Describing a person's physical appearance, even though it sounds easy, is actually quite complicated to do. In fact, this ability is very important for everyone to have, especially in case one day you are asked to describe a criminal to the police. Even in your daily routine, this ability will be useful if you are asked to describe a person you have just met to the people closest to you. An important key to providing a clear description is to focus on the physical details and unique characteristics of a person. However, if the process of describing the character is done in a work of fiction, it is best not to go into all the details so that the reader has room for imagination.
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Method 1 of 3: Describing Key Characteristics
Step 1. Identify the gender of the person, if conditions permit
In most cases, gender is a physical trait that doesn't need to be explained and will likely be the first feature you notice when you see someone. However, understand that not everyone fits into these two categories so ideally, you shouldn't make any assumptions that aren't necessary.
- For example, if you had to describe a criminal to the police, try saying, "He looks like a boy, but I'm not so sure either."
- In some cases, you may even skip this step and move on to other descriptive elements.
Step 2. Identify a person's skin color to estimate his or her race and ethnicity, if necessary
As previously explained, the process of describing a person's skin color to the police or for other reasons should not be the same. In the first case, you may have to make assumptions like “he looks like an Irishman” or “he looks like he's Korean,” while those assumptions should be omitted in the second case because they have the potential to offend the listener.
In the second case, simply describe the person's skin tone, such as “olive”, “pale”, “dark brown”, and so on. If they wish, the person hearing the description can make their own assumptions
Step 3. Estimate a person's age in the range of 5-10 years
In most cases, you will be able to identify people who are "about 25" or "about 60". Therefore, if you are asked to estimate a person's age, try to provide an estimate in the narrowest possible range to make the visualization process easier for the listener.
- For example, someone 30-35 years old would of course be easier to imagine than someone 30-40 years old.
- This method is especially important to apply in describing small children. The face and physical characteristics of a 10-year-old child are certainly very different from a 20-year-old youth, right?
Step 4. Describe the person's approximate height
If you've only been observing someone for a very short time, the best descriptions you can give are general ones, such as “very tall”, “tall”, “medium”, “short”, or “very short”. Such ambiguous diction will be more useful if you can identify the gender or age, such as male, female, or child.
If asked to describe a person's height more specifically, try to give an estimate in the 5cm range, such as "the girl's height is around 160-165cm" or "the boy's height is in the range of 180-185cm."
Step 5. Describe a person's weight using dictions such as “small”, “medium”, and “large”
Generally, estimating a person's weight is much more difficult than identifying his or her height. However, when it comes to doing this, make sure you always use ambiguous and general diction such as, “he is very small or thin” or “he looks big and muscular”.
- Remember, describing someone's size and/or weight can make you appear less sensitive. Therefore, always describe a person's body size with terms that refer to his body shape, such as "thin", "medium", etc.
- If you must provide a description in English, be careful that the same word can sound "impolite" in other variations of the language. For example, the word "plump" is actually more polite to use in British English than English in America, which favors the use of "large" or even "curvy".
- If you need to estimate a specific weight, try to give an estimate in the 10 kg range.
Step 6. Describe the overall appearance in the most discreet way possible
Remember, beauty is relative. That's why, the concept of "beautiful and attractive" may be different from other people's, so when describing someone's physical characteristics, make sure you always use wise language. For example:
- To describe someone whose physical appearance is unattractive to you, use the diction “looks normal” or “flat” instead of “ugly”.
- Use the "less well maintained" diction instead of "messy".
- Use the diction “attractive” instead of “beautiful”, “charming”, or “handsome” to describe a person's physical attractiveness.
- “Filly” isn't an ideal description, but it's probably the best way to describe someone who isn't “toned”, “fit”, or “muscled.”
Method 2 of 3: Describing Facial Features and Other Unique Characteristics
Step 1. Identify hair color, hair length, and hair appearance
Remember, always use simple terms that most people can understand and imagine, such as:
- Color: brown, black, blonde, sand color, red, gray
- Length: bald, short, medium, long, shoulder length, and so on
- Style: straight, curly, wavy, afro, bangs, dreadlocks, coiled, mohawk and so on
- Appearance: messy, thin, wrinkled, shiny, smooth, neat, and so on
Step 2. Inform the eye color, eye shape, eyebrow characteristics, and characteristics of the glasses he wears
As when describing hair, just use simple terms that other people can easily understand. For example:
- Color: black, brown, gray, blue, green, hazel and so on
- Shape: wide, small, protruding or bulging, protruding, cross-eyed, and so on
- Eyebrows: identify the color and type, such as thick, thin, interconnected, and so on
- Glasses: identify handle color, lens color, shape, material and thickness
Step 3. Pay attention to other facial features, such as her nose, lips, and ears
To describe ears, you usually only need to provide information such as “large”, “medium”, or “small”, while to describe lips, descriptions such as “thin”, “medium”, and “full” are generally sufficient. If you want to describe your nose, please provide descriptions such as “snub”, “point”, “big”, “small”, “taper”, “round”, or “crooked”. Overall, the person's face shape can be described with descriptions such as “long”, “round”, or “flat”.
If you have to fill out a police report, please include additional information such as “his cheeks are flushed red,” “his eye bags are quite thick,” or “his chin is doubled.” Otherwise, show your courtesy by ignoring such details
Step 4. Identify conspicuous body features, such as scars and tattoos
This tip is especially useful if you have to describe someone, such as a missing person or criminal, to the authorities. Therefore, make it a habit to observe permanent and conspicuous body features, so that you can describe them in more detail if necessary.
- Instead of simply saying, "He has a tattoo on his hand," try saying, "He has a heart-shaped tattoo in black and red, and a cursive tattoo that says 'Mom' on his right bicep."
- If you want to give a more general description, simply convey the information that the person is "tattooed," especially if the tattoo is widespread all over his body.
Step 5. Find characteristics that are unique to a person, such as their posture or their habit of moving their bodies uncontrollably
Does his posture look stooped? Does he always blink or tilt his head to one side when he speaks? Does he constantly wiggle his knees when sitting? Such small details can help others to visualize the person you are describing.
Some of the characteristics above bridge the gap between physical appearance and a person's personal characteristics. But at the very least, such a description can help others to get a more complete physical picture of the person you are describing
Step 6. Describe the person's clothing, or at least the person's overall style of appearance
If you must describe someone to the authorities, try to provide detailed information about the person's clothing, such as trousers, t-shirts, jackets, shoes, and so on. However, if you just want to give a general description, feel free to focus on her overall style of dress or appearance.
For example, the word "pretty" can be used to describe a person's style of dress that looks neat, dapper, and well-groomed
Method 3 of 3: Compose the Description in the Creative Way Possible
Step 1. Use figurative language to complete descriptive details
In other words, in addition to using descriptive language, use language that is able to "turn on" the physical characteristics of a character. This is one of the most important parts of the creative writing process.
- Instead of writing, “that woman has long, red hair,” try writing, “a gust of wind made her long, flowing hair look like flames licking firewood.”
- The statement “standing up like a mighty oak tree” is able to explain a few details regarding a person's physical appearance, even the person's demeanor in just one short sentence.
Step 2. Describe the character in a way that fits your writing style
For example, if your writing is humorous, use humorous language to describe the characters in it. However, if your writing is tense and dramatic, avoid using silly metaphors when describing characters.
If you want to describe a character's eyes, for example, understand the difference in impressions conveyed by the descriptions "his eyes are as sharp as a dagger" and "his eyes look cross-eyed like Popeye's first cousin."
Step 3. Reveal the physical characteristics of the character through action sentences
To avoid a literal and tedious process of describing, try inserting physical or character traits in a line of action sentences. If you want, use figurative language to help the reader to visualize the character being described.
- For example, you might describe a character with the sentence: “The man pierces the crowd like the waves of the ocean crushing a sandcastle built at low tide.”
- Or: “That woman stepped into the crowd without anyone noticing, like a puddle of water seeping into the ground through cracks in the pavement.”
Step 4. Leave space for the reader to imagine
If the process of describing is done in a work of fiction, don't include too detailed information! In other words, just create a rough outline to describe a few key characteristics, then let readers complete the description with their own descriptions.
The less important the physical characteristics of a character, the less significant the physical characteristics to mention. For example, if a character's height or hair color doesn't have much influence on the overall plot, let the reader decide
Tips
- Keep the order of the features of the people you observe consistent. By doing so, you will undoubtedly be able to remember other people's features more easily.
- Learn to recognize the most striking qualities in that person. Take a step back and notice the first thing you notice about him, such as his very light hair color, his height, or some other characteristic that seems odd to you.
- Be careful when observing other people. Basically, constantly staring at someone or looking them up and down will make you look like a brat. So don't do it, especially if the person you're observing already has a partner!
- Include information about colors that you can remember, such as clothes color, shoe color, eye color, hair color, skin color, and so on.
