Beginner's Guide to Making an OC

The Beginner's Guide to Creating an OC
This guide is a step-by-step article for people who are starting out making characters(or those who aren't, and just need a little help!).

What is an OC?
An OC, also known as an Original Character, is what it says on the box. A character you design, which makes it original. It can come from a preexisting universe(Warrior Cats, My Little Pony, Wings of Fire and other media comes to mind), but they're still all characters you create.

Steps
Making an OC can seem like a daunting task, but don't worry! We're here to help you. Generally, what you need are: Doesn't seem like too much, right? We've narrowed it down to seven categories.
 * Name
 * Gender
 * Species
 * Personality
 * Design/Appearance
 * Backstory
 * Abilities/Powers(if any)

Well, no, it's not much on the surface, but each individual section requires a lot of thought and they all have to mix well together to create a believable, intriguing, and unique character.

Starting Tips
Many people start with a design, which can work, but often doesn't make as interesting a character! You should start with a concept, personality, or backstory, and make your character's appearance based on that.

Don't try and rush the creative process! If you can't decide on something, give it time. Not all OCs were made in a day - in fact, redesigning and adding new features on is part of having an OC! Many OCs develop over months or even years.

Make sure you write down all the details in a notebook or word document of some kind. It would be a shame to forget everything!

Gender, Species, and Powers
We'll let you handle what species and gender you want your OC to be. It's really easy to fire those out of the way. As for powers, go check out this page for help with making an OC with powers, after you've finished here!

Concept
Sometimes you get an idea for an OC without really having a clear picture of it. That's fine! Sometimes, having a concept can help you have a clearer vision for it, though sometimes, if it's vague, it can be a hindrance.

Try to narrow down a personality and/or a species from your idea before tackling the design. Making Pinterest boards for your OC concept can really help you get a feel for the personality, aesthetic, and design of your concept.

Personality
The first thing you should tackle for an OC is their personality. Personalities are complicated and fluid, and designing one that seems real and deep can be a challenge. Here are a few methods to help you make a believable personality for your OC!

Funnel Method
Start with a few words to describe your OC, and then concentrate it downwards, like a funnel.

We'll use Gale as an example. Gale is energetic, friendly, and helpful, what you'd look for in a mascot.

Then, from each word, delve a bit deeper and narrow it down. Well, Gale's energy helps counteract Sage's tiredness, but they can also be quite annoying and hyper.

Add details to what you've got from there - Gale, already being naturally hyped up, can't handle anything like caffeine or chocolate.

And already, we've made great strides to making an OC more believable and deep.

Snail Method
Snails are nice, and patient. They take their time getting somewhere, and we think more people should learn from them. Making OCs doesn't happen in a day. Each day, add something to their bio, write a little bit about them, or roleplay a bit more, and eventually, you'll have a fully fledged OC!

However, this method may not work for those who don't have a focus on what they want their OC to be, and, when finished, may not actually amount to a personality. It can turn out to just be a clutter of tiny details. You have to have a clear vision for this method to work well.

Why Method
If the funnel method doesn't appeal, work from the bottom up! Start with details, and work upwards.

For an example, we'll use Sage. Sage likes flowers - why?

Well, flowers remind them of relaxing in an open field, and they love nature and relaxation.

Why does that appeal to them? They're sleepy and tired all the time, and like peaceful environments for reading.

Start with one character trait and keep asking yourself 'Why?' until you get to the big stuff.

Interaction Method
If you're making a character for a roleplay, and writing a whole personality out is too daunting, try just throwing your character at others and seeing what sticks. You still need a few core words, or at least a concept, otherwise your character can behave erratically and not have a defined personality.

Backstory
Oh, boy, backstories are tough, especially for OCs from different fandoms/universes.

Obviously, we can't go over every fandom, and have no way of knowing what sort of original universe you may have created, which makes it tricky for us to help you specifically

But we can give you some pointers!

Take into account what universe they're from!
A furry is going to have a much different backstory than a superhero, and a superhero is going to have a much different backstory than a zombie. When designing a backstory, make it at least plausible in the universe you're working in.

Try not to make it too tragic
We get it, tragic backstories can be fun, but they're also cliche'd to death. Having an OC's entire family dead is... a bit too much. Of course, sadness spices things up, and tragedy is interesting - why do you think it got it's own genre? - but try something new, like an apprenticeship away from their family, if they must be absent. (If it's a villain, though...)

What's in a backstory?
Remember that a 'backstory' is just what happened to them before the main events of the roleplay, story, etc. After that book/rp is finished, those events become part of their backstory too. They can just have a normal life, or have a more interesting childhood than adulthood. It's up to you!

Appearance
Now that you have a fully-fledged backstory and personality, you can finally begin giving your OC a vessel to reside in.

Designing is one of the easiest parts for some people, the hardest part for others. Don't worry if you're having a hard time giving form to your OC, some characters go through several iterations and designs before settling on one. Redesigning is part of the process!

Match their wardrobe to their personality
If your character is a tough thief who lived in the city, don't make them look like royalty. Their design should reflect their personality and what they've gone through in life. A prince dresses differently than a knight, even though they're both nobles. Does your OC like dressing up fancy, or do they prefer being cozy and warm?

Of course, not all OCs wear clothes - animals, for example.

Facial Features
Experiment with different hairstyles, hair colors, and eye colors to make their face distinct. Especially with hairstyles, push yourself out of your comfort zone a little bit. Don't be scared to give them a striking haircut and hair color. This will help you distinguish characters from eachother at a glance.

Freckles, eye color, face shape, and scars also make the face pop. Again, if they're a thief, they may have scars. If they're nobility, they will probably have smooth skin and makeup, and if they like being in the sun or live outside, they'll have a tan or freckles.

On animals, you can have a lot of fun with fur patterns, fur lengths, and fur colors, though unless they're magical, we don't recommend unnatural colors. Animals don't tend to have access to hair - or fur - dye. (Furries exempted)

Diversity
If you're making or interacting with a group of characters, your OC should stand out. We can't stress this enough: PUSH YOUR LIMITS. Be creative! For groups of characters, try and give each character a different hairstyle and/or color. Take into account where they're from. Here are a few resources for skin tones:

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When lining up your characters together, they should all be recognizable from either color palette or body shape. Something we like to do, especially with groups of 3, is assign each character a primary color! That immediately gives them a theme and shows a little bit of their personality.

Body Shape
Going back to the example of the prince and the thief, if you lined up these two characters, the thief would be slender or skinny, perhaps short as well, or simply hunched over, sneakily, while the prince would be tall, standing straight, looking regal, and perhaps slightly plump to suggest a life of good eating.

Don't be afraid to give characters different body shapes, skin tones, and markings to make them unique and hint towards the rest of their story.

Original Species or Magical Being
Here's our advice for any kind of original beast or magic creature you may design: Go wild! Be as creative as you can. A shadow being with red eyes, flickering tails, and long, wicked claws, or a dragon with giant curling horns and bio-luminescent scales, or something entirely new - do your best to make it flow together while still looking unique and interesting.

Color palettes go a long way towards making a creature look good. For a species, think about where it lives and what its natural colors would be. Predators blend into their surroundings to not detect attention. Venomous insects are brightly colored. Male birds are flashy while females tend to be more dull. Take inspiration from the world around you.

If you're making a completely original character that isn't part of a species, you don't have to take the above directions into account, as it wouldn't need to have protective measures against the other beings in the wild to survive as a species. Just let your creative juices flow.

Names
It's not a secret that naming your newly made OC is one of the hardest things to do. As with the backstories section, there's no one secret to getting the perfect name. Take into account the universe your character is coming from - Warrior cats have names like Owltuft and Thornfang, humans have names like Sarai and Adrien, and pet dogs have names like Max and Tobe.

Here's an enjoyable way to create an interesting character name - think about the personality of an individual letter. Try to find a letter you think would be a good start to your OC's name and type in 'names starting with (letter)' to google. You'll find plenty of baby name sites and other lists. Scroll through them; you're bound to find something you like. You can also add the gender of your character to narrow it down more. ('girl names starting with (letter)'). To start you off, here are some of Gale and Sage's impressions about the English alphabet! Let's go back to the thief and prince one last time. A thief would likely have a short name, something with a hard sound, and a prince would have something regal and a very long family name.
 * A is warm, regal, and a soft sound.
 * B is sturdy, common, and dependable
 * C is variable, unique, and regal
 * D is dependable, sturdy, and a firm sound.
 * E is uncommon, interesting, and smart.
 * F is unique, lonesome, and a sharp sound.
 * G is royal, interesting, and a hard sound.
 * H is masculine, common-sounding, and a rough sound.
 * I is feminine, unique, and smart.
 * J is lovely, sharp, and interesting.
 * K is unique, wild, and a hard sound.
 * L is royal, watery, and handsome.
 * M is caring, common-sounding, and a gentle sound.
 * N is uncommon, short, and prestigious.
 * O is unique, welcoming, and intelligent.
 * P is distinguished, elegant, and a sharp sound.
 * Q is really unique, royal, and lonesome
 * R is regal, handsome, and easy to say.
 * S is intelligent, curious, and a soft sound.
 * T is sturdy, common, and a decisive sound.
 * U is rare, interesting, and smart.
 * V is smart, regal, and handsome.
 * W is distinguished, royal, and masculine.
 * X is unique, magical, and curious.
 * Y is rare, interesting, and dependable.
 * Z is royal, dark, and interesting.

Final Tips
PHEW. That was a lot! I'm proud of you for making it through all that!

Hopefully now you have a fully-fleshed out OC with a deep personality, awesome-looking vessel, and fitting name! We're glad we got the chance to help you, and we hope we did give you some inspiration and guidance.