Who doesn’t have a favourite superhero? Hardly anyone. I’m sure when you were all younger, you had a favourite superhero character out of all the cartoons you watched. For some of you, you might still idolize or revere your favourites. So whether you want to make a superhero of your own for a comic you’re designing or just as a hobby, creating your own character can be lots of fun!

Here are some simple steps to help you along the way. All you need is a paper and a pencil, and some imagination to get you started!

Read on and enjoy!

Basic Characteristics

First thing you need to do is think of a gender and basic characteristics for your superhero. Is he or she going to be young or old, small and short or large and bulky, etc.

Power

Second, think of a power or unique quality for your superhero.

Name Your Character

Then decide on a quirky, unique name. The name of your character should ideally reflect your superhero’s powers or qualities.

Possibilities

Now you have to think how your superhero got its unique powers and abilities. Was it the result of a freak accident? Was there a nuclear explosion? A bite from a poisonous reptile? A genetic fault? That’s up to you to decide, and the possibilities are endless.

Good or Evil?

Superheroes are of all kinds, and you have to decide if yours is one of the good guys or playing on the bad guys’ team. Explore a little more into your superhero’s character and personality. Get inspiration from real life characters or your own experiences to help you decide.

Where’s the flaw?

A superhero isn’t a superhero without a flaw.  As mentioned before, real life characters will help you design your character’s personality. And nobody’s perfect. So, a little flaw in your superhero will make him/her more believable, more fun, more endearing and – for lack of a better word – more human.

Sketch Your Superhero

When you have thought out these details, you can start drafting the first sample of your superhero on a piece of paper. Additionally, you can now start adding little details to define your superhero, by giving it hair, eyes, other facial features, wings, tails, or scales, whatever you like, and whatever goes with your superhero’s powers or traits.

Colour Your Superhero

Then, you can start choosing colours and decide on a theme or colour palette for your superhero. That way, it will be easier for you to design your superhero when you plan on making lots of drawings and poses or when you start developing your comic.

Background

Choosing a background is also very important. You will have to think of a proper setting or location to place your superhero. That will be central to your story later as you develop a comic. And even if you’re just making your superhero for fun, a background will give it a realistic appeal.

Design a Costume

After you’ve decided on a proper background for your superhero, you need to design a costume. Here is where you can be really creative and experiment with vibrant, bright colours and eccentric styles. Masks, cloaks, leggings, hats, weapons and other accessories will all make your superhero a full-fledged character. And like everything else, the costume and other accessories should reflect on your superhero’s powers and personality.Design a symbol or logo for your superhero, which you can put on the costume. It can be a small sign, like that of a bat on Batman, or spider on Spiderman, or a big S on Superman.

Always remember to come up with your own ideas for your superhero. If you copy ideas from already existing superheroes, your own might not seem that interesting or unique.  And ‘Carpe diem’ – seize the day!

List of Superheroes, Superheroines and Villains

Here we have put together a list of superheroes, superheroines and villains digital paintings which will definitely help to get you started!

Remember that you can always browse through old and new comic books from a bookstore near you or borrow some from a friend, and look for ideas and inspiration for your character. If that doesn’t help you, go through the web, and you’ll find several sites to help you design a character of your choice, you can create your own and take print outs to help you.