How to Design Villain Characters: Part Two 

Feed me, Seymour!

In this world, is kill or be killed!

the game is good....the fandom isnt

Howdy! I am Flowey the flower!

Cough cough Flowey from undertale Cough cough

triangles are the most imposing shape of all!

Ehem I think you'll find the most imposing shape is the T

It’s sad that I was inspired to write a story, and make a villain, after drawing a picture of bill cipher lol

The evilest dorito in animation

hes su cute tho

Thank you. While I do agree some of the best villains are indeed 3 dimensional and are quite complex, I find people are too quick to brush a villain off just because they're clearly evil and have little to no redeeming qualities. There's almost a fixation on needing villains to be tragic or twisted from a good to evil person or not even a bad guy just on the other side. Some of my favourite villains, like Scar, Jafar and Ganondorf aren't exactly deep, and can't really be considered good in any capacity, but their design, mannerisms and way they act make them just as good anyway

Sometimes a lighter tone can help the theme. It presents it in a welcoming manner that draws you in, so when it touches on the darker themes, its more noticeable, and more impactful. There are many light hearted looking stories that actually tackle serious subject matter. Doing it this way means the reader/viewer isn't overloaded with darkness, as it very easy to do in this day and age, and it can provide nice breaks inbetween significant moments regarding mental trauma. If this is aimed towards children as well (dunno if it is) then the lighter tone will hook them as well

Bill?

@@AvalynTheAccursed yeah "love" exactly

Thank YOU!

Brookes Eggleston - Character Design Forge hey can you help me? I'm going to write a story about cyber and normal bullying. Can you help me with the bullies in the story?

he does

when you said "moth with the freezing power" for a sec I thought you meant Leif from Bug Fables lmao

Big Chill

So what the fusion will be called? Ghostchill? Or Big freak?

kinda reminds me of Redeads from zelda as well

+Pinkzer RU-vid Nice idea!

Pinkzer RU-vid An enemy is just a friend you haven't made yet :)))))))))))))))))))))))))) Sorry

Deep.

Or they’re just psycho and want to kick the dog for the lulz. Like Bill Cipher. That’s one evil triangle.

@@rainpooper7088 That's why triangles are evil!

Necro-posting here, but if I had to guess, it would be all the curves. To me, something about them sort of says "deception and mystery". Indeed, a twisted body is likely to be more flexible, elusive and always just beyond your reach.

Elijah Blechman Sounds edgy but if done well it'll be excellent, The Joker from the dark knight is an excellent example, the element of chaos/disorder personified . He presents Batman/victims with options but there is no 'right' or 'wrong', someone will suffer no matter which option is picked. He believes that there is no such thing as fair and he makes that very clear.

Sounds like Bill Cipher.

2 words: Invader Zim

Megamind

The joker

Death note

Thats no problem!

Oh no! hearts go away when you edit your comment!

@@simonj6801 :(

No I totally get It, he's misunderstood.

+andrew papakonstantinou Thanks Andrew! In this video I'm using an iPad Pro and Procreate (it's what I've been using almost always recently)

+Hggg Hhgg I'm working on my Designing Game Characters course right now, will be covering this!

Cool! If it's not much to ask, do you have a video about coolish robots or AI. Because I am really getting stuck with my game. I am probably asking too much... but can you do undead themed videos? Like, how to design non scary souls ghosts skeletons etc.

MelloJello I have some heavy criticism but hopefully you will take this into consideration and improve but you can also choose to ignore it altogether. Your choice I guess. I'll be honest, i don't think you really thought this out enough. Firstly are the villains separate characters from the main characters? Or like some alternate reality? your choice of words is really confusing. I also think that the 'item of evil corruption (the stone in this case)' thing is used as a crutch more than anything, try to do away with it (unless its an entity with its own consciousness then that would be interesting). Thirdly, what are 'insane powers'? And if the villain is a maniac, how can he train the main character... how are they even linked? ...everything is so confusing, no wonder you can't draw them. I think you may want to change some parts of the story. Try thinking of the time and location for a start. Could be anything. Then think about the motive and how it will actually benefit the villain in the long run. Oh and one more thing, 'insane' isn't a proper adjective, or at least how it's used. Being insane isn't what you think it means. It means being mentally unstable. You may think schizophrenic or psychotic but it also means being autistic (not as an insult as in legitimate autism), unable to tell right from wrong, flipping in and out of control over their actions and those people are suffering inside and no one can tell them why. It's not funny, It's legitimately sad and troubling. I've seen many amateur writers use this adjective this way and it's really distasteful to a lot of readers. Try being more specific or use another adjective. Well that's all I have. Maybe you could write down a revised version in the replies. I really want to see what you can come up with.

Is that a specific example in your case? Sure, it may help that their reason for wanting the gem is also clear, and perhaps a little bit more personal than the typical "I want absolute power!" trope. The character may be trying to win someone back, earning someone's approval, or finally take revenge for the death of a loved one, things like that. We care as an audience far more about the "get the gem" side of the story when we understand why it's desired in the first place.

BC1 Regime Governments. Look at DC's Injustice, or the Nazis. There is a main man but has a small following who takes control of an army. Force of nature? Earthquakes. Tornadoes. Tsunamis. Anything can do. If you want good ideas for villains, try watching Rick and Morty (if you're old enough), see how they present the antagonists. It's usually a conflict of oppositions rather than just good vs evil.

I'd say give it time. Just like the Avengers had several movies beforehand building up the characters before them getting together, the same has to happen for your villains. So long as you give enough of an arc to them so that the readers can understand where each of them are coming form, and so long as you give them a valid reason to team up, it should work.

MeerkatBlitz circles I guess...

these characters are loved because they are hated. they have very contemptible backgrounds.

Nakool Maletira​​ more or less. Some villains are hated, like Geoffrey, but some villains are do cool that you look at them and say "hey, this guy os badass". Those villains are, sometimes, more likeable than the heores. A combination of personality, stile, apearence and power.

Nakool Maletira​ they are generally arrogant, or confident, they use to walk in a "noble way" with the hands in the back, or they walk very slow, or they flight a lot, they use to have long hairs, with armors and cloacks or longcoats, what make them look more overpowered, and they use to be very powerful.

Look at Peridot's redemption arc from Steven Universe, or Zuko's from Avatar: The Last Airbender. They start off as imposing antagonists who eventually become our precious cinnamon rolls. I tend to ramble so I'll bold my points to make reading quicker. *Step 1: Know their motivation for being bad.* Peridot was following Homeworld's orders, Zuko was trying to reclaim his honor to resolve daddy issues. If they weren't in these positions, they probably wouldn't be doing the things they do. Peridot wouldn't be on Earth, Zuko wouldn't be hunting Aang. Your side villain should be in a similar boat of just following orders, or doing what they think is right. *Step 2: Give them depth.* At first we think Peridot is just another threat to our main characters. Then we realize she's scared and doesn't hold much value in herself without her limb enhancers. At first we think Zuko is just the main villain, until we realize his motivation and just how much he's struggling. We should be able to relate to these characters, and even find sympathy in them. *Step 3: Make it clear they're redeemable.* This character doesn't do anything immensely diabolical. They're just following orders. If they do anything immensely diabolical, they have remorse for it. The villain justifies their actions, but the redeemable villain sheds a few tears over the city they just blew up. They struggle, just like us and just like the protagonist. Peridot is only checking on the Cluster and running from the Gems, Zuko is wrestling with his own demons and is driving himself to capture Aang, but clearly doesn't want to kill him or anyone else. I hope this gives you a few ideas, and wasn't too confusing!

@@effeffiagonalick5078 thats pretty rough buddy-

TerribilisScriptorAabsolutely, very subversive. Done often when the villain is a surprise, eg King Candy, etc.

what if it is clear from the beginning that they/he/she are evil and still use this shapelanguage? to stay with the example of the GRINEER: they are obvious as the violent, dictatorial empire from the very beginning of the story and still all sport the round shapes.

Of course, I have a set of videos about shape language: ru-vid.com/group/PL-ng1NuQbDGUX2EagyS2xpu18w5I_Fn0r these are a little older, but there are updated versions in the Learn Character Design course.

Brookes Eggleston - Character Design Forge thank you.

Arial Chechire! you have such a pretty name

They can definitely work. take a look at some of the villains from Steven universe, or even King Candy/Turbo from wreck it Ralph. He’s a really tiny, cute guy who has a really evil feel about him somehow

@@tinybubble330 oooooh thank youuuu. This really helped me

@@nate_the_gamer360 no problem, have a good one!

@@tinybubble330 you too bud!

The question I have is what is the negative side affect of using these powers like getting some disturbing images stuck in her mind or if she has to go into some type of dreamland in order to steal or replace certain memories.

I haven't really thought too much about that, but my main two ideas have been she would have disturbing images stuck in her mind like you said, or, (this one's not as good) she has to change her appearance in some way, but I haven't explored that one as much.

@@angelcomesdown Sounds like an interesting character if done right.

What?

+Sans the Skeleton His actions and basis for doing them matter more than his words! A lot of times, villains pull the “is it really that bad” card. Doesnt change that they might be an awful person

Thanks

Do I say "HAVE to" in this video?