Common OC Problems

[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

Thought I should return some criticism to the OP.

 

OP should note that their "proper' OC use is incredibly strangely colored. Brown does not go with green. 

 

 

The glasses shade of green doesn't fit at all, and makes it an incredible eye sore.

 

Not that it's a bad OC over all, but the color pallete could be way better. I find it helps to be looking at a color wheel when you're making an OC.

 

I find shades of the same color are good for simple OCs, and for ones that stand out, use colors that are opposites on the color wheel like orange and blue (but not neon highly saturated variants of said colors)

Edited April 5, 2013 by Harmonic Revelations

[Pokota 28]

Hmm... and so I bring Golden Plate to the table for discussion. Yes, I know he's lacking a cutie mark, I was having trouble getting the Pony Creator to accept Mayor Mare's as a stand-in (since for whatever reason I was having trouble finding a quill and scroll cutie mark)

 

 

As far as who he is, he's somewhere between being a Ponysona and being a character I made up for The Legend of the Wyvern Cult. I may do Dream Chaser and the rest of the Expedition Crew at a later point in time.

[tigris115 17]

I just used tiger stripes for my OC. This has to do with his destiny of working with big cats and they look cool without looking stupid and overflashy. I added a unicorn horn onto him along with paws but I think that's okay

[Ion 279]

Just wondering, does my OC count as bad, since she's completely bright red?

Her red colors aren't all THAT bright, and they suit her. At least they're not neon green with neon yellow tie-died with a black background color, right

 

 

When I said bright red I meant really bright red. Darker shades like your oc aren't bad, but I've seen a lot of OC's on deviantart that burn the eyes with their brightness. 

[SilverHeart 741]

Could anyone tell me how Silver Heart is as an OC? The link for her is in my signature. I am colorblind so her colors may not go together. I've been wondering about this for awhile. Feedback would be really appreciated. 

[King 5,625]

The main issue I see is people putting too much into their OC...

They need to limit them so that they don't become overpowered...

 

Sometimes plain can make the best OC...

Others can pull of something a little more radical, but for your First OC, try something plain simple and plausible....

Thats what I tried to do with Dawn Rider in the least

[Lisa 5,553]

Does anyone think my OC is bad? 

Most likely her hair would be I believe. It looks very bright with the neon blue and cloud white. :v

But give me your suggestions, is she bad, or good?

 

 

 

[crazitaco 596]

my only oc is my current avatar, same name. i honestly only made it to match my username that i use everywhere. its not really meant to be serious, but made a silly side story with it though.  a manehattan pony  had a stressful job working at a taco shop every day dancing outside in a stupid taco costume. every day for years she stood in the sweltering heat, slowly loosing her mind until one day... she believed she was a taco. andddd she got fired, stole the costume, and went on a rampage. now she just wanders about equestria spewing nonsense about tacos and scaring small fillies. they just refer to her as that crazy taco pony.

i'd say she's definitely not the typical OC

Edited April 6, 2013 by crazitaco

[Lisa 5,553]

my only oc is my current avatar, same name. i honestly only made it to match my username that i use everywhere. its not really meant to be serious, but made a silly side story with it though.  a manehattan pony  had a stressful job working at a taco shop every day dancing outside in a stupid taco costume. every day for years she stood in the sweltering heat, slowly loosing her mind until one day... she believed she was a taco. andddd she got fired, stole the costume, and went on a rampage. now she just wanders about equestria spewing nonsense about tacos and scaring small fillies. they just refer to her as that crazy taco pony.

i'd say she's definitely not the typical OC

 

 That story is going to give me nightmares. Thank you very much. xD

 

Anyway, that definitely isn't a normal pony... lol 

But oh well, it's your OC.

 

 

~Luna

[Castle Bleck 19,364]

I'm currently brainstorming an alicorn OC (go ahead and grab your torches/pitchforks, everypony) who follows the Brilliant, but Lazy trope to the letter. His traits are inspired by anime characters such as Shikamaru Nara (Naruto) and Kazuma Yagami/Kannagi (Kaze no Stigma).

He is intended more for "slice of life"-type genres than action/adventure.

Much like other members in this thread, I wanted to know what people thought before I proceeded further; do I scrap him, just make him a unicorn, push onward, etc.?

 

The gist of him is that he has immense potential talent, but unlike Twilight, is too lazy and immature to hold any sort of high-ranking position in Equestria; of course, when sufficiently motivated (maybe once a month lol), he is capable of (non-villainous) strategic tactics that rival Discord, Chrysalis, and Sombra.

 

He is also a fan of Trixie's act (despite being more powerful), gets along better with younger children (such as the CMC and Spike) than with adults, and his disdain for work actually leads him to firmly believe that hardworking Earth ponies like the Apple family are better than he'll ever be (which demonstrates a notable amount of self-reflectiveness).

 

Also, like I said, his characterization is inspired by the likes of Shikamaru Nara.

 

So everypony, yay or nay?

Edited April 6, 2013 by Anti-Villain

[Malao 27]

Yeah, I see a lot of these "Bad" trends, sadly. Proper OC's are just as common, though. A good OC is just as normal as the person who made it. (This is the reason that I personally believe that people that are directly related to the show or contribute a lot deserve Alicorn OCs.) and has a relatable foible (for instance, my OC doesn't give a buck about anything, and is cocky as all hell).

[Warith 58]

I wub my OC he even had my hair. (Even though I let it grow it out XD)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also made sure he wasn't too OP or over dressed or anything like that.

[Fluttermena 1,223]

I wub my OC he even had my hair. (Even though I let it grow it out XD)

 

 

 

 

I also made sure he wasn't too OP or over dressed or anything like that.

 

That's not an OC, it's a background pony named Twilight Sky. He shows up in Green isn't your color as part of Photo Finish's entourage, and he appears in a few other episodes. There are both a pegasus and earth pony version of him depending on the scene.

http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_ponies/Earth_ponies#Twilight_Sky

[Zerobot 179]

The most common problem I see is clashing colors, or colors that would make that stand out in a crowd of background ponies in the actual show. Which would sound like it makes sense, most people would want to view themselves as not just a background pony, but sometimes they're so flashy they'd stand out like a sore thumb among the mane six. Unlike my OC. My colors are beautiful and blend well together.

 

...On an unrelated note, could some one please give a suggestion for my OC's color scheme? It's my avatar, and I haven't the slightest idea how he should be colored.

[Pinkazoid 3,493]

That's not an OC, it's a background pony named Twilight Sky. He shows up in Green isn't your color as part of Photo Finish's entourage, and he appears in a few other episodes. There are both a pegasus and earth pony version of him depending on the scene.

http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_ponies/Earth_ponies#Twilight_Sky

Meh

 

It's a background pony with little no scene, i wouldn't claim it myself, but i don't see a reason not to, you can't claim you made the design itself, but all that is being called an OC here is the Color Scheme and Mane style, nothin' more, if he comes up with his own Bio for it, i don't see how it could possibly be bad.

 

I met one guy who claimed Derpy to be his OC

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Much like other members in this thread, I wanted to know what people thought before I proceeded further; do I scrap him, just make him a unicorn, push onward, etc.?

 

The gist of him is that he has immense potential talent, but unlike Twilight, is too lazy and immature to hold any sort of high-ranking position in Equestria; of course, when sufficiently motivated (maybe once a month lol), he is capable of (non-villainous) strategic tactics that rival Discord, Chrysalis, and Sombra.

 

He is also a fan of Trixie's act (despite being more powerful), gets along better with younger children (such as the CMC and Spike) than with adults, and his disdain for work actually leads him to firmly believe that hardworking Earth ponies like the Apple family are better than he'll ever be (which demonstrates a notable amount of self-reflectiveness).

 

Also, like I said, his characterization is inspired by the likes of Shikamaru Nara.

 

So everypony, yay or nay?

Seems alright to me; just as long as he's not unbeatable. I have an alicorn OC in my unfinished fanfic who got his butt handed to him by the fic's villain when he tried to fight her cuz his magic lacked conviction. He had to be tutored by Twilight to get good enough; even then, if he and Twilight dueled, she'd win; even before she became an alicorn, simply cuz her magic is better. My OC also admires earth ponies; he marries one in the end. XD

[Motion Spark 7,807]

I believe my OC may possibly be crossing your personal limitations on OC's with appearance, mainly.

 

OC New Moon.png

 

But I try to justify that within the story. I wouldn't say he's overpowered, as he's a unicorn who is about as powerful as Shining Armor (or Cadance, somewhere around there).

nah, I quite like it...I actually enjoy seeing non-canon stuff made by the fandom but also that it's not to far from the MLP world. I like this OC, though, I would like his horse shoes to be shaded as well, since his appearance is all shdowed. Also if you have a good story to support him and his looks, I'm sold.

[Dreadmallon 353]

nah, I quite like it...I actually enjoy seeing non-canon stuff made by the fandom but also that it's not to far from the MLP world. I like this OC, though, I would like his horse shoes to be shaded as well, since his appearance is all shdowed. Also if you have a good story to support him and his looks, I'm sold.

 

I'm working on it, along with Jefe and Blue_Moon. Only problem I have with his appearance currently is what appears to be a black coat on his legs and underside. That was originally intentional, because I initially had him having a symbiotic relationship with the remains of Nightmare Moon, but I felt that that was crossing the line for OCs, as I've seen some OCs go way too far, and I felt like that would go that path. I always wanted to give my OC the feeling that anypony could be him (with proper training).

[Castle Bleck 19,364]

@ Pripyat Pony - Now all of a sudden I feel like I'm plagiarizing from you (despite having never even heard about your work until now; odd, that).

 

What does your guy look like, by any chance?

Edited April 9, 2013 by Anti-Villain

[Melody*Erickson 3]

I agree with everything you said except one thing.

 

The while overuse of Vinyl Scratch's mane. People use it because they like it a lot, so they have the right to use it. Even my OC has Vinyl Scratch's mane because her mane was the best looking one. Maybe everyone uses it because it looks the best. I'm just saying my opinion. :\

 

I think it's similar to the real world with this. For example,someone can wear a hairstyle others end up liking and having themselves. It's the same,people like Vinyl's mane,they use it in their OCs

[EmeraldStar04 250]

Common OC problems: Resisting the urge to roll your big pony eyes when some "smart" alec feels like flexing the knowledge he gained from that cartoon that mocks Sonic OCs.