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Blue Screen wrote:

I don’t think Black and Red colors are the issue per se. More like having an eye-shredding color scheme is the problem. People generally hate ponies that look like Alienware PC’s or the physical embodiment of a glow-paint rave party. Avoid colors that appear gaudy, inconsistent or high-contrast

Correct. It's not specifically the black and red that's hated and overused. It's more the dominant black with any neon color rave party. Purple, red, dark blue, or anything like that is commonly considered bad. The common usage of them just makes them an annoyance. Not to forget that seeing a lot of them makes it unoriginal. Even without their story, their looks already make them something "bad" due to that.

The creators simply want a character that seems "interesting", but most of them don't want to spend way too much time on it. Black and Neon is often considered "cool" in the minds of 12-16 year olds. So they ditch the idea for a more natural character and aim for "cool".

That's the same reason for the overpowered Alicorn, relationship with mane 6, etc. They only work out the easiest and most simple ways to make their OC interesting. An Alicorn is super rare, thus interesting. The mane 6 are widely known, thus interesting. They grant their character a position within the canon of such great importance that they have to be "interesting". Not knowing that a well balanced character with a well thought out personality and/or specialty can be much more interesting due to being so rare.

Which is also where the Mary Sue part comes from. A Mary Sue describes an original character that is often overly idealized or assumed to be a projection of the author (the author's avatar so to say), and build to be near perfect in all ways. The overpowered Alicorn tough guy explains itself that way. The relationship for the OC can be a projection of the author. They want their favorite pony (and love interest?) in the story, so they make them a couple. Simple, unoriginal, but simple.

Mark wrote:

What’s wrong with orphans? I mean, sure, they don’t give a lot of background information to your pony, but… I can’t explain it in fair terms.

This is commonly a deal through the "parents died tragedy". They lost their parents in a terrible accidents when they were young. This commonly splits up in two ways: 1) They saw it happen and it scarred them for life #sofuckingbadass, or 2) They never got to know them but when they grow up they discover their parents were some demigods. In either case, a common later story is them meeting the person who killed their parents and then going full bananas ragemode.

It's a common trope for tragedy, trying to make the character appear sad and using their death as a reason to fight evil. But how it is received differs on how you build upon the orphan part. If the author constantly mentions them being an orphan or using the orphan status as the trigger for a live chaning event, it can be bad. If it just happens to be like that, meh.

Just remember that your OC is not the goddamn Batman, fighting crime chaotic good style.

Serious Business wrote:

There are many traits that commonly plague the Mary Sue, the most cringe-inducing type of character. However, any of these traits is not neccesarily bad in every case.

Thank you very much, but I like to sleep tonight. So I'll only run over the points brought up below the image on the Common Mary Sue Traits page.

• Impossibly cool outfit? Check.
  • Give them an appearance that is a clear case of wanting a "cool" character or something that makes them stand out way too much. In other words, Black and red ("cool") alicorn (stands out). It's no longer a more natural character that fits within the universe. His looks alone point out the creator has much bigger intentions for him than staying on natural level, into the ways of the Mary Sue.
• Purple? Check.
  • Can be replaced by any color. But purple, red, dark blue, etc. are commonly colors combined with more nocturnal or dark/satanic powers. It's an overused character trait to make them satanic or a demigod in some way.
• Ethereal traits? Check.
  • Same as satanic, ethereal character (Alicorns) are a common demigod tier. And anything that might make them overpowered is shunned by most OC circles.
• Contradictory backstory? Check.
  • As it reads. The daughter of some past king/hero. Mother an angel and father a demon (lol, DmC). Common Mary Sue fuel.
• Stealing the hero's job? Check.
  • The hero in an existing canon universe is there to be the hero. Having your OC steal his thunder is a bad case of ego. You envy the hero, so you steal his job instead (and get the girl, let's not forget that).

This Harry Potter example describes both ends of the Mary Sue and natural character quite well imo:

RandomMan wrote:

This is commonly a deal through the “parents died tragedy”. They lost their parents in a terrible accidents when they were young. This commonly splits up in two ways: 1) They saw it happen and it scarred them for life #sofuckingbadass, or 2) They never got to know them but when they grow up they discover their parents were some demigods. In either case, a common later story is them meeting the person who killed their parents and then going full bananas ragemode.
It’s a common trope for tragedy, trying to make the character appear sad and using their death as a reason to fight evil. But how it is received differs on how you build upon the orphan part. If the author constantly mentions them being an orphan or using the orphan status as the trigger for a live changing event, it can be bad. If it just happens to be like that, meh.
Your OC is not the goddamn Batman, fighting crime chaotic good style.

But see, I know my OC's aren't Batman, and I don't try to make them Batman. I don't think you'll listen to me rant and explain my OC's, but NONE of them are Batman orphans. Yes, I use tragedy in the story, but not all the time is it to fight evil, or for that matter anything with conflict. I don't heavily imply they're orphans, but I do have to remind myself that they have to have that fact with them, just not abnormally repeat every sentence. As for the contradictory backstory…
f*ck. Yep, I have that, but at least it isn't Alicorns or demigods (rather a pony and Changeling).

I'd like to bring to the table a new (maybe old) topic so I don't get into deep shite with the mods over OC's!
Background/Secondary ponies you'd like to see a canon backstory to…
I have three, actually.
1.Lyra
Obviously, I really want to find out about her origins. I've written so much about her past, and I want to know how it really went down, no matter what, even if it completely wipes my fanfics off the charts.

2 and 3. Lotus and Aloe
I hardly see these ponies in canon, and almost every fanfic I read about them is some sick, twisted clopfic. Come on… they must have some reason or explanation as to how they opened the shop (which I wrote about). Until then, here is there status in my eyes…

I wonder… In an AU where such things as Angels and Demons are a thing in Equestria, and could breed with ponies… Then Wouldn't things like ponies having the powers of both be common place?

It wouldn't have to be a Mother Father deal. Heck, if a bloodline trait such as "Rare and Powerful Magic" is beneficial, then it should survive to be passed down more than a hundred generations or so and become prolific. To the point that they may intersect at some point.

At which point some pony could ask them "Hey, you've got Angelic AND Demonic Blood? When did that happen?!" Only to get the answer "Hell if I know, both those powers have been in my family so long we lost track… Like I care though."

If this happens often enough… People will stop asking I guess. Especially when Two ponies with Three different sets of genetic weirdness are dating.

…

Actually, this logic may explain certain above average magical ponies such as Twilight Sparkle. She may have such a mangy, Mutt like squabble of genetic traits of everything from hellhounds to Pheonixes to Angels… Till you've got 500 Different Magical Bloodlines clogging up her blood. But nobody really knows what exactly is in her blood since it started mixing about 200,000 years ago.

In other words… World's Luckiest Pony to win the genetic Lottery.

Meanwhile, Average Unicorns would have… What, Two or Three notable genetic things to enter in the last thousand years? That's like 30 generations, so I'd say its reasonable.

…

I'm sorry… I've somehow taken a logical process of logic and twisted it till it sounds Like Ninja, Pone-Wolf, Vampire, Digi-Ponies are common place and no-one should bat an eye at it when there's also a Part-Dragon, Part-Manticore, Part-Hydra, Part-Windido Pony as well in the same town.

…Well… At least we know where Discord came from now.

Since this has apparently become an OC workshop, let's keep going!

One little note about the Mary Sue checklist: Only a few of the items are damnable offenses by themselves.
For the most part, having a couple of the traits of a Mary Sue can still allow for (or even help to make) a good character, just make sure you do it right and avoid the common pitfalls.
Since it's been brought up a few times, an orphan character is not automatically bad at all.
The problems come when that fact takes over as some cliche plot point.
The Batman angle is just one, but other things like 'the brooding badass' or 'the pity party pony' can be just as annoying.
If it is organic to the story trying to be told, go for it.
If it is just something that you decided because it would make the character 'cooler' or something, it probably doesn't need to be there.

In fact, you may actually be hurting yourself in terms of character development by removing the parents as windows into your character.
Just as an example, everyone knew that Rarity was a rather dramatic type of pony from her first appearance, but a new layer was revealed when her parents showed up and talked like stereotypical rural mid-westerners.
Now Rarity is not only striving to be a part of the high-life, but maybe she is also reacting against what she may have seen as an 'uncouth' upbringing.
She clearly still has a good relationship with them so they are, by no means, bad parents, but it just shows some backstory of how she was likely raised and we are seeing the end result of that.
(Can anyone imagine a filly Rarity speaking in that Wisconsin accent? God, that would be freaking gold!)

Two big things to keep in mind when designing an OC:

1). If they have a talent that is in any way similar to the talent of a canon character, the OC should not be superior.
Ever.
Rainbow Dash is the fastest pegasus alive.
Your dude did not beat her in a race.
Twilight is a magical prodigy.
Your badass unicorn did not kick her ass in a magical duel.
You cannot be crazier than Pinkie.
Your character should have their own area of expertise and they should go about it in a realistic manner that doesn't make them out to be some astounding marvel of the universe.

2). Weaknesses!
Good characters need weaknesses.
Think of any of the main six and you can rattle off a list of flaws that they have, even for your favorite pony.
Dash can be egotistical and callous at times.
Twilight will occasionally lose her mind with worry.
AJ can be very stubborn.
Rarity is fussy.
Fluttershy is too timid for her own good.
Pinkie's happiness can be irritating and could turn into depression at the drop of a hat.

All of these flaws help establish them as 'real' characters by giving them moments of conflict, either internal or external.
One of the common Mary Sue pitfalls is a lack of weakness (making the character unrealistically 'perfect') or that any character flaws that they do have are universally considered 'cute' or somehow positive.
If Fluttershy did her usual phobia-of-everything thing and every other character just loved her more for it, that's not a weakness.
The fact that everyone does get a little sick of her fears (Dragonshy) is more realistic and interesting.

I feel like I'm rambling so I'll just end there.

@Character backstory
That question actually came up (in a slightly different form) during one of the writers' panels at EQLA.
They were kind of thinking about it for a little while until one of them threw out Zecora's name.
I have to agree.
She's this mysterious shaman from a land beyond Equestria's borders.
How did she end up in Ponyville?
What's her deal?
I'd love to see an expansion on her.

I like that picture because it does a good job of telling a story in a single frame (and it's just beautiful too).
Zecora was a 'nerd' in her youth where she was obsessed with chemistry and the sciences of the natural world.
She's actually a bit of an outcast from her own society leading to her tendency toward solitude.

This is my only advice for making an OC.

Whatever you do, do NOT, EVER make your OC an alicorn.

And if you do, I will find you.

All this talk of Mary Sue OC's reminds me of my anvilicious fanfic I wrote on the subject.

Part of the problem that I see with Mary Sues is that they come out of what on its own is a pretty standard goal – that being to have an interesting main character. The problem is that the characters themselves are not so much an organically grown person, but instead an assemblage of parts. Strange hair, super-powers, and a tragic backstory have all been deemed "interesting" traits, and so they get tossed together into what is called a "character" but which is more like multiple choice test that talks. I actually suspect that part of the issue is that stories written for the internet, especially those written by beginners, aren't edited very closely. The character needs to emerge from the story, from what they say and do and think, and what is said and done about them. This often means that you will have to start the story with only a vague idea of who the character is, get to know them as you write, end the story with a solid grasp of who they are, and then go back and rewrite the early sections so that the characterization is consistent throughout.

If the story isn't just about how "cool" the protagonist is, but is instead about an interesting plot or idea, or even about how a bunch of interesting characters interact with each other, then the story can be extremely compelling without anything strange or unusual happening in it. Instead, a lot of people just try to jigsaw-puzzle "interesting" traits together, and then write a story giving us a tour of this "person's" life. If they just had an idea of what good story composition actually takes, in terms of work and forethought, the the Mary Sue issue would for the most part solve itself.

What HTML screw ups don't be silly stop being silly.

Oh hay look at all this tl;dr.

Actually, I feel pretty bad that I haven't participated in it. I've just been busy with social stuff and part-time work stuff.
 
But I had to show you guys this:

…It's totally a box!

Yes way, cute humanized Twilight.

Oh. She's not brutally dismembered. All of her body parts are here!
 
 
…And Applejack too.
 

So after a short party (no, Pinkie wasn't also hiding in there to surprise me further) we went out for a bit.

We don't have apples, but we do have pecans. Close enough, right?

I didn't recognize the return address on the box, but I can only assume it was a gift from the pony plushie god… DeadParrot222 Celestia.

Of course, it was DeadParrot who got me these plushes. Actually, I was only expecting Applejack (yes, I asked for Applejack). But being the generous person that he is, DeadParrot surprised me with Twilight as well.

I've said before that I'm not really a merchandise person in terms of being a brony, but I was really happy to see the two girls when I opened up the box. I wish someone was recording my expressions from the initial grin expecting to see AJ upon opening the package, the slight look of confusion in seeing a purple eye instead of a green one, and then the full-on cheese when seeing Applejack below Twilight (I opened the box upside down, as you can see, DeadParrot.)

Once again, thanks, friend…

Even though just watching My Little Pony makes everyone in the fandom god-tier animation experts, I still bother with making crappy moving pictures in hopes of masking the burning pain of the lonely tears rolling down my face as my shaking hands clumsily light a cigarette, my mouth contorted into a smile of superficial happiness.

As I wipe the tear stains off my keyboard and sorrowfully drink myself to sleep, cold and alone, you're all more than welcome to go take a gander at my latest animation project, an adaptation of that comic DeadParrot wrote a few months back with some music by Fifths and some voices by voice actors. It's been quite a while in the making, but most of that was waiting on voice actors and waiting for my schedule to free up enough that I could sit at a computer to drag and drop some colorful horses for a couple hours on end. Fifths made some pretty solid music, and obviously DeadParrot came up with the idea, and I sat around and pretended to work.

One of us needs to draw all of our OCs in one giant fustercluck of a group "photo" or whatever.

My OC sucks.

@Carlos

We did that a long time ago in one of the older Pony Generals. I can't remember which one but I have the image in my gallery

Perhaps this is due for an update, seeing as how half the people in that image are no longer present and we have a new half that is. Plus some people have changed their OC's

I wouldn't worry about your OC sucking. As you can see, nobody has a perfect OC anyway.

@Blue Screen

I agree. We need a new family photo.

@OC discussion

By the way, I google searched original characters mlp. Bad mistake, unless you want to see a page full of G1s.

Hmmm, if we're making a new MLP general family portrait, I should whip up a drawing of my self-insert OC that I don't use for anything I just did it for it to be there.

@Crimson

By all means, go for it. That's actually what half of everyone did: They created brand new OC's on the spot for the photo. That's why we had so many pony generator ponies. The other half used their avatars. Only a few of us like myself, opspe and Rinsan actually had an OC already prepared

What should we use as a background for a new photo? I think we used opspe's photography of Oregon last time

Oh boy so then KILLGORE will get to join the covenant 'OC's of KYM Pony General?" I feel so 'honored'

Is it wrong that I feel like writing fanfiction about Killgore? But not like tear jerking/shipping fanfiction I'm talking about basically a straight up parody of Mary Sue fanfics. Sounds like it would be a fun time for me.

@Everyone regarding an OC compilation

Okay, so folks listen up.

We haven't had an OC compilation in ages. Since then, old posters have gone and new posters have arrived.

But if we are all bored enough we can always make KYMPG OC compilation 2013 to include the latest crew. How it works is simple:

Step 1: Make an OC (anyway, anyhow)

Step 2: Decide on a scene (anyway, anyhow, whatever we vote on)

Step 3: Put all our OC's on the scene (We'll probably get one master photoshopper to do that so when we are satisfied with our OC's we PM the image we want used to that person.)

To make an OC, you can draw it yourself, use pony creator or ask someone to draw it for you. But you must decide:

1) The OC's gender
2) The OC's color scheme
3) What the OC is currently doing/posing for the image (not applicable to pony generator users)

Backstory not required.

The only rule is that the OC's must be submitted on a photoshop-friendly white background so it's easy to transfer it to a background scene.

Sound worthwhile?

Sounds great……….Who would like to draw Self-insert Kewln00b? Anyone? Any takers? Welp, pony creator it is……..le sigh

@Verbose & Exudes
Haha!
Two posts in a row that proclaim my awesomeness!

But really:

@Verbs
Glad you like them!
You did kind of ruin my intended "Hey, it's the AJ I was expecting! But what's this?!" that I was going for, but I knew that no matter which way I ended stacking them that you would open the box the 'wrong' way.
That's just how my luck with stuff like this tends to work.
Anyway, you are very welcome and have fun!

@Exudes
Awesome!
It was a long time in the works (mostly due to crap outside of your control, too) but the final results look great!
I came up with the idea for that comic on such a whim that seeing someone turn it into an animation is still hard to really believe.
I know you weren't exactly doing it for me or anything, but I still want to thank you for it!
So… thanks!

@OC thing
I do technically have an OC that Fifths made for me a while back that I wound up vectoring just for the heck of it.
Might as well throw him in there even though I don't really treat the character as 'me' or anything.
(Honestly, I've just never been all that interested in OCs in general. Outside of a few very rare circumstances, they tend to do very little for me.)

@Being Sick
Yep, it's my turn to ride the sympathy train because I've actually been feeling like crap for the last couple of days.
Why can't being sick be more like this?

Instead it's more like coughing yourself to sleep on the couch in the middle of a TV show and waking up some indeterminate amount of time later with a massive headache and a throat so dry that swallowing feels like getting punched in the neck every single time.
Weeee…

This is silly:

These are pretty good voices actually, and the video's fun!

@OC thing
I do technically have an OC that Fifths made for me a while back that I wound up vectoring just for the heck of it.
Might as well throw him in there even though I don’t really treat the character as ‘me’ or anything.
(Honestly, I’ve just never been all that interested in OCs in general. Outside of a few very rare circumstances, they tend to do very little for me.)

You think that's bad? Try being me. I've got an Armada of OCs and none of them are remotely in the running for being considered "The Real Me".

…This is the price I pay for my splintered existence…

On the other hand, I do have a few favorites among my OCs, though I know they could be better.

…Speaking of which… I think I'm already done with my entry… Just need to… Ah there we go!

Edit: Oh yeah, Those three things to decide on… Forgot about that.
Appearence: …
Activity: Sneaking around.
Background: Night… Preferably somewhere in a city… Like Manehatten.

@OC's
I don't actually have a self-insert. You could always use Tweyelight, though. I don't think I'll ever change my avatar to something else. It's just too much fun reading the comments of people freaking out when they see it.

@Lunar Protege
I see you were able to get a picture of a leaked Gen 6 Pokemon. You should probably post that in the Pokemon thread, though.

Well, since not everyone here is an artist, I suppose I can do my good deed to society for the year month week and offer my hand in drawing OCs for anyone interested. If you want me to draw an OC for you, just tell me here or send me a PM. Be sure to tell me the traits you'd like your pony to have including (but not limited to):

• color scheme
• mane/tail style (can be as specific or non-specific as you want
• gender
• cutie mark (or what you would think the "special talent" would be)
• telling me the pose you would like/the general personality of your OC would be nice too, otherwise I might just do a generic-ish pose

I will post the result here (or in PM or on your wall if you'd prefer), and if you like it then you can send it off to whoever is doing the photoshopping.

Speaking of sickness, I've been having a nasty run in with seasonal allergies the past couple days, and I think right now I'm feeling it worse than I ever have before. I can't remember the last time my nose was this painfully congested. The store brand allergy meds my mom got aren't doing shit, and I forgot to pick up some different meds at the store when I had the chance. So now I'm stuck on my couch at 6 AM after having only 3 hours of sleep wishing pain on whatever god decided to play this horrible joke. I probably wouldn't mind this all as much if I didn't have work later tonight…

…

There are… No words…

Your verbal Wordplay which declares the inferiority of my Pony OC has Bested me by comparing it to a common capsule monster!

In this cruel wind I must concede thou as having slayed Thine.

Hark! our new Champion! The one eyed one!

…

Seriously though, a bit of Snark was the last thing I expected today.

Edit: Not surprisingly, or perhaps coincidentally, my original plan for the tail was to make it look like Liepard's… Because… Reasons!

@Lunar Protege

There's a saying: Less is more.

Perhaps you should try simpler designs? Your OC is so extravagant that I feel it should be playing Duel Monsters with Marak Ishtar to escape the shadow realm and secure the fate of the world. Maybe that's why TSG felt the need to take a jab at it.

I'm not saying you shouldn't make an interesting OC with a bit of flair. OC's with no theme get no attention. But I notice that OC's get better reception when they look like they could fit right in with the main cast.

Some OC examples for those thinking of making one for the first time:

Also it turns out we have this here…uh…guide…to making an OC

Blue Screen (of Death) Wrote:

@Lunar Protege

There’s a saying: Less is more.

Perhaps you should try simpler designs? Your OC is so extravagant that I feel it should be playing Duel Monsters with Marak Ishtar to escape the shadow realm and secure the fate of the world. Maybe that’s why TSG felt the need to take a jab at it.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t make an interesting OC with a bit of flair. OC’s with no theme get no attention. But I notice that OC’s get better reception when they look like they could fit right in with the main cast.

…

So AU ponies shouldn't be doing just that in an attempt to Emulate their heroes?

…I'm kidding of course, even if that's exactly what's happening…

Of course, the current hairstyle was decided by a suggestion to change the hairstyle. I can easily change it. The question is "What to?"

I just hope I don't need to adjust the color scheme too much more… While the Blue, Yellow Highlights and Red eyes was always a thing for this OC… It's still hard to pick between the… What, 500 shades and hues of Yellow, and Blue that may possibly be the problem.

At one point the Yellow was Too dark and diluted, then it wound up orange… then it became too bright… And there's always been the issue that I may have too much saturation for the hair, but I don't know which levels are better… And now I'm almost certain The hair begins to fade into the coat color… Which may or may not be a bad thing.

Edit: Before anyone goes around suggesting Hairstyles for this Pony built for a Homestuck Crossover… Just Remember… She's a Witch.

@ Family Photo
I don't know whether the photo of Lyra should depict the tomboy I am, the alluring sense I want, the fanaticism of the little things, or the heroics I want to permanently own…

The Scene I want? Perhaps a big city in Equestria like Los Pegasus or Manehattan!

I wouldn't post my OC that depicts who I am, otherwise everyone would literally pummel me to death for breaking Rule Number #3 (no demigods)… even though he's dead already.

@Lunar

I say that as constructive criticism so don't get me wrong. Thing is, not even Dirk Strider uses that much hair product. If I didn't know she was a Homestuck crossover character, I would have assumed she belonged in a Yu-Gi-Oh GX crossover and that's the problem I was trying to get at.

The wings look better without highlights. The hair looks slightly more natural draping down. Dull yellow-green highlights clash less than electric yellow. It doesn't look that bad next to navy blue so I'm not sure why you felt it was too dark.

I would just remove one accessory and give her more body mass (skinny is okay, but make her too skinny and she looks like a feline, especially since she's a bat-pony).

As for the hair, I would reduce some of the highlights from the individual hair strands (leaving in 2 or 3. I'm taking notes on how Twilight wears her highlight) and add some more curvature/thickness/bounciness. Leave the excessive hair gel look for anime crossovers

In fact, to really look the Homestuck part you probably have to eliminate a lot of fine detail. All Homestuck characters are minimally designed and very few have striking visual traits. But I wouldn't worry about that right now.

I think I might as well join again like last time. Also like last time, I'll give you Ludwig, but he does have a new-ish look than the last time.

<div class=“spoiler” title="Ludwig!">

I made him less lanky and gave him a goatee because facial hair has happened since the last time. :P

@Blue Screen

Well… With that bit of information on hand… I managed to do a take two in about Two Hours…

A number of thoughts I had while drawing this went something like this…

Oh well… All things must come to an end… Even the cosplay Era…

Wait… This is actually a lot easier to draw!

This… Actually looks pretty good, and even a little Retro!

…Heck… I may have even improved since the last time I drew her in this style!

Note to self for the Tumblr… Make joke about Cosplay Strength Hair gel, and get her drenched by a fire alarm so we can go back to this Style.

… And why does this suddenly feel like Okami Style?

Still not sure if I've got the right colors… But it definitely looks less messy now.

@KYM OC circlejerk

Oh God, what have I done…

@Exudes animation

Wow…everyone's doing a pretty good job of ignoring that thing that Exudes took months to make. Guys, I know the animation is plebbish, but you should at least watch to remark about how tastefully done the music is. Observe how the score perfectly matches the action on screen, listen how a series of downwards arpeggios terminates with a plucked chord in a masterful mirror to Rainbow Dash flying down and landing.

My massive ego aside, that was the first time I wrote music like that (music that's just supposed to accompany the action on screen) and I hope you guys thought it sounded alright. I really enjoyed writing that kind of music and I'd like to try it again at some point.

@Deadparrot

Get better bud. I'll email you some soup.

Ah… the month of May. One user getting sick each week… I think I may have spread the fever, guys.
Hey, where did everyone go?

I'll have to take you up on that offer of kindness and in return I will give you a free copy of The Tales of Killgore [title pending] (yes I am going to sell my fanfiction because I know everyone would pay $35.95 for one chapter of this upcoming fanfic)
.
.
.
Yeah…..I actually planned out how this fanfic will go on. Well, time to do what I do best, kill my own joke!

Did someone say OC?

Well, allow me to once again self-indulgently parade my own around.

As you can see, I've got a thing for needlessly detailed armour. It's based on Gothic plate, because say what will about the Germans, they've always known how to make stylish garments. As for the pony encased within, I based his design on a little horse plushie I had as a wee lad. Same deal with the name, too. Seemed quite fitting.

Ain't got much in the way of backstory, though. Not really needed, since he's more my personal avatar than a character, really.

Oh, and since I'm something of a two-bit, lazy-ass artist, I could also lend my help to anyone who needs an OC.

Speaking of art, I've actually gotten off my ass and done some lately. Shocking, I know. None of it is pony related, though, strictly speaking. Still, I might as well set up an impromptu exhibition of the horrors my pencil produces. I'll bet at least some of you wonder what this claims-to-be-an-artist can do, so without further ado:

Done deal! :D If you would be so kind as to list the desired attributes for your ponysona

I'll just leave this here:

@Deadparrot
Maybe you really need to sleep..

I like how, in these group photos, my avatar is always peaking his head over the edge of something – rocks, sheds, erupting volcanoes. It makes me look mysterious.

I would perhaps make the eyes and mouth a bit more natural, same for the wings. He lives in a city, yet his face implies he's the lovechild of Satan and Dracula. Combining it with his cutie mark I would think he's a card game duelist in the woods who kills ponies with a katana to sacrifice them to his parents (you're forcing the anti-hero a bit here), it's not a city-pony look.

Here's mine. His name is Ace Spade.

(Sorry I couldn't make a white background, but hey. He is white.)

He is rapping in the picture, and he is in a hip-hop duo with Vinyl, who is his fillyfriend. Adding Vinyl DJing along with him wouldn't hurt.

Princess Candence won Equestrian Idol last night.

I'll PM you the attributes, I want to surprise people with the non-Mary/Marty Sue/Stu-ness of my OC compared to KILLGORE THE ALICORN.

BTW, your signed copy of my fanfiction will arrive in the mail in about a month, now you may or may not have been jipped as I found out if I were to try and make a profit off my Fanfic that I could/will get sued for much more money than I'm worth. So……..lul.

Also people please turn your attention to my name, you know what I did to get that Last Name? I had to google Jewish Surnames instead of going with the obvious 'Steinberg' 'Goldberg' and all those generic Jewish last names. THAT takes dedication, that and I've converted to Jewishness for the next week or two until I get myself a new name, the next one will be Arabic…..Or Russian…..Yes, Russian.

EDIT: I bet some people here didn't know the Male equivalent of a Mary Sue is called a Marty Stu.

I have an OC, but I haven't given it a name or a back story. Also, I'm not sure if I want that thing to represent me in the family photo. If I post a picture of myself, would one of you draw me as a pony?

@Kewln00b

Male or female, they're all Mary Sues to me.

Well, I already offered to make OC's for the less artistically talented, so If you send a PM with a picture (and a brief description of what you would want your "special talent" to be) Then I would be more than happy to make you a pony!

Speaking of which, I'm gonna give myself a deadline of finishing all these ponysona requests by friday of next week (give or take). I only have a couple shifts of work next week, and I don't have any social life plans because all my friends are just meeting for the weekend at Anime Boston, so I should have plenty of time to finish any and all requests and have them posted here by friday.

I draw, but I don't have the softwarez or patience to get the drawing from actual paper into this series of tubes (beyond just taking a picture of it).

If anyone wants to help me with teh shopz, I can help back with linework.

This is not a joke. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before.

@Lunar

Better!

Still looks like a cat. Add more pony. You've seen Millennial Dan's OC right? He's doing the bat-pony thing but it still looks like a pony. Try thicker legs and tails, and straighten the posture. Pony heads go above the torso even when they are running

I still like the yellow-green highlights over the gold but that's just me.

@Exudes

Oh god, Fifths is right! I completely missed your post, I'm so sorry! WE LOVE YOUR ANIMATIONS!

@Platus

Well, when all we have to work with is an upper torso and a head…we are not sure how else we can position you.

We need to get you a proper pony OC

@Disturbed Human

No backstory or name is required for the photo

@Rinsan

@Serious

I use Inkscape to transform my hand sketches into digital vectors. It's free and easy. Tons of pony tutorials exist for it. Deadparrot learned how to make show-accurate Scootaloo's with in it one day

All you have to do is photograph your sketches, import them into Inkscape and trace over them

@Kewlnoob

The male equivalent of Mary Sues are also called Gary Stus or Gary Sues.

But most people just use Mary Sue gender neutrally

… Just woke up… Still tired… But sounds like I've got more work ahead of me.

Excuse me while I find some coffee to stew over how to go about take 3…

What exactly do you mean by "more natural" eyes and mouth? You mean… Less of a slasher smile I'm guessing? And is the problem with the eyes the fact they're slitted like a cat's (which is a canon trait)? Or is it something else?

Also… He? Not sure what I did that warrants the gender confusion, but it sounds like I should go back and try again.

…Thank you for the advice…

Edit: Also, not sure what you're saying about the wings.

Blue Screen (Of Death) Wrote:

@Lunar

Better!

Still looks like a cat. Add more pony. You’ve seen Millennial Dan’s OC right? He’s doing the bat-pony thing but it still looks like a pony. Try thicker legs and tails, and straighten the posture. Pony heads go above the torso even when they are running

I still like the yellow-green highlights over the gold but that’s just me.

I don't know why but the cat-like design seems to be easy/natural for me. Although I'm not sure if it's just cause I'm more familiar with cats or if it's part of the design inspiration I stole from a cat Pokemon leaking out…

…Remind me not to use more cat-like sources for inspiration next time.

@Exudes: Damn, how'd I miss that? Awesome animation! :D

@BSoD:

@Lunar

Remind me not to use more cat-like sources for inspiration next time.

Yea, I bet that's the root of all this critique. We can tone down the anime flair but as long as we can't tell if she's a pony, she just won't look right

She's a bat-pony so be inspired by bat-ponies.

I don't know about the gender confusion. I could tell that she's female.

@Rinsan

I DON'T KNOW!

WHO AM I!? WHAT IS MY LIFE!?!!!11!!!!!!

D: D: D: D:

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you my uncolored, fail-spoilered OC.

The name is Lone K. for this OC. Obviously colloquial to mine, I made this to represent myself, if I were a pegasus. I planned on coloring him Cyan (Body), and Black and Gray (Mane and Tail), but due to lack of sleep and school, and the fact I can't color nicely, I am unable to color him. le sigh

@Lone K

Just keep practicing on it and check out the pony drawing tutorials all around the web ;)

@Family photo

Hows this for a background?

Everyone else is free to offer suggestions for other backgrounds

All these OC's are giving me an intense desire to begin shipping them.

I already have the USS Bulletcaro moored in the harbor and ready to disembark.