there was something calming, even cute, in that smile.

 

[TinaMigarlo]

I have no actual understanding of how to do a character description to their look, and I feel as if I'm either under-doing it or overdoing it.

Example of Mine
She was quite a strange creature, giving me the view of a gremlin.

White skin with hair as octopus tentacles, starting as multi-colored, but with green then pink tips, curling towards the end.

A witch hat that had no design, instead being clear and see-through.

Multi-colored eyes that mixed the colors together like mixing paint.

Sharp teeth that added to that gremlin look, and ears that reminded me of the elves.

What she wore was also quite interesting and even reminded me of myself a bit.

An unkempt gray shoulderless dress held by straps and delicate in design and flowers, with slits that made it look like petals, multi-colored flowers around her neck as well other parts of her dress, even her own wrists, an appearance as if they were painted on with multiple colors.

It made me think of a poor person putting together what they could to look decent, with no footwear, but anklewear with a rose.

She was also quite small.

I would say about 139 cm tall, but I could be wrong.

She was also grinning, her smile present always.
--End--

Are you able to get an idea of what this character looks like or do you think it needs work?

And tell me what you do in order to get it right when it comes to the fictions you write or read?

Revised
Emerging from the light was a spirit. (Should have added this line for a little more context)

A strange creature she was, a gremlin I would say, petite and adorable.

Her skin white, the octopus tentacles that were her hair moving around, multi-colored, curling towards the end.

Having been levitating, she fixed her witch hat, clear and see-through like plastic.

And when she looked at me, her eyes were captivating, multi-colored that mixed the colors together like paint in a bucket.

She grinned at me, her sharp teeth visible to me, threatening, yet cute on her.

What she wore had caught my eye to its simplicity, yet relatability.

An unkempt gray shoulderless dress held by straps and delicate in design, slits that looked like petals, multi-colored flowers around her neck and parts of her dress and wrists, with cracks in the delicacies, like dried paint flaking off.

She twirled in the air like a lazy spirit, letting the natural flow of defied gravity do its job, no footwear to be seen, instead anklewear with a rose.

Cursed Hand: With Simple Curses, I Annihilated Everything Using the [Cursed Hand] | Scribble Hub

you don't have to describe every last detail the moment a character steps foot out and gets seen. Although with monsters, I don't know. My last several novels, I've gone down the route of detailing descriptions less than usual. Defining characteristics, sure.

Question. Is each line separated because each is a paragraph?
Also, in a few places I'd have switched out the "-ly" words with their non-ly counterparts. rewording a sentence can usually avoid it if you choose.
here's my take on your revised ending one...

Emerging from the light was a spirit. A strange creature, one that I'd have to say was a gremlin though a quite petite and adorable example of one. Her skin was white with multi-colored octopus tentacles that curled towards their ends, all moving around in place of hair. She had been levitating, and adjusted a clear see through witch hat's placement. When she looked at me, I was captivated by those multi-colored eyes that mixed their colors together as if paint in a bucket. Her grin showed sharp teeth; threatening though cute on her. What she wore caught my eye as both simplistic and relatable. An unkempt gray shoulder baring dress retained with straps of delicate design. Slits that resembled petals. Multi-colored flowers adorned her neck, parts of her dress, her wrists; cracks in these delicacies, much like dried paint flaking off. She twirled in the air as if a lazy spirit, allowing the natural flow of defied gravity to perform the job. She was sans visible footwear, wearing instead ankle spats each displaying a single rose.

Notes: I don't like the repetition of "multicolored" two or more times. I want those reworded. Unless repetition is deliberate for an effect, I try to avoid it. I almost went with "shoulder showing" because I like the sound of alliteration in little bursts at times. Though here, I know she's a sex interest, so the word "shoulder baring" conveys a slight undertone of sexiness. You can see where I reworded the constant "ly" words with their counterparts and rewording to avoid it.

Not saying my version of your last revised was better, just my style. Your mission, should you decide to accept, is to avoid all those "multicolored" repetitions. Since I know she'll end up a sex interest if not a love interest? I'd add something about her come hither eyes or similar. Maybe a cute biting of her thumb or pinky finger, for that understated interest at seeing him.