The Played By/PhysRep Thread

[Bobotron]

I really HOPE this thread remains constructive. I figured, with as many of us doing MU*s and playing as we are, some unusual resources for physreps on games would be useful. Feel free to post unusual links to site, or unusual actors and such that you draw from resources.

• http://www.listal.com/ - This place is my go-to for unusual pictures of people, as it has user-created lists and uploads, so there's some good, unusual stuff.

[Cirno]

http://gelbooru.com/ I get a lot of my pictures from here.

[Thenomain]

I need a place to find people who look more like normal people, not like actors and models. Like, "young but androgynous, very homely fae probably male but not for certain". Or, "overweight middle-aged albino white woman".

[SG]

I prefer drawings or paintings generally over actual actors. Deviant art is pretty good for that sort of thing. There are also a few decent subreddits out there for fantasy/sci fi artwork.

[thebird]

I've had a lot of luck with Pinterest for the magic-y things lately. (I play WoD Changeling a lot)

Also, if you can get past the Porn as Art on DeviantArt, I have a lot of luck with browsing the photographs section. Usually the Stock photos. I don't like to use actors/actresses as Played By's usually, so I have luck there.

[Bobotron]

@thebird
Pinterest and Deviantart are really good ones for random people too.

Listal also has a decent search; you can enter a topic or something and itll give you lists, uploaded images and such related to that topic (though nothing as specific as what Theno's looking for).

[Arkandel]

Other than sources on which to find a PB, a few questions from me:

1. How important is the part where you find a PB for your character? As in, if it takes you X minutes to figure out what's allowed, write the BG, etc... what percentage of that do you spend searching for the right one?

2. Does it matter to you what other people choose? For example if someone has picked the same PB as you, if it's a beefcake/hot model or a regular joe... and do you think the choice means something about their character or even player?

3. Do you find it odd these days if someone does things differently? Say... has no PB. Or chooses artwork over a real picture (for a realistic MU*, obviously it'd be different for a superhero MU* for example if you're playing a comic book character and used a drawing).

[Three-Eyed Crow]

I actually find the IMDB lists useful if I know a rough physical type/age I want to play, but don't have a PB in mind. I'll search for an actor kinda like them, troll the user lists people have put them on, and usually find something that works.

British TV and film is my go-to for "normal" looking people. Trolling for Bollywood/Nollywood/and random K-drama and/or Spanish-language drama actors and actresses tends to find me something useable if I'm looking for something in one of those veins.

I tend to keep certain faces in the back of my mind that I want to use, and hopefully eventually a character comes along that will fit them.

[Bobotron]

@Arkandel said:

Other than sources on which to find a PB, a few questions from me:

1. How important is the part where you find a PB for your character? As in, if it takes you X minutes to figure out what's allowed, write the BG, etc... what percentage of that do you spend searching for the right one?

Depends on the game. I've been on games before (mostly themed games) where it wasn't a thing, or the game itself had an art community that helped out if you wanted character representation. It seems expected nowadays, with either a real person or art. As far as time, I typically have something in mind/envisioned when mind when making a character, so I'll typically do it while doing other stuff. Usually I can find what I'm looking for pretty easily, but I' like to manipulate Google searches with combos of word absolutes and troll pinterest in general.

2. Does it matter to you what other people choose? For example if someone has picked the same PB as you, if it's a beefcake/hot model or a regular joe... and do you think the choice means something about their character or even player?

As long as you have something you like, more power to you. A lot of times what you have envisioned might be similar to someone else; if that's the case, be reasonable and not a flaming crazy person because someone used the same actor you did, but different pictures.

3. Do you find it odd these days if someone does things differently? Say... has no PB. Or chooses artwork over a real picture (for a realistic MU*, obviously it'd be different for a superhero MU* for example if you're playing a comic book character and used a drawing).

Not to me, but... my history. Plus lots of times art has some versatility that actual physical people don't, especially if you need something weird (like an un-Obfuscated Nosferatu or Samedi, for example).

[Glitch]

@Arkandel said:

1. How important is the part where you find a PB for your character? As in, if it takes you X minutes to figure out what's allowed, write the BG, etc... what percentage of that do you spend searching for the right one?

I can spend upwards of an hour looking for a PB, though I am more of a browser, checking images that might work, rather than having names in my head to look up.

2. Does it matter to you what other people choose? For example if someone has picked the same PB as you, if it's a beefcake/hot model or a regular joe... and do you think the choice means something about their character or even player?

I do make judgments based on PB. Whether right or not, I will make a snap decision regarding the player based on amount of clothing vs flesh on display and the number of pictures selected. I will also develop opinions on the character if it's a particularly waifish looking female, for example.

3. Do you find it odd these days if someone does things differently? Say... has no PB. Or chooses artwork over a real picture (for a realistic MU*, obviously it'd be different for a superhero MU* for example if you're playing a comic book character and used a drawing).

I really like artwork over photos and wish more people/places encouraged it. May just be genre, though, as most of my exposure has been modern.

[Roz]

Hollow Art is great for having a ton of filters. I also have some giant PB bookmark folders of my own where I drop in actors as I encounter them on the internet, TV, and films that I think might be good faces in the future. My personal files are generally where I start off when I begin looking for a new PB, either for myself or others.

[Pyrephox]

@Thenomain said:

I need a place to find people who look more like normal people, not like actors and models. Like, "young but androgynous, very homely fae probably male but not for certain". Or, "overweight middle-aged albino white woman".

I search Google images with the key characteristics of a character in mind, if I don't already have an idea. So, "young white man dark hair" or "muscular woman shaved head tattoos", for example. There's a LOT of cruft, but I can often find something that approximates the look I'm going for without being an actor or model.

[Arkandel]

My thing, which Some People have given me lip about, is storing up interesting-looking PBs when I run into an image I like just in case I decide to use it in the future for a character I haven't even considered yet. But I do the same with character names (obviously the hardest part of character creation).

I do know if I'll decide on the PB before writing the description as trying to do it the other way around is utter madness.

[Arkandel]

Oh! Double post.

In the past I've balked at picking PBs which 'match' someone else's if they were in a movie or something together. So for example if I was using Keeanu Reeves and someone I was planning on playing with a lot was using Carrie-Anne Moss it'd strike me as weird. Is it just me?

Also I don't much like using A-listers. But that's an overshadowing choice, I feel people would be thinking 'Harrison Ford' or 'George Clooney' not 'Cadric Drowkiller' when they looked at the page.

[Cirno]

@Arkandel said:

My thing, which Some People have given me lip about, is storing up interesting-looking PBs when I run into an image I like just in case I decide to use it in the future for a character I haven't even considered yet. But I do the same with character names (obviously the hardest part of character creation).

I do know if I'll decide on the PB before writing the description as trying to do it the other way around is utter madness.

People give others lip about the weirdest shit.

I get lip for using Japanese anime/manga art as my PBs.

[Autumn]

@Arkandel said:

1. How important is the part where you find a PB for your character? As in, if it takes you X minutes to figure out what's allowed, write the BG, etc... what percentage of that do you spend searching for the right one?

Finding the right one is pretty important to me, since it tends to become my mental image of the character. Sometimes it takes no time at all (e.g., if the whole idea for the character writeup came from a particularly striking image). Sometimes it takes a while. I've gone without a PB for a week or two while trying to find just the right choice.

2. Does it matter to you what other people choose? For example if someone has picked the same PB as you, if it's a beefcake/hot model or a regular joe... and do you think the choice means something about their character or even player?

I think the choice always means something. Sometimes I think I know what it is, and am right; sometimes I think I know what it is, and am wrong; sometimes I don't have a clue. There are certain classes of PB that are more likely to make me think I know what the choice means, but this probably says as much about me (or more) than about them. I don't mind if someone picks the same PB -- it usually makes me think we must have something in common.

3. Do you find it odd these days if someone does things differently? Say... has no PB. Or chooses artwork over a real picture (for a realistic MU*, obviously it'd be different for a superhero MU* for example if you're playing a comic book character and used a drawing).

Depends on context. It would have been a little odd for, say, someone on the Reach not to have PB. It wouldn't be odd at all for a medieval game to have a lot of PBs from illustrations rather than photographs. But sometimes you just can't find the right picture for what's in your head, and that's cool.

[surreality]

Pinterest is my friend for this.

I keep a personal collection of 'that person looks like they vibe right for someone I'd think about playing', and for the site I'm tinkering with, it has a pinterest page for its relevant images, with its own collection of 'here's a bunch of neat-looking people of all ages and races and genders for people to browse and claim if they're having trouble finding a face'.

If the specific 'look' for a game is fairly obscure (historical, space, odd setting with a distinctive look), collecting imagery of people that fit can be a great resource for a game. It can be a huge help.

[ThatGuyThere]

For it it happens one or two ways, either when I think of the concept I immediately know who I want as a PB and use that person.
Failing that I tend to pick soap actors the tend to be not picked by others and not super well known.

[thebird]

@Arkandel said:

Other than sources on which to find a PB, a few questions from me:

1. How important is the part where you find a PB for your character? As in, if it takes you X minutes to figure out what's allowed, write the BG, etc... what percentage of that do you spend searching for the right one?

I find my PB first, and build a character based on what/who they look like, to me. I'm an artist and super visual, so maybe that's part of it. I've been told that's very backwards.

2. Does it matter to you what other people choose? For example if someone has picked the same PB as you, if it's a beefcake/hot model or a regular joe... and do you think the choice means something about their character or even player?

It matters, yes. I don't want to have the same PB as someone else. It takes some of the mystery away, for me. I don't know if the choice necessarily says anything about them, or their character, though.

3. Do you find it odd these days if someone does things differently? Say... has no PB. Or chooses artwork over a real picture (for a realistic MU*, obviously it'd be different for a superhero MU* for example if you're playing a comic book character and used a drawing).

Odd? No. I think it depends on what it is, and where you're playing. What's odd for one place may be totally normal for another. To each their own!

[Deleted]

The only point of a PB is to know if you wanna bang someone or not.