Because colors have meaning, a character’s favorite color can tell us a lot about him or her. Red for an ambitious extrovert. Pink for an affectionate, compassionate person. Yellow for an optimistic artist. Green for a benevolent humanist. Blue for a cool, confident conservative. Purple for an intuitive, spiritually oriented person. Brown for a down-to-earth type.
So, what is your character’s favorite color? You can either choose a color from the following list and create the character accordingly, or you can check the list of attributes to see what color a character with that personality would like.
Red — Ambitious, energetic, extroverted
Pink — Affectionate, compassionate, romantic
Maroon — Sensuous, friendly, emotional
Orange — Fun-loving, action-oriented, competent
Peach — Gentle, charitable, enthusiastic
Yellow — Optimistic, expressive, people-oriented
Mint green — Modest, insightful, kind-hearted
Apple green — Innovative, adventuresome, self-motivated
Green — Benevolent, service-oriented, scientific
Teal — Idealistic, faithful, sentimental
Light blue — creative, perceptive, imaginative
Dark Blue — Intelligent, responsible, self-reliant
Mauve — Delicate, reserved, sensitive
Purple — Intuitive, spiritual, insightful
Beige — Practical, well-adjusted, steadfast
Brown — Down to earth, honest, supportive
Black — Disciplined, strong-willed, opinionated
White — Individualistic, lonely, low self-esteem
Gray — Passive, noncommittal, stressed
Silver — Honorable, chivalrous, romantic
Gold — Idealistic, noble, successful
Click here to find out more about: The Meaning of Colors.
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Pat Bertram is the author of Light Bringer, More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I. All Bertram’s books are available both in print and in ebook format. You can get them online at Second Wind Publishing, Amazon, B&N and Smashwords. At Smashwords, the books are available in all ebook formats including palm reading devices, and you can download the first 20-30% free!
Pat, I like your take on this subject. I agree that colors can add a lot to a story, but can be overdone. Anyone who has read “The Scarlet Letter” knows how much color symbolism Hawthorne put into that story. (I tend to side with the folks who say it was overkill.)
I use a lot of color imagery & symbolism in my writing, but like you, try to keep it minimal. Too much color and the reader is drowning in a rainbow. Also, if too much color is used, the importance gets lost. The impact of a particular color bleeds in and blends with the rest.
This post immediately caught my attention–I have been writing for as long as I can remember, and I have never once stopped to think what their favourite colours are! Thanks so much for helping give my characters added dimension.
Interesting blog, Pat. I haven’t thought much on using color to add subtle complexity to a character, but now I think I should.
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Definitely intriguing.