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whitty-boo β Fan Characters CAN be original
Published: 2011-04-07 00:59:14 +0000 UTC; Views: 5565; Favourites: 183; Downloads: 0
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It's really hard to say this without being a bitch.But if you know me, I like to make characters that are based off fandoms. They're not CRAZILY into the fandom, just nice touches like powers. But what I really don't like is people thinking that fancharacters aren't orignal characters.
But they ARE original. Well, at least the good ones are. I understand the whole "OMG MY NARUTO CHARACTER WITH ALL THIS GENJUTSU AND ITS GOING TO HAVE A--"
ok. Yeah. But arent' there mary sue "original characters" as well? What people don't understand is that Fan characters can be original too. Don't we create them from our mind, take time to perfect they're personality, history, purpose and design, just like original characters? Don't we love and care for them and enjoy them as much as original characters?
I think fan characters have a mis-understanding. But I think its from how lots of fan characters are not well thought through and rather cliche or mary-sues. That's why "OC" groups don't accept them. And just because they're technically under a fandom, no matter how original they are or how unrelated they are to the fandom characters and plot, they are denied from wonderful "OC" groups.
It makes it seem like its so WRONG to have a fan character.
I love my character Porsche and she's so original and I've never really seen another like her (okay, a bit biased, but hey) and the ONLY THING making her a fancharacter is her powers, but I can't submit my art of her to any of the OC groups I'm in because its like she has this disease of being "a fan character" and then I get all these warnings and I get banned from the group and... *sigh*
What I'm saying is that characters are characters, no matter if they're made up out of the blue or based off a fandom. They're ORIGINAL CHARACTERS, things we thought of ourselves. I don't understand why people make such a big deal out of they're technical differences.
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Comments: 75
No. But you can change them to original. EX: Change a Sonic fan character a bit to keep them from looking like Sonic chars.
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THANK YOU
I'm so tired of people being like "I only draw ORIGINAL characters" or people being so strict with the whole "Fancharacters AREN'T Original Characters so don't call them OC" Like excuse you my FC will be called and OC and you can't do anything because there isn't anything wrong with it. OC came first. I use OC.Β
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I agree with this.
Just because their design similar with original casts, but really different, they can be original because they are our own. But directly copied and pasted the original cast's design and give them different color, no, it's you know... Recolors.
Look at the Freedom Planet characters. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_β¦
The main characters are originally Sonic fan characters, but with some tweaks, they are now the main cast on their own game. img04.deviantart.net/15c3/i/20β¦
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I agree. I have a few Mass Effect characters that I created. Yes, their character stories' basis does belong to that of the Mass Effect lore, but their stories are my own. I sat still for hours on end thinking of ideas for their background story, their personalities, and physical appearances. I would say that IS original.
I do not think that just because their characters came to be through lore and character designs that were already created, they are not original. I worked hard to believably integrate them into the storylines of the canon characters. None of them exist just for the sake of existing, everything that I do has meaning and reason to it.
I doubt very seriously that if one told the Elder Scrolls fanbase that all of their characters were not original, they would take kindly to it. I have met many people who have Elder Scrolls characters that have an immense amounts of effort, work, and love put into creating them. Those characters are not original, either? Anyone who has played an Elder Scrolls game will tell you and likely agree with you that it is one of the most fleshed out and lore-rich games that you could ever hope to find.
With all of that lore at a fan's disposal, it gives them an almost everlasting list of opportunities to create their own story within a world that they love.
If anyone told me that my characters were not original merely for the fact that they came to be from games that I played, I would NOT take kindly to it. Β Β
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THANK YOU.
most of my favorite ocs are fanmade the only thing they have from the fandom is a thing called a chimera i have a friend who doesnt like fanmade ocs and it makes me feel like i cant use mine. i appreciate it that you pointed this out. do you think i could use this stamp?
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So true 
i don't even have either (oc or fc) and I agree with this completely. I can appreciate a Β character who is well designed and isn't just there to be a love interest (however, even that is perfectly okay as long as they aren't PURELY for that purpose) and it's obvious the creator has put a lot of thought into their character.Β
I love reading the stories people come up with to weave their character into the already existing world, I think it's really clever
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The distinction I make between a fan character and a true original character is, whose world are they in? Β Yours or someone else's? Β If you marketed your character, would you face a C&D from a given company? Β I find that the original characters I love best are the ones whose worlds I have created myself. Β Your fan character can be totally unique from all the other fan characters in that fandom, or even throughout the internet. Β But they are still just a fan character. Β You did not tell their story from scratch. Β You told it from where it deviated and/or joined up with someone else's story.
I have an original character who is basically a young Scrooge McDuck in human form as far as his design and the basics of his personality are concerned. Β This was intentional. Β But he has his own story and is completely unrelated to anything that someone else owns. Β Thus, while he is inspired by a character belonging to Disney, he is not a Disney character, and thus I can market him if I wish. Β I cannot say the same about, say, my gypsy character because he is set in the world of Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame.
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Ive always wondered how original (my) minecraft OCs are :s
The game doesnt have a story, just some basic mechanics and designs that all consist of square blocks so one can still be very creative with it, Ive seen some really cool mob ocs for example .-.
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It's a world building game, so pretty much every character you create is your OC. Β They don't belong to another creator in any way except the materials they're built from. Β To call a Minecraft OC a fan character would be like saying that every crayon drawing you ever did actually belongs to Crayola.
Now, if your intent is to tell your character's story IN the world of Minecraft, then yes, it is a fan character. Β Said story would, by nature, be hilariously self-aware and would thus fall under the fair use act as a parody, provided you're not trying to make a profit off of it.
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Well enderman/creeper OCs are based off of the species in the game. Of course if you just make a regular miner there's nothing to it
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Well it's like you said, it depends.
Made a sonic character, totally new species (let say a deer done in the sonic art style) with no super speed and does something else.Β I can accept that as an original thought out chracater to a point.Β Taking a drawing of tails and recoloring him blue.Β Not one bit of that isΒ original.Β
I draw fanart, but I can't make a fan OC because it makes my character to me feel fake, as it was never really thought of purely from my mind but spawned from something someone else did, for their owned franchise, which it can probably never be apart ofΒ (unless some magic stroke of luck happens) but even then I wouldn't get much out of it.Β But that's just how I see it in my mind.
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I think My 'fan' characters are Original Characters. It's not that they are exactly fan characters, but they were inspired by other stuff ,my little pony and then my favorite band, but my logic is different than both of those and I have put thought into my characters. I hate when people hate on my characters at first sight because they are ponies, but they are much more than that, I just like to draw a pony design and colors.
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It isn't wrong tohave a fancharacter, but sadly many aren't something more than cheap copys or force love interests.
Otherwise they can be as good as OC'S.
To be honest, it's the first time where I hear people make such a big different between these two kinds of characters.
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As long as you put actual effort into them, than yes.
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Okay so this might just be my opinion here but fan characters are just that. Yes in face they are ORIGINAL in the fact that someone created them besides the ones being in the show/game/whatever they're from, but that in my book does not in face count as an "original character"
In my opinion an original character is a totally separate thing where in which they are not made to be in a plot / environment made by someone else; examples given are animes like Naruto, or games like Sonic.
An OC in theory is where it is someone's character from a story someone crafted themselves that interacts with only other characters that fit into said story made by the creator.
Well, like I said it's my opinion, so no one come after me being all "U ARE RONG FAHN CHARACTURZ ARE ORIGINUL TWOOO!!11!"
Just an opinion, didn't say it was fact or anything xD
But yeah, I tried my best to explain myself, sorry if it didn't make sense that much, lol
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I can't see why not. My character started out as fans characters but when I strip away the fan part they were still the same character minus a few unimportant things. A good OC, fan or not should not be defined by the other characters around it or the world it lives in.
Many if not all my fan characters are going to be adapted in to a original work so by my count they are original characters in their own world.
If a group reject your character find a new group that supports your creative expression.
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You sure about that?
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Fan Characters should be original, no matter what. Others can say no, but I say fan characters are originl too.
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Fan Characters should be original, no matter what. Others can say no, but I say fan characters are originl too.
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Yeah, I also make fan characters and I am proud of mine.
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no they CAN'T be original, it's just an oxymoron. They can however be unique.
Only ocs can be original, that's just how it is. xD
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In my view when I make fan made OCs, I always try
to keep it original to the fandoms.
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See this whole fancharacter/oc stuff confuses the hell out of me. Specially with my character Koby. Albiet, I admit, in the beginning when I first made him, he was mary-sue like. (Mainly with the history thing) I made him on a game called Feral Heart and he was a fox character. But as I roleplayed him, he developed more and became my absolute favorite character. And the thing is, I throw him around a lot. Like, I was in a Wolf's Rain rp and I used Koby for it, which is where he developed more. Now he has a human form. So does that label him a fanchara or no? I made a picture of him with Darker Than Black just cuz I loved the whole powers thing in DTB. Still a oc or fanchara?
Stepping away from all that, I do like this stamp. And I'm tired of this hate. I'm such a chill, laid back person I really don't care what everyone does with their character. I mean, it IS theirs. Like the whole ocXCannon hate. Personally, I don't really pay attention to that stuff but again, it's their characters. And if you pull it off well enough, good for you.
I think I kinda just rambled here. XD I have the tendancy to ramble. But you get what I mean? Everything that you said is just perfection really lol. People need to lay off the hate and shiz.
-favs-
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Are you my long-lost twin?
I 100% agree. "Fan character" still has "character" in it. They all need to be more original. I see too many genderbent versions and recolors of canon characters. It makes me sick! Another thing that's annoying is when they're a stock character, based completely off of a cheap stereotype (i.e., emo who cuts, prep whose favorite color is pink). For example, in the Invader Zim fandom, OC's who are paired with a character are basically genderbent/recolored c&p's of them.
Is this free for use?
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OF course! And I can't agree more! I... i love you xD
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I've heard of an OC and a PC... I think PC stands for Personal Character?
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I haven't heard of PC XD
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Oh well my friend ~lililuna1234 said PC but she forgot what it ment after a while. LOL! Silly girly... I might call my OC's PC's now 'cause it kinda sounds cool. OC reminds me of Orange County XD
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the fact that they are "fan" characters means that they arent "OCs" in most ways. while yeah they may not be a mary sue, they are still associated with a fandom. pretty much what i'm saying is, tacking "FC" or "fandom" to the character is what makes it unable to be a true OC. now many original stories are inspired by many things BUT int he end its not associated with any other existing comic/show.
EXAMPLE: homestuck (oh no) the creator made it himself which means all the characters are his, he didnt associate it with any show or comic and it didnt spring from a fandom.
now if i were to make a troll character that doesnt make it a homestuck FC unless i base it pretty much of the homestuck trolls. If i introduced it as a homestuck FC/OC or placed it in the homestuck universe, it is nothing but a FC, no matter how much work i put into it or how different it is from all of the creator's characters.
there's also a difference between "adding" to a fandom and using things for inspiration.
this is just my opinion though.
also I looked through your gallery and your characters looked pretty original looking to me.
so my advice is, if it angers/angered you so much why not move your characters into your very own story and maybe change thier powers up a bit.
sorry if i came off as rude. this topic annoys me as well. I used to get pretty mad when people asked me what fandom my OCs came from, even after informing them that they played roles in my own stories that were based off my thoughts and ideas, not a show or comic.
again i apologize if I offended you and also for the length of my comment
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I agree completely.
I had an "debate" about this once else where, about how you still have to spend time creating their design, profile, bio, etc....and that it is still your work that you can be proud of and how it takes a lot of work/time too, so I see them just as original then characters from stories you just made up as long as you put some info into them (I was told take my work seriously as they were "FC" and not from an original series, but so what? I put tons of effort into them too. If you don't like them, that's fine but that still doesn't mean that I didn't work just as hard and constantly try to fix some and drawing can be a difficult and long process alone). We are all constantly working and changing them overtime and at one time, we are all new, so they aren't going to be perfect right away. Besides, we all get ideas from somewhere, often series are inspired from something else. ^^
I agree that people make such a big deal about it when there are more important stuff to worry about. To me they are OCs, just OCs based off a fandom and the world/setting is pre-established while others aren't (I count any character someone makes an original character or OC).
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Edit-Sorry, I need to make a correction so it makes sense and I can't edit the original post. I meant to say that I shouldn't take my work seriously because they are based off fandom and so it doesn't matter. But they are still our characters, our work.
As for interacting with canon, pairings, etc...I think it is all in a matter of how you handle it. Some turn out really well and almost believable while others don't.
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I agree with you ^
I was just thinking about that
original is supposed to be the average brunette with brown eyes?
no, original is your own, yours. Not theirs.
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I agree with this so much. So far, the people I know don't make that distinction - to them, an OC is simply a character that originated in your own mind, whether it's for a fandom or otherwise. But I personally go into a MASSIVE grey area: I write "Hetalia" fanfiction...but my fan characters are actually HUMAN and not personified countries. So...are they OCs or FCs? Is it fair to say they are unoriginal simply because I use them in a pre-established fandom, although they have next to nothing in common with the canon characters?
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I totally agree. And it doesn't help the people who can actually be original with fancharacters when half the fancharacters are cannon clones.
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I know - and there are some VERY good fancharacters out there as well. I think it's easier to take these on a case-by-case basis as opposed to assuming that all OCs are good and all FCs are not or vice-versa.
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Totally agree with that. But sadly its this sort of stigma or whatever. oh well.
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That's why I think most people I know don't even bother making the distinction - as long as you came up with it, it's your OC, even if it's for a fanfic or piece of fanart.
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I've always thought of FC's as a type of OC. All FC's are OC's, but not all OC's are FC's.
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I have both type of "OC"'s Some are in their own world, others touch on the worlds of fandoms. I've had people tell me that my fan OCs have a lot more thought put into them than other "Original" characters they've seen. I don't create fan characters just to interact with the Canon characters, sometimes it's just "what it there were characters with the same powers other places?" My fan characters that would be a great example would be my Sailor Moon fan characters. I put a lot of effort into them, and they actually live on a different planet than canon.
Where characters like my Blade Angel or my "wolves " have a lot of effort put into them too.
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they may be original, but they're still fan characters that are painfully obviously made after X, Y, or Z.
JS...
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and it appears i failed to read it all.... but as long as what you and i mentioned doesn't happen....
I suppose what may be a fan character could evolve into a completely original idea down the line
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Doesn't it irk you when you are inspired by something, like the ninja aspects of Naruto and how they were developed, and make your own character from that battle standard, but don't include them in that fandom at all and they are STILL labeled a fan character? Ugh... Its not a FC, it was inspired but exists in a WHOLE other universe.
I have a few characters that were inspired by shows and such I like, but are in no form a fan character.... But they are doomed to FC and never OC... Nice badge btw.
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For me Original Characters and Fan Characters are all the same ^w^
As longs as people don't come with recolors of the Canon characters and say that "a green Sonic" is their FCs, I'm fine with it! XD I also don't like FC/OC having kids with Canon characters, (and then the kids having for example Sasuke or Naruto's powers) I prefer the artist makes their own clan Uchiha or Hyuga family, so much more interesting
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yeah I agree. Its more original to create your own clan than just make a lovechild between two cannons.
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I believe fan characters can be original for the simple fact that most of my characters were/are based on some fandom. I do tend to work out a way eventually on making them break apart from that fandom but deep down I always think of them as from that fandom.
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