Do you visualise characters in novels?

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The hard thing about visualizing is that there are often so many variables to take into account and with my limited memory capacity I can´t fit lots of characteristics together without overloading. It´s easier when I´m given very short but clear descriptions. I also use existing persons as models for my imaginings.

I get deeply immersed when I read fiction that I like. I visualize everything, I even have the same thing visualized in my head when I read it again, at least for the scenery/environment. Reading feels like an escape from reality.

Visualiser here. Perhaps because I was raised on comic books and cartoons I find it easy. I sometimes picture an entire graphic novel of the story.

I can easily do it, as long I know the character's age, skin colour, hair colour, and gender if that's not made obvious at first.

I tend to visualize characters as soon as they're mentioned. One of my biggest pet peeves in fiction is when a character is described after I've visualized them. Once I see a character in my head I can't unsee them no matter how much their description contradicts my image of them.

Me, too.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

I visualize them, but not the faces, don't know how to explain it... I see them doing all those things in my head, without seeing them (how they look like, what they wear), only if I do it on purpose

I don't read fiction (anymore) but I remember that most of the time I had a complete picture in my head.. I visualised everything, every character and location and at some point it became so much and stressful to keep it altogether that I apparently lost interest in reading fiction.
Nowadays I prefer watching the movie inspired by the book because they give me actors and locations so I don't have to create them in my mind.

Kind of, sometimes they're all shadows or just stains of color.
Sometimes I visualize them, but they don't look like they should look, like for example if it says that a character has blond hair and blue eyes, I picture them as ginger or brunet, etc.

Yup, I visualize characters too.
I'm currently obsessed with ancient China. While reading a fantasy novel set in ancient China, I visualized the characters dressed like this (Pic 1), but as soon as I found out that this novel is set during the Qing Dynasty, I visualized the characters dressed like this (Pic 2).

Pic 1


Pic 2

depends how accurate the writer details their characters to help me visualize what they look like.

I visualize the characters all the time, but I am also a very visually-oriented person.

I don't think you can draw a line there. I think it is neither particular to Aspies nor not particular. If that makes sense... I think it depends on what you like to do. Or what you find easier.


That's my favourite stories. Those that are neither too overladen with descriptions nor too sparse. I want to see something in my head, but not too much. I don't like when I can literally read how a story was constructed. I like stories where everything fits.


I see faces just as vaguely as I picture the rest of a fictional character. I don't see it all the time, either. I have moments where I see what happens and then it zooms out again.

Occasionally, I picture certain characters as good-looking or interesting or cute. But this includes everything about the characters, not just the looks of them.

I think the problem with faces is that you have to focus on them and usually I perceive them as part of the whole. I don't picture legs or hands in detail either. I couldn't tell you what faces I can remember easily. The problem with faces is that they are three dimensional, but you can only see parts of them.


I only add character descriptions where it seems appropriate. You don't have to make everything specific because everyone interprets your descriptions differently anyway.

But it's good that the topic of visualising film characters in books came up. Ever since I watched the second Harry Potter film, I would visualize Tom Riddle as Christian Coulson (who was an excellent choice in my opinion).


Absolutely! That's the great thing about reading. Every book looks different.


I often want to draw stories instead of writing about them. Because it seems like fun. I really like the medium of comics and graphic novels. I just don't have the patience, I guess.


It can be disappointing. Because you like to keep what you have visualized in the first place.