I have a question, basically what the title says.

I know that this may be a stupid question but I'm just worried that an OC I'm trying to create may look like some others.

Any ideas how to avoid that?

TheGreatWolfgang said:
I have a question, basically what the title says.

I know that this may be a stupid question but I'm just worried that an OC I'm trying to create may look like some others.

Any ideas how to avoid that?

I'd say just don't worry about it. Sometimes less is more so it's okay if it isn't completely unique. What were your specific ideas?

TheGreatWolfgang said:
I have a question, basically what the title says.

I know that this may be a stupid question but I'm just worried that an OC I'm trying to create may look like some others.

Any ideas how to avoid that?

You could use this: http://crocuta.softhyena.com/thing_maker.htm#template=prize.json

But really, if you are worried about making your OC looks similar to others, just do what I do and stick with natural colours. No one can complain about me looking similar since I am generic hyena #4893245.

Fenrick said:
I'd say just don't worry about it. Sometimes less is more so it's okay if it isn't completely unique. What were your specific ideas?

I have made portrait of him, would it help? (basically colour and design, don't want it looking like a known character).

Chaser said:
You could use this: http://crocuta.softhyena.com/thing_maker.htm#template=prize.json

Lel

you dont need to worry that much about your oc looking too much like other's ocs. i mean people trying their best to be original is usually what results to worst designs. my fursona is just a gray cat (tho recently i changed into them cat/raptor hybrid because of reasons) with brown hair and greenish eyes and i have only seen one character ever that looks a bit like my fursona.

TheGreatWolfgang said:
I have made portrait of him, would it help?

Of course

Fenrick said:
Of course

http://imgur.com/PlYNmfA

Try adding angel_wings, heterochromia with yellow_sclera, rainbow_fur offset by stripes in a two_tone_fur color scheme, a tutu, multicolored_pawpads, a multi_penis horsecock while being a non-equine species (though definitely a hybrid of at least three) and stubble on top of your fur. Also, carry a minigun everywhere.

Mind you, this just covers the essentials of snowflakism, but it's a good foundation to build upon.

TheGreatWolfgang said:
http://imgur.com/PlYNmfA

Looks good to me. Not sure what you had in mind when you said you wanted to make him look unique though. A few distinguishing features are okay but it's easy to go too far

Fenrick said:
Looks good to me. Not sure what you had in mind when you said you wanted to make him look unique though. A few distinguishing features are okay but it's easy to go too far

Oh by unique, I mean not look like a recolor of somebody else's oc or a redesign with the same colors.

I will try to keep his design simple, thanks for the advice.

aurel said:
color theme just feels typical
especially the gray body with yellow belly.

body shape should be most important factor anyway, so not important.

I think I may add in a bigger variety of color, maybe stripes or other stuff.

The body though, how do you propose making it "unique"?

make a peacock

a raptor peacock

Knotty_Curls said:
make a peacock

a raptor peacock

Life finds a way?

post #833538

for real tho it's the dumbest trend i've ever seen

As far as "originality" goes... Honestly, my opinion is that originality is not bad, but unique and original are two different things (original implies unique, but they are not aliased, to put it in e621 terms). It's easy to be unique if you don't care about being original. You can just pick an awful color scheme, a random mix of species, and put on way too many additions onto the character.

Originality usually requires creativity, and is much harder to manage.

That said, I think it is entirely possible to have a character which is neither unique nor original, and yet have them look good. There are a ton of good looking "generic" characters - the reason many things are so common is because they have good results. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

It is possible to have character which is unique, but not original, and yet it is still a good character. Take the raptor peacock, for instance. It's just a mix of two species, which is not particularly original, but I think some thought went into which species to combine and it resulted in a visually appealing character. Though admittedly this one is largely a matter of personal taste.

And it is also possible to have a character which is original, but not a good character. With originality, you have to compare the character to the "goal" of the character. If I want a sexy character, then I can be as original as I want, but if the end design is unappealing, I failed in my goal despite the originality. Sergals, I think, are an example of an original design that became popular - I think a prehensile clitoral hood is an original idea - but if the rest of their design had been outright ugly, it would have also been a failed design.

I think you see bad original characters less often because along with the creativity to think of something original, usually comes the necessary creativity to execute the idea reasonably well, but even so, originality is neither necessary nor sufficient for a good character.

I like coming up with character designs and details, so these are things I've thought of a bit.

This has gotten a bit large, so I'll cut it off here, but if for any reason you want to hear my advice on how to create a good original and/or unique character, I can give it. I'm not claiming to be the best at it, but again, I have thought about these things, so that's something.

TheGreatWolfgang said:
I have a question, basically what the title says.

I know that this may be a stupid question but I'm just worried that an OC I'm trying to create may look like some others.

Any ideas how to avoid that?

Most times more generic is good, my sona is pretty bland looking, scars being the most defining feature.

Just don't be a sparkledo special snowflake and your good

Jugofthat said:
Try adding angel_wings, heterochromia with yellow_sclera, rainbow_fur offset by stripes in a two_tone_fur color scheme, a tutu, multicolored_pawpads, a multi_penis horsecock while being a non-equine species (though definitely a hybrid of at least three) and stubble on top of your fur. Also, carry a minigun everywhere.

Mind you, this just covers the essentials of snowflakism, but it's a good foundation to build upon.

Urp! Sounds like a mess of furry clichés to me.

I have a few ideas for furry/scaly OCs that I'll draw one day, but they don't revolve around aesthetics. They revolve around character, likes and dislikes.

You know, depth. And I'm not talking about penetration.

I've made a good few of ocs a long time ago but no matter how original I tried to be I end up finding they are very similar to something that already exists.

Prime examples would be:

Krizalid, Midna and Rin Okumura.

Honestly blew my mind at first. Originality is tremendously rare these days.

Clawdragons said:

That said, I think it is entirely possible to have a character which is neither unique nor original, and yet have them look good. There are a ton of good looking "generic" characters - the reason many things are so common is because they have good results. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

It is possible to have character which is unique, but not original, and yet it is still a good character. Take the raptor peacock, for instance. It's just a mix of two species, which is not particularly original, but I think some thought went into which species to combine and it resulted in a visually appealing character. Though admittedly this one is largely a matter of personal taste.

And it is also possible to have a character which is original, but not a good character. With originality, you have to compare the character to the "goal" of the character. If I want a sexy character, then I can be as original as I want, but if the end design is unappealing, I failed in my goal despite the originality. Sergals, I think, are an example of an original design that became popular - I think a prehensile clitoral hood is an original idea - but if the rest of their design had been outright ugly, it would have also been a failed design.

I think you see bad original characters less often because along with the creativity to think of something original, usually comes the necessary creativity to execute the idea reasonably well, but even so, originality is neither necessary nor sufficient for a good character.

I like coming up with character designs and details, so these are things I've thought of a bit.

This has gotten a bit large, so I'll cut it off here, but if for any reason you want to hear my advice on how to create a good original and/or unique character, I can give it. I'm not claiming to be the best at it, but again, I have thought about these things, so that's something.

Thanks for the wall of advice, took some time to understand all of that. If I want to make an original character, I should also have the skills to properly execute the idea on canvas that should look appealing to viewers. But if I were to make a unique one, it's basically what I see personally.

So what do you recommand on making a good unique and original character?

Rustyy said:
Most times more generic is good, my sona is pretty bland looking, scars being the most defining feature.

Just don't be a sparkledo special snowflake and your good

I should not to be so special about my characters, got it. Thanks.

GameManiac said:
I have a few ideas for furry/scaly OCs that I'll draw one day, but they don't revolve around aesthetics. They revolve around character, likes and dislikes.

You know, depth. And I'm not talking about penetration.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

So basically not what you think they are (going to look like), but rather what they are(based on personality). Depth of a character.

No reason to worry about avoiding it, in the process of aiming for originality above all else you tend to end up with common results.

I'd like to point out here that the characters that tend to stick the most with people aren't the incredibly complex ones, but the simple, easily-recognizable ones. Character design isn't entirely about making something unique, but also making something recognizable.

Misappropriated said:
No reason to worry about avoiding it, in the process of aiming for originality above all else you tend to end up with common results.

I'd like to point out here that the characters that tend to stick the most with people aren't the incredibly complex ones, but the simple, easily-recognizable ones. Character design isn't entirely about making something unique, but also making something recognizable.

Take Dink for example.

Misappropriated said:
No reason to worry about avoiding it, in the process of aiming for originality above all else you tend to end up with common results.

I'd like to point out here that the characters that tend to stick the most with people aren't the incredibly complex ones, but the simple, easily-recognizable ones. Character design isn't entirely about making something unique, but also making something recognizable.

Furrin_Gok said:
Take Dink for example.

True, simple yet regonizable. A simple character design would be ok for me, but I also need it to reflect their(the character's) history & personality.

Or I'm just thinking too much.

TheGreatWolfgang said:
Thanks for the wall of advice, took some time to understand all of that. If I want to make an original character, I should also have the skills to properly execute the idea on canvas that should look appealing to viewers. But if I were to make a unique one, it's basically what I see personally.

When I say "visually appealing", I don't necessarily mean that you, specifically, need to be able to execute the idea on canvas... But just that they should be a good model. They can be drawn well or poorly, but if the design isn't appealing, then no matter how well they are drawn, they won't be appealing. And if the design is good, often even a poor rendering can still be very appealing.

Anyway. if you want to make an original character, start by asking yourself what your goal is. Do you want a sexy character? Do you want a well-developed character? Do you want a character with interesting anatomy? Do you want a character with an interesting personality? Do you want a character that represents yourself?

Really try to get at the core of what it is you want in the character, because that will shape how you create them, and the sorts of things which are appropriate or inappropriate. And then focus your thoughts in that direction.

Also, throw out your first few ideas. Your first few ideas are going to be the most obvious, and the least original. Throw them out, and continue thinking. Doing that will force you to dig deeper and come up with something much more interesting.

Then when you do have an idea, start following it. How does this affect other aspects? What results will this have? How would it shape the character?

So yeah. Narrow your thoughts on what you want. Throw out your first few ideas and dig deeper. Follow any interesting ideas and see where they lead.

If you'll notice, I'm still being vague. Unfortunately, due to the nature of this topic, that's inevitable. I can't propose specifics, or they would be my specifics. I can only give you strategies to help you dig deeper into your mind for creative ideas. But maybe I was able to help in some sense!

One option is to use signature accessories or clothing. It's kind to hard to pull off for ferals, who usually don't wear clothing. But not impossible. And unlike body features, accessories are easy to change if you want to alter the character design later.

Malik is one example of OC ferals that I consider well-designed. Simple pair of pince-nez makes the character look more unique and easily recognizable.

TheGreatWolfgang said:
So basically not what you think they are (going to look like), but rather what they are(based on personality). Depth of a character.

I'll make an example.

Let's say I make a dolphin OC. I would depict various instances of example dolphin OC doing things that dolphins are known for.

Fighting sharks, being adorable and playful, protecting, raping people...

So basically for me, character > aesthetics.

Honestly if you want to make your oc original, have it in your art style and be true to yourself with the character. Try not to take bits of ideas from other artists and add it to yours, cause that really limits your character. Also like how others said, keep it simple to your compatibility. Though I may have to disagree with some here, being too simple is rather boring. If you really put time into your character and have the motivation to discover new ideas, then you'll have a unique character that'll leave others to remember.

I'll give you more advice, but it's getting late. I'll send you some nice formatting that helped me with stories and character designs, it helps a lot. Though, that's only if your serious when it comes down to it. Want it to be just simple? Then don't expect much reaction from it.

Btw, I love how your dragon looks so far. However, the colors somewhat are too plain for me. Like someone else mentioned, clothing is helpful. So...I suppose a colored gear to your character can put that spunk into your character.

1. Get a fox
2. Put rainbows or bright colors on it
3. To name it, randomly select a common name for the first name, choose an adjective for the last name and put them together. For example: "Jason Furious"

Boom, your new OC :V

TheHuskyK9 said:
1. Get a fox

foxes are so last millennium
all the cool kids are huskies now

peacock or gtfo

Munkelzahn said:
foxes are so last millennium
all the cool kids are huskies now

200% coolness

TheGreatWolfgang said:
True, simple yet regonizable. A simple character design would be ok for me, but I also need it to reflect their(the character's) history & personality.

To me, that is like usernames. TheGreatWolfgang doesn't say much about who you are.. just a small idea of how you would like to be seen, perhaps. But if your username was 'that one guy who likes X music, Y games, and Z's in their spare time'.. That would be pretty unique but no-one would actually remember it because nothing stands out.

That's the trade off you have with design. A very simple design can strongly emphasize a few things. A complex design can't emphasize things as much, because there are all these competing parts that have to be coordinated to achieve any particular emphasis.

Different people choose different positions on this scale, which emphasize different value systems. Simplicity == appeal, Subtlety == moderate complexity, IMO.
(-High- complexity is generally just bad[confusing/distracting/self-sabotaging] design, in the case of characters.)

To me, the main important thing to be said about -originality- is this quote:
"A good artist borrows, a great artist steals".
In other words, as long as you have completely adapted the idea to your picture -- made it your own -- there is no real question that your design is original. The spirit of genericness is in neglecting to consider and apply the questions of 'what makes sense here?' and 'what appeals to me?'.

Munkelzahn said:
all the cool kids are huskies now

>year of our lord 2016
>not having a wusky sona
(folfs are acceptable too)

Also if your character has only one dick then I'm not sure it actually counts as an OC

step 1 choose an animal/person that looks good to you.
step 2 draw it
step 3 don't give a fuck what others say about it.