How To Create Believable Character Friendships
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- Making two characters friends does not mean turning them into the same person. A believable friendship in fiction does not involve agreeing on everything, rather it involves caring about one another despite having disagreements.
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"Animal crossing doesn't have conflict"
*digs a hole for neighbor to fall into*
What I do is I lure them into an area and them surround them with holes so they can't out. They just have this one small 4 by 4 space to move around in and if possible, I make that area even smaller. I call it prison and they get put in prison if they ever anger me. Ngl those are some of my favortie Animal Crossing moments.
Kinley Handersen lol
This man just taught me Life lessons, I am now a God among men >:)
And that my _friends_ is my proof on why animal crossing is a sandbox game
*needs rare fish and bugs that never show up to complete the museum*
*my house and town features cost 8374939264937 bells*
*can't unlock the DIY projects I want without obsessively visiting my villagers houses 24/7 to see when they're crafting and also Celeste is never there when I play*
*the furniture i want is never in the store*
*can't get all the fruits or different colored town decorations bc I don't have friends*
*crazy redd ripped me off*
No, but Animal Crossing is a way of life.
Be good, kind, and friendly. Be helpful. And fear debt...
True that!
The last one hit me hard..
Hard to be afraid of debt when there's no interest.
Animal crossing... It's... It's my story ok?? *crying*
there there.* consoles Deleted Channel*
wubba Lubba dub dub
Add the marine. Then we'll see.
_DOOM music starts blasting_
Pat pat
Punch in the face
"Have you ever screamed internally at two characters, wanting them to talk it out" - STORY OF MY LIFE.
I think this is maybe the most important part of a good friendship, both irl and in fiction: COMMUNICATION.
Talking about points of friction, even if it's awkward, is SO important and it makes two characters grow even closer if done right.
It honestly gets insufferable after a while if characters do not talk about their issues and dance around it for too long
Unfourtunately, from a writing standpoint, its a very convenient way to create conflict or maintain the direction of the plot 😂
but agghhh it's not nice
Literally the entire plot of Miraculous
Another good example of good friendships in Television:
The Friends
In "Friends"
SapsDrow Bruh
SapsDrow Havent seen much of it so can't speak to that, but sure
All of those are horrible people with damaging and manipulative friendships.
Sounds like all of my friendships ;_;
100th like!
I love "friends" !!! Best entertaining show ever!
How do i acquire this “friends”?
@Gabriel Resende yeah.. did that a few years ago and didn't acquire it.
@Daniel von Strangle thats part of the JOKE
I think it's on netflix
@@cuckoobrain7999bruh lol
@@cuckoobrain7999 not anymore pal.
My best friend characters met when they were younger.
One is impulsive and outwardly selfconfident, and the other is reserved and keeps mostly to himself.
The first one can be very blunt, and tends to hurt people's feelings, while the second one overthinks his responses to be extra careful NOT to hurt people's feelings.
Ness Of Onett opposites attract
Two of my secondary characters met in a similar way. They lived as neighbours as kids and while one of them (Hali) always liked to play by the beach the other (Dysmas) got dragged along. Dysmas didn't know that Hali always looked up to Dysmas for his intellect and Hali didn't know that Dysmas envied him for his bold grasp on life. It takes a while for them to become friends.
do they have anything in common?
Sounds like me and Michael
Alexander and Burr?
5:47 "Try and look at some inspiration from your own life, your own friendships"
bold of you to assume I have friends.
"try to look at your friendships"
Me: "..."
:(
Same
my friends: *demonic theatre kid screeching*
my friends: *casually talking about trauma*
my friends: *more demonic screeching*
my friends: ARSONARSONARSONARSON
me:
@@jinnahyun5387
My friends: *casually beating each other up*
Does imaginary friends count?
Key things for Intresting Friendships: 1:55
Common interest
•Honesty
•Trust
•Communication
•A amount of difficulties in these things
•Care for eachother
>tfw when u watch this to learn how friends are supposed to act
*pats ur head*
r/2meirl4meirl
trying to write a story but don't know how people are supposed to act
The face when when
@@nqme2861 Same😂
Did anyone else notice that Mike and Sully figures suddenly appeared behind him when he started talking about them?
😉
@@CharacterDesignForge ahahahh pretty clever..
The "Have the Characters Chew the Fat in an Elevator" is actually a really cool little writing thought experiment. Thanks, I'm definitely going to use that!
Pol Subanajouy if you include it, use it like a garnish on an otherwise well developed friendship, Not the only morsel!
But of course! I actually think I might not even use the elevator scene in the story, but I see it having value just getting the tone of a friendship between new characters. You know, break it in like a new set of shoes.
Pol Subanajouy I like that a lot!
I honestly think that as long as a friendship in a story comes from a real place and the creator experienced something similar then it should be ok,even if that experience was a bad one
el_nachis_wapete_69.pishacorta I'm sure I agree, but prefer to speak in less broad terms when it comes to advising others.
@@CharacterDesignForge "My Hero Anime" .... " Bakugo and Deku"
I internally scream at characters all the time! 😂
Oh man, how can you not?
I actually understand the frustrations twp of my characters have with eachother
_So i just silently watch, waiting for them to work it out_
!?!!!?!?? Animal Crossing has one of the strongest underlying narratives of any game out there, what are you talking about!? (Thanks Brooks, was just about to start writing the first interactions between the two main characters for my game. Sort of a youthful optimism vs. young adult disillusionment going on there I think.)
"How many times have you yelled (at least internally) at two characters to talk it out?"
Aspiring writers reading this: in my personal opinion, AVOID this trope. We've already seen it ad nauseum across fictional works of all genres. This has been done so much that it can make stories come across as juvenile or momentarily shatter the immersion/Suspension of Disbelief. Now if there's a lack of communication due to war, sudden and probable lack of means to do so, and/or it sets off a morbidly devastating yet entertaining chain of events that really wows the reader and/or makes them think *really* hard about a topic, then that would be good use of it.
But that's one simple guy's opinion - consider your audience, as always.
If it's way too simple of a misunderstanding, yeah. Can be pretty contrived.
That was honestly my main gripe with Mike and Eleven in Stranger Things 3.
I have to agree
I hate that a lot of my plots in the past have relied on people just not communicating well enough to resolve the conflict
I want to find other ways to keep the conflict alive and the plot consistent without resorting to.... yuck
I once watched a great lecture about finding friends. The speaker said that making a friend is a lot like building a relationship with a romantic partner- you have to start slow and not rush into things and put work into the relationship in order for it to grow organically.
I mean, she was talking about real life friends but I think it’s applicable to stories
A lot of the lessons in life are applicable to writing, and vice versa.
One neat thing i've discovered regarding two characters is having one character act differently around different characters
I kinda discovered it when i thought about how i react to certain people i know
A character can still act differently when around others to sorta bounce off of their own personalities
_especially the manipulative characters, putting on a facade of lies to appeal to others..._
True! It's a little confusing to write for, and if used in rps can confuse other players as to the true personality of the character. But I feel it makes the character more intriguing and more realistic at the same time. They become a bit of a riddle to solve
You've saved my best friend character, and by extension, my main character (abstracted in my avatar). THANK YOU.
I make characters for rp, though I tend to make them the same as I would make one for a story especially as their backgrounds kind of are stories. Currently I have my two newest ones who are friends and they overall don't fight a lot, however there are some issues, mainly due to one being very overprotective and her idolization of her friend causes some issues. I often make OC's in pairs so I can show them interacting some and I often make them close to opposites.
That is an interesting writing tool, starting off with characters that already have some relationships or a buddy.
I do that quite a bit too.
The problem that tends to arise for me though is that said characters, if used in the same rp, end up sort of interacting with eachother more than the other people or person's characters, and it becomes a little like rping with myself.
This is very helpful advice on how to build friendships. It’s especially helpful for me since I’m working on a story that involves four brothers and their parents, and the two middle brothers, who are complete opposites of each other, don’t get along at all, but they still care for each other. I wasn’t quite sure how to show that they still have a solid friendship with each other while at the same time are constantly butting heads, but now this has pointed me in the right direction. Thanks a bunch! :)
Thats awesome! Im glad!
This is great life advice too, to be honest.
Which makes sense, of course. Characters are the key element of a story, and stories are all about life and life advice really.
Animal Crossing may not be a story...but it is life.
Animal Crossing is a good game, a game not designed to be a story, and thus you shouldn't use it as an example of a story although it's a good game
@@omargerardolopez3294 👍
Thanks for your character advice. What you're saying makes a lot of sense to me, and ill be sure to apply your tips to any friendships i make in writing
This video is really awesome and helpful as always m8. The best example i can make for conflict in friendship is Troy and Abed from Community and the episode is the Pillow War. It shows their friendship can be chaotic but also fun and respectful.
Troy and Abed in stop MOOOOtion.
Aimée Laurent Ayy
My characters are just more magical and exaggerated versions of people in my life
So me and my best friend’s interactions are how we act in my stories, which I think makes the friendship obvious
e.g ratchet and clank from the original
listen up YES! Compared to the remake where they instantly become "friends" and never interact again? I almost used that contrasting example.
I would love to see R&C OG get just a visual overhaul. New textures and that's basically it. Then that game would've been a brilliant masterpiece.
I just want to say that your videos are very helpful. I've been thinking on making a new character, but I wasn't sure of how to go about it.. plus I was a bit scared of accidently making them bland. But by watching your vids, I have a better understanding of what i should do; for new characters and already existing characters.
Thank you for helping us artists and story tellers. :)
Best believable friendship ever. Kyle Broflovski and Stan Marsh.
using your friendship with your siblings is a great way too I guess ^^
agreed!
Haha what Friendship?
I can not believe how valuable these videos are. +1 Subscriber for sure!
Mr. Resetti: Oh trust me pal. There's TONS of conflict here...
Bold of you to assume I have friends... that is why I am looking up these videos on youtube. I need to write a friendship story to figure out how they work.
In my opinion, the best friendship is when the good guy HAS to team up with the bad guy to beat the badder bad guy.
Its not really a FRIENDship, but in some cases you can make it become one.
You can see an example of this in movies like Megamind, and games like M&L Bowsers Inside Story, and even Deltarune.
These just do happened to be my favourite movies and games as well.
I guess I really do like this protagonist-antagonist team up.
"Animal Crossing is not a Story"
*Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival Intensifies!!!*
Another great example of Character Friendships, X and Zero from Mega Man X. Both are there for each other and trust each other. Even when Zero was in doubt of his actions, he still trusted X and vice versa.
I'd imagine that The Golden Girls would be a good example to reference while making fictional friendships as well, albeit a bit of an older reference to go off of, but one that always created conflict while generally being on the same page in the end of the episode(s).
This has been very helpful in my design endeavors. Thank you so much for what you do on RUclips. I love this video.
"Animal crossing doesn't have conflicts"
Me: *remembers that one time my favorite villager left my town*
You seem like someone really down to earth. I like it :)
+Keeran Kingdom Plantae Oh hey thanks! I try to be!
Brookes thank you so much even if this video is about 4 years old I needed help to build a strong friendship foundation for my characters
Pleeease do more storytelling videos! This is phenomenally helpful!
Animal crossing isn't a story
Words to live by.
this video has definitely got my mental gears moving. I'm currently writing a story about a 16th century who travels to 2015 and winds up living in an appartment with a bunch of teenagers, so now I'm really thibking about how the characters could interact with eachother
"look at your own life and your friends"
what friends? :')
story tips are always awesome
3:58
Mike and Sully figurines appear on the bottom right.
Spoilers for Dangonrampa: I kinda rolled my eyes when Mondo and Ishimaru suddenly became besties out of nowhere after a big argument, but in the trial half of the chapter I was legit sad when Ishimaru who’s supposed to be the moral compass went out of his way to Defend Mondo and say he’s not the killer (which he obviously was, but it was in the heat of the moment) cause he didn’t want to believe it was him.
I'm writing a pair of characters one that wants to be friends with the other who hates and is jealous of the friendly one. This dynamic is good for conflict but as I write them I've found how difficult it's been to keep on having these characters butting heads because I've never written a dynamic like this, nor have I ever experienced this. I find often in order to make the scene/dialogue believable i have to stop myself from just making the characters spout what they feel bluntly and find what choice words/reactions to give the audience insight of what's going on in their heads. And if I'm making the audience internally scream because of this then I guess I'm on the right track :D
maybe it could work, if the friendly one is aware of how the other is feeling but unsure of how to confront him/her about it, but also that the friendly one would feel bad if the other was left all on their own (because the hateful one have something be it of birth, personality or unfortunante event that makes people avoid him/her)
this is just personal speculations on how it could work (also have the friendly one see some good traits about the other along the way)
Right now I’m figuring out two characters, and one is this confident girl who always knows what she is doing and she is really stubborn and proud, and there there is this other girl who is just not confident at all, always have doubt in mind and thinks everything to much, and at the start the Proud girl just doesn’t think the other one will help her, she actually thinks she is a danger. And the Doubt girl doesn’t trust her, and eventually trough some events they start liking each other and kind of depending into each other as a team, The Pround one makes the other one more confident and the Doubt one makes her change into a more “motherly” kind of figure.
I'm a really big fan of Shawn and Gus from Psych. They have one of my favorite Television Show friendships
I was dying at "animal crossing isn't a story.."
Felt like so much history behind that thought hahaha
Wow this changes my story alot thanks man
Wallace and Gromit ! This duo is a perfect example of making a believable friendship, and even if it is a man who has a super bright dog as a pet. His two people are as opposed to each other on their personality, as Wallace is a great clumsy of life, and Gromit is the one who is calm and who solves problems, but.... They still have a connection between her two there. It is to be able to create inventions together by enjoying adventures together.... Then they have to go get some cheese!
Thank you for making such interesting videos and for keeping them family friendly!
I watch a lot of videos about how to make compelling characters for Roleplaying Games. And while the advice you give isn't completely applicable to storytelling-by-cooperation the touchstones of what you're discussing in these videos really sheds some light on ways to build relationships and character developments that make your character interesting to others.
I needed this for a story I'm making.
0:12 What do you mean there is no conflict in animal crossing! Tom Nook is trying to drive you out of house and home by forcing you to be essentially his slave!
one of the greatest friendships I've perhaps ever seen in fiction is Gon and Killua's friendship from Hunter x Hunter.
Another great example of a believable friendship would be Daria and Jane from 'Daria'. Both are cynical and snarky, but ultimately they're still two different people. Great writing from that show!
Two characters sharing the same exact beliefs/outlooks on a situation: They are just two people who agree/have the same mindset.
Two characters who don't share the same exact beliefs/outlooks on a situation so they find a middle ground between the two of them in order to respect one another: Friends.
The game I'm making has 2 main characters who are opposites become friends. Is that a good idea?
Waddle Derp are you going to realese that game ?
Waddle Derp seems like you have the right idea, like almost all "is this a good idea" questions it really comes down to the execution!
Waddle Derp just make sure they are entertaining/well written. and that each character has an aspect that is relatable to the audience. ive seen shows where the main character is the bland marysue leader type and the best friend is crazy, boisterous and very entertaining and i always prefere the latter (e.g. Carly and Sam from Icarly). but you can have shows where both of the characters are very entertaining, dispite being opposites - (ren and stimpy) its all about execution.
Even if they are opposites they must have some things in common, so the real question is probably HOW you can make it work. :) And if you spend a lot of time with someone who's your polar opposite you'll likely develop a bond, so maybe the friendship can grow over a really long time?
Well, it does sound like a good idea.
Then again, basically every idea sounds good, it just depends on how you execute it (for example, the idea of sparkling vampires sounds good if you execute it with a guilloutine).
But the real question is: What do you mean by "opposite"? Like, do they have opposite abbilities, personalities, goals, or something else.
Also, you should try avoiding making them opposite in every way (actually, it´s much harder to pull it off that they are opposite in any way, but still), so there´s at least something they can bond over.
Like, maybe they have a common enemy, but oposite ideas of how to deal with him (a.k.a. kill vs. reform, for example).
Thank so much for your tips! Im learning a lot from them and getting inspired to write more
1:38 like shovel night and black night! yea thats a good example!
Excellent advice. Thanks.
"Take some inspiration from your own life" as if I have friends in my own life.
Your setting made me subscribe
"Animal Crossing isn't a story" THANK YOU
What about Zoro and Sanji, I always see those two fighting with one another yet sometimes they get along. What is their friendship like?
They're, simply, like brothers
That more of a sibling like relationship.
Thank you!
This was really helpful, I have a lot of bff characters
Can you do one for Bromance
LUIS CARLOS Olano Yep already did my friend it starts at 00:01
good one :)
Huh, I was already in the right direction. Cool.
Wonderful video!
your vids are so helpful! could you do one like this but for creating believable romances maybe?
The best example I can think of is Kirk and Spock
Han and Luke
Frodo and Sam
Legolas and Gimli
Rocket and Groot
"I tablet and pen daily"
me: looks at comments before video
everyone: Animal Crossing
Fun fact: There is an Animal Crossing movie worth watching that does (sort of) have a story
I was gonna mention this as well lol- not a whole lot of conflict or anything but eh
Thank you.......... your really helping out
I think Johnny and Gyro would be an amazing example for this at first gyro was just dead set on the steel ball run and johnny became interested in the power of the steel balls gyro had and when gyro lost the first part of the race he becomes friends with johnny and their trust grew every chapter
I think Eldorado is a really great example
ooh yeah, definitely!
dude i remember how resetti made me cry when i was little... to be honest, i like the sassier animal crossing characters a lot
How do you reconcile a friendship after a significant breach of trust or honesty? In fiction I mean
but I suppose either way the answer would be similar
I WAS PREDICTING YOU WOULD MENTION FINN AND JAKE and i was right yEAH
Ok so I have a problem with my characters as friends. Ok so there's 3 of them, right? 2 of them are best buds, and it kinda leaves the 3rd one feeling a bit left out, but because her personality is so distant compared to my other 2 (who have already been friends for quite some time before meeting character 3), I don't really know how to fit her into they dynamic. (sidenote: The personalities of the characters: character 1 is nervous/anxious, curious and like loves magic n stuff, kinda like the baby of the group. character 2 is hyper and entergentic, very flirty, attention seeking, extra, likes fashion and also likes magic, kind of like the middle-older child of the group. character 3 (the one thats not really friends) is like the leader of the group, she's also teaching them about like the magic part of the world and stuff, kind of distant, not very good with emotions, is the most responsible, kind of mean but like in a loving way, and is kind of like the oldest child if the parents werent around that often. She is my least developed character out of the 3 because I developed the other 2 by having them interact with each other, but I haven't really been able to develop this third character because I don't know how to make her interact with the other 2. I really dont want them to like never be friends or for like, her to end up getting hurt because she's being left out, because I don't want the audience to have a sort of resentment for characters 1 and 2 because they don't see that friend 3 is being left out (which might happen if I don't find a way to make her become friends). I'm thinking maybe they'll just slowly find common intrests, or like characters 1 and 2 will introduce 3 to new stuff so they can bond or something? I dunno. I want them to at least be sorta friends by the time shit starts to get dark. If anyone has any suggestions or advice that'd be great.
Can you make a video on Rival characters or an annoying character
Animal crossing dose not have conflict
My sister: *locks villager in house*
What? No! Animal crossing has conflict.
*_CRIPPLING DEPT_*
I’m just seeing Kermit in the background and I’m like “KERMIT STOP LOOKIN AT MEH”
Thanks for this xD it helped me A LOT
Zoro and Luffy - Water 7
Pretty great example.
Luffy and Zoro aren't really alike. Primarily, their attack style and appearance. But also, their personalities. Luffy is happy go lucky and easygoing. Zoro is reckless as well but he is very nonchalant in an impartial manner. Luffy loves excitement and adventure. Zoro just does one of two things: train or sleep, with occasional drinking.
Now the arc. Their friendship is shown in a new light, an interesting nuance at that. Technically 2 examples ine the same arc regarding the same situation. But it really fleshes out the conflict and helps distinguish them even more.
The conflict is that the crew's sniper, Ussop, decides to challenge their captain, Luffy, due to a disagreement concerning the ship.
After Ussop lost, with the terms being his loss equating to dissociation of the crew. Once Luffy won, the victory is contrasted with his own personal turmoil. He practically breaks down for losing a close friend. Contrast with Zoro, who recognizes that both parties already laid out the terms and needs to honor them. Even stating that if Luffy falls apart, he'll lose faith in Luffy.
The 2nd example happens after the rescue of the crew's archaeologist, Nico Robin. When the matter of Ussop joining the crew is back on the table, Luffy is more than happy to have him back on. Zoro on the other hand won't allow it, amd threatens to quit the crew if anyone brings him back. Luffy, is an idealist with a pure heart. Zoro is disciplined and more of a realist. He recognizes that the crew Ussop abandoned shouldn't be welcoming him back. Rather, Ussop should sincerely beg to rejoin the crew. Even asking, "Is it just that simple to leave this crew?"
Zoro still throughout the series remains incredibly loyal. Not just to repay his debt to Luffy, but because he respects him. Luffy, for as silly and ridiculous he can be at times, knows when to get serious and never loses sight of his objectives, short or long term.
RUclipsr chooses specific non dynamic relationship purely out of biased. Not to mention that also included Finn and Jake. Like, its not even that interesting a relationship.
*triggered*
Not saying it isnt dynamic, just not as fleshed out or prominent as others.
Saved himself with Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan
You can feel free to make your own video, all opinions everywhere have an amount of bias. It’s fine if you don’t care about the example I use, but that’s completely subjective. I don’t care about the one piece friendship you mentioned, Santiago, but I don’t feel as though you are wrong for liking it. I’m not sure how much of adventure time you’ve seen, but I definitely feel those two have an interesting dynamic.
@@CharacterDesignForge Hopefully you realize that even with the addition of Solo, the friendship you mentioned still doesn't get fleshed out because it isn't the primary focus or a significant aspect. Also, unlike most youtubers, you're more explicitly biased. While others try to be conscious about it and maintain objectivity. Also, I watched all of Adventure Time.
Are you genuinely faulting me for a movie that was barely announced when I put this video out last May? I have no idea how I am more or less biased than anyone else. You are more biased toward anime, whereas I can appreciate but am not to the same degree. I don't understand why you're faulting me for not including an example just because you like it.
@@CharacterDesignForge No there are good examples. Ironically, both Clone War shows ended up being better than any of the movies. Mostly because it actually deals with the universe that is set up on an individual basis. Also, given the amount of film material, they missed to many chances for the supposed relationship you suggested.
ArE yOu SaYing My FrIeNdShiP WiTh My VilLAgEr EuNice mEaNs NotHing
Are you a character designer for games and movies or maybe on anime and lightnovels?
Thanks!! :)
I really love the friendship between Gon and Killua in the anime Hunter x Hunter.
HEY! BUDDY! WE ARE TWINNING!!!
WOO FREAKS AND GEEKS! No one ever mentions this show despite the fact that it was amazing.
+Alannah One of the greats!
Ok so bumps in a friendship can be good for the story but what if for instance one character is interested in a romantic relationship with there friend and they get rejected is it possible for there friendship to have a complete recovery or even grow stronger because I see a lot of people attempt this but I feel like they just can't quite pull it off. What do you think?
Oof. That’s situation is pretty tricky in real life, it would take a fairly long story to get back to normal, and wouldn’t be believable in a typical 90 minute movie or three act structure, at least not in any way that I can think of that’s believable.
Brookes Eggleston - Character Design Forge I see thank you. I'm currently in the process of creating a story that I want to tell through a comic. To put it simply an aliens going to be abducted by humans and then tested on. I liked the idea of an alien fanboy being infatuated with her and she being a superior life form viewing him the same way as we view pets but idk. I still have a lot of work to do before Its ready to be drawn and scripted.
Me, looking at my character's friendship which is based on my real life friendship which so far has shown no conflict of interests or ideologies and is built fundamentally on their unconditional love for each other and on nothing else: *_wack_*
Edit: happy to say that in the year since making this comment, my friend and I still have never had a fight and the closest thing we've had to a conflict of interest was actually between her boyfriend and I and the lives we wanted to pursue. That's it. We've talked daily for over 3 years.
BWHAHHAH
All friendships are unique! Sometimes an unconditional friendship can be very charming in a story as well ^^
How’s here in 2019 (more like 2020 but whatever) and reacting to when he was talking about Solo at 3:58? 🤣👏🏻