A quick note about characters

Something that's just occurred to me that might be of interest to the reading public is how I cement characters in my mind. As well as trying to come up with someone that's interesting, with flaws desires, unique qualities etc, etc something that I've done for Salamander is try and based the image of my characters (face, build etc) around well-known actors, or, at the very least, use them as inspiration so that I can build a better mental picture of them in my mind.

When describing a scene with a certain character in it, their reactions to things, thoughts etc it can be extremely helpful to have a visual cue on hand just to get your brain going. For all of my Salamander characters (the main ones, at least), I have done a kind of casting call and set certain actors who I think look akin to how I imagine them (even if it's just based on an idea or a theme I have in mind) to certain characters.

Currently, I have them all arrayed on my desktop but I plan to blow them up, print them out and stick them to my notice board (or my door, if that proves to be full) with their names beneath and salient notes about their personality, history and weapons etc. So far, it has been a great way to help these characters come to life as I make the movie in my mind of the narrative I'm describing on the page.

And just as a little treat, here's one of the faces that is currently serving as inspiration (oddly, it's not an actor at all but rather another character that I felt evoked the right mood purely in terms of its visual - and I can't stress this enough - it's ALL about the visual and NOT the character or the characters the actors may have played. Incidentally, I am a big fan of the game this character came from and his classic visual style is just perfect). Faces are probably the most expressive part of the body, so that's what I've focused on in each case.

I'll not say who the character is that bears a resemblance to this one (facially), and if you haven't read the short story or the novel you won't know anyway. But, take a look at Fires of War once that's released in Heroes of the Space Marines and see if you can peg which one it inspired in my mind (oh, and ignore the face paint and the scar down the right side of the face. And remember to add jet-black skin and burning red eyes...).