Many of you may look at this thread and think:"Hey, I know how to make an OC already. Heck, I have one that is fantastic!"
Now for some of you this may be true. However, looking at the multitude of bad OCs that have come out of our fandom, a lot of people don't know what to do, what can be considered acceptable, and what makes sense in our show's universe.
That is why this thread exists. It is a place where you can ask for opinions on your character, look for suggestions on how to get started, and learn what you do NOT do.
Let's get started!
THE DO'S AND DON'TS:
Do:
- Make the character one of the 3 established races (earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn). In general, the alicorns should be avoided, but I'll explain later.
- Make the character fit into the show. The occupation, backstory, and family lineage should all make sense and allow for good use in RPs.
- Make the character have flaws. Each character isn't perfect. Look at the show, as all the mane 6 have some large character flaws. Crazy even...
- Make the character best friends with the mane 6. This character is unique. Although the show may exist around the central characters, yours is not one of those. Having places in back story where they could have crossed paths with them is fine, but your character should make their own story. There is an entire universe, let the character evolve into something without being forced into the constraints around show characters.
- Make the character a relative of any show character. As said before, the character should be your own. Claiming to be Celestia's brother or Twilight's long-lost cousin makes little to no sense, except for the rare RPs where this may exist. In general a good rule to follow is to be original and avoid the show as much as possible.
- Make a character that is an alicorn/has bat wings/ has metal wings/ has a broken horn. This one can be contested. For the most part, alicorn OCs are frowned upon because they tie in to the show too much, they are amazingly overpowered, and leave no room for a real character to shine through. However, if the character has a convincing back story and is not the MOST POWERFUL BEING EVER, then they can be okay. Batwings make no sense on a pony, and there is no real way to explain it (bat/pony shipping doesn't fit in to the universe). Metal wings can make sense in a steampunk or futuristic RP, but for the general world they do not. Finally, broken horn can make sense, but make sure if you can EXPLAIN it.
I'm going to make a random bad OC here, trying to hi-light what not to do.
So, as you can see, this is a red and black zebra alicorn with bat wings and a broken horn (don't laugh, I've seen stuff like this before). Now for the story.
Now there are numerous problems with this character. First off, it looks ridiculous. If you look at the show, you will NEVER see a character looking like this. The bat wings don't make sense, and I never explain the broken horn (although I probably could). Now with the story. Already with the first line this has invalidated the whole show. This will never work. Also my character cannot be expanded upon. Sure, I can say she likes fruit and going to the spa, but that doesn't really help my character have depth. It is powerful, and that is her characterization.
So, that's it! I hope that upon reading this that you are a bit more enlightened on what to do, and if you need any tips just post below! Also, any suggestions to this guide are accepted too!




















