How To Create The PERFECT ANTAGONIST For Your Comics, Manga, And Webtoons
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, the creator of 'Monitor Comics' delves into the art of developing compelling antagonists for graphic novel projects. Antagonists are pivotal in driving the narrative, as they oppose the protagonist and create the central conflict. The video outlines five tips for crafting great antagonist characters, touching on the importance of their unwavering motives and the impact they have on the protagonist's journey. It distinguishes between different types of antagonists, including villains, conflict creators, and the protagonists themselves when facing internal struggles. The video emphasizes the need for antagonists to be multifaceted, realistic, and to have a backstory that explains their transformation into the story's opposition. It also stresses the importance of the antagonist's presence being felt throughout the story, regardless of when they appear, and the necessity for them to be a worthy adversary to the protagonist. The summary concludes by encouraging viewers to engage with the content, share their favorite antagonists, and support the channel's growth.
Takeaways
- 🎨 **Defining Antagonists**: Antagonists are central characters who oppose the protagonist and create the main conflict in a story, like M from One Piece or Frieza from Dragon Ball.
- 📚 **Five Tips for Creation**: The video shares five tips for creating compelling antagonist characters for graphic novel projects.
- 🌟 **Skillshare Promotion**: Skillshare is an online learning community with classes on various creative subjects, including comics and manga creation.
- 🚀 **Social Media for Creatives**: The speaker took a class on social media for creatives, learning about growing a freelance career and the benefits of different platforms.
- 🤝 **Protagonist and Antagonist Dynamics**: Protagonists and antagonists are essential, pushing the plot forward in opposite ways, with the antagonist often personifying the conflict.
- 😈 **Types of Antagonists**: There are three main types of antagonists: villains, conflict creators, and the protagonists themselves who can be their own worst enemies.
- 👹 **Villains as Antagonists**: Not all antagonists are villains, but villains often commit nefarious acts for self-benefit, such as Sosuke Eisen from Bleach or Blackbeard from One Piece.
- 🛡️ **Conflict Creators**: These antagonists have goals conflicting with the protagonist's but are not necessarily evil, often leading to a change in their relationship over time.
- 🧘 **Internal Conflicts**: Sometimes the protagonist is their own antagonist, with insecurities or fears preventing them from achieving their goals, like characters from The Legend of Korra or Death Note.
- 🔥 **Complexity in Antagonists**: Well-written antagonists have complex personalities and motivations, often driven by emotional pain or a strong desire for power.
- 🌐 **Antagonist's Impact on the World**: Antagonists should shape the world around them, with their actions and presence felt throughout the story, influencing the plot and character development.
Q & A
What is the role of an antagonist in a story?
-An antagonist is a central character who directly opposes the protagonist, creating the main conflict in the story. They push the plot forward in ways that are opposite to the protagonist.
How does the antagonist help in character development?
-The antagonist's opposition allows the protagonist to reveal their personality, desires, fears, and beliefs. Through this interaction, readers can better understand the protagonist's character.
What are the three main types of antagonist characters?
-The three main types of antagonist characters are villains, conflict creators, and the protagonists themselves (when facing internal conflict).
Why should an antagonist not be purely evil for the sake of being evil?
-An antagonist who is purely evil may not hold the reader's attention and risks being unrelatable. Well-written antagonists have complex personalities and motives that make them more engaging and multidimensional.
How can an antagonist's backstory enhance their character?
-Exploring an antagonist's past can provide insight into how they became the character they are in the story, allowing readers to understand their motives and actions more deeply.
Why is it important for an antagonist to be a worthy adversary?
-An antagonist who is a worthy adversary raises the stakes of their encounters with the protagonist, creating tension and making the story more engaging for the reader.
What is the significance of the antagonist's presence being felt throughout the story?
-The antagonist's presence should be felt everywhere the protagonist goes, showing the impact of their actions on the world and connecting with the protagonist's journey.
How can conflicting personalities between the protagonist and antagonist contribute to the story?
-Conflicting personalities can create dynamic interactions and contribute to the protagonist's character development, even if the antagonist is not the main source of conflict.
What is the role of the central antagonist in a story?
-The central antagonist is the final boss in the story, and all events should work towards confronting this one opposing force.
Why should an antagonist's motives be unwavering?
-Unwavering motives make the antagonist a consistent obstacle that the protagonist must overcome, driving the story forward and creating a compelling conflict.
How can the antagonist's backstory be used to make them more relatable?
-By revealing a bad childhood or severe circumstances, an antagonist's backstory can explain their actions and provide a deeper understanding of their character to the reader.
What is the importance of the antagonist's effect on the world around them?
-The antagonist's effect on the world shapes the environment and situation the protagonist faces, reflecting the antagonist's flaws, fears, and ambitions, and making their presence significant in the story.
Outlines
🎨 Introduction to Creating Antagonists in Graphic Novels
The video begins with an introduction to 'Monitor Comics' and the topic of creating antagonist characters for graphic novel projects. Antagonists are central characters who oppose the protagonist and are essential in driving the story's conflict. The video promises to share five tips for creating compelling antagonists and starts with a sponsorship message from Skillshare, an online learning community. Skillshare offers classes on various creative subjects, including comics and manga creation, and the speaker recommends a class on social media for creatives. The video then delves into the importance of antagonists in storytelling, explaining their role in creating the main conflict and how they can be a single character or a group, with examples from popular series.
🚫 Understanding the Different Types of Antagonists
This paragraph explains the three main types of antagonists: villains, conflict creators, and the protagonists themselves. Villains are the 'bad guys' who commit evil acts for their own benefit, but not all antagonists are villains. Conflict creators have goals that conflict with the protagonist's, yet they are not necessarily evil and may end up as allies. The third type, the protagonist as an antagonist, refers to internal conflicts within the protagonist that hinder their progress. The paragraph also discusses how antagonists and protagonists are two sides of the same coin, with opposing beliefs and goals that create conflict. Examples from various series illustrate these dynamics, emphasizing the complexity and depth needed for well-written antagonists.
🤔 The Importance of Backstory and Relatability in Antagonists
The paragraph emphasizes the importance of an antagonist's backstory in making them a well-rounded character. It discusses how exploring an antagonist's past can provide insight into their motivations and actions, making them more relatable and less one-dimensional. The text uses the character Griffith from 'Berserk' as an example of an antagonist with a compelling backstory that explains his transformation from a hero to a villain. The paragraph also stresses that antagonists should be multifaceted, experiencing setbacks and challenges, and that they should be connected to the protagonist in some way to drive the story forward.
🌐 The Impact of Antagonists on the World and Story
This final paragraph discusses how an antagonist's presence should shape the world around them and connect with their flaws, fears, and ambitions. It provides examples of antagonists with a significant presence and impact on their respective stories, such as the Anti-Spirals from 'Gurren Lagann' and the Pain from 'Naruto'. The paragraph also highlights the need for an antagonist to be a worthy adversary to the protagonist, neither too weak nor too powerful. It concludes by reiterating the antagonist's role in creating conflict and propelling the plot forward, helping the reader understand the protagonist's beliefs and goals through their interactions with the antagonist.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Antagonist
💡Protagonist
💡Conflict
💡Villain
💡Conflict Creator
💡Internal Conflict
💡Character Development
💡Backstory
💡Emotional Pain
💡Worthy Adversary
💡Character Motivation
Highlights
Antagonists are central characters who directly oppose the story's protagonist, creating the main conflict.
Well-written antagonists can take various forms, including villains, conflict creators, and even the protagonist's own internal struggles.
The protagonist and antagonist should be two sides of the same coin, with opposing beliefs or goals that cause conflict.
Antagonists should not be purely evil; they should have complex personalities and relatable motives.
The antagonist's backstory can provide depth and explain their transformation into a character of conflict.
Every great antagonist is the protagonist of their own story, believing they are the hero of their narrative.
Antagonists often act out of emotional pain, which can drive them to commit heinous acts.
The antagonist should be a genuine threat, providing a worthy challenge to the protagonist.
Skillshare is recommended for classes on creating comics and manga, with a focus on improving artwork and storytelling.
The class 'Social Media for Creatives' teaches how to use social media platforms to grow a freelance career.
Antagonists can be connected to the protagonist through inherent opposition, aiding in character development.
The presence of the antagonist should be felt throughout the story, even if they are not immediately introduced.
Antagonists with a major presence, such as those leading armies or causing large-scale destruction, shape the world around them.
The antagonist should not be a joke or cartoonish figure; they must be taken seriously as a real threat.
Dio Brando from 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure' is an example of a villain used for world-building and introducing plot elements.
The antagonist's existence should shape the world around them, reflecting their flaws, fears, and ambitions.
Viewers are encouraged to share their favorite antagonists from comic, manga, or anime series in the comments.
Support for the content creator is available through Patreon and social media engagement.
Transcripts
[Music]
how's it going everyone welcome back to
monitor Comics the channel where we
create comics and manga in today's video
we will be talking about how to create
antagonist characters for your graphic
novel projects antagonists are Central
characters who directly oppose your
story's protagonist think of characters
like M from One Piece Frieza from Dragon
Ball and matara Uchiha from Naruto by
the end of this video you will
understand the elements that Define a
well-written antagonist character make
sure you watch this video in its
entirety because I'll be sharing five
tips for creating great antagonist
characters but first let's hear a word
from today's sponsor this video is
proudly brought to you by skillshare
skillshare is an online learning
community with thousands of online
classes for anyone who loves learning
and wants to explore their creativity
skillshare is the perfect place to get
inspired learn new skills and put them
to work in impactful ways skillshare
classes range from photography
illustration graphic design animation
freelancing and more for my audience I
highly recommend you check out
skillshare's classes focused on creating
comics and manga there are so many great
resources for improving your manga
artwork and storytelling abilities right
now I am taking the class social media
for creatives five exercises to power
your freelance career by Andy J Pizza
Andy J Pizza is an illustrator designer
and podcaster best known for his picture
books in this class I learned about the
benefits for using different social
media platforms such as Instagram
Twitter Youtube tiktok Kickstarter and
patreon I also learned how to create a
social media plan to grow my audience
create value in my content engage with
my subscribers and work towards reaching
1 000 true fans by the end of this class
I had a new appreciation for social
media I also developed a better
understanding of how to use social media
as a tool to grow as a freelance content
creator if you are an aspiring comic
artist manga artist or webtoon Creator I
highly recommend you check out the
skillshare course skillshare is ad free
so you can stay in the zone while you
are exploring new skills new premium
classes launch every week so there's
always something new to discover on
skillshare if English is not your first
language skillshare's entire catalog is
now available with subtitles in Spanish
French Portugal geese in German the
first 1000 people to use the link in my
video description and pinned comment
will get a one month free trial of
skillshare take this opportunity to
invest in yourself and your goals by
becoming a skillshare member today thank
you again skillshare for continuing to
support the creative Community now let's
get back to the video in storytelling
the antagonist is the opposing force
that is working against the protagonist
or the main character's goal as a result
the central antagonist creates the main
conflict in your story an antagonist can
be one character or a group of
characters think of antagonist
characters like father from Fullmetal
Alchemist Brotherhood all for one from
my hero Academia and muzon from Demon
Slayer all three of these characters
serve as the big bad or the main
antagonist in their respective series
minor antagonists known as Arc villains
include the homunculi from Fullmetal
Alchemist Brotherhood the league of
villains in my hero Academia and the
demons and Demon Slayer they serve under
their respective series main antagonists
your central antagonist should be the
final boss in your story all of the
events in your comic manga or webtoon
should be working towards confronting
that one opposing force protagonists and
antagonists are both essential
characters in any story they push the
plot forward in different and opposite
ways the backbone of every story is the
conflict conflict is what will drive
your main character to grow into a
better character the source of conflict
can take the form of self-doubt
self-loathing fear of the unknown debt
and a physical Force such as the
antagonist you should think of your
antagonist as the personification of
conflict usually the protagonist
represents the theme of a story the
antagonist's opposition is what allows
the protagonist to reveal their
personality desires fears and beliefs as
a result the reader is able to see the
theme that your protagonist represents
through the opposition of the antagonist
think about it if the protagonist wants
something and it is easy to get there
will be no Story the main role of the
antagonist is the opposure protagonist's
character this concept of opposing can
take on many different forms there are
three main types of antagonist
characters including villains conflict
creators and the protagonists themselves
a villain is defined as the bad guy in a
story it is very important to note that
all villains are antagonists but not not
all antagonists are villains villain
characters tend to do quote unquote bad
things for evil purposes villains can
serve minor roles or be the main source
of conflict in your story examples of
popular villain characters include
sosuke Eisen from Bleach ragyokirion
from Kill la Kill and Blackbeard from
One Piece what all these characters have
in common is they commit nefarious acts
that will benefit themselves they
manipulate others and get their hands
dirty to achieve their goals villain
characters don't always have to be
antagonists sometimes villain characters
can be the protagonist of a story
remember a protagonist isn't necessarily
a quote-unquote good guy a protagonist
is just a leading character who takes us
through the events of the story
characters like Aaron Yeager from Attack
on Titan let Yagami from Death Note and
Lelouch V Britannia are all examples of
this as the viewer we find ourselves
understanding and supporting these
villains decisions because they are the
series protagonist we see the world
through their eyes and spend the most
time with them if you are looking for
more information about creating villain
characters please refer to my how to
write villain characters in comics and
manga video after you're finished
watching the S1 the second type of
antagonist a conflict Creator is the
character whose goals are in direct
conflict with the protagonist's goals
this type of antagonist doesn't
necessarily have to be a quote-unquote
bad guy the purpose of a conflict
Creator is to show an opposite Viewpoint
to the protagonist examples of conflict
Creator antagonists include Chrono from
Soul Eater taraki hanazawa from mobs
like a 100 and oi Toto from Jiu Jitsu
Kaizen while these characters may have
challenged the protagonist at some point
or another it doesn't mean that they are
bad guys in fact many of these
characters would end up finding common
ground with the protagonist and becoming
an ally the third type of antagonist the
protagonist himself is an internal
conflict that results in the protagonist
standing in their own way this can be
executed through a protagonist's
insecurities fears or outlook on life
dictating how they react to certain
situations while this type of antagonist
isn't necessarily A Bad Guy character it
is an opposing force that prevents your
protagonist from achieving their goals
examples of characters whose internal
conflict prevented them from achieving
their goals include quora from The
Legend of Korra Noriko sonazaki from
kizz niver and reki Kyan from skate the
infinity all three of these characters
had an instance where they gave up on
themselves because their insecurities
became too much to handle your
antagonist and protagonist should be two
sides of the same coin their opinions
and beliefs or goals should oppose one
another causing them to get in each
other's way your antagonist's motives
should be unwavering making them an
obstacle your protagonist needs to
overcome an example of a protagonist and
antagonist pair with conflicting beliefs
is senku ishigami and Tsukasa shishio
from Dr Stone both characters are reborn
in the Stone World while senku wishes to
revive every human that was turned to
stone su casa only wants to revive the
uncorrupted use maybe your antagonist
isn't a bad guy people and characters
with incompatible personalities Clash
all of the time conflicting
personalities is not a strong enough
motive to be the base of your story's
conflict but it may play a role in your
protagonist's character development an
example of a protagonist and an
antagonist for conflicting personalities
is metaria izuku and kosuki bakugou from
my hero Academia while bakugou May
literally have the personality traits of
a villain he has an unwavering dream to
become a hero he constantly clashes with
miria creating conflict but he is not
the main antagonist of the series this
character Dynamic is very popular in
comics manga and webtoons and
antagonists may have a perfectly
legitimate reason to want the same thing
as the protagonist but goes about it in
a different way remember the only reason
we root for the protagonist is because
we see the story told to their point of
view a great example of this Dynamic is
Sora and Riku from the Kingdom Hearts
series both characters travel to many
different worlds to figure out a way to
save their friend Kyrie while Sora
happens to become the keyblade's chosen
one Riku decides to give his heart up
the darkness in order to get stronger in
the end both characters are essentially
chasing the same goal but they
constantly Clash because they disagree
with the others methods some stories
present a nasty situation that could
literally affect the entire world rather
than a simple goal an immediate need is
created causing characters to take a
hard stance on the issue in these
circumstances the protagonist and
antagonist might simply just have
different opinions about what the best
course of action is an example of this
can be seen in Attack on Titan season 4
with the threat of Marley wiping out
parody Island Aaron Yeager took it upon
himself to flatten the world in order to
protect his people while many of the
characters oppose this decision Aaron
believes it is the best course of action
because of this characters who were once
allies of Aaron become enemies stand in
his way trying to stop him when an
antagonist is completely evil for the
sake of being evil the story might not
hold your reader's attention having a
character like this might also run the
risk of being too unrelatable to the
audience while relatability isn't a
necessity it definitely helps the reader
understand a character's motives and
actions more your antagonist shouldn't
be just a character you love to hate
they should also be someone you hate to
love rarely do villain characters do
evil things purely for the sake of it
the reason for this is because it's a
Surefire way to create a flat
one-dimensional character the best
characters have complex personalities
hidden depth and moments of sympathy
take the Joker for example he has one
clear and defying goal to create chaos
every act committed by him and every
Twisted social experiment was intended
to cause Havoc create the vision and
spur Discord despite being mentally
unhinged he had a point to make and an
objective to me if a character like the
Joker is able to establish a goal then
any villain character can your
antagonist should be multifaceted and
realistic they should experience
setbacks and Roblox that knock them off
of their established path remember your
protagonist and antagonist are two sides
of the same coin they should both face
the Prospect the failure and gather the
strength to push forward towards their
goal giving your reader some insight
into your antagonist's backstory is a
great way to flesh them out as a
character as with real life criminals a
bad childhood or a severe set of
circumstances can explain an
antagonist's downward spiral by
exploring your antagonist's past your
reader will be able to see aspects of
the character before they became an
antagonist in your story remember every
great antagonist is the protagonist of
Their Own Story in their mind they are
the hero doing the right thing to them
the protagonist standing in their way is
the antagonist most well-written
antagonists act out of a place of
emotional pain so great that it hijacks
their humanity and ability to empathize
with others your antagonist wants
something usually it's power and they
will do everything they can to obtain it
an example of an antagonist with a
well-written backstory is Griffith from
berserk as a child Griffith comes from a
humble origin being born poor and having
to work his way up to become a noble
Griffith dreams of becoming the next
king and ruling his own kingdom he was
remarkably determined charismatic and a
great leader Griffith becomes a villain
after suffering the consequences of his
own actions the pain he endured while
being arrested and tortured turned him
into a husk of the former hero he once
was though Griffith was partially
responsible for his arrest the
unbalanced punishment he endured led to
a loss of a great protagonist Griffith
would later develop into an antagonist
that commits some of the worst
atrocities in the series the best
antagonists are those who were unable to
be separated from the protagonists they
should Aid in the protagonist's
character development through their
inherent opposition to them there has to
be some sort of threat that connects
your protagonist to the antagonist an
obvious example of this can be seen in
the Harry Potter franchise Lord
Voldemort murdered Harry Potter's
parents when he was a baby and left the
lightning-shaped scar on his forehead
this magical scar intrinsically connects
the two characters throughout the story
it is also a symbolic reminder of the
connection between the two characters it
foreshadows at the fates of the
protagonist and the antagonists are
dependent on one another even if your
antagonist doesn't show themselves until
much later in the story their presence
should be felt everywhere the
protagonist goes in many Comics manga
and webtoons the main antagonist has an
army of subordinates that serve as minor
antagonists wherever your protagonist
turns the aftermath of your antagonist's
actions should always be on display your
aunt antagonist should have an effect on
the world around them how big or small
this effect is will depend on the scale
of your villain and the type of story
you are trying to tell no matter the
scope of their abilities Your
antagonist's Existence should always
shape the world around them in some way
this manifestation should connect with
your antagonist's Flawless fears and
Ambitions examples of antagonists with a
major presence include the anti-spiral
from Gurren lagon the sixth pass the
pain from Naruto and The Wretched egg
from dead man Wonderland in Gurren Lagan
the anti-spyro literally throws galaxies
around during their battle with Simon
causing wide-scale collateral damage in
Naruto the sixth Paths of pain lead the
Akatsuki and notorious group of Rogue
ninja who regularly commit crimes during
the Payne's assault Arc the sixth Pass
the Pain obliterate the hidden Leaf
Village and murder many of its
inhabitants in dead man Wonderland The
Wretched egg caused the Great Tokyo
earthquake which destroyed 70 of Tokyo a
good antagonist should be a worthy
adversary to your protagonist they
shouldn't be weak and easily beaten like
a villain character from a children's
cartoon they also shouldn't be so
powerful that they can only be defeated
by random chance having a villain who is
in many ways equal in skill and
intelligence to your protest agonists
will raise the stakes of their
encounters it also creates tension as
your antagonist has the potential to
defeat your protagonist unless you are
writing a gag comedy series your
antagonist should never be just a joke
cartoony antagonists such as Plankton
from SpongeBob and the Ice King from
Adventure Time exist to Kickstart the
plot of each episode in some way the
audience knows that they don't stand any
real chance of Victory against the
series protagonist in order for the
reader to take your antagonist seriously
you need to establish that your
antagonist is a genuine threat an
example of a Villain Like This is Dio
Brando from the series JoJo's Bizarre
Adventure Dio isn't just the overarching
antagonist of the Joe star Legacy he is
also a tool used to World build and
introduce new plot elements we literally
witnessed Diaz descend to Darkness and
part one of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure as
he moves into the Joe star home this
gives us an immediate connection with
the character and gives us a lot of time
to follow his aspirations and dreams
seeing how nice the Joe Star Family was
to him you can't help but laugh when
watching the ridiculous language that
Theo would go to ruin their lives and
steal their fortune in conclusion an
antagonist is the character who most
stands in the way of your protagonist
achieving their goals they create
conflict and help propel the plot
forward by interacting with your
antagonist your reader is able to better
understand your protagonist's beliefs
insecurities and goals that's gonna do
it for this video if you got some value
out of it please leave this video a
thumbs up and subscribe to my channel if
you haven't already drop a comment down
below telling us about your favorite
antagonist from any comic manga or anime
series if you would like to help support
me in becoming a full-time content
creator please check out my patreon link
below you can also support me by
following me on all of my social media
accounts as always keep creating
everyone I'll see you all in the next
one
foreign
Weitere verwandte Videos ansehen
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)