Starting off ‘An April of Archetypes’ with ‘The Lover’ archetype. Now it may seem like this is a character solely made for romantic love stories, but there really is much more to this type of character, and using them right can honestly have a huge impact to your story and your audience! So let’s get into it!

To kick off the list of the 12 most common archetypes, I'm starting with 'The Lover.' The quick description is: A 'romantic' lead who is guided by their heart. Strengths - humanism, passion and conviction Weaknesses - naïvety, irrational (emotional decision making) Now, I know it's easy to immediately think of a romantic lead and while that would definitely fit the bill for a 'Lover' character or characters, it's doesn't always have to only take place in the midst of a romantic story. The lover is all about being an emotional center. Whether they are the emotional guide for the story, or just a trusted loyal companion to another protagonist, this archetype (like many) is versatile in how you want to define 'romantic.' Some examples of characters that fit the 'Lover' archetype: Romeo and Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) Wesley and Buttercup (The Princess Bride) Princess Anna (Frozen) Jack and Rose (Titanic) Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby) Timone and Pumba (The Lion King) Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings Trilogy) As you can see, there is a pretty good amount of variety in those characters, but a commonality between them all is they all have a desire to create relationships and will help evoke feelings in your audience as well! Now I want to hear from you about your thoughts on the 'Lover' archetype, and better yet, I want to see your drawings! Stay tuned for 'The Lover Archetype' video where I'll talk even more about our first archetype of the challenge!

Time for another monthly challenge! I’ve had a lot of requests for videos on character design, so I thought spending a whole month on characters would be a great way to do that! An April of Archetypes, where we will talk about the 12 most common archetypes, what they are and how they enhance your story and helpful tips for drawing them. Also we will make a couple of them battle, but more on that later this month! First archetype for everyone to share their version of will be posted later today!

Don’t know what archetype we’ll get for the first round but I want the cast to be in a medieval ballerina play. I’ve got a draft of what I want but I’m not sure if I want to go with it or the challenge.

Any tips on drawing the other eye?