Explorer Characters
The explorer is the most flexible archetype a child can draw, because it works in every setting — jungle, mountain, cave, another planet — and the character is defined by curiosity rather than by powers. It is the one to reach for when a child wants an adventure but has not decided what kind.
Making a explorer into a character
What is in the bag
Five things, chosen by the child. Half the plot comes out of this list.
Somewhere specific to go
A named place — the cave behind the waterfall, the mountain nobody has climbed.
A reason that is not fame
Looking for something lost, or someone, gives every step a purpose.
A companion
An animal or a friend, so the character has somebody to think out loud to.
Questions to ask your child about their drawing
- What are the five things in your explorer’s bag?
- Where are they going?
- Why are they going there?
- Who is with them?
- What are they most afraid of finding?
Common questions
- Can the explorer go somewhere real?
- Yes. Name a real place when you create the story and it will be written around it — a lot of families use this for somewhere they are about to travel.