Antagonists Physical Appearance

[Zuhaib]

So just wondering about antagonists appearances in fantasy. Do antagonists who are deformed like Voldemort and Emperor Palpatine make more of an impression or are human antagonists like Saraman and the White Witch just as effective? Or does it all depend solely on their actions and the things they do?

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

I wouldn't worry too much with physical appearance. Both deformity and beauty have been used for antagonists so many times that you can't really help but have a cliche.

Instead, focus more on their actions and their words rather than on what they look like. You don't want your characters to be so shallow.

 

[Precise Calibre]

The appearance in and of itself for an antagonist isn't important when you get down to it. I'd say what is more important is that, if you plan on focusing heavily on any particular aspects of a character's appearance, you should have a reason for the way in which you present it; whether it be regalia, physical traits, mannerism or otherwise.

A character, no matter how well-described, will fall flat as a two-dimensional character if you decide arbitrarily to garb/design them in a particularly striking way without at least an idea of why they are the way they are.

Examples:

A character who present an outward appearance of pristine well manners might be obsessive compulsive which might affect a large portion of their mannerism in the way they deal with other characters. An assassin might be garbed in all black leathers and a hood for his missions, but you shouldn't have an evil duke who bests his foes through devious politics dressed the same way.

Don't pick an appearance just because "it's cool", pick it for many reasons

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The appearance of the antagonist is the last thing you should decide. His or her personality, reasons for being antagonistic to the main character(s), where he or she fits into the plot, details of his or her background ... these are the things that make an antagonist memorable (or the reverse).

The appearance of the antagonist could be absolutely commonplace, unassuming, inconspicuous, the sort of person you would never give a second glance. That would certainly make any underhanded dealings easier, as people would be less likely to notice until it was too late.

Of course, to a certain extent our personalities shape us. People who are vain take care of their appearance. Certain vices take a physical toll over time. People who have certain goals that require athleticism would train hard to be fit. People who don't want to be noticed would acquire a certain way of moving. And so forth.

When you know what is important to a character, it may give you some hints or clues as to that individual's appearance. It's only a beginning, of course, because a person might be born into a body that is entirely at odds with what they want to do or be. Which in turn might help to form their character, depending on how they react: Do they become bitter, or simply more determined? Envious of others who are born with the gifts they wish to have, or more compassionate when it comes to the failings and strivings of others?

It's a complex puzzle, and deciding in advance what a character will look like based on what is more effective in some other story is not the way to go.

 

[Toby Frost]

I completely agree.

I really don't think this is something anyone but you can answer for sure. There are so many factors, as Teresa says, that come from the rest of the book that will determine what he/she/it is like. Whether your villain is hideous, beautiful or totally bland will depend on the story and above the level of a very weak D&D module the world will have to influence all of its inhabitants if it is to be convincing.

The question is really What do you want, and why is the villain like that? It might be that he's just the god of evil and that's that, but how would a god of evil look? More interesting is to work out what you want and go from there. Say my villain is a mad scientist obsessed with physical perfection. Will he look normal (since he's already perfect, in his opinion), or have used plastic surgery (excessively?) to improve himself, or perhaps he's removed all the bits of himself that aren't perfect enough (and replaced them with... something else)? The point is answering these questions is fleshing out the character's mentality and personality.

Or you can do it the other way. Say the villain for some reason has to be an enormous talking bat. Does he hate looking like that? Does he have human minions, and if so why do they follow this monster? Perhaps he bribes them into helping him. With money, or magic? Perhaps they worship him... All these questions are deepening the character.

 

[Malloriel]

Both deformity and beauty have been used for antagonists so many times that you can't really help but have a cliche.

If you have the extremes of beautiful, ugly, and normal, and villains have fallen into all three categories, you can't call ANY of them cliché , because you run out of options. Trees that grow without green on them in the villain's chosen land is a cliché, oh, unless his land happens to have suffered from severe droughts so that the trees can't get the water they need. We see things as being cliché whether they are or not because so many things have been done so many times. You run out of "new" options the second you start dismissing the old ones.

That aside, Voldemort wasn't disfigured because he was evil and it was effective, he was disfigured due to the process by which he maintained his immortality, the process by which he regained a body, and his connection to serpents. J.K. Rowling had a clear idea as to what he looked like in his various states and why. She even made it clear that prior to his first death, he was an extremely attractive, talented young man, so you can't really say that he is an example of a disfigured villain when he crosses into both of your categories over the course of the whole tale. That's what adds depth. He's not a monster in the sense that he's born of some unnatural creature (okay, that could be argued, but at least the woman was still technically human), it's his decisions, actions, and methods that lead us to realize him as the monster he is.

So I'm not sure what more could be said on the matter, since I agree that it is really about what you see his motivations, lifestyle, and disposition to be. Before you decide what he is, give him a chance to tell you WHO he is. Make up scenes for him to live in and see what he does, what he wears, how he speaks. It might really clear things up for you.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Appearance is only important if it is relevant to your story in some way. Otherwise a brief description should be sufficient as the reader will fill the gaps in themselves. It is also perhaps useful to spread the secription of your character through the book ; something that may suprise the reader. For example 'A tall dark-haird man with a scar on his right cheek' as an initial description , perhaps later 'he ran , but was hampered by stiffness in his left leg from an old battle wound susatined in his youth'