Things that I hate about OC's

[Guest]

Is it just me, or I'm the only one that likes to have a commoner as a OC, like someguy that works as an engineer or as a shop clerck?
Personally, I find more enjoyment in commoners having somekind of "out of the ordinary" adventure, instead of some overpowered OC being safe and treated as a god...

 

Anyway... what I mostly hate about OCs is Pony Creator generated OCs. The vast majority of them have bad colour palettes or a great lack of originality... and they're only bidimensional, like splatted on a wall... 

 

Also, I find the Pony Creator very limitative... it hasn't such a vast assortment of manestyles or tails...
The best should be yourself getting into art and at least make a draft for a more experienced artist. Or that's how I think though... 

[Sectus 246]

Honestly, I could post pages upon pages of my criticisms when it comes to the average person's OC. To be brutally honest, most OC's are just utter shit when it comes to design. People are more concerned with making their OC look cool and mysterious than making them fit into the style of the show, and that irks me. It has come to the point that when I see a dark colored OC, I just laugh my ass off because of how ridiculous they look. The style of the show is pastille and colorful, and you're trying to make a cartoon horse look intimidating and 'scary'. 

 

As to the back stories created by the OC designers, it doesn't really matter in the end. The only practical thing that a back story could be used for is an RP, and that only matters to the people involved in the RP, and not the brony community at large. Associating your OC with figures in the show such as Luna, Twilight, or even any character that is generally mentioned or given screen time is incredibly idiotic. 

 

The key to designing an OC that actually doesn't make the viewer cringe is to think "Gee, if I saw this pony in the background of an episode, would I notice him or her, and would he or she be the focus of my attention?" If you can answer yes to that question, you have designed a spectacularly poor OC. 

 

Then again, that's just an opinion. Completely up to you if you want to have a black alicorn with neon-red eyes and a purple mane as your OC.

[LightsCameraAction 100]

I agree with most of what has been said, but I personally don't care what people make their OC's look like. It has never effected me personally in any way, shape, or form. I say if making your OC a dark, blood covered, brother of Luna, then go crazy if that makes you happy.

 

If you look at my OC, I like simplicity, that is why I chose an earth pony, but I also like having something to show off, so I gave him some nice horse shoes (see what I did there) and a nice looking vest.

Edited August 10, 2013 by LightsCameraAction

[midnight moon 12]

I agree with most of this even though my OC has wings a horn and a darker color scheme. however the only reason i did this was that the wings are magical (like rarity's) which is my head-canon for the wings of all batponies. the darker color scheme is because he was styled after the color scheme of lunas guards (as his backstory is him becoming a guard then luna turning him and others to batponies when she came back to equestria, hence the mane and tail. and no hes not a depressing blood-crazed murderer whos parents are dead.

 

[Landstride 15]

I've seen my fair share of odd OC's. Some of them being pony hybrids of dragons, gryphons, and even spiders (Kudos to that last one for originality). I know that some of them do that, just so their pony can breathe fire, live longer, or simply stand out in a crowd. Basically it looks like they just want to make their pony better than everyone else's in a sense, which I find to be annoying. I feel that unicorns, pegasi and even down to nature earth ponies are plenty enough for people to make a decent OC with.

Edited August 10, 2013 by Landstride

[Egghead 46]

The things I hate most about OCs is when they have the most outrageous color combinations. sometimes it's even worse than the black and red alicorns. I mean I really doubt we're going to see a neon pink pony with a rainbow mane in the show anytime soon. 

I don't really mind alicorns too much, but only if they have a backstory that doesn't involve someone dying and them gaining some sort of ridiculous superpower of some sort.

[Silverwisp the Bard 2,353]

it doesn't happen with everyone, so far I haven't went wrong with any of my oc's, from the first to the last.

Excuse, I couldn't hear you above the sound of your OC murdering all those Canterlot Guards....

 

 

 

By the way, guys, it's the person, not Pony Creator. :v

I kinda agree, but ponycreator is limited to an extend that it doesn't quite allow for true diversion from the norm. I like to use it to test out colourschemes, but not so much for full fledged pics.

Edited August 10, 2013 by Silverwisp the Bard

[Bucky McGillyCuddy 956]

Why does every OC need to have semi-emo hair, with hoodies and Skulls and crossbones for cutie marks?...

 

If people are getting upset because some kid on the other side of the planet they've never met before decided that he/she wanted their OC to be an Alicorn or all-powerful, or be black with red-eyes then you're in the wrong fandom. I thought part of being a Brony was accepting things that would otherwise be considered out of place or strange. While I'll admit that the "original" part of Original Character may have lost a little meaning to some, not everyone is an artist and some people like to make an OC a little more over-powered than should be but that doesn't mean they have any less right to creating an OC than you do. 

 

Don't worry OC's of the world. Bucky's got your backs. 

[SonOfTheNorthe 412]

I feel like I'm the only guy with an Earth Pony OC. His name is Beans. He's supposed to look as much like me as possible. (If I shaved and didn't need glasses.)

Also, you forgot another common thing people do wrong with OC's. They make them super saturated, like this: http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/130/a/6/my_little_pony_friendship_is_magic_jonathan_my_oc_by_fluttershy1502-d64r3xk.png

 

Here's my OC. http://i.imgur.com/RnP0mNV.png

Edited August 10, 2013 by SonOfTheNorthe

[Motion Spark 7,807]

Something I forgot to mention is please keep the stallion's hooves out of the mares reach! if you have a female OC don't put her stallion's hooves (like Big Mac or Shining Armor) it's just wrong, unless it's a zebra OC, which leads me to another point.

Having a Zebra oc is such a delicate matter, because it's easy to mess up, especially with the colors. I'd recomend that if your zebra OC isn't black and white, if you're gonna use other colors make sure they are very opaque and pale, a lighter one for the coat and a dark one for the stripes.

 

 

 

Excuse, I couldn't hear you above the sound of your OC murdering all those Canterlot Guards....

and? besides, that discussion was design wise, not backstory wise.

[RockinRarity 1,605]

 

 

I kinda agree, but ponycreator is limited to an extend that it doesn't quite allow for true diversion from the norm. I like to use it to test out colourschemes, but not so much for full fledged pics.

 

I personally find that the pony creator is limited as well. What I like to do is make a base pony from there (because I can't draw ponies, and I want them to look like the flash ponies from the show lol), but if something needs changing then I send the pony over to an image-editing program. I almost always need to add my own cutie mark because the uploading system never ever works in the pony creator. 

[caramba2654 602]

Too many dead parent stories and absolute mary-sues.

 

Besides that, you basically hit the nail on the head, OP. Awful color schemes really annoy me, and people who only use pony-creator for their OCs.

 

I find it hard to create an OC without the pony creator. Mainly because the only thing I can draw is lines (although I'm epic failing trying to draw ponies) and because the pony creator offers a good reference for the colors and such. But of course I want to have an actual drawing of my OCs when I get the chance.

[SFX 21]

I think people can have whatever kind of OC they want, whatever colour, whatever type of pony, whatever personality.... because not everyone can draw and everyone is on different creative levels and that is no-ones fault. 

 

The only objection to OC's I have is if they are ridiculously over-powered... then it should matter. Because in an RP it affects your character more than anything else if their oc is.. I don't know, destroying the whole of Canterlot in seconds because they have the power to create rifts in space and suck everything in and banish them to an eternal land of darkness. But apart from that, no-one has the right to judge anyone's OC in terms of style, creativity and/or whatever else physical, because they are just owned characters, and it isn't like they are canon / going to be put in the show any time soon! The way an OC looks shouldn't matter to someone else. If they like it, great. If they don't, whatever. 

 

We should all love and respect each others creativity limits.

 

[DarligPegasi 315]

Yess too many dead parents or OC's that have been abused or abandoned or the like.

 

Also the OC's with conflicting personality traits like 'She's very shy' 'But she's also very bubbly and eccentric!'

 

Zebras that are like half unicorn or pegasus.

 

Ponies that have weird and unbelievable genealogy. Like "MAH PONIES HALF GRIFFIN!'

Like...What?

Or MY PONIES A PONYRAGON THAT'S A PONY DRAGON!

I just...Those two creatures can't even do it...They can't...They're not...D:

 

And last but not least;

 

My OC was trained by (insert canon character name). So they know how to do the sonic rainboom/raise the sun/do chaos magic...

 

Edit: I find nothing wrong with the General Zoi PC, in fact I use it all the time. Not everyone can draw and not everyone can request something and get back the scene or appearance that they envisioned in their head.

 

Honestly if some of you don't like the General Zoi PC, then make a new one.

Edited August 10, 2013 by DarligPegasi

[notdog1996 315]

Something I forgot to mention is please keep the stallion's hooves out of the mares reach! if you have a female OC don't put her stallion's hooves (like Big Mac or Shining Armor) it's just wrong, unless it's a zebra OC, which leads me to another point.

Having a Zebra oc is such a delicate matter, because it's easy to mess up, especially with the colors. I'd recomend that if your zebra OC isn't black and white, if you're gonna use other colors make sure they are very opaque and pale, a lighter one for the coat and a dark one for the stripes.

 

 

I don't really agree with that.  It is still a matter of interpretation what kind of features are male or female.  Granted, males more often have those kind of hooves but nothing says they can't have them.  Just look at Pipsqueak, he's one of the only ponies without a squared jaw, something everybody assumes is a female feature.

[RockinRarity 1,605]

 

 

Also, you forgot another common thing people do wrong with OC's. They make them super saturated, like this: http://fc07.devianta...502-d64r3xk.png

 

 

I want to thank you for mentioning that, actually. I created an OC that I want to use for a long project of a fanfic that I want to write. But when you mentioned the super-saturated point, I looked back at the OC I made and realized that the colors were too bright. So I made them a bit less saturated, and now he looks more like he could fit in with the show.

[Motion Spark 7,807]

I don't really agree with that.  It is still a matter of interpretation what kind of features are male or female.  Granted, males more often have those kind of hooves but nothing says they can't have them.  Just look at Pipsqueak, he's one of the only ponies without a squared jaw, something everybody assumes is a female feature.

I don't disagree with breaking a little bit the norm of the MLP world, but going too far is not OK in my opinion, I have never seen a mare with stallions hooves in the show, and it's pretty clear that those kinds of hooves are for males only (unless you're a zebra). On the peepsqueak ref, he seems to be a little colt even younger than the CMC, and he still has a different snout from the CMC even if it's smaller.

 

Something I noticed from the show is that stallions have a wide variety of different models like, Big Mac, Shining Armor, Stinky Rich, Fancy Pants, Snips and Snails, and many more. If you notice none of them are recycled models. While mares are more compact, all of them are pretty much the same model (taking out alicorn princesses of course). Only Mrs. Cake, Rarity's mother and Miss Harshwhinny seems to be rather different.

[Fridge 382]

I think everyone's just about put all the things I dislike about many OC's. Tragic pasts aren't necessarily a bad thing but many go really overkill on it. I personally try to make the characters I create work within canon (while fixing plot holes etc) but without having them interact or be related in anyway to the main casts characters.

 

I'll admit it my first OC was an Alicorn, admittedly it was only my profile picture and I never gave him a personality etc.

[Acoustic Cloud 2,202]

Geesh, there are so many things I could say I hate about people's crummy OC's. But I don't feel like taking the time to write everything out, so here are just a few:

• OC>Mane6
• Alicorn (unless done well)
• Pony Generator
• Lack of a backstory
• Poor color choice (hurts the eyes or it impossible to tell difference between coat and mane)
• Relation to Canon
• Ponies with abilities that are just unreasonable.

[Ihei 713]

I hate alicorn OC's. Period.

 

They're too overpowered, and I basically hate RPing with them. (( I'm not saying that I did RP with them, but I do avoid them. Them with their fancy magic and sad past.. and they're Mary Sues too, etc.

 

I didn't want to type out my whole rant.

[Jokuc 8,174]

Here is just a few things that tick me off about some people and their OC's. feel free to post your own opinions too!

 

Alicorns: Why an alicorn? The only alicorns that we have met so far are only princesses and royalty. I think its kind of selfish that you want your character to have both wings, and magic. Its like saying "Hey, since its my pony I might as well make him the best pony LOL". 

 

Dark OC's: Hey, you do know that not every OC has to be black, with red eyes, or purple hair and blood stains on their hooves right? Also, not every OC has to be some sort of dark warlock or look every similar to Luna. Whats up with peoples obsessions on dark things? 

 

Cannon and non cannon: I hate it when people say that their ponies are related to one of the mane 6 or any other pony thats cannon to the show. I also dislike the fact that some people make their OC's rulers of kingdoms, or siblings of celestia, and other things like that. 

 

Post your ideas!

Well I don't even think I have to sat anything because you literally said exactly the the things I hate about OCs yourself

 

If there's one other thing it's when the OCs have ridiculous names. Like "Prince Power-Flame Shadow" (and then the oc is like a red kid with devil eyes or something ._. )  I made that up but but I hope you know what I mean x_x

Edited August 10, 2013 by Jokuc

[Boleman500 9]

Anypony else hate it when you are in a fighting rp with somepony and you attack them with a blow that would kill anyone or at least be painful and they say like "The sword sliced their face but there was no wou nd and was good as new and then he started to smile" like seroiusly don't make INVINCIBLE OC'S who can't even feel pain it annoys me so much oh and it kind of goes without saying that overpowered is annoying too

[Imagine 284]

After reading 7 pages, I feel like all of my Oc's are Mary Sues.

 

Halloween is definitely a Gary Stu, dark past, too much like Rainbow Dash.

 

Imagine is a real Plain Jane.

 

Starry Night is the same as Imagine.

 

Ramona is too much like Rarity.

 

Comedy is too much like Pinkie.

 

Leaf is too much like Applejack, but without the accent.

 

And Finally, the behemoth of bad characters... My brothers character...

 

He is supposed to be part dragon, and have a history with Celestia, and Halloween. He kidnaps Celestia, and he his colors are black and red. Basically, whenever I look at that disgrace of a character, I think...

 

[Blue Moon 6,341]

 

 

Halloween is definitely a Gary Stu, dark past, too much like Rainbow Dash.

 

 

Actually, a dark past doesn't necessarily mean an OC is a Gary/Mary Sue. If it was done badly, it's usually just unnecessary and cliché.

For a fictional character to be considered a Gary/Mary Sue, the character and its life are too perfect, and end up being realistic. Unnesccary dark backstories are often present in Gary/Mary Sue type characters, so they are often misinterpreted as being traits of a Gary/Mary Sue.

 

As for being too much like an already established fictional character, that's just unoriginal, not Sueish.