Voices acting, and things of that nature

[Vidknight]

So recently I gotten a microphone, and I wanted to create voices for my characters by myself. Obviously won't be anything professional, but it will give my animations more life, and also makes it slightly easier on me instead of creating a bunch of text boxes.  Originally this thread was going to be just one question, but I realized that I might have more later on, and that there isn't much talk about VA here so here's a more general thread.

Alright as for my question, How do you find, or think up a voice for a character? Right now I'm only doing two characters, one of which was incredibly easy to find a voice for, but for the other one I tried 3 voices, and it still doesn't really feel like a right fit for the character. Do you have any tips, or techniques that you used in this situation?

[Corrupted Unicorn]

Hey, this is a cool topic! 

I can't help with actually changing your voice to pitch up/down but!! My theatre teacher has a way to go about with voices that might help, so let me explain!

She is a strong believer of using sensations to create characters. She believes that focusing on one sensation will help you shift your body and voice in such a way that a character can be created out of it. The complicated thing would be keeping that sensation with you while acting for an hour or two.

But yes, she believes that the mere action of just remembering something, or shifting your foot in a different way you're used to, can be the basis for an entire new character. I know it can be a bit hard to believe, and it took me two years to "get" it  But I have a personal experience to share as an example! 

So, my role for the next play is a 60's wannabe hippie who gets a fake-high. Emphasis on the "fake" (it's the whole set-up for a joke). So a very forced "stoner" voice doesn't work for her. With that said, my bf often tells me that I sound like a high person sometimes because I have a tendency to jump between trains of thought and conversation topics very easily.

most memorable one was when i bounced between complaining about my dad's BBQing to asking him if he wanted to hear how i accidentally made tear gas and then just stating that I wanted to eat a cloud

So I tried to go back to that kind of state, which I achieved by staring at the clouds for a long time. It gets me very thoughtful and meditative, you know. It's just mesmerizing to me to see how the lazily glide and unravel at the borders, changing shape along the way...

I recalled that memory while interpreting my hippie character, and boom. My voice suddenly became more "airy", which was ideal for her!

So I think it would be very good for making a voice for your character/s to conjure up a sensation related to them. The closer it is to the "core" of the character, the better.

For example, my favourite characters' "core" sensation is the surge of energy/inspiration I get from listening to electronic music