OC Emergency

[Harmony Spark 265]

I really need some help with my OC, its bucking awful . I really want to improve the backstory and personality but every time I do improve my OC, I always get bad looks. So I'm asking u guys to help me.

 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fwGNEE4dVqc&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DfwGNEE4dVqc

 

 

http://mlpforums.com/page/roleplay-characters/_/harmony-spark-r3472

Edited July 27, 2013 by Harmony Spark

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

Step one... can you please post the OC we are supposed to be looking at? We can't really help if we don't have any idea of what we are looking at.

[Shift 4,272]

First off, get rid of the alicorn status. Alicorn OC's are never, never, ever good...unless you're Faust or leader of BronyCAN. Other then that, no no no. Make her a unicorn or a pegasus or an earth pony if you want.

[Harmony Spark 265]

First of all, Ashley

 

- NO. I'm NOT EVER CHANGING MY OC FROM AN ALICORN

- I'll improve the dislikes

- I'll change the cutie mark

[Shift 4,272]

@@Harmony Spark,

 

Pardon, but why aren't you changing your OC from an alicorn? And your backstory is kind of...dull. If she is born in Fillydelphia, just why is she an alicorn? That is the one thing your missing; you slapped wings and a horn on your OC. Now you need a very, very good reason on why she's an alicorn. Because an alicorn leading a normal life in Fillydelphia? It makes no sense and that is what makes a bad OC. 

[Harmony Spark 265]

I'll do what I can to improve my OC. Thank you for all your advice. Really I'm sorry for starting this whole thing

 

You can forgive me, can't you -pulls Trixie sad face-

[Guest]

@@Harmony Spark,

 

Pardon, but why aren't you changing your OC from an alicorn? And your backstory is kind of...dull. If she is born in Fillydelphia, just why is she an alicorn? That is the one thing your missing; you slapped wings and a horn on your OC. Now you need a very, very good reason on why she's an alicorn. Because an alicorn leading a normal life in Fillydelphia? It makes no sense and that is what makes a bad OC.

 

Whilst I'm all for being genuine, as far as OCs go NONE of them are canon so shouldn't be strictly pidgeonholed. Telling someone what they can or cannot do with their own creation is pretty much squarely against the ethos of My Little Pony. Tolerance, acceptance, understanding. Until we begin auditioning to have our OCs added to the show it really doesn't matter and, besides, if we know anything it's that alicorns can come from the most humble of beginnings. Everyone has the potential to become something magnificent without having to justify themselves to other people.

 

Now let's all have a cupcake and enjoy the sunshine.

[Shift 4,272]

@@Dilarus,

 

I'm just criticizing it. Alicorn OC's are generally seen as Mary Sues. I'm just saying how illogical it is to have an Alicorn growing up in Fillydelphia like a normal pony without getting any attention from Celestia. I'm helping her do better. That's what she made this thread for.  You can go and make a bad OC, sure, but if you don't want your OC to be bad, that's what me and the other OC critiques are there for. She asked how to make her OC better, so I pointed out the flaws and some suggestions to help flesh out her character.

[Guest]

Ah, apologies. I must have gotten the wrong impression from your first post. 

 

I think we could brainstorm reasons for her being an alicorn rather than simply criticizing her decision and telling harmony to think of one.

 

Harmony, would you appreciate us helping you out in this aspect? It would be pretty simple, Celestia HAS been around for 1000 years so why wouldn't she have more apprentices during that time? 

[Harmony Spark 265]

Ah, apologies. I must have gotten the wrong impression from your first post.

 

I think we could brainstorm reasons for her being an alicorn rather than simply criticizing her decision and telling harmony to think of one.

 

Harmony, would you appreciate us helping you out in this aspect? It would be pretty simple, Celestia HAS been around for 1000 years so why wouldn't she have more apprentices during that time?

I could have my OC grow up in Trottingham, like Shift suggested, who has turned from an earth pony into an alicorn by becoming one of Celestia's apprentices. Harmony Spark has a unique gift of using her imagination to envision her own creations of animals, tools, building etc by using her perception of the world. She has Aspergers syndrome so she is clumsy and socially awkward but just wants to be friends with every pony. In her fillyhood, harmony saved her family's sweet shop business from bankruptcy by using the sweet mix into paint and ins similar way to Michelangelo, it took weeks to finish it. She then met Celestia who wanted Harmony to become her first student and use her gift to share with others. Later, Harmony then took the quest into making every pony happy in the era of the Great Depression, just after Discord's reign. Harmony did this by using her imagination to draw what she saw in the world and showing to everypony who sad and miserable they were and she also sung to them the solution to their problems: always looking on the bright side of life and never assume the worse. Harmony was then teleported to a starry nebulae place, where she met Celestia, where she told Harmony that her gift has saved everypony from their own fears and that she is ready to become the Princess of Harmony and Balance. Afterwards, she became an alicorn. That's it so far, guys I'll finish the backstory later. Thanks for your advice

[John 793]

First off, get rid of the alicorn status. Alicorn OC's are never, never, ever good...unless you're Faust or leader of BronyCAN. Other then that, no no no. Make her a unicorn or a pegasus or an earth pony if you want.

 

Or Feld0; you forgot about Feld0.  But yeah, Alicorn is usually reserved for important people within the community.  People have this justified negative stereotype with contrasting colored alicorns being everywhere they go.  They believe that people who create such characters make them "overpowered" and basically a Mary sue all over, with a shallow backstory and no character faults or weaknesses.  This makes OC creation less interesting.   I have respect for people who choose earth pony because it shows that there's probably more to their character than meets the eye.  They usually know how to make their characters more special in a less generic way.

Edited July 28, 2013 by John

[Blique 211]

Alicorns are perfectly fine to create, as long as you choose a convincing backstory. They're practically gods after all. Making an alicorn OC just means that you have to work much harder on the backstory in order to make her believable beyond reasonable doubt.

 

Harmony is already kinda taken by Twilight, because she controls the elements of harmony. Your OC's raison d'etre would vanish the second Twilight stepped into the picture. Balance is pretty similar too, so I wouldn't go for that one either.

 

What about the Princess of Imagination? Or optimism, positivity, something along those lines, since it sounds like they'd fit her more.

 

Also, I suggest tweaking her colors a bit. Orange and blue are aesthetically good, but there's no place for purple in there. It would work if you used blue as the main color, purple and green as supporting colors, and orange as an accent. This scheme is "accented analogic". The opposite would be orange as the main color, red and yellow as supporting colors, and blue as an accent.

 

Alternatively, you could work solely with orange and blue. However, these colors are complementary and thus have a very strong visual impact unless manipulated otherwise. It's typically reserved for characters like Spitfire and Lightning Dust - tough and dangerous.

 

Color schemes also include any clothing or accessories, so consider that when choosing colors.

[Harmony Spark 265]

Alicorns are perfectly fine to create, as long as you choose a convincing backstory. They're practically gods after all. Making an alicorn OC just means that you have to work much harder on the backstory in order to make her believable beyond reasonable doubt.

 

Harmony is already kinda taken by Twilight, because she controls the elements of harmony. Your OC's raison d'etre would vanish the second Twilight stepped into the picture. Balance is pretty similar too, so I wouldn't go for that one either.

 

What about the Princess of Imagination? Or optimism, positivity, something along those lines, since it sounds like they'd fit her more.

 

Also, I suggest tweaking her colors a bit. Orange and blue are aesthetically good, but there's no place for purple in there. It would work if you used blue as the main color, purple and green as supporting colors, and orange as an accent. This scheme is "accented analogic". The opposite would be orange as the main color, red and yellow as supporting colors, and blue as an accent.

 

Alternatively, you could work solely with orange and blue. However, these colors are complementary and thus have a very strong visual impact unless manipulated otherwise. It's typically reserved for characters like Spitfire and Lightning Dust - tough and dangerous.

 

Color schemes also include any clothing or accessories, so consider that when choosing colors.

 

Yeah, you got a good point there. I will make a real good backstory to support my alicorn OC, I'll make her the Princess of Imagination. And just so you know, my OC colour scheme is turquoise blue, dark blue and violet. Her eyes will be gold. (sorry the pictures kinda old)

 

Thank you for the advice /)

[Blique 211]

Yeah, you got a good point there. I will make a real good backstory to support my alicorn OC, I'll make her the Princess of Imagination. And just so you know, my OC colour scheme is turquoise blue, dark blue and violet. Her eyes will be gold. (sorry the pictures kinda old)

 

Thank you for the advice /)

 

That color scheme sounds great. ^^ Imagination sounds fun; there's a lot of possibilities with that path. Good luck with ideas!