Character Landscapes

Character Landscapes are an exercise in character analysis and extended metaphor. In this exercise, you will transform a character in a recently read story into a visual landscape.

Directions:

1. Get into pairs

2. You will be given a reading assignment for this project. Use that assignment.

3. Pick a character from the reading and write down basic personality traits of the character.

4. You will be using these traits to create a landscape the describes your chosen character.

5. Next, pick colors that can help describe your character (if he or she is happy, perhaps yellow, or if he or she is depressed, perhaps dark blue or purple).

6. Pick textures to help describe your character (perhaps slimy works for a tricky or sleazy character).

7. Now pick shapes to represent your character (a square could represent someone who's safe and predictable).

8. Pick a type of weather that describes your character (stormy could represent a grumpy, violent character). This link may help.

9. As a final attribute of your landscape, choose a season AND a time of day to represent your character (sunrise could be young or naive).

10. Finally, (on the back of your illustration) write each description as a paragraph, explaining how and why they describe your character (like write one paragraph about why yellow describes your character, one about how a slimy texture describes your character, and so on).