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There are a lot of cultures, countries, and beliefs out there. I'm not saying you need to know everything about every last one of them.
THAT would be crazy talk.

Rather, if you're going to make your character part of a certain race or culture, try to look up that culture.
Find out what kind of traditions there are, what foods they eat, proper dress, etiquette, how one should behave- pretty much all the normal stuff you observe in your own culture, but never really took notice of.

Case in point: In American culture, there is a strong focus on individuality- succeeding as an individual, being unique/yourself, and so forth.
In many Asian cultures, such as in Japan, there is a stronger focus on community- doing what's best for the group rather than what's best for the individual, what dishonors the individual dishonors the family, etc.

Also keep in mind that although several individuals can be of the same culture, they can adhere to that culture's mold more or less intensively.
Example: An orthodox jew and a guy you would not realize is Jewish until you asked(or tried to give them un-Kosher food)would still both be Jewish, just varying "levels" of it, so to speak.
It's also not always visibly obvious that a character belongs to this or that culture.

Further, it's important to remember that culture does not equal personality.
A stereotype is not the same thing as a character archetype.
Although a character from a culture that values community might be more willing to work with the group, they could also rebel against their culture by deciding to stand out.
Not to mention people are individuals, so naturally even if x culture usually does/does not do y, it's still possible to find someone who does/does not.

Finally, it would be a good idea to look into religions as well, as they often have their own traditions- not to mention that what's a minority or virtually nonexistent in one country could be common in another.

In short, try to avoid stereoypes while also remembering to give them a personality alongside their cultural norms.
After all, culture does have some effect on personality, but you can still find very different people who share the same culture- especially if it's widespread.

For oc creation in general, I recommend checking out this series: griffonmender.deviantart.com/a…

Stamp Base by WinglessButterfly55 wingless-butterfly55.deviantar…

Description
There are a lot of cultures, countries, and beliefs out there. I'm not saying you need to know everything about every last one of them.
THAT would be crazy talk.

Rather, if you're going to make your character part of a certain race or culture, try to look up that culture.
Find out what kind of traditions there are, what foods they eat, proper dress, etiquette, how one should behave- pretty much all the normal stuff you observe in your own culture, but never really took notice of.

Case in point: In American culture, there is a strong focus on individuality- succeeding as an individual, being unique/yourself, and so forth.
In many Asian cultures, such as in Japan, there is a stronger focus on community- doing what's best for the group rather than what's best for the individual, what dishonors the individual dishonors the family, etc.

Also keep in mind that although several individuals can be of the same culture, they can adhere to that culture's mold more or less intensively.
Example: An orthodox jew and a guy you would not realize is Jewish until you asked(or tried to give them un-Kosher food)would still both be Jewish, just varying "levels" of it, so to speak.
It's also not always visibly obvious that a character belongs to this or that culture.

Further, it's important to remember that culture does not equal personality.
A stereotype is not the same thing as a character archetype.
Although a character from a culture that values community might be more willing to work with the group, they could also rebel against their culture by deciding to stand out.
Not to mention people are individuals, so naturally even if x culture usually does/does not do y, it's still possible to find someone who does/does not.

Finally, it would be a good idea to look into religions as well, as they often have their own traditions- not to mention that what's a minority or virtually nonexistent in one country could be common in another.

In short, try to avoid stereoypes while also remembering to give them a personality alongside their cultural norms.
After all, culture does have some effect on personality, but you can still find very different people who share the same culture- especially if it's widespread.

For oc creation in general, I recommend checking out this series: griffonmender.deviantart.com/a…

Stamp Base by WinglessButterfly55 wingless-butterfly55.deviantar…