Worldbuilding: Physical Appearance

From dwarfs to giants, babies to crones, human forms are brilliantly diverse. People from different areas have certain traits that are passed down. From the frosty Nordic races to the darkest African tribes, we are all glorious shades of beige.

In Science Fiction and Fantasy, you can create your own beings. The only limits are your imagination.  How rooted in reality you want them to be is up to you. If you go widely astray in Science Fiction, you should be able to back up the choices through a credible rationale based on physics or biology. In Fantasy, magic can, well, work magic.

What body type was preferred (slim versus voluptuous, toned versus soft)? How tall were they?

How did they feel about skin tone? What tone was native to the time and place? How did they feel about differences? Did color indicate status, role, position? Had they eradicated prejudice or had it just shifted to other qualifiers?

How did they feel about exercise and physical fitness? What did they do to stay healthy or in shape?

How did they feel about body modifications (such as cinching in waists, binding feet, fake nails, fangs, adding horns, stretching necks, binding heads, plastic surgery, surgical modification, gender reassignment, castrations, mutilations)? Did they have cultural significance? Did they indicate rank, status, or role?
Did they have colored or unusual contacts?

Do they have any form of physical augmentation or mechanization: prosthetics, glass eyes, hearing aids or cochlear implants, dental implants or fillings, false teeth, other implants, bionics, cyborgs, organ transplants, etc.?

How did they feel about piercings? Where on the body, how, and with what? Did they have cultural significance? Did they indicate rank, status, or role?

How did they feel about tattoos? Did they have cultural significance? Did they indicate rank, status, or role? Men and women? Children?

How did they feel about hair color? What colors were native to the time and place? How did they feel about differences? Did color indicate status, role, or position? 

Did they alter hair color? How? What colors were possible or popular?

Were particular hairstyles dictated by role, position, class, religion, etc.?

Do your characters wear their hair to blend in or stand out?

Did they wear wigs?

Did they use hair ribbons, bows, bands, clips, or other embellishments? From towering wigs with birds and fruit, to artful braids, hair has been a source of fascination throughout the ages.

At some point, people began to paint their skin and face.

Did they use cosmetics? What colors and styles were popular?

Eyeliner or Kohl? Mascara? False or enhanced eyelashes?

Eyebrow liner, modification, shaving, or other manipulation?

Eye shadows to alter the shape of eyes or enhance their natural beauty?

Face powder, concealer, foundation, rouge or blush for beauty, to hide skin conditions, stage makeup, or disguises?

Lipstick or gloss to enhance or disguise?

Beauty marks or stickers?

Building a character is part of the fun of creating a story world. While you shouldn't spend pages describing your characters as they enter the story, knowledge of your story world will organically saturate your prose.

Next week, we take a look at hygiene.

For advanced world-building, the SBB Build A World Workbook is available in print and e-book.

Other titles in the series:

Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict available in print and e-book takes you from story seed to conflict outline. The fourteen companion Build A Plot Workbooks, in print and e-book, offer step by step development prompts: Comedy, Con, Heist & Prison Break, Fantasy, Gothic, Historical, Horror, Literary
(Drama),  Mystery, Road Trip, Romance, Science Fiction, Team Victory, Thriller & Suspense, Western.

SBB II Crafting Believable Conflict in print and e-book and the Build A Cast Workbook in print and e-book help you build a believable cast and add conflict based on the sixteen personality types.

SBB III The Revision Layers in print and e-book helps you self-edit your manuscript.

Free story building tools are available at www.dianahurwitz.com.