#i understand da feeling but I'd just keep going...like. i created all my space ocs and didnt get attached to any of em

[skunkes]

do you have any pointers on making characters that you love and are proud of 🥺 i know it’s kind of a loaded question but i feel like i just Can’t make a whole being that i love and want to expand on! i’ve started on many ocs before but have inevitably abandoned them

This is a little hard to answer! I dont have many ocs, make one every 7 years, and I don't really have that feeling of Love and Pride for very many of em.

(i also end up abandoning em, see: how only Talon and Al seem to exist right now)

but anyway:

The process that I've found has helped me develop Talon (who I'm gonna use as example bc he's The recent oc and muse) and other ocs is...taking time to develop em as if they're Real Persons.

I joked earlier this year when I was starting to develop him, that he was Acclimating to my Brain, and that I was locking him in a room with my other ocs while I figured him out, but that actually also helped!

Im big on daydreaming so sticking talon in "a room" with other ocs kinda of helped build on all parties, as your brain gets to play with surface level interactions.

As for the real persons bit, I also mean this as Figurative language and not "I actually think my ocs are real people :)" but adjacent to the daydreaming, I let my ocs sort of tell me stuff about themselves as time progresses. Like, when I made Talon I didnt scramble to be able to fill one of those character sheets with facts about him on Day One. I couldn't tell you right now what his Biggest Phobia is or whatever. (But maybe some day he'll let me know!)

I feel like that ⬆️ would burn me out or make me feel restricted to whatever I came up with in such a short amount of time (which is also why I can't really Make ocs or focus on all of em at once) but it's like with real persons, you get used to and learn more about them and grow closer to em the more you spend time with them...!

Over time just picking a scenario and reimagining it has helped more facts and tidbits and quirks and such come to light, along with plucking things from media that inspires me, or funny tumblr posts that remind me of him (or get the gears turning in my brain), even really exaggerated joke posts make my brain eager to apply the non-joke elements to him, as well as interesting personality traits I notice in other, real people! Or traits from myself! Flaws (physical and nonphysical!) Insecurities! Things that make up real people you may love!

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I realize dis didn't really answer anything but again I don't really know T_T ive just made the one new involved oc this year, for the first time in many years. Ive been "developing" him since april and he's still not a "complete" character (+ maybe never will be) but i Do love and am proud of him. Thats another thing I think, it's Okay if you move on from your attempts. I've had ocs I was once focused on that haven't been seen or thought about in Years. Like who knows, Talon could be put back up on the brain shelf to collect dust in a few months. I think that's fine as long as you had fun with it! I hope you create something that Sticks, even for a little bit!

#might also help to make an oc based off of existing media you enjoy? so that the Excitement and Foundation is there? #idk! theres lots of different ways to get In! #i understand da feeling but I'd just keep going...like. i created all my space ocs and didnt get attached to any of em #in the same way i got attached to Talon ykwim. so they just Exist with nothing going for em #but i also dk what it was that made me rub my hands together and get down to business to build upon Talon... #anonymous #skunk mail #long post -