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Old 05-23-2005, 07:19 PM   #2
Gorgulu
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 41
Gorgulu is on a distinguished road
I generally dedicate a paragraph to their looks, a paragraph to their clothing, and another paragraph for any odd or special features on them. All together it usually ends up being about 3/4 of a page in length (In my client, not on a word processor); some might think that's too long, but I'm used to writing and reading descriptions of that length, and find them quite enjoyable if done right.

In the paragraph describing looks I focus on the general face and head area, and that alone usually takes up more room than the rest of the body combined, unless their body has some unusual features.

To give you an idea of what I mean, here's a little description I wrote up for my new Chiarascuro character that i'm rather proud of. Brody has already seen it, of course; he's the one who approved it, I think. He is a priest on a primitive island chain called the Weeping Stones:

       This tall Weeping Stones man has dark skin, dark hair, and darker tattoos. He is just shy of six feet tall, with a lean, toned build that speaks of fitness and health. His limbs are long and strong, conditioned by hard work. His black hair is long and straight, sweeping back from his prominant widow's peak to the small of his back. Strings of dried kelp are woven throughout it, highlightning it in streaks of green. His eyes are blue-green, his nose long and narrow.
       The tattoos that adorn his body are black, blending easily with his dark brown skin to create a natural look. The image of a large thakos palm stretches over his back, roots extending over his lower back and curling out slightly along his hips. The trunk stretches up, and the wide fronds cover his shoulderblades. On the back of either hand is a single blooming awapuhi flower, their stems extending down his wrists and then wrapping up his arms, the coils growing closer together as they near his shoulders until they terminate in loops just below his armpits.
       The man's legs are covered by a pair of loose-fitting hemp pants that cling around his waist, held on by a length of rope that acts as a belt. His shirt is made of the same brown hemp, with a loose collar than leaves a bit of his chest bare and short sleeves that reveal most of his arm tattoos. Wrapped around either foot are simple sandles made from dried palm leaves.

I also like sprucing my descriptions up by highlightning many of the nouns and the adjectives that describe them in various colours, although due to copy+paste that can't be seen here.

SUMMARY: Somewhere between medium and verbose. I like 'em big, but I've seen multi-page ones, and they scare me.
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