Character aesthetic boards are the Pinterest version of character aesthetic posts on Tumblr. They can also be known as character inspiration boards. (Come check out my Destiny Be Damned Inspiration board to see what I mean.)
To put in basic terms, character aesthetic boards are made up of a group of pictures that speak to the aesthetic of a character, a story, a world, or a feeling. A Character Aesthetic post is when you select a certain number of pictures to put into a collage to represent the aesthetic you are trying to convey.
Questions #1: How do I find pictures to use?
You can go about this in a couple of ways. You could:
- Find relevant pictures to use on Tumblr
- Find relevant pictures to use on Google
- Find relevant pictures to use on Pinterest
- Browse through other Character Aesthetic Boards on Pinterest to find pictures.
*Remember: If you are using an image that is not your own you need to, at the very least, find the original source of the photo and give credit. If you want to be 100% safe from legal action you should ask permission to share the photo before doing so.
If navigating the waters of rights to other peoples photos scares you, fear not. You can check out the following for free images to use:
- ImFree
- Picjumbo
- Gratisography
- Unsplash
- LittleVisuals
- NewOldStock
- Pixababy
- Splitshire
- LifeofPix
- FreeGoodPhotos
- FoodiesFeed
- Libreshot
Question #2: What kind of pictures do I look for?
When I was creating my Inspiration Boards on Pinterest I looked for visual representations of: people (men, women, children), of animals, of states & cities, scenes, quotes that sounded like a characters personality and also clothing and items that those characters might have.
Really it’s just up to your imagination and what sort of things you are visually looking for.
Question #3: How do I create Character Aesthetic Boards?
Step by step instructions on how to add boards to your Pinterest profile can be found here. Once you know how to add a board the next thing you need to think about is what theme you want the board to be (example: a certain character, a certain world, a certain mood, a certain color, etc…) and then come up with a name (example: the name of a certain character).
Questions #4: How do I save these photos to a board on Pinterest?
The easiest way to save images to your Pinterest boards on the internet is to install the Pinterest Browser Button. If you need to install the browser button for a mobile device or a different search engine click here.
Question #5: How do I create a Character Aesthetic Picture?
Step 1: Decide which character you want it to be about.
Step 2: Think about who that character really is and start searching for images that represent that in your mind.
Step 3: Look for a combination of images that are pictures, quotes, colors and textures.
Step 4: Save them to you computer.
Step 5: Combine at least 4 visually stunning pictures into a collage either using Photoshop (here is a premade template) or:
Step 6: Save your collage and then share it on whatever social media site you would like (or keep it private if you prefer).
Below is an example of my interpretation of a character aesthetic image for Kristen my heroine in Destiny Be Damned. I created it using the collage feature on Picmonkey.com. I went more for a vibe of what is in her mind and how she identifies with herself.
Shout out to Jenna Clare on YouTube for inspiring this post with her video “How To: Character Aesthetic Boards“. While you are there, subscribe to her channel. You will not regret it. Even if she doesn’t cover your preferred book genre she is so fun to watch.
If you’d like to learn more about what Pinterest can do for writers check out:
“What Can Pinterest Do For Writers?“
Wednesday @ 9am “Upcoming Romance Books I’m Excited About”
Friday @ 9am “Upcoming Projects from the Plus Size Community”
- Have heard about Character Aesthetic Boards? If so, have you created any of your own?
- Do you prefer to call them character aesthetic boards or character inspiration boards?
- Have you ever created a board for fan fiction?
Leave a Reply