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TUTORIAL: How make OCs
by-nd
Published: 2009-08-06 19:14:16 +0000 UTC; Views: 85706; Favourites: 3232; Downloads: 1151
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Description
Sorry for all the grammatical errors, I'm not really very good in the English grammar!!!Thank you a lot to for helping me to fix the grammar!!!
When I start this, I was so afraid of what could happen if I ost it, but I'm happy of doing right now!
Before someone say something like: WHO ARE YOU TO TELL HOW MAKE OCs?!?!?! Well, I not order you to read or follow what it says, I did this Tutorial for everybody that would like read it or for those new artists that doesn't know how start their stories and everything! Because today we seen so many gallery of people full of talent but that only does always bishonens or pretty girls (or boys that look like pretty girls), that doesn't risk to try new styles or ideas for fear of what other people could say!
So, if I insulted someone with this tutorial, I apologize and not take it personal because this is my opinion only!
Thank you a lot for your times guys! and thanks Frau for the advices!
ALRIGHT! I JUS CAN'T DO IT!! So, I will say it here! THANK YOU A LOT FOR ALL THE FAVS AT THIS TUTORIAL! You are totally awesome for it!!!
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Comments: 898
This is gonna help me out a lot when i make ocs now. Thanks!
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Thank you! This is going to be useful!
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This will definately help me a lot. Thank you.
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thank YOU for check it!
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Wonderful job!
I swear if I see another 13 year old OC with a history of murder and having some terrible dark side. I'm gonna kill someone.
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I know the feeling man, when I see the cartoons and animes of today I jsut wanna scream!
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Interesting tutorial read. I love how you first establish what are often the common tropes used to design a specific character type, and then list out what makes them rather unbelievable characters and how to avoid them, and I love the suggestion of variations in example Age, friendship, non-humans wanting to be humans and so on.
And I do love that little doodle of the angel/devil and hero encounter doodle o so very much XD
If I may, there are some tips that I've picked up in making OCs and stories that come to my mind which I couldn't find specifically in your tutorial which I think would help:
Goals and consequences: All characters have a goal in mind (whether they are aware of it or not), and this I think can become the core of their being. Even in theater, actors are taught to think about what their goal in the scene is because how they act, what they do, is all driven by the specific goal in mind.
And with a goal in mind and the pursuit of it, there will be of course Positive and Negative consequences that either the character did or did not expect beforehand, and therein lies a story's conflict and possible Character Development.
I find that rather important because (to me) suddenly the common tropes may no longer be so cliched if such actions either had a reason behind it, or that said tropes would have repercussions.
For instance-
A common shonen boy who realizes that his naivety and brazen attitude might land him or his friends in a far worst situation. Or that a super Ms. Perfect Girl might have suffered some kind of trauma (it may not even by physical at all) that caused her to have such little self-esteem (always pushing herself to being PERFECT). And then there's mr. always Angry personality- if the character always chooses to be angry, then either someone has to call them out on it or mr Angry is going to realize soon enough no one likes to hang around such a person or suffer maybe from high blood pressure, a stroke, a heart attack or get their asses kicked by someone who doesn't like their attitude.
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well reah, you have a lot of true points there about the goals and consequences
I know that things like traumas and bad moments can make someone to become in some specific kind of person, but there are a lot of moments in which people just make those character without a really credible story of why they are that way, for exaple "the perfect girl", she could have had lived such bad situation to make her try to be really good at everything, but they never never show not even a tiny bit about it, people who suffer of the same in real life normally show that they happiness is mostly just "plastic" over they true self when you get to know them and later try to act more normal because you already know the true, but those girls just tell they tragic life to you and then they still are just perfect girls again after some moments of cry
(btw sorry for the long reply)
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no problem! thanks for taking the time to read my wall of text in the first place XD;
The problem with those starting to make OCs is oftentimes they grab at random tragic stories in an attempt to explain away a character's attitude.
But what they haven't realized yet that just because one has a sympathetic past doesn't always equate to someone the audience might want to sympathize with.
Another problem for beginning OCs is the lack of character development. People grow and change all the time, and so should characters, however small that might be. You are right that when a Ms. Perfect unloads her bucket of wangst and seems all right and fine again, that's not good enough.
meep. need to go to sleep now.
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yeah, that is exactly the thing!!
the development is a really important think for a character, I mean, what is a character if he or she will never learn anything about her/his past adventures or special moments in life??
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Either that character is a buttmonkey doomed for ridicule forever or we're dealing with an episodic series that constantly resets its lessons learned. XD
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will definitely look back on this
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First off your dead on! Second this does help some one to see what to look out for when forming their character. And lastly
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argh yes this is all so true. I hate that stupid "chosen one" clichè. Good point about the unattractive characters; I've been trying to vary my face shapes, eyes, noses, etc. more lately, but none of my characters seem overtly unattractive yet (not physically, anyway). Maybe I'll work on that in the future... Thanks for sharing this!!
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yeah, I mean, I'm really tired of see always just busty women and pretty men, I just don't see the point of everything being perfect, there is a lot of beauty in being different!
I'm really glad that you think that!!
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This really helped me like a checklist for my oc.
Thank you! <3
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this helped me so much! thank you!
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I wouldn't say that this tutorial is ideal, and there are things that I have a different opinion aboit them, but, generally, I think there are lots of artists, who have to read it and learn from it.
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I wouldn't say that this tutorial is ideal, and there are things that I have a different opinion aboit them, but, generally, I think there are lots of artists, who have to read it and learn from it.
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mostly is to people who is starting on writting stories or making characters and don't know really how to start
heh thanks!
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Sure, but still, even some expirienced artists need to read it.
And your welcome!
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Would you mind if I tried to improve the grammer in this a bit? Some parts are difficult to understand.
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sure thing! I'd be glad for the help!
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This will be a long post.
Every character today has features of stereotypes, and depends on his/her creator to make them original!
These are the typical MALE main characters of most stories today!
The lovely and cute boy who looks like he’s 8 (but he can be older!)
He is handsome, nice, a really good person (not always), smart, and a gentleman. He knows that real beauty is on the inside.
She’s like Mr Shota, but twice as clumsy and might not know how to cook; all she does is break things.
She’s like Mr Shonen, but shyer, clumsier, and less mad (sometimes!)
Well, she isn’t a normal main character because she’s like a blank wall, but a lot of people today use this kind of character in the main group.
Don’t just use kids or teens; adults are good, too! If your OC is a 13 year old, don’t make it so they can do everything. He/she is only 13! I don’t care if they’re an orphan, have a SUPER POWER, or went to NINJA/HITMAN/MAGIC/ETC. school! He/she’s still only a kid!
Your character needs to have an appropriate mentality, like a normal person. He/she can’t always have the same emotion; that would be insane! Why? To make them credible, like I said, as a NORMAL PERSON. For example, the nice and kind hero when he’s tired and sleepless, or a badass thinking about the good old times. Characters need moments of peace, happiness, sadness or discomfort.
If the normal personality of your OC is being happy, that’s good! But it’s not good if nothing other than a sea of sadness or a bomb of emotions can change that! HE/SHE CAN’T FEEL EVERYTHING SO DEEPLY! They need both a range of emotions and variety of the intensity thereof.
They can’t always have the same expression, but don’t make all their expressions so dramatic!
The Nice Loser - This character could be beautiful, smart and friendly, but everyone treats them like a loser! - This kind of character could be mentally insecure or shy. Obviously they shouldn’t be very good looking, because for some reason other people don’t like him/her without knowing what’s on the inside.
The Perfect girl- She’s all that and a bag of chips! She’s beautiful, cooks and cleans, always smiles and never says no, and is never bothered unless she forgets to buy something
The Badass - This character is always full of frustration, anger, and the like, and they always look fresh and handsome! - Badasses should be mature men and women (psychologically and physically); they can’t be pretty boys/girls or kids. Why? All these characters have bigger goals, and [[not sure what you‘re trying to say here]]
Rival…Never loses to anyone other than the main character…If your character acts like they can defeat anyone by themselves and only cares about kicking your main character’s ass, but also acts like they care about others, it’s very hypocritical! Rivals need to be bad at doing some things and be clumsy sometimes! (but of course that doesn’t mean they should always be the idiot or clown of the story)
Smart…Can be just 10 years old but he/she knows it all! They’re either physically useless or very strong. They can by very serious (an emotionless rock), a weirdo, or a crazy geek - Well, in this case it depends in part on the age of the OC. He/She Obviously can’t be a kid unless they’re a genius. These types are often conceited. This applies to all ages but is very common in children. If they’re an adult that can still be the case, but more often they’re just a geek.
Got tired of editing; I might do some more, but unlikely.
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wow, really is an amazing thing, thanks a lot for the help!!
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No problem. 
more:
The Robot/Spirit/Furry/Demon/Angel/Whatever - This character is usually a boy/girl that acts and feels like a normal human because that is what he/she wants to be. They’re tired of their astonishing and supernatural life, or is in love with a human - In real life, nobody like this would want to be human, NEVER! They’re better than human! They’re often smarter, stronger, and usually better looking! (It’s rare that they’re not) I mean:
A robot is better physically and mentally. They don’t have problems with emotions stopping them from reaching their goals.
A furry can have different exceptional skills depending on the type of animal.
A spirit is like a vampire but better! They can “live” forever, don’t have problems with light or darkness ([[I don’t know what you mean by the limbo stuff]]) and are totally free to go anywhere on earth! And don’t confuse “I WANT TO LIVE” with “I WANT TO BE HUMAN,” the ideas are completely different!
Things like angels, demons, aliens and stuff are better than humans; that’s why we use them in our stories! But they need to have a better motivation than something so stupid as wanting to be human! They could have dreams of being the best at something, for example. You can still write them as thinking or acting like a human, but that doesn’t mean that they want to be one!
Be treated like everyone else
Unless your character is crazy, they can’t always focus on things like revenge, rage, despair, hatred, frustration, and the like. [[not sure what you mean by going wrong, you might want to clarify that. Also, I don‘t know what self-control and self-esteem have to do with negative versus positive feelings, or with the example]] For example: a crazy murderer might not be acting through rage, but because they feel PLEASURE in what they do. They are crazy, after all. Other villains are different; they do what they NEED to do to achieve their objectives. It all depends on the mind of the character!
What is this step? This part is just some tips about names, types of stories, and backgrounds for when you want to add more depth to an OC
1 Don’t try to make a SUPER-SPECIAL-NAME, and don’t really put too much thought into it!
2 You CAN give them a name with some significance to their features, but THAT DOESN’T MEAN SOMETHING LIKE A CAT-GIRL WITH THE NAME “KAT;” something more along the lines of a DRAGON-FAN-BOY with the name “Drake” (the medieval term for “dragon”) is more subtle and appropriate. Names like these, and when using nouns (like the names of animals) as names, are usually best as nicknames.
3 Exchanging common letters for more exotic ones (Balthasar - Vanthazar, Cristal - Kryztal, Jane - Yane, Sam - Zam) does NOT make it a cool or original name.
4 Short names are good, but don’t make them all short. If you have a character with a 3 letter name, it’s best to have others with longer names. (Kyo, Ryo, Ken, Kio, Zim, Vic, Jak, Rio)
If a story starts normal and then suddenly there’s magical/super/special things/monsters/people, the main character (or characters) need more than 15 minutes to accept the situation.
*Gasp* This is the WEIRDEST THING that has ever happed in my life!
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this is really and amazingly long work
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Yes. I've been writing it juuust before I go to bed, when I am far too tired to prioritize. By the time I finish a line I've glanced at the next one and corrected it in my head. So my brain goes "well, might as well write it down" and the cycle repeats until I'm about to fall over.
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hehe I really appreciate what you did!
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Every time this tutorial is read, a Deviant Artist earns their wings.
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this comment totally made my day!!
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This absolutly made my day.
It's wonderfully done and helpful in many ways. There were some obvious things that I've didn't seen at all but thanks to you I can avoid these now. All in all it was very interesting. Thank you very much :]]]
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your welcome!! I'm glad of that!
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Wow! This really really helped me! I'm already starting to think about my OC's and what kind each of them are. c: Thank you very much!
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your welcome! if you need any help, ypu can ask me!
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ah! Thank you. I will when I get problems, which I definitively will. 
You prepared for that? c:
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