Best & Worst OC Designs

[Castle Bleck 19,163]

I hate it when someone gives their OC eye-burning colors. Looking at it causes a headache, and the OC just looks so bucking fake compared to all the canon characters.

 

Softer colors are preferred. No headache, and the OC looks more canon.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Anti-Villain

[Ribbonfree 2,382]

Personality wise, I'm never really sold on tragic backstories, at least in context of my very canon centric mind. Equestria isn't a world that could produce especially grimdark histories as far as I'm concerned. Besides, a good writer can make an interesting character without resorting to cliches.

[SveciaDash 364]

I get that people like making OCs and stuff but I have never really gotten the idea of it. and a alicorn OC is a bad OC just sayin.

[Castle Bleck 19,163]

I get that people like making OCs and stuff but I have never really gotten the idea of it. and a alicorn OC is a bad OC just sayin.

 

What about draconequus OCs?

[SveciaDash 364]

What about draconequus OCs?

*starts to rip off hair from head*

[Castle Bleck 19,163]

*starts to rip off hair from head*

 

I thought so.

 

That's my reaction to all the generic pegasus OCs.

[~Sole~ 852]

And now I prepare for the general hatred of anything not cookie-cutter canon. I'm sorry, but almost any OC who sticks almost completely with canon is boring as hell and usually uninspired as well.

 

I love action characters, or dark characters. I love exciting adventures, and over the top stories and epic tales. That stuff is usually awesome to me. Not a normal pony deciding on how to not include the mane six into their boring and completely average lives. Because gods forbid I get creative and have an OC with powers, or an OC who can kick ass, or an OC who knows canon characters right?

 

Besides, being a character in equestria doesn't mean they need to be all lollipops and rainbows like the show. If that's the case then no human OC can be completely cheerful and happy because the human world isn't a completely bright and happy one. It just doesn't have to be like that if we don't want it to. our OC's can be as violent, scary, cool, unusual, stoopid, wacky, or uncanon as we want them to be. Because that's what an OC is, an ORIGINAL CHARACTER. As in, not just like every other pony in equestria.

 

And it's almost impossible make a character with zero cliche's whatsoever, because technically everything that's been done at least twice in all of fiction is a cliche. So by proxy your own OC is most likely "cliche" as well.

 

So I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm sick of hearing things like "cliche" and "non-canon", because that stuff shouldn't be counted as flaws with an OC. OC's should be judged by personality and style, not looks and race and weather or not it'd fit into canon. Because they're your character, not hasbro's. So stop trying to make it look like they are and get creative for celestia's sake.

 

Alright, I think I'm done with my little rant. Just wanted to get that off my chest

[Venomous 18,813]

I can't say I am a fan of Alicorn OCs. 

I see them as Mary Su-type characters. 

Alicorns are all powerful and pretty much immortal.

[Castle Bleck 19,163]

I can't say I am a fan of Alicorn OCs. 

I see them as Mary Su-type characters. 

Alicorns are all powerful and pretty much immortal.

 

SaiyanUltima on FanFiction.net does pretty much every single one of those things in every single one of his stories.

 

His formula: human OC has sucky life, human OC suddenly goes to Equestria, human OC becomes OP, human OC forms a harem with OOC!Celestia and OOC!Luna, etc.

 

The kicker: SaiyanUltima claims to be 21 in his bio.

[Ribbonfree 2,382]

And now I prepare for the general hatred of anything not cookie-cutter canon. I'm sorry, but almost any OC who sticks almost completely with canon is boring as hell and usually uninspired as well.

 

I love action characters, or dark characters. I love exciting adventures, and over the top stories and epic tales. That stuff is usually awesome to me. Not a normal pony deciding on how to not include the mane six into their boring and completely average lives. Because gods forbid I get creative and have an OC with powers, or an OC who can kick ass, or an OC who knows canon characters right?

 

Besides, being a character in equestria doesn't mean they need to be all lollipops and rainbows like the show. If that's the case then no human OC can be completely cheerful and happy because the human world isn't a completely bright and happy one. It just doesn't have to be like that if we don't want it to. our OC's can be as violent, scary, cool, unusual, stoopid, wacky, or uncanon as we want them to be. Because that's what an OC is, an ORIGINAL CHARACTER. As in, not just like every other pony in equestria.

 

And it's almost impossible make a character with zero cliche's whatsoever, because technically everything that's been done at least twice in all of fiction is a cliche. So by proxy your own OC is most likely "cliche" as well.

 

So I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm sick of hearing things like "cliche" and "non-canon", because that stuff shouldn't be counted as flaws with an OC. OC's should be judged by personality and style, not looks and race and weather or not it'd fit into canon. Because they're your character, not hasbro's. So stop trying to make it look like they are and get creative for celestia's sake.

 

Alright, I think I'm done with my little rant. Just wanted to get that off my chest

 

Implying you can't be creative and still fall well within the realm of canon?

[Castle Bleck 19,163]

And now I prepare for the general hatred of anything not cookie-cutter canon. I'm sorry, but almost any OC who sticks almost completely with canon is boring as hell and usually uninspired as well.

 

I love action characters, or dark characters. I love exciting adventures, and over the top stories and epic tales. That stuff is usually awesome to me. Not a normal pony deciding on how to not include the mane six into their boring and completely average lives. Because gods forbid I get creative and have an OC with powers, or an OC who can kick ass, or an OC who knows canon characters right?

 

Besides, being a character in equestria doesn't mean they need to be all lollipops and rainbows like the show. If that's the case then no human OC can be completely cheerful and happy because the human world isn't a completely bright and happy one. It just doesn't have to be like that if we don't want it to. our OC's can be as violent, scary, cool, unusual, stoopid, wacky, or uncanon as we want them to be. Because that's what an OC is, an ORIGINAL CHARACTER. As in, not just like every other pony in equestria.

 

And it's almost impossible make a character with zero cliche's whatsoever, because technically everything that's been done at least twice in all of fiction is a cliche. So by proxy your own OC is most likely "cliche" as well.

 

So I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm sick of hearing things like "cliche" and "non-canon", because that stuff shouldn't be counted as flaws with an OC. OC's should be judged by personality and style, not looks and race and weather or not it'd fit into canon. Because they're your character, not hasbro's. So stop trying to make it look like they are and get creative for celestia's sake.

 

Alright, I think I'm done with my little rant. Just wanted to get that off my chest

 

Nothing wrong with freedom of expression. Just... don't be surprised to have your viewers nitpick the crap out of you if said expression "jumps the shark" too much.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Anti-Villain

[~Sole~ 852]

Implying you can't be creative and still fall well within the realm of canon?

yep. Because according to what some people would say is a good "canon style character" is one that:

 

1. Isn't special or doesn't stand out in any way. Because standing out and being unique is cliche

 

2. Is completely normal with little to no talents or skills. Because if your character can run faster/jump higher/lift more/is smarter than/can hold their breath longer/do anything better then a canon character then their obviously Gary Stu/ Mary Sue. They need to be completely average

 

3. Can't have any abilities that aren't within canon. because that's obviously too OP

 

4. Can't have a backstory darker then not getting the puppy you asked for on Christmas when you were a kid. Because any darker then that is obviously not going to make a good character

 

Yep, I know this is a lot of sarcasm. But I've heard arguments similar to these listed above from people regarding OC's before. Mostly not on the forums I'll admit, but they still irk me sometimes.

Edited March 20, 2014 by ~LoSt SoLe~

[Ribbonfree 2,382]

yep. Because according to what some people would say is a good "canon style character" is one that:

 

1. Isn't special or doesn't stand out in any way. Because standing out and being unique is cliche

 

2. Is completely normal with little to no talents or skills. Because if your character can run faster/jump higher/lift more/is smarter than/can hold their breath longer/do anything better then a canon character then their obviously Gary Stu/ Mary Sue. They need to be completely average

 

3. Can't have any abilities that aren't within canon. because that's obviously too OP

 

4. Can't have a backstory darker then not getting the puppy you asked for on Christmas when you were a kid. Because any darker then that is obviously not going to make a good character

 

Yep, I know this is a lot of sarcasm. But I've heard arguments similar to these listed above from people regarding OC's before. Mostly not on the forums I'll admit, but they still irk me sometimes.

 

Average isn't a bad thing, in my opinion. A perfectly normal character can be engaging and interesting without having to have special abilities we haven't already seen or backstories that aren't actiony and awesome and whatever.

 

My honest take on it is that OCs the people of this fandom put out generally just aren't interesting to me. People don't really know how to create ponies who are interesting in the context of not being totally special and overpowered as hell with really exaggerated backstories. So they tack on all this stuff that is dubious by the standards of canon, and don't get me wrong, in theory it could work. Many a great character in fiction has been above and beyond the call of 'normalcy'. But in most cases it's overdone, and very rarely well thought out.

 

The most important aspect of a character is their character. Their point of view, how they react to their environment, the subtle details of their language that tell us how they're feeling and processing the world around them. The problem I see with a lot of OCs is, whether they're alicorns or related to the Princesses or badasses with more power than entire armies or run of the mill earth ponies or whatever is that people just sort of create these generic, soulless caricatures without the subtle bits that really flesh out and form a believable entity. I swear I could look at a hundred OCs around this forum and see the exact same thing, more or less, each time. A shell of a real being. Maybe they have cool backstories and awesome powers, but they don't mesh the backstory and powers into a well written character.

 

I have a feeling I may be one of the 'elitists' you dislike, and I'm sorry for that. I've been an RPer for eight years of my life in various fandoms, and after two years of derping and shitty writing I reached the point where people typically considered me one of the best in my various circles. I was a born writer, I was always in the highest level English classes available to me. I spent my entire senior year trolling and dicking around on every essay I got and I still got near perfect marks. I've developed a very intensely critical viewpoint on the writings and characterizations of others. I'm not saying that an OC shouldn't be this or that or whatever. More power to the people who make them. But personally for me, most OCs just fall flat, and 'hyping' the character with all these non-canonical elements is a symptom of the greater problem I bear witness to.

[Cheyleew 11]

I can't say I am a fan of Alicorn OCs. 

I see them as Mary Su-type characters. 

Alicorns are all powerful and pretty much immortal.

Yes, but some ocs arent that way, many people get rid of the immortality, my character isnt immortal yet she is an alicorn, she also needs to learn magic, she isnt good at it at all. (She lived in the everfree forest all her life) heck she cant even swim, she is a pretty good flier and loves to joke around with her sister featherswift (My oc in the picture)

[~Sole~ 852]

Average isn't a bad thing, in my opinion. A perfectly normal character can be engaging and interesting without having to have special abilities we haven't already seen or backstories that aren't actiony and awesome and whatever.

 

My honest take on it is that OCs the people of this fandom put out generally just aren't interesting to me. People don't really know how to create ponies who are interesting in the context of not being totally special and overpowered as hell with really exaggerated backstories. So they tack on all this stuff that is dubious by the standards of canon, and don't get me wrong, in theory it could work. Many a great character in fiction has been above and beyond the call of 'normalcy'. But in most cases it's overdone, and very rarely well thought out.

 

The most important aspect of a character is their character. Their point of view, how they react to their environment, the subtle details of their language that tell us how they're feeling and processing the world around them. The problem I see with a lot of OCs is, whether they're alicorns or related to the Princesses or badasses with more power than entire armies or run of the mill earth ponies or whatever is that people just sort of create these generic, soulless caricatures without the subtle bits that really flesh out and form a believable entity. I swear I could look at a hundred OCs around this forum and see the exact same thing, more or less, each time. A shell of a real being. Maybe they have cool backstories and awesome powers, but they don't mesh the backstory and powers into a well written character.

 

I have a feeling I may be one of the 'elitists' you dislike, and I'm sorry for that. I've been an RPer for eight years of my life in various fandoms, and after two years of derping and shitty writing I reached the point where people typically considered me one of the best in my various circles. I was a born writer, I was always in the highest level English classes available to me. I spent my entire senior year trolling and dicking around on every essay I got and I still got near perfect marks. I've developed a very intensely critical viewpoint on the writings and characterizations of others. I'm not saying that an OC shouldn't be this or that or whatever. More power to the people who make them. But personally for me, most OCs just fall flat, and 'hyping' the character with all these non-canonical elements is a symptom of the greater problem I bear witness to.

uh, I never said anything about elitists. I just hate it when people think you need to have certain rules and limits on characters, which I strongly disagree with. And I don't have a problem with average and normal OC's, but they're just not my thing. And I can already tell you'd hate most of my OC's, most people who like canon utterly loath them.

[Ribbonfree 2,382]

uh, I never said anything about elitists. I just hate it when people think you need to have certain rules and limits on characters, which I strongly disagree with. And I don't have a problem with average and normal OC's, but they're just not my thing. And I can already tell you'd hate most of my OC's, most people who like canon utterly loath them.

 

The thing for me is that anything can work. Canon, extra-canon (?), it's all good... It just needs to be well executed.

[~Sole~ 852]

The thing for me is that anything can work. Canon, extra-canon (?), it's all good... It just needs to be well executed.

I think know what you mean. I personally like almost any OC as long as they have good character and personality, that's my favorite thing about fictional characters more then anything else.

[Ribbonfree 2,382]

I think know what you mean. I personally like almost any OC as long as they have good character and personality, that's my favorite thing about fictional characters more then anything else.

 

That's all I want to see too. But as I already ranted on and on about, most of the time the OCs I see fall flat.

[~Sole~ 852]

That's all I want to see too. But as I already ranted on and on about, most of the time the OCs I see fall flat.

meh, it depends on the character to me. Like I said, I don't think you'd like my OC's much.

[Ribbonfree 2,382]

meh, it depends on the character to me. Like I said, I don't think you'd like my OC's much.

 

Took a look at Sole. Backstory is cliche for sure, but that's not really a point against you. I'd have to see how you write him to form a full opinion.

[Scootalove 10,684]

OCs that have bright neon colors that give you a headache, those are some bad designs.

[Iudex 1,945]

Super dark or super bright colors. Both together is just extra suck points.

Jet black, for example, with rainbow tails. 

No.

Just.

No.

 

I don't like to be mean but seriously.

No.

[~Sole~ 852]

Took a look at Sole. Backstory is cliche for sure, but that's not really a point against you. I'd have to see how you write him to form a full opinion.

like I said, I don't really believe in cliche's. No one can create a completely new and unused thing for a story, almost everything has been done before. It just depends on how you make them.

 

I can understand how you'd be skeptical though, he does seem really strange at first.

[Ribbonfree 2,382]

I know that it's hard to make something truely original and most things nowadays are merely re imaginations of already existing things.

 

 

 

It just depends on how you make them.

 

Again, this is the key, as I've stated in my previous ramblings. How you use the elements you incorporate into your character is the important part.

[Castle Bleck 19,163]

OCs that have bright neon colors that give you a headache, those are some bad designs.

 

Said OCs also look fake as Tartarus, given everypony in the show has soft colors.