It doesn’t get more real than Back of the Yards, on the South Side of Chicago, when you’re growing up as a young person. It’s where fantasy and the power of story can build resilience, foster healing and lead to greater understanding. Based on the stories and experiences of real urban youth, the Made Collaborative Studio presents Back of the Yards, a new comic series of gritty truth that’s beyond your wildest dreams.
The Back of the Yards comic takes place in a reimagined version of a real Chicago neighborhood. Its stories and characters come from the voices of local youth who once shared their ideas in an after-school art program. Those early sessions became the foundation of Made Collaborative and the start of our story.
Jimmy saw a chance to amplify those voices by bringing in professional comic artists and writers to shape their stories into the backbone of a real series.
Back of the Yards began as a true collaboration between artists and youth; it’s a creative framework we’re still building on. Now, we’re inviting you to join that process. Share your own ideas, and our team of artists may bring them to life in future issues of the series.
The project was born in a classroom one winter evening, when a student grinned and said, “I’ve got an idea—and it’s going to be great.”
That spark became Andre Davis, the first of several characters shaped from those early afterschool collaborations.
Soon after came Tamia Parker and Russell Patterson. Later, our writers introduced Carl Castañeda, the thread that tied their stories together and set the foundation for Back of the Yards.
You can explore their stories and read issues #1 and 2 on the Back of the Yards Studio Card page just scan the QR code or follow the link:
https//madecollaborative.com/cards /studio-card-3
This workbook is your chance to create your own comic book character. Use the next pages to design someone new and, if you’d like, share your creation with us. We’ll feature selected submissions on our website, and a few may even move into direct collaboration with our artists for illustration and development.
Some of those new characters could appear in future issues of Back of the Yards, as we aim to introduce at least three new ones in the next release.
The following pages walk you through a simple five-step process for building your character using our online template. You’ll explore traits, motivations, and archetypes drawing inspiration from Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee and psychologist Carl Jung.
Ready to collaborate? Turn the page.
Collaborative Workbook #1
Create Your Own Comic Book Character
To get started, visit the Create a New Character Studio Card page. You can scan the QR code on the right or use the link below: https://madecollaborative.com /cards/studio-card-1-letscreate-a-characters-2/
First — Grab a Pen and Paper
On the Studio Card page, you’ll find a short video that highlights why strong characters make every story more powerful. Give it a quick watch before diving in.
Before you start the digital template, take a few minutes to jot ideas by hand or use this worksheet. Sketch thoughts, names, quirks, anything that comes to mind. The key is to get your imagination moving before the structured steps begin.
Over the next few pages, we’ll guide you through a simple five-step process to shape those early ideas into a character ready for Back of the Yards.
STEP ONE
Create Your Character’s Background & Basic Traits
In this first step, you’ll build the introduction to your character the quick snapshot that tells us who they are. Think about the basics: name, age, job, and a few physical traits. Don’t get lost in details yet; there’s time for that later.
Your goal here is simple: describe your new character in four sentences or less, the way you might tell a friend about someone you just met.
You’ll also see a short Google Slides presentation featuring Back of the Yards character Andre Davis. We’ll use this example throughout the workbook.
Use the arrows in the lower-left corner of the Slides window to move between pages, or click the three dots in the same corner to expand it to full screen.
When you open the Google Slides deck, start with the first few slides. They’ll introduce examples of character backgrounds and personality traits to get you thinking. Use them as inspiration, not rules just a few sparks to help you shape your new character.
Here’s an example of how a short character description reads in a movie script. On the website, you can see this moment brought to life in a quick video clip, but what matters here is how much personality the writer packs into just a few lines.
Pen to Paper
Use this space to jot down your own character’s introduction. Think about what small details would make them instantly recognizable on screen or on the page. You can write directly in this workbook or use your own notebook—the goal is to capture your first impression before we move into deeper development.
Prompt #1
Describe the physical characteristics of your new character. You can use examples from the table or the Studio Card webpage for inspiration, and refer to the first few slides of Andre’s Character Dossier if you’d like additional guidance.
Prompt #2
Describe your character’s background. Think about their age, occupation, birthplace, and family, or any other details that help you sum them up in a sentence or two. You can also look at the early slides of Andre’s Character Dossier for inspiration.
Prompt #3
Now bring everything together. Using the Training Day example above, along with the physical characteristics and background details you outlined earlier, write two or three sentences that introduce your character as if they were appearing for the first time in a screenplay.
STEP TWO Develop Your Character’s Personality
In this part, we focus on developing your character’s personality traits. To guide your creative process, we’ve included a table of traits to help spark ideas as you build your character. You can also do a little of your own digging online—look up examples of character archetypes or personality types that catch your interest.
We’ll also explore personality through contrast, using two video examples.
First, there’s the Joker the chaotic, unpredictable villain from the DC universe and Batman’s nemesis. His personality is a storm of impulsivity, intelligence, cruelty, and obsession, wrapped in theatrical madness.
Then, on the other end of the spectrum, there’s Frida Kahlo, the legendary Mexican painter whose art revealed identity, pain, and resilience. Her life embodied courage, vulnerability, and defiance, making her both a feminist icon and a symbol of cultural pride.
The contrast between these two personalities couldn’t be clearer. From their differences, you can start to see how motivation shapes behavior and how a person’s inner world drives what they do and why they do it.
Understanding your character’s personality helps you imagine how they’ll act, react, and grow through different stories. Every choice they make flows from who they are inside.
Pen to Paper
Here’s your chance to put those ideas down. Use the space below or the next few pages to sketch out your character’s personality traits, quirks, and motivations. What drives them? What holds them back?
Prompt #4
Which five personality traits would you use to describe the Joker to someone who’s never heard of him? Think about what makes him tick, how he behaves, and what kind of energy he brings into a story. You can check out Slide 4 of Andre’s Character Dossier for reference if you need a little inspiration.
Prompt #5
Which five personality traits would you use to describe Frida Kahlo to someone unfamiliar with her or her legacy? Think about what defines her spirit, her art, and the energy she brought into the world. You can check out Slide 4 of Andre’s Character Dossier for inspiration.
Prompt #6
Now, using Slide 4 of Andre’s Character Dossier as a guide, bring it all together and list five or more personality traits that best describe your new character. Imagine explaining them to a friend or family member—who are they at their core?
STEP THREE
Character Archetypes & Core Values
In this step of your character development journey, we focus on your character’s archetype and core values. Archetypes are universally recognizable character types that represent key roles, traits, or functions within a story’s structure.
To set the stage, we introduce Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist who developed the concept of archetypes as part of his theory of the collective unconscious the idea that certain symbols and character types are innate, universal patterns shared by all humans.
Archetypes are essential in storytelling because they give audiences a familiar lens for understanding a character’s purpose and motivation. Whether it’s the Hero, Mentor, or Trickster, these timeless roles help writers create emotional resonance and shape stories that connect across cultures and generations.
In other words, identifying character archetypes gives you a kind of creative cheat code for developing your own characters and their future storylines. To help you explore this idea, we’ve included a short flipbook that introduces twelve key archetypes and how each one shapes a story.
After you explore our Character Archetype overview, we turn to a closely related concept in this collaborative step: core values.
Character archetypes are deeply connected to core values because each one embodies specific principles or ideals that drive their behavior and choices. For example, the Hero often represents courage and self-sacrifice, while the Caregiver reflects compassion and responsibility. These values help audiences understand what a character truly stands for and create emotional resonance by aligning with the audience’s own beliefs and aspirations.
To help you identify the core values of your own character, we’ve included a sample table on the Studio Card page and a link for further exploration if you’d like to dive deeper.
Pen to Paper
As with each step of this digital template, you’ll find a Pen & Paper space to gather your thoughts and jot down ideas. Use the following pages to capture your reflections and begin shaping your character’s moral center.
Prompt #7
Which of the character archetypes below do you feel you most personally identify with? You’re welcome to select more than one if it fits. Both real people and fictional characters move through different phases of growth, often reflecting two, three, or more archetypes over the course of their lives.
Prompt #8
Andre Davis begins as “The Hero” in the first few issues of Back of the Yards, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay that way.
Heroes evolve. They can grow into mentors guiding the next generation, or fall to the shadow side of their own traits, becoming rebels, outlaws, or even tyrants.
Based on what you know about Andre, either from his character dossier or the comic itself, how do you imagine his story might unfold in future issues of Back of the Yards? Be bold and imaginative there’s no wrong answer.
Prompt #9
In the spirit of the Creator archetype, here’s your chance to brainstorm ideas for your own new character using any of the 12 archetypes and their core values as inspiration. Don’t overthink it or worry about details right now. Just let your imagination move. You can refer to Slide 5 from Andre’s Character Dossier for guidance if you’d like, or simply follow the spark wherever it leads.
STEP FOUR
Your Character’s Biography & Other Interesting Facts
Congratulations! You’ve made it through the first three steps of the Studio Card collaboration. By now, you’ve built the foundation of a new character someone with physical traits, personality, an archetype, and a set of core values. That’s everything you need to start writing your own stories. If you’re feeling inspired, you can also submit your character to us for possible inclusion in a future issue of Back of the Yards.
To kick off this final section, we’re featuring a short video from the legendary Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, The Hulk, Iron Man, Black Panther, and many more. In it, Stan shares insights into how great characters are born—and how their personal histories and motivations make them unforgettable.
We’ve also included a short Google Slide presentation to help you expand your character’s biography. Everyone has a story that shapes who they are the schools they attended, the neighborhoods they’ve lived in, the games they’ve played, the people they’ve loved
Our past becomes the fabric of our lives. In this bonus round, you’ll have a chance to build your character’s backstory using a lightning round of 100 questions. Answer as many or as few as you like the goal is simply to spark ideas and explore who your character might have been before the story begins.
Pen to Paper
As always, use this space to jot down your thoughts, notes, or early ideas. For convenience, there’s extra space on the following pages to write your responses and expand as you go.
Prompt #10 (Bonus Round!)
This final round is optional, meant as a little creative icing on your characterbuilding cake. Choose as many questions as you like from the Google Slide presentation to help flesh out your character’s backstory and biography — the experiences that shaped who they are.
If you’d like a reference point, take a look at Slide 6 of Andre’s Character Dossier for inspiration. Then, let your imagination wander and see what details rise to the surface.
STEP FIVE
Let’s Collaborate!
Here’s where things get fun. This is your chance to develop your own original comic character with us.
Especially creative submissions may be selected for further development with the Made Collaborative team. If chosen, your character could be featured on our website or even appear in a future issue of Back of the Yards!
We’ll also invite some collaborators to join our live creative sessions on Zoom, where ideas come to life in real time.
Interested? Getting started is simple. Just click the yellow button on the Studio Card page and jump in.
Once you click the yellow button, a Google Collaboration Form will appear below. There, you’ll find a series of prompts to help guide your new character submission.
After you’ve completed all four collaboration prompts, simply click the “Submit” button. And, just like that, you’ll be one step closer to collaborating directly with us.
Last but not least, you can share any concept sketches or illustrations of your new character. Just click the yellow button below to upload them.
Once you do, a submission box will open where you can choose your file and send it in.
That’s all there is to it. We’ll check out your submissions and post updates on the Project This & That blog. Thanks for being part of the collaboration.
