oc help / yes? / no?

[Allycat]

So I'm thinking of starting an oc but I need some help...
What did you do when starting to plan one out?
I have an idea what I want... but I'm not too sure where to go from there.

also, if I'm posting in the wrong topic, by all means kick me off.

update: & if anybody is curious, I've began to use all your ideas and I'm starting to put together my oc. I can post it here if you'd like to see.
​

 

[Pokemanz]

Well, all my OCs are characters from a story I wrote. Most of them were friends that wanted to be a part of it that soon became their own character.

I'd say start with basic things like gender, likes and dislikes, personality, ect. Then you can put those things into what they might look like and get into details like hairstyle and all that.

It's kinda hard to explain, but it's really easy to get the hang of once you get started!

 

[Allycat]

Well, all my OCs are characters from a story I wrote. Most of them were friends that wanted to be a part of it that soon became their own character.

I'd say start with basic things like gender, likes and dislikes, personality, ect. Then you can put those things into what they might look like and get into details like hairstyle and all that.

It's kinda hard to explain, but it's really easy to get the hang of once you get started!

Thank you, I really appreciate it! I need to open a document and start writing then. =D

 

[Keitara]

Maybe this gives you some inspiration/advice?
My oc is kinda like my other self in another world '-'
She was simply the main character of a story I made up many years ago.
With time flowing, the story, her look and name changed, but in the core she stayed the same and became my second identity - Keitara. Today, she has great meaning for me and I always use it for things where real life isn't involved, so for example games and Internet c:
I think she became a part of me. If it's about her personal story and background, well, some things are taken from myself and changed into a more fantasy-like or dramatical way.
You could try to just live your life like always, experience things and include them with adding and changing things.
Ah and I think special traits/habits make a character unique, so try to include something, maybe even something weird or strange, as a habit, kinda like an eye-catcher or a trademark.

 

[Allycat]

Maybe this gives you some inspiration/advice?
My oc is kinda like my other self in another world '-'
She was simply the main character of a story I made up many years ago.
With time flowing, the story, her look and name changed, but in the core she stayed the same and became my second identity - Keitara. Today, she has great meaning for me and I always use it for things where real life isn't involved, so for example games and Internet c:
I think she became a part of me. If it's about her personal story and background, well, some things are taken from myself and changed into a more fantasy-like or dramatical way.
You could try to just live your life like always, experience things and include them with adding and changing things.
Ah and I think special traits/habits make a character unique, so try to include something, maybe even something weird or strange, as a habit, kinda like an eye-catcher or a trademark.

i like that very much, thank you. =D

 

[piichinu]

Well I just bought mine, I have never made my own OC. You could try that. Check deviantArt.
I have adopted 4 OCs (more, but I don't use 'em) and I love them.

Even if you do want to make your own. Check out some other people's designs. Don't blatantly copy them, though, just get some ideas from looking at them. I recommend deviantArt.

 

[tobi!]

Totes try writing a story. Gives you great ideas on OC's and their personalities.

computertrash has some awesome adoptables.

If you have an idea, roll with it. I had an idea and as I was making my OC, I changed it a bunch but now I really like it. Also, remember you don't have to be stuck in the mud with your OC. You can change it anyway you want. It's yours.

 

[ACupOfTea]

One of the first things I do is make a mental list of what I want the character to be like, look like, and maybe some name ideas. All of the stuff on that list is just general ideas though; I don't go into detail until later. I then try to find a picture of someone online that I feel fits my character's appearance. For me, writing comes a little easier if pictures are somehow involved.
If you're having trouble coming up with a name, I highly recommend Nameberry. It has this awesome tool called namehunter that I use a lot.
After doing all that stuff, then I find a character sheet! Here's a list of character sheets on Tumblr: x
So, after I fill out that character sheet I go back and check everything over to make sure I'm satisfied with my answers. And if I can't answer one of the questions on the character sheet right away, I just leave it blank and fill it out when an answer comes to me.
I hope this helps you out a bit! Character development can be a lengthy process, but remember to have fun with it! An important thing to remember is you can change an oc whenever you want, and make them however you want! And hey, feel free to pm me if you ever want to brainstorm ideas! ^-^

 

[Allycat]

Well I just bought mine, I have never made my own OC. You could try that. Check deviantArt.
I have adopted 4 OCs (more, but I don't use 'em) and I love them.

Even if you do want to make your own. Check out some other people's designs. Don't blatantly copy them, though, just get some ideas from looking at them. I recommend deviantArt.

well... I'm thinking of I have an idea for sure. I want to incorporate something else.... I haven't really decided. & I never would copy someone elses! I wouldn't feel like it was mine, you know? Adopting one does sound nice, I may consider that. Thank you!

- - - Post Merge - - -

One of the first things I do is make a mental list of what I want the character to be like, look like, and maybe some name ideas. All of the stuff on that list is just general ideas though; I don't go into detail until later. I then try to find a picture of someone online that I feel fits my character's appearance. For me, writing comes a little easier if pictures are somehow involved.
If you're having trouble coming up with a name, I highly recommend Nameberry. It has this awesome tool called namehunter that I use a lot.
After doing all that stuff, then I find a character sheet! Here's a list of character sheets on Tumblr: x
So, after I fill out that character sheet I go back and check everything over to make sure I'm satisfied with my answers. And if I can't answer one of the questions on the character sheet right away, I just leave it blank and fill it out when an answer comes to me.
I hope this helps you out a bit! Character development can be a lengthy process, but remember to have fun with it! An important thing to remember is you can change an oc whenever you want, and make them however you want! And hey, feel free to pm me if you ever want to brainstorm ideas! ^-^

That's very helpful! Thank you so much! I'm starting to get a well-rounded idea of what my OC might be. I think I have a back story and some creature ideas. I'm very excited!

- - - Post Merge - - -

Thank you everyone for your help! I didn't expect so many kind and lengthy answers! Everybody has been so helpful. =D

 

[deerui]

I only really make adventure time OC's and the most popular OC's are usually like, random objects/things/animals turned humanoid so, I really do that. I made a TV-Head and many liked it ; v ;;​

- - - Post Merge - - -

oh! and, I love making steven univese oc by just looking up gemstones

 

[Finnian]

Wanna use this oc that I never did anything with?

Spoiler

 

[Alvery]

Well, all my OCs are based of a fandom that I like :> Also, when I start making an OC, I make sure I know what sort of OC I want to make, and then map out character traits, backstory, make sure that they aren't mary-sue ish, etc. After that, I start working on appearance. When I'm done with all that, then I write out a biography (that's just me, though )

If you want, here's and example of an OC I made (still in-progress) :

Spoiler

Spoiler: rough draft of oc

"In my opinion, people should get what they deserve! People who insult others should be insulted! Litterers should have rubbish thrown at them! Murderers should be murdered! Poachers should be... Poached? Oh, but sexual offenders should just go die, it'd be icky to do what's been done to them back at them..."

Mira

Height: 141 cm
Species: Mirror youkai
Theme: Innocently insensitive, justice freak
Likes: Truthful people, peace, justice, enforcing the former two, fitting punishments, her sub-machine gun, sweet desserts, Kasa
Dislikes: Rule-breakers, law-breakers, liars, vanity, Karma Houdinis, yucky bitter food

Brief overview: Is best described as the sort of person who would, upon seeing someone litter, run up and throw it at them, stick out their tongue, and run away, but not before stopping to properly bin it. Now replace the former scenario with an act of poaching, and she'd shoot and skin the offender and sell their organs on the black market. One has to be harsh and give fitting punishments, as head-of-discipline in the school, after all. Other than that, she's sweeter than sugar and is rather innocent and naive. Her emotions show really easily on her face, easily reflecting how she feels. Wishes to be taller (181cm). Has a not-so-small crush on Kasa.

Backstory (kinda): Someone's pocket-sized makeup mirror gaining sentience, she's sick and tired of people who can't just be themselves, be truthful, and hide behind layers of makeup or lies or delusions. Being rather sheltered, she's rather naive and has the uncanny ability to see through lies and reflect a person's true self (being a mirror). That said, she's no angel herself, as seen from the above. Punishment is either making the offender throughly reflect upon themselves in detention or a... More fitting punishment, depending on the crime. Otherwise, your standard Japanese youkai, gained a soul and human form after a while, lives in the kingdom under Heller with all the Japanese demons and other youkai, and goes to the same school as Jork, Albino, Glitz and Kurotsuno and co.

and here's the updated bio, to show how I develop the OCs I make:

Spoiler: updated bio

"In my opinion, people should get what they deserve! People who insult others should be insulted! Litterers should have rubbish thrown at them! Murderers should be murdered! Poachers should be... Poached? Oh, but sexual offenders should just go die, it'd be icky to do what's been done to them back at them..."

Mira

Height: 141 cm
Species: Mirror youkai
Theme: Terrible reflections, unexpected outcomes
Likes: Truthful people, peace, justice, enforcing the former two, fitting punishments, her glass cannon, sweet desserts, Kasa
Dislikes: Rule-breakers, law-breakers, liars, vanity, Karma Houdinis, yucky bitter food

Brief overview: Is best described as the sort of person who would, upon seeing someone litter, run up and throw it at them, stick out their tongue, and run away, but not before stopping to properly bin it. Now replace the former scenario with an act of poaching, and she'd shoot and skin the offender and sell their organs on the black market. One has to be harsh and give fitting punishments, as head-of-discipline in the school, after all. She reflects the emotional state of those around her (ie: when around someone who?s experiencing strong emotions, she?ll get just as worked up, whether angrily or happily depends on other factors). Wishes to be taller (181cm). Has a not-so-small crush on Kasa.

Backstory (kinda): Someone's pocket-sized makeup mirror gaining sentience, she's sick and tired of people who can't just be themselves, be truthful, and hide behind layers of makeup or lies or delusions. After all, pocket mirrors last long and she?s sick of watching her owners kill themselves slowly with toxic makeup (in olden times), overly tight clothing (ditto), unneeded diets (more modern), botched implants (ditto) and in general, winning Darwin Awards through sheer vanity (throughout the ages). Or just being dumber than a pile of bricks. But if we?re talking youkai, we?ve got to talk about her last owner; who was a BIG fan of everything ?Japanese?. And by ?Japanese? I mean Kawaii desuuuuu~*~*~ Sugoi-chan-nei Watashi ara hajime baka-desu ^_^ Uguuuuuu genki mas-da! Along with ?Traditional Japanese Culture?, aka Kung-Fu Samurai Warriors High School AU. Now, I think we get the point, and it?s getting painful to type this so I?ll stop. At any rate, it was this firm belief in ?Traditional Japanese Culture? which caused the American-made gold pocket mirror to become a Tsukumogami through the power of placebo. How wonderful.

Having come to life, she left, sick and tired of that ****, and ended up in the Pitch-Black World, in a literal youkai high school WITH DEMONS. Oh, the irony. Well, she now rules the school with an iron fist, so all?s well that ends well. (Or is the fist glass? Gold? The silver coating behind mirrors? Meh, who cares)

Trivia:

• Her clothing is based off the mangas, animes and games her last owner played. It could have been so much worse, and she?s glad it didn?t.
• Her glass cannon is a product of way too much action anime. Don?t sweat the details. It shoots glass balls which shatter on impact and send glass shards everywhere, the mirror in the back provides infinite ammo. Again, please don?t sweat the details. It broke my mind and understanding of all science too.
• She?s given up trying to get her class (or schoolmates for that matter) to just WEAR THEIR SCHOOL UNIFORMS DURING SCHOOL HOURS FOR GOD(/Satanick)?S SAKE.
• A bunch of glass shards to the face is, unfortunately for her, not as big of a deterrent to demons as she hoped.
• She can?t actually bring out the big guns on most school-based offenses, and has to settle for ?fitting? punishments (cleaning up litter for two weeks, forcing classmates to stay behind after school and finish overdue homework, etc). Then again, Hanten guts Met, Kurotsuno isn?t afraid to knife her friends for being annoying, and Sullivian and Gyakuten attack each other regularly, with knives, giant nails and chainsaws. Who knows how chaotic school life can get? Its only a matter of time before she starts a trigger-happy-havoc.
• She doesn?t really have many friends due to her extra-disciplinary personality and thus doesn?t really do much outside of school, outside of tutoring Kasa, studying, reading, doing groceries, doing target practice, etc. Daily activities are all she really does.
• She doesn?t like Para much; he seems just like the main character of trashy romance-harem animes, and since they cause way too much havoc and ****storms in schools, they must be nipped at the bud to prevent such things which are not welcome in a school environment. Conversely, she likes Kasa because being around an empty-headed, airy-fairy person allows her to feel more relaxed.
• She?s set up her own little surveillance system of mirrors throughout the school to catch misdemeanours and hanky-panky.

Footnote: No regrets with the ?Japanese? which would make weeaboos stab their eyes out. Nope, none at all

Though, I feel that the most important thing about making an OC is to decide what you want to do with them first, so after that, most of it should come easily? At least, it's like that for me.

I hope this helps! :>

 

[Allycat]

Wanna use this oc that I never did anything with?

Spoiler

that's awesome! I wanna use something whimsical though, but you should seriously consider selling Carlo cause' he cool as heck! But I'm so flattered that you would let me use him.

- - - Post Merge - - -

Well, all my OCs are based of a fandom that I like :> Also, when I start making an OC, I make sure I know what sort of OC I want to make, and then map out character traits, backstory, make sure that they aren't mary-sue ish, etc. After that, I start working on appearance. When I'm done with all that, then I write out a biography (that's just me, though )

If you want, here's and example of an OC I made (still in-progress) :

Spoiler

Spoiler: rough draft of oc

"In my opinion, people should get what they deserve! People who insult others should be insulted! Litterers should have rubbish thrown at them! Murderers should be murdered! Poachers should be... Poached? Oh, but sexual offenders should just go die, it'd be icky to do what's been done to them back at them..."

Mira

Height: 141 cm
Species: Mirror youkai
Theme: Innocently insensitive, justice freak
Likes: Truthful people, peace, justice, enforcing the former two, fitting punishments, her sub-machine gun, sweet desserts, Kasa
Dislikes: Rule-breakers, law-breakers, liars, vanity, Karma Houdinis, yucky bitter food

Brief overview: Is best described as the sort of person who would, upon seeing someone litter, run up and throw it at them, stick out their tongue, and run away, but not before stopping to properly bin it. Now replace the former scenario with an act of poaching, and she'd shoot and skin the offender and sell their organs on the black market. One has to be harsh and give fitting punishments, as head-of-discipline in the school, after all. Other than that, she's sweeter than sugar and is rather innocent and naive. Her emotions show really easily on her face, easily reflecting how she feels. Wishes to be taller (181cm). Has a not-so-small crush on Kasa.

Backstory (kinda): Someone's pocket-sized makeup mirror gaining sentience, she's sick and tired of people who can't just be themselves, be truthful, and hide behind layers of makeup or lies or delusions. Being rather sheltered, she's rather naive and has the uncanny ability to see through lies and reflect a person's true self (being a mirror). That said, she's no angel herself, as seen from the above. Punishment is either making the offender throughly reflect upon themselves in detention or a... More fitting punishment, depending on the crime. Otherwise, your standard Japanese youkai, gained a soul and human form after a while, lives in the kingdom under Heller with all the Japanese demons and other youkai, and goes to the same school as Jork, Albino, Glitz and Kurotsuno and co.

and here's the updated bio, to show how I develop the OCs I make:

Spoiler: updated bio

"In my opinion, people should get what they deserve! People who insult others should be insulted! Litterers should have rubbish thrown at them! Murderers should be murdered! Poachers should be... Poached? Oh, but sexual offenders should just go die, it'd be icky to do what's been done to them back at them..."

Mira

Height: 141 cm
Species: Mirror youkai
Theme: Terrible reflections, unexpected outcomes
Likes: Truthful people, peace, justice, enforcing the former two, fitting punishments, her glass cannon, sweet desserts, Kasa
Dislikes: Rule-breakers, law-breakers, liars, vanity, Karma Houdinis, yucky bitter food

Brief overview: Is best described as the sort of person who would, upon seeing someone litter, run up and throw it at them, stick out their tongue, and run away, but not before stopping to properly bin it. Now replace the former scenario with an act of poaching, and she'd shoot and skin the offender and sell their organs on the black market. One has to be harsh and give fitting punishments, as head-of-discipline in the school, after all. She reflects the emotional state of those around her (ie: when around someone who’s experiencing strong emotions, she’ll get just as worked up, whether angrily or happily depends on other factors). Wishes to be taller (181cm). Has a not-so-small crush on Kasa.

Backstory (kinda): Someone's pocket-sized makeup mirror gaining sentience, she's sick and tired of people who can't just be themselves, be truthful, and hide behind layers of makeup or lies or delusions. After all, pocket mirrors last long and she’s sick of watching her owners kill themselves slowly with toxic makeup (in olden times), overly tight clothing (ditto), unneeded diets (more modern), botched implants (ditto) and in general, winning Darwin Awards through sheer vanity (throughout the ages). Or just being dumber than a pile of bricks. But if we’re talking youkai, we’ve got to talk about her last owner; who was a BIG fan of everything “Japanese”. And by “Japanese” I mean Kawaii desuuuuu~*~*~ Sugoi-chan-nei Watashi ara hajime baka-desu ^_^ Uguuuuuu genki mas-da! Along with “Traditional Japanese Culture”, aka Kung-Fu Samurai Warriors High School AU. Now, I think we get the point, and it’s getting painful to type this so I’ll stop. At any rate, it was this firm belief in “Traditional Japanese Culture” which caused the American-made gold pocket mirror to become a Tsukumogami through the power of placebo. How wonderful.

Having come to life, she left, sick and tired of that ****, and ended up in the Pitch-Black World, in a literal youkai high school WITH DEMONS. Oh, the irony. Well, she now rules the school with an iron fist, so all’s well that ends well. (Or is the fist glass? Gold? The silver coating behind mirrors? Meh, who cares)

Trivia:

• Her clothing is based off the mangas, animes and games her last owner played. It could have been so much worse, and she’s glad it didn’t.
• Her glass cannon is a product of way too much action anime. Don’t sweat the details. It shoots glass balls which shatter on impact and send glass shards everywhere, the mirror in the back provides infinite ammo. Again, please don’t sweat the details. It broke my mind and understanding of all science too.
• She’s given up trying to get her class (or schoolmates for that matter) to just WEAR THEIR SCHOOL UNIFORMS DURING SCHOOL HOURS FOR GOD(/Satanick)’S SAKE.
• A bunch of glass shards to the face is, unfortunately for her, not as big of a deterrent to demons as she hoped.
• She can’t actually bring out the big guns on most school-based offenses, and has to settle for “fitting” punishments (cleaning up litter for two weeks, forcing classmates to stay behind after school and finish overdue homework, etc). Then again, Hanten guts Met, Kurotsuno isn’t afraid to knife her friends for being annoying, and Sullivian and Gyakuten attack each other regularly, with knives, giant nails and chainsaws. Who knows how chaotic school life can get? Its only a matter of time before she starts a trigger-happy-havoc.
• She doesn’t really have many friends due to her extra-disciplinary personality and thus doesn’t really do much outside of school, outside of tutoring Kasa, studying, reading, doing groceries, doing target practice, etc. Daily activities are all she really does.
• She doesn’t like Para much; he seems just like the main character of trashy romance-harem animes, and since they cause way too much havoc and ****storms in schools, they must be nipped at the bud to prevent such things which are not welcome in a school environment. Conversely, she likes Kasa because being around an empty-headed, airy-fairy person allows her to feel more relaxed.
• She’s set up her own little surveillance system of mirrors throughout the school to catch misdemeanours and hanky-panky.

Footnote: No regrets with the “Japanese” which would make weeaboos stab their eyes out. Nope, none at all

Though, I feel that the most important thing about making an OC is to decide what you want to do with them first, so after that, most of it should come easily? At least, it's like that for me.

I hope this helps! :>

love it! so cool. the world of oc's is so fascinating.