| Brief | With this collaboration, we're putting our original Create a Character process to work on an actual open question from Issue #3. You'll have an opportunity to help develop the young man's appearance, background, personality, motivations and history - and ultimately help us answer a simple question: Who does Dex see? |
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| Background | Early in Issue #3, Dex Coleman encounters a young man he doesn't recognize. We know this character will matter to the developing story. What we haven't fully decided is exactly who he is. |
| This & That | Selected ideas and artwork may be featured through Made Collaborative and considered as we develop the character who ultimately appears in Issue #3. Contributors whose ideas are incorporated into the finished comic will be credited as part of its development. |
Back of the Yards began with character creation.
During Made Collaborative’s original classroom workshops on Chicago’s West Side, young collaborators helped imagine characters like Andre Davis, Tamia Parker and Russell Patterson – laying the foundation for the world of Back of the Yards.
Now, as we open Issue #3 to collaboration, we’re returning to those roots.
Early in the developing story, Dex Coleman encounters a mysterious young man he doesn’t recognize. We know this character will play a role in the story. But exactly who he is remains an open question.
Through the four creative steps below, we’ll explore the building blocks of character creation—from physical appearance and personality to motivations and personal history. Follow the exercises that spark your imagination, and help us answer one of Issue #3’s first mysteries:
Who does Dex see?
Let’s start with the basics.
When Dex first encounters this mysterious young man in the alley, he doesn’t know his name, where he comes from, or why he’s there. He only knows what he can see.
And that’s where we’ll begin.
What does this young man look like? How old is he? How does he dress and carry himself? Does he seem familiar to the neighborhood – or like someone Dex has never encountered before?
To help us explore these questions, we’ll revisit Andre Davis, one of the first characters developed through Made Collaborative’s original youth workshops. Andre offers an example of how a few simple details about a character’s appearance and background can begin to bring that character to life.
Explore Issue #1 of Back of the Yards below, inspired by our original youth collaborations on Chicago's West Side. The story and characters were further developed by Len Kody and Jimmy Briseno, with illustrations by Dan Dougherty.
You can also download or print a PDF copy using the first icon on the right side of the flipbook's bottom toolbar.
Physical traits can help bring your character to life. Consider details like hair color and style, eye shape and color, facial features, skin tone, and body type. These characteristics can make your character more distinctive and offer clues about their personality or background.
For more inspiration, explore the table below or check out this helpful guide to physical descriptions.
Beyond physical traits, consider your character’s basic background, including age, birthplace, nationality, education, occupation, residence, and family relationships.
Think of this step as introducing a character in a movie screenplay. A few carefully chosen details can help readers visualize who your character is before exploring their personality, motivations, and deeper story.
For a great example, consider how the screenplay for Training Day, starring Denzel Washington, introduces Detective Alonzo Harris:
“DETECTIVE SERGEANT ALONZO HARRIS, IN BLACK SHIRT, BLACK LEATHER JACKET. AND JUST ENOUGH PLATINUM AND DIAMONDS TO LOOK LIKE SOMEBODY. HE READS THE PAPER IN A BOOTH. THE GUN-LEATHER-TOUGH L.A.P.D. VET IS A HANDS-ON, BLUE-COLLAR COP WHO CAN KICK YOUR ASS WITH A LOOK.”
In just a few sentences, we get a vivid sense of Alonzo's appearance, occupation, and personality.
Watch the clip below to see how this brief character description comes to life on screen!
Before you begin imagining the young man Dex sees, there’s someone else you should know about. More than thirty years earlier, Dex knew another young neighborhood figure named Darius King –better known around Back of the Yards as “The Broker.”
King disappeared in 1994, leaving behind questions that were never completely resolved. We don’t yet know what – if any – connection exists between King and the young man Dex encounters in Issue #3.
But something about this new character may echo the past.
We’re not asking you to recreate Darius King. This is a new character with his own personality, history and future.
But as you begin creating him, keep King somewhere in the back of your mind.
Explore the file below if you’d like to know more.
What Does Dex Notice First? Picture the moment Dex first sees this young man.
What catches his attention? Think about the character’s age, build, hair, clothing, facial features, posture or anything else that might stand out.
What are the first physical details Dex notices?
Now look beyond his appearance.
How old is he? Does he live in Back of the Yards? Did he grow up here—or is he new to the neighborhood? Does he go to school? Work? Have family nearby?
You don’t need to know his entire story yet. Just start with a few basic details that give us a sense of the life he may have lived before Dex encountered him.
Now bring those ideas together.
Using the Training Day example above as inspiration, imagine that you’re writing the young man’s first appearance in the Issue #3 screenplay.
In just two or three sentences, introduce us to the person Dex sees.
What would the reader see before they knew anything else about him?
In Step One, we began with what Dex can see – the young man’s appearance, some basic details about his background, and the first impression he might make.
Now let’s look beneath the surface. What is this young man actually like?
Is he confident or insecure? Quiet or outspoken? Careful or impulsive? Does he trust people easily, or keep everyone at a distance?
A character’s personality shapes how they respond to the world around them—and often tells us far more about them than their appearance ever could.
So for Step Two, we’ll begin thinking about the traits that make this young man distinctly him – that is, we will begin thinking about his personality. And perhaps no other character in cinema today has as complicated of a personality than the comic villain that goes by the name of The Joker …
How would you describe the Joker’s personality? Impulsive? Humorous? Creative? Daring? Unpredictable?
Which of the personality traits below best describe him?
For more inspiration, explore this extensive list of character traits from ProWritingAid, a resource for creative writers.
In contrast to the Joker's fictional personality, let's consider the real-life legacy of Frida Kahlo, one of the most influential artists of her time.
A Mexican painter celebrated for her deeply personal self-portraits, Kahlo explored themes of identity, pain, and resilience. Despite significant health challenges, she became an enduring symbol of creativity, individuality, and Mexican cultural pride.
After watching the video, how would you describe Frida’s personality? Creative? Daring? Inventive? Thoughtful?
While Frida and the Joker may share certain traits, such as creativity and daring, their personalities are otherwise strikingly different.
These differences also reflect something deeper: their character archetypes, which we’ll explore in Step Three.
But first! …
Think about the young man you’ve begun creating.
Choose three to five personality traits that describe him.
Is he confident? Guarded? Loyal? Reckless? Funny? Suspicious? Ambitious? Impulsive? Something else entirely?
Don’t worry about whether the traits are “good” or “bad.” Interesting characters usually contain a little of both.
Dex only has a brief encounter with this young man. Like any of us, he’s going to make assumptions based on what he sees.
What might Dex initially get wrong about him?
Maybe someone who appears threatening is surprisingly thoughtful. Someone who seems confident is actually terrified. Someone who looks reckless has a very specific reason for taking risks.
What’s beneath the first impression?
Personality often reveals itself most clearly when something goes wrong.
Imagine this young man is challenged, embarrassed, threatened or forced to make a quick decision.
What does he do?
Does he confront the problem? Walk away? Make a joke? Lose his temper? Protect someone else? Pretend he isn’t afraid?
What does his reaction tell us about who he really is?
By now, our character is beginning to take shape. We have a sense of what Dex sees when he first encounters him—and the personality that might lie beneath that first impression.
Now let’s go deeper: What drives him?
Compelling characters are shaped by their values, desires, and fears. One way to explore these motivations is through character archetypes—familiar patterns that help us understand a character’s motivations and role in a story.
Consider the Joker and Frida Kahlo from Step Two. Both faced adversity, but followed very different paths. The Joker embraced chaos and destruction, while Frida channeled her struggles into creativity and artistic expression.
These contrasting paths offer a useful introduction to character archetypes, which we’ll explore below.
Our exploration of character archetypes begins with Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and influential figure in modern psychology.
Jung introduced the concept of the “collective unconscious”—the idea that humans share certain universal patterns and symbols that shape how we understand ourselves and the world. From these shared patterns emerge familiar character archetypes that appear throughout history, mythology, and storytelling.
Click below to explore these archetypes and discover which might describe the Joker, Frida Kahlo, and other familiar fictional and historical figures!
Closely related to character archetypes are core values—the fundamental beliefs and principles that guide a character’s choices and actions. Think of them as your character’s personal compass.
Together, a character’s archetype and core values help shape their motivations, decisions, and role in the story.
Explore the sample values below, or browse this more comprehensive list of core values for additional inspiration.
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Think about the archetypes above. Which one – or combination – feels closest to the young man you’re creating?
More importantly, what does he want?
Respect? Belonging? Independence? Security? Recognition? Revenge? A way out? Something else entirely?
What matters enough to him that it might influence the choices he may make in Issue #3 and beyond?
Earlier, we introduced you to Darius King.
Dex knew King more than thirty years ago. And while the young man Dex encounters in Issue #3 is someone entirely new, we’re interested in the possibility that something about him causes the past to echo forward.
Look at the character you’ve created so far. What, if anything, might remind Dex of Darius King?
It could be something obvious – or something Dex can’t quite put his finger on yet.
A personality trait?
An ambition?
The way he carries himself?
His role in the neighborhood.Something about his circumstances. Or perhaps the resemblance lies somewhere else entirely.
This young man is not Darius King. Give him something that could only belong to him.
What makes his worldview, motivation, personality or history fundamentally different from King’s?
What is something about this character that Dex could never have anticipated based on what he remembers about the past?
With your character's physical traits, background, personality, archetype, and core values taking shape, it's time to add the details that make them truly unique!
In this final step, we'll explore your character's backstory, relationships, and personal experiences through 100 quick questions in the Google Slides presentation below. Answer as many as inspire you!
And for a little creative inspiration, we turn to Stan Lee, the legendary Marvel creator behind Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, and many more.
Original artwork by participating artist Eric Nyamor.
Every character has a life before we meet them—family, friendships, memories, ambitions, and experiences that shape who they become.
We may never see all those details in the comic, but they help make a character feel real.
Now let’s explore who this young man was before Dex ever encountered him.
Every character has a life before we meet them.
Think about the young man Dex sees. Where did he grow up? Who raised him? Who matters to him? What experiences have shaped the person he is becoming?
Give us a little of his story before Dex ever sees him.
Now bring his past into the present.
Why is this young man here, in this neighborhood, at this particular moment?
Is he looking for someone? Running from something? Trying to prove himself? Protecting someone? Looking for somewhere he belongs?
What does he want—and how might that have brought him into Dex’s path?
We’ve imagined what he looks like. We’ve explored his personality, what drives him, where he comes from and what might connect him to the past.
There’s just one thing left.
What’s his name?
It can be his real name, a nickname, or both. Dex doesn’t know who this person is yet. But you do.
We've explored his appearance, personality, motivations, and possible connections to the past.
Now it's your turn to help bring him to life.
Share your ideas for the mysterious young man Dex encounters in Issue #3. Your contributions may help shape the character who ultimately appears in the comic.
ENTER THE WORKSHOP →
No drawing skills required. Just bring your imagination.
Although by no means, required, but to the extent you have developed any concept sketches or illustrations of your new character, we encourage you to submit those illustrations to us. Just do us a favor and let us know which character you are submitting illustrations for, and we will absolutely make sure our artists receive them when they are reviewing your character submissions!
And we may feature your artwork in the future either on the project website or directly in our comic issues, all subject to your approval!
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book. iPad/iPhone users, submit images from FILES (NOT from Photo Library).
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Collaborate with professional artists by contributing some artwork of your own! Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
