#Oc tips

[redtailarts101]

Design tip: adding "imperfections" to your character designs helps differentiate and diversify them, and makes each individual design more interesting. Add acne. Blemishes. Moles. Freckles. Keratosis pilaris. Vitiligo. Eczema. Other skin conditions. Give them an overbite or crooked nose. Your designs will be more unique this way and they'll be visually interesting even without having to clutter other parts of the design.

"but I don't know how to do any of that" okay look up tutorials or just go in blind and try! You're allowed to do it "bad" and then get better with time.

[narcpocalypse]

TBH the best way to flesh out a character (which works for me) is to put them in two interview settings. One where they have to tell the truth no matter what and one where they can say whatever they're comfortable with. One will show their depth and the other will show how they want to be perceived

EDIT: OMG YALL TY FOR BLOWING THIS UP???? Here's a template for this idea with 3 interview settings!

[manda-kat]

Hey if you have a character and they feel kind of empty as far as motivation, personality and backstory goes, I have a very serious question for you that might help:

When you imagine their childhood, are there parents there or are they just vague people-shaped blobs?

If your character doesn't have a defined relationship with their parents (positive or negative) then that might be contributing to why you have trouble finishing their personality. How we are raised dictates a lot of our values, quirks and trauma. Was their mother overprotective, leading to them second-guessing themselves and afraid of the outside world? Were they close with their father and now their only dream is to finish the mission he started? Did their parents fight all the time and now they hate confrontation?

Even if your character’s parents are dead, that isn't just a sad thing that happened to them, it's a building block you need to actually use. Somebody raised this character in a certain way and even if nobody raised them, they're going to show that through their personality.

And if you want to take it a step further, give your character siblings and make that affect their personality. Are they the responsible oldest? The oldest with the high expectations? The bossy oldest? The forgotten middle child? The middle child who'd do anything to stand out? The twin who can't bear to be away from their sibling? The definitely oldest twin- and yes the distinction matters? The lonely only child? The mature for their age only child? The sheltered only child? The bullied youngest? The baby? The golden child? The black sheep? The only boy or girl in their family?

If you have trouble making a character’s personality it may be because you haven't defined the people around them. We don't just make personalities for ourselves in a vacuum. Our behaviors are molded by those we love.

[cybermangoes]

Just some element/power Ideas for anyone making a ninjago oc :3!🦴🎀

��slime

—sand

—radiation

—flight

—flexibility

—phantom

—telekineses

—mind control

—glitch

—dance

—air

—weather

—thunder

—flowers

—snow

—healing

—love

—colour

—illusion

—magnetism

—hypnoses

[creation-help]

Advice and tips on how to make your character feel more genuine/real

- Pettiness and shallowness. Obviously it can manifest in different ways, but IRL everyone has at least one or two little things that they're a bit surface level and "Just because!" about. Be it clothes, how they do certain rituals, what color m&ms they prefer ect ect. It can be little details or even major characteristics, and depending on which (and what) they are, it can be really telling about the character! Plus, it just adds a little extra depth and fun. Some examples including but not limited to: Being fussy over getting their clothes wet or dirty, only preferring some items because they look good, insisting on doing some action or tradition exactly a certain way, disliking an aspect of a thing or a person because they just don't like it, and so on. Obviously the big worldview points like morality and beliefs are very important, but when you've figured those out, take a moment to think about the smaller, everyday things your character feels about the world around them. No matter how good or wise a person is, they'll still always have some little thing that they can't give some profound noble answer to. Use this to your advantage to explore your character's shortcomings or flaws!

(In the same vein, Pet peeves is another detail that can flesh out a character!)

- How does your character perceive things? What do they notice about people first? How would they talk about, or describe another person to someone, if asked? How would they describe themself? And why? Just some things to consider. If your character maps out all the little details and deeply analyzes everything they see, it'll show in their interactions very differently than, for example, if they have the perception of a cabbage and are more oblivious than the love interest in a teen drama that the writers are stretching out for five seasons for no reason. Ykno.

- Additionally: what's their opinion of the people around them? Or if you've already mapped that out, what's their opinion of people they've never met before, or people who aren't in their immediate bubble, friends of friends, relatives of relatives, neighbours, or celebrities, mythical/historical figures and so on. Delve into hypotheticals sometimes, it can help you exercise your knowledge of the character. Even if none of these encounters or situations would happen in Canon.

- I'm sure you've already figured out what your character is most passionate about, ykno, whatever drives the story and impacts their relationships with other characters. But how about stuff they really don't care to think about? Just shrug? Not interesting? Doesn't pay attention to this? What is low on their priorities? It doesn't have to be negative (but can be!), it can just be "Meh", or something your character hasn't even noticed before, simply because it's not in their thoughtscape to think about.

- Does your character have any of those "What? I thought everyone did that/thought that/was like that!" - things? What do they take for granted, or weren't aware isn't a universal experience? Did they have a wildly different experience with something that most other characters hadn't even thought of? And yes I understand this is good for exploring trauma and other angsty things, but besides the obvious, think about maybe something that could be related to your character's species/living environment/abilities/opinions ect. This is great for exploring cultural differences, and anything that takes place in a fantasy setting. Very useful for villains and heroes alike! It's insightful. Everyone has small little perceptive differences or big and small thoughts that for some reason just haven't been properly challenged yet. Or brought up even. For whatever reason. Explore maybe what that reason could be, and figure out why it's been unchallenged for so long.

- Imperfections. Little divergences. It's fully possible to write a compelling and genuine feeling character using just archetypes, if you really explore them deeply. And whether you're doing that or not, think about the lines and molds you've set your character into, and let them spill out of them a little bit. Can be one huge aspect or one teensy detail, but make some diversion. Some crack in the picture. Doesn't have to be a flaw but can be! Just have some little aspects that set them apart and make the character themself. Get weird with it. Getting weird is one huge way you can truly make a character stand out and feel more unique and, oddly enough, genuine and real. Actual people have little oddities or things that don't line up with everything else about their person. And again it doesn't necessarily have to be anything big or shocking, in fact I'd argue it's even better if sometimes it's just a small, very ordinary, humanizing detail. Maybe unexpected, or maybe just something that doesn't factor into the surface image your character has. Think about characters similar to yours that you see often. What traits do they all share, or most usually have? Think about the kinds of people your character is inspired by. What are they often like? Make a diversion from that. Make multiple even? It can be the most random thing but think about it, even if you threw a dart at a wall of sticky notes, really chew out what this little thing says about your character. And focus on little cracks, imperfections, diversions and other odd details of your character. Over time they can grow bigger, or maybe not.

- Keep a clear picture of who your character is. Sounds obvious but I'll elaborate. Your character will obviously change and develop over the time you're working on them and whatever story events take place but I think it's very important to keep in mind who they fundamentally are. Basically I'm saying that try to keep them in character, yes even if you did drastic character development, you can still show that it's the same person in other ways even if one of their core traits was flipped. Be aware of what things will never change about your character no matter what they'd go through. Keep some consistency. Consistency matters alot in making a character seem genuine and, ykno, a good character. Even if that consistent trait is that they're inconsistent! The character can be that, yes, but as their creator, you should still keep sights of what's consistent for this character, you feel? If your character is a glunk of slime that slips out of it's container constantly and subsequently molds into whatever situation it gets put in, that's not really a character, that's.. Idk, plot device..? I know this may sound contradicting to my previous point but I fully think that, and this one can and should coexist.

You need to simultaneously be aware of the ways your character will differ from something and be fluid, and the ways your character will not bend, and cannot become. It's simply a matter of knowing their boundaries and restrictions, knowing which way they can lean and which way not. Obviously this'll be up to you as their creator, bc yeah you're allowed to drastically edit your character if you feel like it's for the better, but try to commit to that change then. Don't let the character slip from your hands, or let the story bend them into whatever shape it needs to make the plot go forward. Your character, and more importantly you, should be in control of that.

I emphasize the point of you controlling your character and not the other way around also. I've seen some character owners slip into "Well it's just what the character would do! I can't help it, it'd be out of character if they didn't do x!" even if the thing is completely awful, doesn't fit, or would ruin an aspect of the story. A smart writer will know how to work with your character's traits in a way that prevents them from running off the tracks and becoming their own little gremlin, while also complying with the story. Respect your character's.. Character, while also respecting yourself and the point of the story. This is even more crucial if it's a roleplay character, by the way..

I'm just saying, find ways to write the story in cooperation with your character. That means knowing what situations to avoid and which ones to steer for, in order to keep your character functioning with the plot and other characters. Sometimes you simply have to prevent some event from happening, or some characters from ever meeting, for the sole reason that it wouldn't make the story work the way it should. Or the way you want it to. You hold the pencil, be aware of what that means

[a-mimic-and-a-jester]

OC NAMING TIPS!!

quick tips for naming when your super confuzzled

-Find an adjective or attribute that desccribes your character well, and search up "names that mean xxx" (Example: Mustafa=Chosen, Amaris=child of the moon, Circe=magic. etc!)

-Open a random letter generator (i know, i know) and go until you find a good name, feel free to modify ofc

-Imagine the character's general personality: what would they want their name to be? if given the choice what would they choose?

-be cryptic and make secrets. rearrange words important to the character or reverse them. is it cringe? cringe culture is dead. be fucking spooky.

-stare at their design until a random fucking name pops into your head (works I swear)

-set in a normal, realistic IRL environment? look through baby name lists online or ask ur guardians if your in casual contact with them

-https://www.name-generator.org.uk/character/ this link, super fuckin good

RB with other tips for this if u know em bc apparently ppl need this really badly </3

RB to show more people who need this!!

[deeeshka-14]

useful(useless) popee the performer OC guide/tips!!!!

hello everyone!!! my name is dishka, and im an PTP fan since 2019! recently, i did an OC and thinked alot, looking at ptp characters to make it more canon-like. soooo i wanna share what i noticed in characters designs that may be useful for making OC's! lets start

APPEARANCE: based on colors, mostly.

okay, let's take a look at PTP characters:

so, when you first looking at those characters, you can mainly notice the colors, maybe. its like 3-4 main colors(not taking shades of one color as different. also im not sure if white counts!). there is ALWAYS some print on outfit(stripes on popee's jumpsuit, stars on kedamono's shorts) or its just double-colored(papi's jumpsuit). i guess i should say there's something like a main theme in character. even if im not sure about "animal" theme(because kedamono is just a straight up wolf and popee is still a human just in animal outfit), theres space theme in papi and marifa(who wasnt in the show but i still count her!!)

i also may say that her colors is limited too, so this works with all characters, yeah. ALSO i noticed that everyone has something on their head(mask/hat), so i guess that's important too, even if maybe not necessary. to quickly show how I did it, i'll just leave my oc here:

so, basically, theres limited colors, a theme, i also added this neck thingy to match circus better... and i did it kinda close to ptp author's artstyle bc i wanted to.

PERSONALITY/STORY: short af

so umm theres not alot to say about how to be with a personality but there's always like maybe 2-3 traits in character, like they are very simple, nothing too complicated. ofc you can do it as you want, but if you wanna make your oc as close to canon as possible i recommend not overdoing their personality & story. just think of like... how are they acting near canon characters maybe?? what would they do in different situations?? where they came from, why are they in the circus?? and something basic like that.

sooo thats all i can say!!! sorry if this guide was useless, i just wanted to do this bc i uhh wanna share things i noticed??? and all goodbye and wish you luck with ocs

[se7ens-oc-heaven]

Fun tip from your local oc hoarder: if you have old ocs or concepts that never went anywhere, didn't quite grab you, just didn't quite work - re-insert them into the world as the npcs. The background character. The side cast.

And here's why, in a nutshell - it'll help your world feel more cohesive, to you and to anyone seeing it.

Yeah, sure, you can hastily slap together a bland shopkeep during a shopping scene, or slip in generic fan designs at a concert. But if you have someone Established, specific, someone who doesn't Have to reoccur, buuuuut... maybe the main characters always go into the store during so-and-so's friday shifts, or maybe you have concert scenes frequently enough that you'd start picking out the same fans who always attend for their favorite band... Adds to how natural it all feels, you know?

Does it have to be an old oc? Can't it be someone made to fit, I hear you ask? Well, sure! And obviously if you only have one or two ocs that aren't active, you'll have to anyways. But it's a two birds with one stone exercise - because now you've streamlined your process for having an established npc. You already have an idea of how that old oc looks, or talks, or acts. You may already know what setting they'd likely frequent, or even miscellany like what music they like or hobbies they have. Your generic npc doesn't have to have speaking lines or relevance - but if they needed to or you wanted them to, now they can. They'll have substance that keeps things from feeling too flat.

And idk, obviously some people don't pay much attention to things like that - but I've found that it makes a huge difference to me even when I hadn't realized it. It adds some extra depth to the world in small ways, that you may or may not ever use, but that way it's already built in. No scrambling or extra work to project traits onto some faceless character who talks to your protag about musicians for one scene.

This is also helpful for subverting "kill your darlings" a bit, for those who struggle a lot with that concept in their writing and worldbuilding - because for me, my problem tends to be that it's not that the darling is Entirely Pointless, it's just that they aren't a good fit. Killing a really good idea and banishing it to the drafts forever can suck. But learning how to Recycle the darling helps keep it in relevance, but by plugging it in to a better purpose than the original draft. That makes it easier to cut ideas out of my writing - because I can rest easy knowing I have it in reserve for its time to shine elsewhere.

I'd imagine this won't work for everyone, but I've found as I work on my hero story that it's added a lot of joy. Characters who fell to the sidelines or into obscurity simply because they weren't cut out for hero business now have time to shine in other small ways.

I have a girl who realistically will end up just being a background jogger. But she's also on a track team, and likes handmaking pottery in her spare time. I have a guy with weather powers, but he's focused pursuing being a talented violinist, with minimal active involvement in the hero business beyond happening to have heroes who are fans of his work.

Heck, one of my favorite characters is a duo of guys sharing a body that are just waiters at the local diner. One of them can reverse gravity or even practically rewind time with the snap of his finger if he so chose. These are powers that he studies endlessly for so he can hone and refine them better. But all he cares about is protecting his family and friends, so all you typically see him use his powers for is preventing glasses from being broken or saving his crush from tripping.

It makes me happy to see my kids just going about their day, filling a role in the background. Will they be more relevant? It's possible! But even if they aren't, there will always be glimpses - of the redhead jogging down the street, of someone in the middle of listening to a track from a classical violinist, of a waiter effortlessly stopping plates from being dropped in the middle of taking an order - all in the backdrop of whatever panel or scene or what have you that comes up.

It helps it all feel more like a world everyone belongs in, rather than a staged play. You know? And it's a very fulfilling feeling for me, both as author and as reader.

So yeah. Don't be afraid to recycle those old ocs. Tweak or streamline them if you need, but if you hold them even a little dear to your heart and can get them to click, I promise you won't regret it.

[sanityshorror]

Is there any writing tips you can give me to create OCs??

My advice comes from the perspective of an author who creates characters to tell stories, as well as a multimedia creator - so this advice is more general creating advice (rather than advice for just making OCs - which there's nothing wrong with to simply create OCs!), so this may not be exactly what you are looking for/may not fully apply, though I hope this helps! Advice below cut↓

Are you creating because you want fame and popularity, or for no reason other than your passion for it? If it's for fame and popularity and not purely from passion - don't. Fame and popularity must be 0% priority, it must come from the heart. Create the characters you want, create the stories you want to - not what you think others want and will like. You are your own target audience.

What is the character's purpose to exist? What is their story to tell and the reason to tell it? What is the backstory? Who are they, as a truly 3D being - like any real person is ?(you know this has happened when suddenly, your characters have developed 'minds of their own' and you no longer feel you can control them - you will know what I mean when you experience what this truly feels like.) How does their name and appearance reflect them, as a person? How would their time period and culture have shaped them? You will find more questions like this and you should be asking yourself every single question you can think of regarding your character - including the reason why your answer is what it is. The answer should be in character and make sense for said character.

Do extensive research on all topics and experience which you will portray in your creations. Also, if the characters are from the past, do extensive research on their time period.

I give this following advice in #5 as an extreme horror creator, and I'm including this as I assume that you ask me because this is the genre you want to go into creating: A) you need to be 18+ to do this, plain and simple. This is not a genre appropriate for minors to be creating for, there are various reasons for this. B) your work needs to have a message, however, getting graphic and brutal (though you should not be creating extreme horror unless you are able to execute this properly), in your face and over the top with it - that's completely okay. Making people uncomfortable and disturbed and upset is the goal of extreme horror - not entertainment or to comfort. C) give an explanation for an antagonists reasons, though never an excuse nor ability to redeem. D) cross 'red lines' E) understand you will be controversial, get lots of backlash, many people will simply not have the comprehension to understand your creations. You need to be prepared for this and you need to just ignore it. Opinions only matter from people who are into the same genre. F) you need to practice a lot before posting. G) You need to consume and understand the points of other extreme horror media.

If you do not have direct, exact lived experience with things you portray in you character and work, you need to do extensive research, listen to many people who do have that experience, and talk to people personally about their experience. You need to be aware of if it is a subject you should not ask one about and only ask (still keep the questions vague) if they offer first to share. Furthermore, do not touch any subjects unless you are confident that you can portray and handle them with the necessary maturity, awareness, capacity, and knowledge.

Commit. You must have the passion to truly commit. This must be something you are willing to dedicate years and years to. Understand you are a beginner and have so much to learn. Be receptive and take constructive criticism from those more experienced than you. And don't give up. Failing and making mistakes is essential to improvement. It's how you learn what not to do in the future. Those with lots of experience who point these things out are trying to help - not insult.

Don't ask bigger creators for promotion of your work. Don't try to push your characters on theirs.

If you do gain a following, be humbled and never, ever let it go to your head. I've seen this happen to so many people and it's always their downfall.

Push yourself out of your comfort zones. It's how you grow as a creator.

Uh..... "you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow, this opportunity comes once in a life time, yo!" Basically. Never let a chance at achieving your dream pass you by due to self doubt or anxiety. Especially a truly big chance. These are truly rare, most people will never gain any following - hence why you shouldn't care about fame to begin with. BUT.. ."Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it or just let it slip?" okay I'll stop with Lose Yourself but those lyrics are true.

I hope this helps you (and others)! Best of luck!! /Gen /pos

[cocoafloodsthemetro]

♡ Body type diversity ♡

[markersmadness]

𝙒𝙍𝙄𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂: 𝙀𝙈𝙊𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉𝘼𝙇 𝙎𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙀𝙎

𝒂 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆'𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌. 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒕... 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆��𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏 [𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓]'𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆.

𝐎ne thing I notice new writers tend to think is that a emotional or important scene has to be dangerous. that there has to be risk. but that isn't true. in fact, the opposite can be! scenes where the surroundings don't reflect a character's emotions make them feel real; the rain won't conveniently come for you, so why should it for your character?

Scenes where a character isn't surrounded by pain, perhaps even surrounded by joy can make their misery all the more impactful. Describe the energetic, lovely, happy people around them. How their friends cheer and hold one another, play games and run amok. The bubbly, warmly colored room, the nostalgic and dazzling music. All while your character is breaking apart, their eyes glazed over like newly cut glass.

Using impactful words to show a character in pain makes the reader feel it, too. metaphors to describe their perspective, the hints that they aren't really okay, meshed with descriptive narratives depicting celebration causes such a contrast that it makes a heavy impact.

Of course, there are times where it's better to have the atmosphere match the emotions. this technique only works when used sparingly; having the same scenario, same metaphors makes your writing dull. if you feel like you're running out of writing methods, or that you're repeating your self, be it word choice or characterization or anything really, try writing one shots! think of a different approach to write each time for each one shot, so that you can explore what is best to write in what circumstance.

The world around your character is just as important as the character themself. Yes, it's important to have dimensional characters, and to build on their traits. But it doesn't matter if you're unable to convey it. One of the hardest things to do is to write an interesting story when a character and the world don't "match"; the character isn't motivated, doesn't care, doesn't... feel for their environment. Hence why so many authors and writers try to explain and show how important motivations and goals are for your characters, but then they don't explain it, don't tell you or show you why it is that they need a goal.

It's still possible; it's difficult but it is possible to write a story for a character without a motivation. It's just a very bad starting point for those who are new to writing, or haven't entirely figured their characters or writing style out yet. So don't take it as a "never", take it as " do this only if you really think you can work with it "

I'll make a separate post for a list of metaphors and descriptors I like to use, some are listed here above in the example (bolder) but there are lots more if you're at a loss!

[narcpocalypse]

HEY GUYS!! In reference to this post, I made a document with interview questions! Thank you so much for being inspired by my idea. It means the world to me. I hope you find this helpful :33

[zothora]

Hello

I would like some advice for my MHA oc

Her quirk is ' borrow' she can temporarily take and use another's quirk

She can only hold a Max of 3 at at time and will eventually time out and get returned on it own

How she gets another person quirk isnthat she need to touch someone with all 5 fingers

The part I need help with is what do you think would happen if she grabs shiggy? Or her and shiggy mange to grab each other at the same. Time?

[rpmemesbyarat]

I think this is an EXCELLENT video that addresses the real problem with people who spend too much time obsessing over if their character is a “Mary Sue” and not enough time on making a good character, a good story, etc. Before you balk at the title, which suggests this is just going to be another “don’t do this, don’t do that, etc” this channel makes SARCASTIC channels and SARCASTIC videos where the point is you’re supposed to take the opposite message of what’s being said. Good points here include: - The fact that the very term “Mary Sue” has often just come to mean “female protagonist” - The way people treat it like RPG stats, trying to build a character that will pass a Mary Sue Litmus Test without regard for what actually works for the story - How some people will go so far in trying to make their character as flawed and un-special as possible that, to quote the video, they just end up as bland as a potato but with none of the potential to cook into something better, and how THAT’S not a good character either. - Not understanding WHY certain traits that are traditionally associated with the “Mary Sue” are bad for a story, and by contrast, when they can be GOOD for a story, and how a great many very beloved stories and characters HAVE these traits, and that it’s all in how they’re used. - Being way, way too concerned with what people en masse think, with their protagonist being CALLED a Mary Sue, etc, instead of just accepting that their story won’t appeal to everyone and to just focus instead on their intended target audience, and chill with the idea yeah someone is probably going to say something like that at some point. - Again, treating “is this a Mary Sue or not” something that can be calculated like a point system—add a point for color changing eyes and a tragic past, subtract a point for each flaw, etc— instead of taking everything on a case by case basis of “did this protagonist work for this story” which, again, characters like Superman, Goku, and Sailor Moon all VERY much have. - To seriously just chill on this term and stop worrying about it and just focus on actually writing

[jumping-junimos]

i've never made an OC before and i really want to but idk where to even start T^T does anyone have any tips???

[ghostlylemonz]

my top tip for really developing the design of your ocs? Make picrews of them.

Picrews are just silly little dress up games made by real people, all with their own unique art styles, which means the options that you have for each one will be different. This is gonna help you pick out those key features for your character that make them recognizable, and it’s just fun to do. Here’s some of my personal faves:

I do this with almost all of my ocs, and I know their designs and key features like the back of my hand. Have fun designing!!!!