Archetypes, Stereotypes, Persona

Guide

Archetypes

The idea that we each fit neatly into a single archetype is a fiction. We do, however, have leanings towards certain archetypical behaviors while also embodying many more to varying degrees. Your job is to discover the archetypes that describe the character you are.

HERE'S AN EXAMPLE:

Milly Is a young child driven by strong emotions that can change quickly with external input. She is growing up in a family with a long history in the construction business. She has a strong work ethic and a lot of energy.

Stereotypes

A stereotype is an actual or imagined person that characterizes an archetype in a very particular but familiar way.

HERE'S AN EXAMPLE:

Milly is a 7 year old, orange, freckled, precocious cement mixer. She is a little bit dizzy and clumsy but has a lot of energy (her mixer is constantly spinning). She is constantly losing her pipe and blows steam out of her engine when she gets angry. She can be very stubborn and demands that her friends always act in her best interest. She can really turn on the charm to get what she wants. Despite all of her faults, she is not a quitter and will always be there for the road construction crew.

Personas

Personas are what characters show (or hope to show) others. It is not who they are in actuality. It's what we aspire to be. Characters actual selves and their personas are rarely identical.

HERE'S AN EXAMPLE:

Milly really wants to in charge of the crew and does her best to seem cool, calm confident. The problem is, in reality, she has a very short fuse.

Design

Once a character's archetype, stereotype and persona is developed, these concepts can drive the research and visual development. Let's break her down:

• extreme emotion: Articulating wiper/eyebrows, eyelids, mouth, articulating body
• clumsiness: Mixer that seems somewhat detached
• absent-mindedness: pipe that detaches and gets lost
• short-temper: steam
• young age: freckles and roundness
• charm: anime eyes and big smiles and giggles
• determination: a big constantly rotating mixer