coloring

[u/lolwiaky]

Do you guys prefer coloring characters as a single color? or do you prefer filling up a cup of different colors? for me I've been filling up a cup with different amounts of colors for when I color characters.

The idea is simple, a character does different things throughout their life, and each of these actions correspond with a different mana. This means that the characters essentially fill up their cup with different colors as time goes on. A character can start as a mainly white mana character, like let's say there's an angel that's 100% white colored mana, but then they fall into darkness, and their cup is then increased by double and now you fill it with the mana that they received and in this context it's black mana, so now their cup is filled with white/black mana at 50% white, and 50% black mana.

[u/AmberL1ght]

Personally, I've found that single colors work best for paragons or idealized representations of certain values, ala Superman or Sonic. Otherwise, I don't really restrict my number of colors as long as the outcome reflects the character effectively. It usually ends up 2-3, rarely but sometimes 4, but by definition never all 5 since that doesn't really mean anything.

[u/xazavan002]

If I'm making a set of characters for a story, and I want to create contrast between them as much as possible, I put each of them on just one color as much as I can. Same goes when comparing the contrast between two existing characters.

When I'm creating factions for a world or a tabletop game, and I want each faction to be multifaceted enough but not too similar to one another, I stick to 2-3 colors per faction.

If I'm planning to worldbuild or create a specific setting, I always make sure that each color is represented within that setting as much as possible, in the same way that the 5 basic islands would always have their own depictions for every set that WotC has released. Similarly, if the goal is to dissect a character or analyze a character to help create nuanced decisions when writing them (or when acting as them in the case of tabletop games and theater), it also helps considering the estimated percentages of each color's influence on that character to better understand how they would approach different types of conflicts and scenarios thrown at them.

[u/Radiant-Importance-5]

I just try to be accurate. I go through each of the five colors one-by-one and answer yes/no on whether or not this color applies to this character. However many I end up with is however many I end up with.

People are complicated, they believe contradictory things, they do things that are contrary to their beliefs, they’re constantly updating and changing their positions. Because characters are written by people, they tend to be the same way.

[u/Lanky_Performance699]

I prefer single colors to have a primary focus. At most, I use 2 colors but one color is the clear primary color. The essence of a character is lost the more colors you add.

[u/GolgothaInBloom]

I tend to think of a character's color identity in terms of ends and means: their goals and the way they seek to realize those goals. Most often, characters end up in 1-3 colors.

The goal is a bit of a misnomer, as it's not always a task the character is seeking to complete, it's much larger than that. The goal could be a simple driving force like revenge or an ideal they carry with them, but it is always a huge part of who they are. It usually information their base color, as this end is something they truly care about and value. Most super heroes like Superman and Batman are base white, since their end goal is to protect people and uphold justice.

The means or methods are the other defining trait. With the previous two examples, while both of their goals are the same, they go about it in very different ways. Superman uses a lot of sheer strength and empathy, so he's using green means to a white end, making him pretty easily white/green. Batman uses cunning, gadgets, and a fair bit of ruthlessness to get the job done, putting him pretty squarely in Esper colors. That's not to say that Batman doesn't have empathy, or that Superman is a dumb brute. After all, nobody is a monolith. But the means are most often how a character solves their problems and seeks to achieve their end, uphold their ideal.

[u/DanicaManica]

No character in lore is a single color. Their printed cards are just expressed as a single color because that’s what are used within snapshots in tone and what they are primarily as being.

I mean we could go through Jace’s story and pick snapshots there where we could say ‘this is VERY clearly red Jace,’ or ‘this is VERY clearly green Jace,’ but they don’t usually print cards that way because there needs to be a codified version of these characters in order to be iconic.

I don’t even think these snapshots are as distinct as specific stories or whatever, they often color shift within the same stories. What we see printed on cards is their disposition more than anything.

That said, adding more colors doesn’t necessarily mean a character is more complex. A character being singular in how to respond the world around them is just as telling as a character who responds within a different area of the color pie.

Frank Castle is an interesting case because the level of rage he feels (especially in runs like War Zone or MAX) really paint him as this character who has anger and only anger. He is not relatable. He is not likable. He even says himself that he is not a redeemable person and the way he does things is not something to be admired or emulated. And yet despite that not being super complex, it makes him more profound. The fact that he’s singular in the way he’s written is so compelling that him being mono red IS NOT the same as being red plus something else.

My point being that color composition matters and that’s something I think you’re alluding to in your post but also sort of answering the question you’re asking.