The Ultimate Notion Original Character Template (Template + Traits Included!)

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What is Notion?

Notion is an application for productivity and note-taking by Notion Labs Inc. that includes features that make it perfect for OC creators and storytellers. The app also has many collaborative tools for connected settings and storytelling projects. The application features an impressive array of tools, templating features, and much control over project output thanks to the specific markdown used. You don’t need to be heavily experienced in the specific markdown of Notion to use it, however, as many project files can be built by drag-and-drop actions, or you can directly import templates and modify them as needed.

With that said, Notion, as lovely as it is, is a freemium app, meaning you can only get so much out of the free version. However, for most OC creators, the basic version should accomplish anything they need it to do and make a great companion to CharacterHub’s features.

Why Your OC Needs a Profile

Beyond the challenge of designing an original character, creating a way to share information about them is an entirely different affair that can be just as time-consuming. It is not just the writing and planning; you need to figure out how to best communicate information in a way that doesn’t seem like a 15-page ramble about them (not that I am speaking from experience).

It gets more challenging as you have to weigh out how much you’re giving away versus what you want to keep private for your storytelling later. Does that mean you need two entirely different profiles? Potentially! It can be a lot. That is why apps and sites that can make the OC profile creation process more accessible and fluid are so helpful. 

So, when designing a character profile, let’s look at Notion and CharacterHub and the advantages of both.

What Makes For a Good Notion Template

When you begin making a Notion character template, the initial impulse may be diving right in and cobbling a template by feel. While that is valid and can result in exciting layouts, I’d like to propose a more organized approach. Let me dip a bit into my history as a web designer in the early 2000s.

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Early web design for me, and many of us who became terminally online early on, was often table-based or used “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) editors. The very structured nature of how HTML elements and tables stacked and interacted made winging the design of a website a sometimes frustrating experience. I learned quickly to manifest a plan of attack before I started putting sites together on services like Geocities or AngleFire and, eventually, my website.

I learned quickly that drawing my layout on a sheet of paper made a lot of sense in helping me understand what I was working on, and I advise you to do the same when creating your Notion OC template.

Mapping the Layout

When you have a solid grasp on what you want your Notion characters template to include, then turn to figure out the best way to convey that information. In general, reading up on how to utilize sketches when breaking down information on a website or a Notion page, in this case, is a smart move.

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One example is how you might want to handle a character card. In many wikis, a small table on the top-right corner of the page usually includes information about a subject and a representative picture. If you’ve ever looked up something on Wikipedia or a Fandom Wiki, you’ll know what I mean here. Sketching out what you want the table structure to look like for the card is helpful. From there, you can sketch a simple box for that information card in the context of an overall layout. You might have a couple of sheets of paper for specific tables or boxes on your Notion template.

Also, when sketching the layout of your Notion character template, don’t get mired in details. You are doing things right if you have many boxes with brief text notes. Remember that this is just a set of guidelines to help you organize when building the template. All of this planning can also be applied to any existing templates, especially when you may need to add something that the template lacks that is specific to your characters or setting.

Let’s look at the Notion template by CharacterHub, which is an excellent introduction for any creator interested in using Notion to develop their stories and OCs. It, too, can benefit from this sketching approach to laying out information, so as you look over the CharacterHub OC template, consider keeping a sheet of paper out in case you want to brainstorm some changes.

Building Your OC Profile Template in Notion

The building process on Notion is relatively easy once you understand how the features work, where they are included, and how they interact. Think of the elements of a Notion OC template as a page full of widgets that you can drag and drop, known as “blocks.” The biggest challenge is understanding what blocks you need and where to find them. Thankfully, the app is pretty intuitive in that regard. 

Usually, highlighting some text will present a context menu for stylizing or linking. If you want to add blocks, it is as simple as clicking the + icon in the left margin. 

If you wish to move a block, you just need to click and drag the “domino” icon around the grid system that makes up the standard layout of a project page in Notion.

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Of course, if you would instead not create a template from scratch or are looking for a solid base to work from, CharacterHub has a Notion character template that can be copied into your projects. The profile template serves as a good base and catch-all for a character profile, including tables for various stats and features, sections for biography, and even a gallery template. The table is also color-coded, with each section having a clear theme, but you can always change it for your purposes when you copy it over. This is an excellent introduction to Notion and how to organize and break down information about characters in the app, but there is a lot more to it than that.

Before you do anything with the template, however, remember to lock the template when copied to your project. Then duplicate it and work on the copy so you always have a clean, basic template to return to in case you need to start again.

Using the CharacterHub Template

The CharacterHub Notion OC template is a precious resource in understanding how Notion works regarding information layouts; everything makes a lot of sense when put together. Features the template introduces you to include the headers and icons that make up the top of the template and critical information about your chosen OC. Much of the Notion template emulates the character profile features found on OCs all over CharacterHub, putting first impressions of the character forward.

For example, the first “half” of the template features canon information on the character, as if you were reading their biography. Everything from their biography, story, character quotes, and vital statistics is included. This is what you might read as the core information on a character. But you can and should go further.

With the “relationships” section and the meta information below, you get into design details and elements that look at the character from a writer's perspective. That means that these other templated pages linked in the initial template can be handy, too, featuring their designs and layouts that provide plenty of organization and inspiration. Much like the initial character template, these can be copied and edited to your project as well, to be modified based on the needs of your style and setting.

Start with the Template and Explore Further

Even with a great template provided by CharacterHub, I suggest building a template for yourself to understand how everything functions and interacts while exploring the possibilities of building unique templates for specific characters, settings, and stories. Regardless of your familiarity with Notion and information design, the CharacterHub template for Notion is a perfect starting point, especially as a supplement to CharacterHub’s features.

CharacterHub: A Fine Pairing with Notion

While Notion is a compelling and flexible app for organizing projects, it does have its limitations. Notion is a walled garden in many ways. For example, while you can send anyone a link to a character profile made on Notion, their access is limited to whether they are attached to the project. It can feel a little lonesome Unless you invite plenty of people to join a project. You have a tremendous amount of control over users attached to the projects and what they can access and edit, but there is no inherent, present community, which can be discouraging when you want to show off an OC.

However, CharacterHub has a large community of character creators and a template-driven profile system, which offers many features present in Notion, only with the chance to readily show off and interact with other people on the platform. You might consider CharacterHub as the public face of your OCs, allowing users to respond and react to your creations while using Notion as a collaborator space or spoiler-filled project planning zone. In any case, CharacterHub’s features pair well with Notion, and using both is a wise move when sharing your OCs with the world.