How to make a oc pony

[DJ Rainbow 78]

Hi have always loved rping since I started about 4 or 5 yrs ago. It started with warriors but that's not what I want this thread to be. I'm new to the pony oc department and really need help even just starting it up any ideas/suggestions would be most appreciated. *is at a complete loss with it so here's me trying to do it*

Edited November 25, 2015 by wolvielg

[BlueBrony 388]

hey wolvielg!

In my experience, I have found their are two ways that people make pony OC's, 1. Start with a description, or 2. Start with a picture. Here are the details on how these approaches work:

 

1. Start with a description

-For this method, you start by focusing on personality and character traits, then you work on appearance

-You can either base this on your own traits, or make up something new and different

-What are your OC's strengths and weaknesses? What are their quirks?

-Is it male or female? Is it young, teen-aged, adult, or old?

-What race is it? each race tends to have specific traits (these are trends, not rules)

---Earth: tend to be stronger, bulkier, dependable, more connected to the Earth, have talents/names associated with food

---Unicorn: tend to be more intellectual, creative, have talent/names that are more abstract

---Pegasi: tend to be athletic, competitive, have weather related talents/cutie marks

---Alicorn: tread lightly, as many people consider alicorn OCs to be OP or mary-sueish. think carefully about its backstory.

---non-pony: harder to pin down, definitely stands out

-once you figure these out, craft your appearance to compliment these traits

 

2. Start with a picture

-for this method, you start by making an OC that looks good to you, then craft its personality based on its looks

-a great tool for experimenting with all sorts of looks is pony creator on deviant art. its a web-based app that has a lot of good combinations and customization options

-great rules to follow:

---go for pastel body colors: most ponies have a light pastel body and darker mane (a trend, not a rule)

---use a color wheel: realize that colors often have meanings

---see alicorn note from (1)

---mane and tail should follow similar styles, unless you have a reason in backstory

---adding an accessory or two can make your OC stand out

-after you find a look you like, try and craft a personality that matches the look you have

 

3. The hardest part

I have found that for most people the hardest part is coming up with a name and cutie mark. That's where the forums here can really shine! People (such as myself) will be more than happy to give you ideas if you have some details already figured out. For now, here are a few things I consider:

-Naming trends:

---Alliterations

---Puns

---see race descriptions from (1)

---Names and cutie marks tend to be closely related

-Cutie mark trends:

---see race descriptions from (1)

---the simpler, the better

---can be related to their occupation

---cutie mark colors shouldn't clash with body color

 

hope this helps. :grin2:

[Zeal Crown 196]

hey wolvielg!

In my experience, I have found their are two ways that people make pony OC's, 1. Start with a description, or 2. Start with a picture. Here are the details on how these approaches work:

 

1. Start with a description

-For this method, you start by focusing on personality and character traits, then you work on appearance

-You can either base this on your own traits, or make up something new and different

-What are your OC's strengths and weaknesses? What are their quirks?

-Is it male or female? Is it young, teen-aged, adult, or old?

-What race is it? each race tends to have specific traits (these are trends, not rules)

---Earth: tend to be stronger, bulkier, dependable, more connected to the Earth, have talents/names associated with food

---Unicorn: tend to be more intellectual, creative, have talent/names that are more abstract

---Pegasi: tend to be athletic, competitive, have weather related talents/cutie marks

---Alicorn: tread lightly, as many people consider alicorn OCs to be OP or mary-sueish. think carefully about its backstory.

---non-pony: harder to pin down, definitely stands out

-once you figure these out, craft your appearance to compliment these traits

 

2. Start with a picture

-for this method, you start by making an OC that looks good to you, then craft its personality based on its looks

-a great tool for experimenting with all sorts of looks is pony creator on deviant art. its a web-based app that has a lot of good combinations and customization options

-great rules to follow:

---go for pastel body colors: most ponies have a light pastel body and darker mane (a trend, not a rule)

---use a color wheel: realize that colors often have meanings

---see alicorn note from (1)

---mane and tail should follow similar styles, unless you have a reason in backstory

---adding an accessory or two can make your OC stand out

-after you find a look you like, try and craft a personality that matches the look you have

 

3. The hardest part

I have found that for most people the hardest part is coming up with a name and cutie mark. That's where the forums here can really shine! People (such as myself) will be more than happy to give you ideas if you have some details already figured out. For now, here are a few things I consider:

-Naming trends:

---Alliterations

---Puns

---see race descriptions from (1)

---Names and cutie marks tend to be closely related

-Cutie mark trends:

---see race descriptions from (1)

---the simpler, the better

---can be related to their occupation

---cutie mark colors shouldn't clash with body color

 

hope this helps. :grin2:

BlueBrony is fantastic at laying out what you need for making an OC. Something I'd like to personally emphasize about what they said though is to give OCs weaknesses. This goes for making OCs of anything, not just ponies. The reason for most people thinking alicorn OCs to be OP and mary-sueish is because it's not uncommon to find an alicorn OC who has absolutely no weaknesses, and thus, cannot be defeated. After all, no one is perfect.

 

I hope you didn't mind me elaborating on that BlueBrony.

[El Duderino 879]

If you've done role playing before, the creating an OC shouldn't be too different. Look up what a Mary Sue is. Don't make one of those. Once you do that, you're good and it is just about fleshing out your character. 

Other than appearance (sometimes I start with that, sometimes I don't), I like to start with developing a personality and lifestyle. It helps me write a good backstory.

Create a backstory. OK, you don't NEED to do this, but it make the OC come to life a little more. It should explain why they act how they act, how they got their cutie mark, ect... You get the point.

I personally don't like to make the backstory super long and complicated. Just the important stuff. I like to leave some things about my OC's up to peoples imagination. 

There are links on my profile page to some of my OC's if you want an example of what I mean.

 

And one more thing: Don't over think it. Sometimes, simple is better.

[DJ Rainbow 78]

I'm sorry I never replied to this stuff. Life got complicated and I wasn't ever able to get back to you guys. I thank you for you all for your help.

So the hardest parts for me is name/ mark/ and oddly enough appearance. I think if I had done it more it would be easier.