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AmandaLyn11 — Blank OC Reference Sheet
Published: 2009-02-04 21:55:48 +0000 UTC; Views: 178509; Favourites: 1230; Downloads: 279
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Description Character Reference Sheet-ness


Basically this reference sheet covers pretty much everything a person would ever need to know about your character.. and then some.



-Basics-
Let’s face it. If somebody were to just glance over the reference sheet, at least you can feel some reassurance in knowing that they got the bare minimum


Name (Nickname):

Age:
Please if you’re going to give your character some ungodly, few centuries old, age, make sure to include what age they looks like. Otherwise all shall assume they appear to be a rumpled piece of leather, ran over by some sort of moving vehicle, after being regurgitated by a cat. Obviously, this is a little pet peeve of mine.

Gender:

Race:

List three to five most important things about your character.
If nothing else, people will know this much. This section can also be moved to another part of sheet if preferable.


-Physical Details-
Next most important part, next to personality. Really essential if you’re using your character in a tournament or in some other way in which other people need to understand said character.
Everybody hates it when they have to work with some under-described character. Facts, people! Descriptions, we need ‘em.
Even if you’re not using your character for a competition, but for personal writing instead, a solid physical description helps wonderfully for your writing. It’s nice to have a clear picture in your head.

Build/Body Type/Physical Frame:

Height:

Weight:

Skin:
Or fur, scales, whatnot. Just make sure you describe it.

Hair: color/texture/length/cut

Eyes:

Other defining features/extra anatomy:
ears, teeth, tails, wings, scars, deformities, disabilities

Habits:
Good (smiles a lot) or bad (smoking, drinking)

Gestures/Mannerisms:
animated, none, sweeping, small

Demeanor/Carriage/Gait:
How does he/she carry himself/herself?

Voice:
slang, aristocratic tone, any speech patters

Style:
elegant, shabby, normal, etc.

Clothing:
Make sure to not just focus on style or simple descriptions, but also include any accessories (jewelry, glasses, piercings, tattoos, make-up)

On a side note: If the character has alternate forms, make sure to clearly describe/differentiate them. If they are strongly different and/or very important to the whole story, think about creating different sections for each form.


-Personality-
Really, I believe that personality is the key to making your character original, stand out, or just overall complete and well-rounded. I want to see the depth of his/her personality, want it to be believable. Nobody likes a character that is far less interesting than a wet mop.
If you are anything like me, at times you may struggle with fully explaining the personality of the character that you have so nicely visioned. It’s okay, you’re not alone in the feeling that you need to explain (in horrid and absolute detail) so that the character floating around in your mind makes sense on paper.
Because of this, the personality section, at least for me, tends to be quite long. I find that this process not only helps me expand and understand my character better, but also further develop him/her past the image in my head.


Part One: Basic Info
Loves/Favorites:
Plain ol’ makes ‘em happy.

Hates:
And other things he/she tries to avoid.

Hobbies:
What does he/she do in his/her spare time?

Talents/Skills:
What is he/she good at? Doesn’t even have to be super relevant.

Hopes/Dreams:

Fears/Nightmares:

Best Quality:
Only one. Come on, this is no bragging fest. Maybe two if they’re closely related.

Greatest Flaw:
Don’t you even dare say he/she doesn’t have one, because everybody does. Maybe his/her flaw is that they think they don’t have any. D<

Character Strengths:

And the coinciding weaknesses:

Quirks:
List a number of them. They can be funny, or possibly used to further divulge the characters behavior.

One thing he/she is and one thing he/she is not.
For example: smart, but not wise; nice, but not friendly; pessimistic, but not an asshole/jerk; fast, but not strong.. etc.

What he/she wants (ex: move towards) and doesn’t want (ex: move away from, avoid)
This part can go a couple different ways, depending on your take.. but I think you all can deal with it.

Part Two: In-depth Analysis (If you really want, this part can be omitted.)

How does the character picture himself/herself?
Strengths and weaknesses, upon other qualities, they may think they have.

How do others see him/her?
Behavior that is actually shown, and which others have interpreted.

Five adjectives that he/she would use to describe his/herself.

Five adjectives others would use to describe him/her.

Most valued possession:

Darkest secret and/or treasured memory:

Most proud accomplishment and or greatest failure:

Is he/she motivated by possibility or necessity?
This question dwells upon the character’s life. Is it hard and he/she does things because he/she needs to, is he/she comfortable, doing only things that please them? A bit of both?

Current motivation:
Greed, power, love, lust, revenge, money, to win/come out on top, hate, freedom, survival?

How does he/she view the future and/or the past?
aspirations, goals, objectives, regrets

What is his/her philosophy on life and death?

What kind of energy level do they usually have?
perky, somber, tired, aggressive, pumped, mood swings?

How does he/she show and/or handle: love, affection, grief, pain, anger, sadness, conflict, change, loss?

Does he/she have a temper?
If so, displayed actively or more passive aggressively?

How does he/she respond to the surrounding world, the ‘unfamiliar,’ and other people in general?
Empathetic, judgmental?

Polite or rude?

Stingy or generous?
Your choice to decide of what.

What kind of ‘public’ face does he/she display?
Put up a front, open emotions, two faced

Leader or a follower?

More happy by themselves or in a group?

Does he/she have any addictions/dependencies/fixations/fetishes/ or other strange behavior?


What is his/her sexual preference/experience/values?
Of course, couldn’t leave this one off the list. It’s just so darn fun. xD


-History/Background-
Now, we move onto the background of the character. What’s a person without their past? Our history makes us who we are today. Blah blah, inspirational mumbo jumbo.
There might not be a lot of sub-headings is this one, but the ‘backstory’ part is usually a mini story in itself. So, have fun. ^^


Setting:
Time period, current residence, any other basic descriptions needed

Occupation:
If eligible.. and if not, explain why.

Educational background/other learning experiences:

Intelligence Level:

Short Term Goals:

Long Term Goals:

Family:
Make sure to describe the family life and the relationships.

Friends:
Same goes.. make sure to describe the relationship.

Backstory:
Birth order, major events in his/her life. This part can be very detailed or really vague.


-Combat-
This is more of an ‘if applicable’ section. It’s really only important if you plan to use your character in a tournament or competition. But then again, sometimes it’s just good to  know these things about your character for personal interest.


Physical Strength:

Coordination/Reflexes:

Fighting Style:
technique, talents, skills, predictability

Unusual Abilities/Powers:
rate these on some sort of scale

Weapons/Other Gear:

And if you are entering a tournament, please make sure to include an actual reason why.
Related content
Comments: 126

KCarey [2010-08-19 17:55:37 +0000 UTC]

I think I'll actually be cutting out parts I don't need, but using this.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to KCarey [2010-12-23 04:29:05 +0000 UTC]

I actually find myself doing that sometimes too.
But I figure it's better to cut out the extra than to sit and bang your head against the wall trying to think of more.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Celui-qui-incarne [2010-07-13 05:01:02 +0000 UTC]

cool!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

atomicshock [2010-06-25 05:42:31 +0000 UTC]

I've been looking everywhere for one with this much description! Thank you so much, will be using<3

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to atomicshock [2010-12-23 04:28:18 +0000 UTC]

That was my problem too.
I'm glad you could benefit from it!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Redemption909 [2010-05-07 03:14:07 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for posting this!!!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to Redemption909 [2010-12-23 04:27:58 +0000 UTC]

You're so very welcome.
I hope you get great use out of it!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Xx-Ria-chan-xX [2010-04-30 08:14:00 +0000 UTC]

I LUV this! This is great and will improve my writing so much. Thank you for writing this.!! most of the time, the ref sheets don't explain any of what's written and they assume you already know.

This sends out such a clear message.!! ^^
I'm sorry if this comment is long but I just can't help it..It will help me greatly. Thanks again! ^^

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to Xx-Ria-chan-xX [2010-12-23 04:27:37 +0000 UTC]

You're quite welcome.
Sorry I couldn't express my own thanks until this time.
I'm so glad it was useful!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

leekskin [2010-03-28 20:51:06 +0000 UTC]

I am in love with this ref sheet! ♥_♥

...Ahahah. This could be a really good stalker log, too.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to leekskin [2010-03-29 02:37:37 +0000 UTC]

Thanks, I'm glad you are!

xD Never thought of it that way.. but it so totally could be!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

leekskin In reply to AmandaLyn11 [2010-04-24 21:18:38 +0000 UTC]

xD Don't worry, I shan't use it like that!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Shixam [2010-01-09 07:16:55 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for making this! I think I've had the same idea as you had when you made this, and this sheet is exactly what I need to learn more about my characters.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to Shixam [2010-01-26 20:57:58 +0000 UTC]

Totally. Except when I had this idea.. there were no in depth and highly detailed character sheets that I could find.
I'm glad it'll be of use to you though. ^^

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Olileslie32 [2010-01-09 05:28:43 +0000 UTC]

This should be helpful, thanks for making such a great character sheet!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to Olileslie32 [2010-01-26 20:57:04 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome. ^^

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

VintageSocks In reply to ??? [2009-11-13 04:13:54 +0000 UTC]

This is unbelievably helpful. Thank you so much!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to VintageSocks [2009-11-13 20:29:04 +0000 UTC]

Aww. No problem. ^^
I was tired of not having an extensive enough one for myself.. and thought I'd share it with the world so nobody else had to put together a significant character sheet piece by piece.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Unknown-Variable [2009-10-20 01:41:10 +0000 UTC]

This is so in depth! Exactly what I am looking for.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to Unknown-Variable [2009-11-01 20:54:50 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. ^^
I'm glad it was useful.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

sheik-zelda [2009-07-02 21:43:56 +0000 UTC]

D; Original Characters are hard. This is so much stuff to think about... Thanks for giving me something to do over summer!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to sheik-zelda [2009-07-07 02:31:24 +0000 UTC]

Tell me about it. I got tired myself with trying to come up with a developed character and finding out I had no clue about some aspects of their personality!
So, you have benefited from my exasperation!
xD

Glad you like! ^^

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

mippins [2009-02-05 01:59:46 +0000 UTC]

YAY. THANKS. I WILL BE USING THIS.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to mippins [2009-02-05 03:41:55 +0000 UTC]

Glad to be of help!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

liobi [2009-02-04 22:02:59 +0000 UTC]

Smoking, Drinking... '-'<^-^' why do i get the feeling that that was a Dan reference?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

AmandaLyn11 In reply to liobi [2009-02-04 23:25:47 +0000 UTC]

xD
Those are just the first things that came to mind.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0


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