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OC Advice


McFlurryMaddie

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McFlurryHeart's Original Character Advice

 

Welcome to my OC Advice blog entry! I'll share some of my knowledge regarding authoring/designing an outstanding OC so that EVERYONE can make good OCs! 

 

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Before all, let's get to know WHAT is an OC. (But I'm sure ya'll already know it)

(click the spoiler)

Spoiler

An Original Character, abbreviated as "OC" is basically a character whom you created. This means the character was designed and authored by you whether for an existing fandom or your own.

 

Now that you know what an OC is, let's move onto the first part of creating a good character: designing a good character.

(click the spoiler)

Spoiler

Introduction

Your character's visuals and physical appearances gives viewers (or readers) a good picture of your OC. Their first impression is their visuals. A character's visuals are what that provides a good picture of your OC. Therefore, an OC's design should be taken into highest consideration when creating an OC, just above their backstory.

 

Suitability and Adaptation

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Spoiler

When you're about to design a character, think of what dimension they belong to and adapt them to their surrounding.

i.e. You character belongs to the human world and is a teacher teaching at District 12 High School. (good example)

 Think of where they originate and how their environment affects their appearances. As well as their ancestors. Don't design a character which is unlikely to fit in regularly as a character in a surrounding/environment.

i.e. A unicorn working as a magic teacher in the human world. (bad example)

Picking the Correct Color Scheme

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Spoiler

Suitable Color Schemes

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In the MLP world, for example, characters have colors that doesn't hurt the eye. Why? Simply because the color schemes suit them and complies with the environment they live in. Don't notice it? Klugetowners have navy blue, brown and seaweed green based color schemes. Ponies in Ponyville have cheery color schemes. Different regions have different residents, and different residents have diverse appearances and color schemes. However, this does not apply to every single character because some characters were colored to match their personalities. Basically, where your OC lives affects their color schemes.

In a real-life scenario, to make things easier, people living in Asia, most noticeably countries nearer to the Equator, have darker complexions, eyes and hair. Meanwhile, residents of countries further from the Equator have lighter skin, eyes and hair. However, this is also affected by ancestry, not necessarily making these traits specific to an individual. 

 

Besides that, when creating an MLP O/C, keep in mind that the colors must not be too saturated nor too blatant. It must be just right. Just like the porridge in Goldilocks and The Three Bears- not too hot and not too cold. Some of the colors are also influenced by your character's nature. This is called color psychology and affects how your readers/watchers see your character.

 

Too Saturated and Blatant O/C

Spoiler

Sorry for inserting this, but I'll show a few examples of too saturated and blatant O/Cs so that you won't make the same mistake. However, some people seem to like their O/Cs colored this way, so it's actually up to personal preferences. This can, however be done right if the hues are adjusted a little bit more.

 

Image result for bright mlp OC

Image result for blatant mlp ocs

 

Comparisons of Klugetowners and Ponyvillians

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Image result for klugetownImage result for ponyville ponies

 

 

 

General Design/Race

(Click the flippin' spoiler)

 

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Picking the correct design for your O/C is a significant (if not the most significant) step in creating a good O/C. Again, this depends on where your character is from and their ancestry as well. Pick a design that won't stand out too much, but keeps your character lively and not blatant. Otherwise, it could go both ways to becoming a Mary Sue or an Anti Sue. There are a lot of good O/C designs I found on google. I'll insert some of them here for reference.

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Related image

Image result for good mlp oc

 

Originality

(you know what to do)

Spoiler

O/Cs are supposed to be ORIGINAL, not perfect. Therefore, please do not copy someone else's O/C, claim them as yours, or create re-colors of theirs without explicit permission. Not only it is wrong for copyright issues, but also makes your O/C unoriginal and, not really great.

Spoiler

Image result for mlp recolor

See what I mean? T:

 

 

 

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