People are creative. People express their creativity in any way they like. People make very self-serving art for themselves. All of these things are well and fine.

Concerning the last thing, however, know this: that art is likely going to be enjoyed exclusively by yourself. As said, there’s nothing wrong with that. This is often reflected in the form of “original characters”, or “OCs” for short, where people make their own character designs, and spread them around the world, or particularly on social media.

When you make a business about illustrating other people’s whims (like myself haha), you’re inevitably going to be exposed to this trend of “OCs”.

What is an OC?

Arguably, all characters made are “OCs”, in that somebody originally came up with them and that they are characters, but not all characters are ascribed with the description of “OC”.

So an “OC” describes something narrower than a character. So what describes a “character”?

Think of the great characters of fiction (to avoid being cliche and cringe, I won’t name any examples, because frankly I’m not very cultured on the arts). These characters are often a part of something larger. They’re part of a universe, a narrative, a story.

In many cases, these characters are individuals. They have relationships, they have their own thoughts, they have strengths and weaknesses. Many times, these characters are representatives of larger themes the author wants to touch on, granting them greater purpose. Some characters are static, or purely functional, sure, but they all have a place or a role in their respective contexts. But many develop. Many change. They have a purpose beyond serving the shallow whims of the author.

Many OCs are divorced of this, simply being presented as they are, in a vacuum. So that’s what I would say an OC is: a character without a context.

Show, Don’t Tell

OCs might have little fact sheets attached to them, saying their likes and dislikes, their personality. All you know about them is what is immediately relayed to you, through their design or any little biography next to them on their character sheets.

Because an OC doesn’t have a context to them, all you know about them is what is told to you. And that’s the problem. It’s informational, but not entertaining, not compelling.

If everything is told you about a character, rather than it being discovered through the narrative, what is the intrigue? Why should I care about your character when there’s nothing to speculate upon?

No subtlety, no nuance, no context. That’s the word: context, which is crucial to what a character, and certainly a good character needs.

Unfortunate OC Trends

I’ve explained that an OC, fundamentally, will already have some trouble, because they’re divorced from the aspect that makes a character have purpose. It doesn’t help that many of these OCs also suffer from other weaknesses.

You’re a Random Twitter User, not a Character Designer

Many OC people see other people designing OCs, and then think, “I need one for myself!” Unfortunately, this person doesn’t tend to be an artist. Using their limited artistic ability, they might manage some first draft, and then commission some hapless artist to make their flawed vision a reality.

What comes out is often gaudy, over-nuanced, complex, and unmemorable. Too many colors, too many features, too many clashing motifs. Too many ideas. No refinement. It’s not that it should be tweaked by committee, but, evidently, it has an amateur stink.

“It’s my OC!!”, they might say. Well, yeah. It’s yours, certainly. And, well, it might not have reach beyond you.

Recolors and Accessories Cheapen A Pre-established Character

Recoloring a Sonic template or slapping accessories on a Pokemon shows unoriginality. You’ve taken a beloved character and stapled some arbitrary bit onto it, because, well, “it’s my OC!”

Not really. It’s somebody else’s. Just with a few odd tweaks, which often just take away from the original intent of the design

If people like it, I guarantee it’s not because it’s your artistic ingenuity, but because it’s reminiscent of something more familiar they like, that was originally conceptualized by professional character designers. They’ll like what’s output of it because “it’s that character I like, which is a little different, but it’s mostly like it so it’s okay”.

The Author’s Barely-Disguised Fetish

Not much comment on this, but it should be pretty evident what I’m describing.

Though I will say: isn’t better if a character isn’t already immediately embroiled in your sexual fantasy? Wouldn’t that make it more impactful when they become…corrupted, so to speak?

Well, that sounds like character development, which an OC author might not be attuned to…

Maybe There Are Good OCs

I haven’t seen them. :^)

But, well, this is just my opinion. I’ve certainly seen OCs being drawn by others, totally for free. Perhaps they just tick their buttons in a certain way.

I’ve certainly been commissioned to do OC work. But, as expressed, I have major grievances with what I’m often provided.

Some people might accuse me of “oh, you only want to draw stuff from popular IPs”. It’s not that, it’s because those characters are often…characters, and not OCs, as they’ve been defined here!

It doesn’t help that this OC art will only usually truly appeal to one singular person: the commissioner. If you wanted art to be made, surely you’d want to make it so that it would have worth beyond one person, right?

Alright, you asshole!! How do you make a good OC, then?!

Simple: make a character, not an OC. And a character requires context. Make a narrative or some universe that will function to relay meaning beyond trivia.

Art is reflective of our world. Make art that means something to you, but can also mean something to others. Then your OC might just become…a character. Something that can inspire artists to draw them without payment. And, if you’re lucky, a good one.