Sorry I think I deleted my post by mistake. My MC's father is a corrupt corporate guy and I'm having trouble with his appearance because I keep making him look cliche What are some ideas I can use as inspiration to avoid being so cliche'd? Thanks.
There are certain things that are “cliche” about a businessman’s appearance because they tend to wear the “ uniform” of business—I.e., suit, tie, etc. Suggest you tune into a business channel on cable like CNBC or Bloomberg and you’ll find plenty of “models” to draw from. Or, you can make him a quirky business guy, eccentric., who doesn’t dress or from in the stereotype at all. MJust find someone interesting-appearing when you are out and about and make a mental note—then describe that person. I generally have a “model” in mind—someone I know or have seen—when I am making up a character. Have fun (this should be the fun part).
Thank you. I'll look into it more. Also on terms of hairstyles, I was thinking making it pushed to the side, maybe one side sticking up, dirty sandy blonde hair and eyes very light icy blue and light skin. Or go with black hair, darker skin tone and dark eyes. Which is less cliche?
Cause most businessmen usually have the same suit, tie and parted hairstyle and I know if I follow the same it'll get called out for being unoriginal.
Your last thread hadn't been deleted, but since I see you've created an identical one (because you thought the last one had been deleted), I've gone and deleted that one for you since there had been no replies yet, but this one does have replies. You'd simply created the last thread under "marketing" for some reason so maybe you just couldn't find it again when you returned to the forum?
Dude... All this talk about how it really was okay to make him half-Japanese, and now he isn't? I'm disappointed.
How are you making the father look like a cliched corporate guy? You can look up actual CEOs of different companies and draw inspiration from them. Or, if you mix it up a bit, you can have the father look similar to the MC. A resemblance to evil - in this case, corruption - can be a nice tool to use in character development. My two cents.
No no, I decided to make the father American and the mother Japanese instead Also I figured an American business guy would be easier than a Japanese guy cause thst seems even more stereotypical.
Like sharp executive suit, tie, hair brushed to the side ..etc. Thanks, I'll definitely take this into consideration. I know I remember now. Originally I was going to make the father Japanese and the mother American but I can't come up with a design for a Japanese business guy thst doesn't scream "Asian bad guy stereotype in suit" and I know there will be many criticizing it.
Well I took a look at Asian business casual (cause the bad guy can decide on having a bit of style cred instead of the same old suit. That's so 80's/90's.) And here is what I got: "Just cause your an evil as fuck corporate tycoon, doesn't mean you can't look snazzy while doing it."
One thing to keep in mind--- people in business (or anywhere else) get away with being corrupt because their corruption is hidden. That is, they don't "look the part." So think what would communicate sleazy in a business look and have him totally avoid that. His look should inspire confidence, yet make him seem approachable. It should read "solid, respectable citizen" all the way. Dress him so no one will suspect he's doing shady deals or taking kickbacks or dipping into the till. But maybe by "corrupt" you mean "ruthless." No. Two different things. Your ruthless type keeps within the law, though just barely. The villain in my WIP is a successful real estate entrepreneur. But he keeps his land and development dealings strictly on the up-and-up, so no one will suspect him of the plans he has on the side until the time has come to make his move. So I can't call him a corrupt businessman. Oh, he's corrupt all right, but not in that area.
His personality and story should inform his design. Think about the type of person he is -- what would that sort of person dress himself in? Does he care about fashion at all or would he be content with a run-of-the-mill look because appearances mean little to nothing to him? Would he prefer a fairly sedate, stealthy look, or an outlandish one to separate himself from the herd? Maybe he'd wear an average, nice suit, but have a statement piece in every ensemble like a remarkable watch, tie, lapel pin, belt, cuff links, or even sock -- something subtle, but distinctively him, because he doesn't want to blend completely into the crowd. Ditto the hair. If he doesn't intend to stand out, he'd go along with the current fashion trend. If not, depending on when your story's set, he might have something more interesting or counter culture for that period. Maybe he's got a crew cut or a high-and-tight; maybe he wears a ponytail. Is he the type of person to take the time to style his own pompadour? Does he take pride in it? Or does his hair mean nothing to him? Maybe he shaves it all off. Maybe he's balding or going gray -- does he accept it or does he try to hide it? eta: I'm wary of trying to make a character distinctive based on features they can't change. Everyone's pulling from the same limited pool of natural eyes, hair, and skin colors, so no matter what you choose, it's going to be pretty generic on some level. Instead I'd think about what he can alter, and the ways in which he curates his own appearance, and what that means about him.
I don't really see that as a stereotype any more than a soldier wearing a uniform is a stereotype. It pretty much IS the uniform of the executive.
An evil businessman in general can be cliché on its own unless you go beneath the surface. If Mister Moneylover has to destroy a rain forest to build himself a multi-million dollar condo to have hot parties, that's fine. However, don't link the reason as "he's evil and loves money and you're supposed to think he's a meanie." I digress though, it's not about the evil businessman aspect just his appearance. I don't believe someone's appearance can be cliché, maybe if you're purposely trying to fit them into a stereotype, but how about you just design a character then slap them in whatever attire their career demands? Design their look based off their personality perhaps. I once read that it's common for intellectually busy people to wear the same type of clothing all the time. Someone like myself who wants to look half-decent on the off chance I actually venture into the outdoors, but also hates copious amounts of self-maintenance may prefer short hair or wear their long hair up often. Or bypass the hair problem all together and say he's bald. Unless it's cliché for a businessman to be bald, in that case the neighbor I don't actually have better slap a toupee on 'cause he's cliché. I guess it's the MC's father, so wouldn't they look somewhat alike? Genetics are weird, but it's totally possible for a human being to be a decent mix of traits from their parents or just one parent. If the physical appearances are irrelevant, no one would care if the passed traits seem ordinary. Now if your MC's brunette, blue-eyed mom and ginger, green-eyed dad created a magenta-eyed baby with lime green hair, that'd be worth mentioning. No one can tell you exactly how to design a character, but honestly it's more about how they're written than how they look. Hope this helps!
And why would you want to create a clichéd, stereotyped character anyway? Unless you're writing a melodrama or a farce . . . (Official Evil Businessman)
I really like your approach to any character. Think about what that character can alter. I'll keep that in mind myself. What a character chooses to alter or develop regarding their appearance is often a key to their personality, and linked to their attitude towards other people. Do they dress flamboyantly, or conservatively? (To attract notice, or to fit in?) Do they want to be seen as belonging to a group, or do they want to stand apart from a group? Are they excessively prim and tidy? Or are they sloppy? Casual? Comfortable? Elegant? Do they wear clothing that flatters them? Or maybe they are fond of wearing fashions that might not suit them—meaning they might be afraid to be seen as out of date, or are clinging to an idealised version of themselves, instead of seeing what's actually there. Personal traits can be revealed via clothing, hairstyles and attitude. What colour eyes they have, how tall they are, or how conventionally pretty/handsome they are does not reveal personality. It might influence their personality ...if they think they are beautiful or think they are ugly, these things can push them in certain directions as their life progresses. But what they choose to alter or develop is what really reveals personality.
I would go with Richard Branson as Bond villain. Kitesurfing off-shore of his Air Hostess Island. That one hits me hard in the visuals, all the hairy hands and laughter, creepy - especially kite-surfing. ... Also - related, maybe not - people writing goofy or 'likeable hitmen.' Now I was perusing my longest prison sentence hobby on the Wikecyclopedia - and there's a hitman on the list and he is not likeable - as the judge said. So, musing on this, I think likeable hitmen should disappear. Nobody writes likeable paedophiles - not till I get back to my blog. 'Kiddy-fiddling aside, Jake was an outstanding buddy.' Contract killers are nasty.
This is actually good, if I go with the corrupt Japanese corporate guy, this could give him some sense and style and avoid being seen as another generic Asian bad guy in suit. Thanks That's a great way to look at it. He's good at blending in, but he still wants to build a name for himself. He's cool, kind of casual and may seem a little flashy in appearance but he's also sinister and intimidating to a degree and the type that does a lot of traveling to different places in the world. Yes, he would care about fashion but not overdoing it. If the father's the American corporate guy, then he would care about appearance and be well kept and cares about his grooming but not all the way to where he looks perfectly kept as he'd be a little grizzly, maybe showing off a bit of his chest but still remain with a clean sharp look. He'd dress more comfortably in a casual sense, sort of laid back, snazzy style like he enjoys to party and have fun, enjoys to travel but still gives off that serious dressed presence and changes his hairstyle up a bit from time to time, since he'd have long hair. If I make him Japanese than he'd have a more fashionable sense with being even more groomed, very well kept, still in a casual snazzy way but more dressy and sophisticated, just a little bit of facial hair, maybe sticking to just one or two type of hairstyles as his hair would be kind of long too. No you're right I agree, I think it's because I want my corporate guy to stand out a bit and since if he's in a powerful position, I think he'd be able to have more freedom to where what he wants to wear and not just dress like any other typical businessman. But it could be a good way to blend in I guess. The part that got me thinking cliche, was my idea to just throw him in a suit and make him evil but I completely agree with you, thank you very much for the feedback. Having a suit on and being corrupt or ruthless doesn't always have to be cliche cause suits are a common thing in real life, I think from what you're saying. I actually had an idea for another corrupt character that's bald and a toupee that I've already been working on Well I planned on having my MC being grizzly and strong featured so I guess the father would have to have similar features, but my MC is half Japanese so depending on whether the father is caucasian or Japanese, more likely he would be more hairy if he was white. The MC would have light eyes and dark hair so either the mother or father would have more lighter features with lighter hair and light eye coloring. Thanks! This does help, hopefully I can make better sense of it.
Ok this might actually work after all. Thanks. I'd say a combination of both but more on the conservative side. Maybe alternate from sticking out for attention to blending in to do his bad deeds. tidy but can be an elegant and casual flair. More like dressing in a "never too old to look this way" kind of thing. Very tall but not too tall where they are noticed as "that huge tall guy" that sticks out but tall enough like close to 6'3 and looking good for a middle aged man. The son MC would probably be a little shorter than the father. I don't know if that matters though. This got me chuckle a bit but in a way I think this could work out really well
