How To Create A Creepypasta Character

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KomradApex's avatar

Published: Jan 22, 2014

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Creating an Original Creepypasta OC for Dummies

So, you've probably seen all the awesome OCs floating around on DA. You may have heard that creepypasta OCs are hard to create. That's not true at all, and I'll show you why in a bit. Or maybe you received criticism for an earlier OC of yours. Well, even if your character is in fact poorly designed, all legitimate art is still art. So while you shouldn't ignore constructive criticism, you shouldn't listen to the haters. I've noticed most of those people don't even do art at all and just troll the forums and insult shippings that aren't their personal favourites. What losers, eh?

Which in a way brings me to my first point which is more about how to avoid criticism: don't ship your character with an existing pasta unless you have permission. The original creator probably wouldn't approve if they knew, and it's just bad form. Nothing brings the critics out like making your super kawaii OC into Jeff the Killer's girlfriend, and frankly I can see why. Besides, if you're so set on romance why not just ship them with another OC of yours? That way no one's going to get pissed off about the pairing, and if they do you can tell them to shut up because you're their parent and they only date who you want.

Now, like every good story, every good OC needs a theme. What's their motivation? Their background? Why do they do the things they do? And please give a better answer than something like "They went crazy, killed their family, and became a proxy". To give example questions, why did they go crazy? Was their family abusive? Is that why killed them? How'd they become a proxy? Why exactly did Slenderman spare them? Did they have a talent he could use?

I find it helps to write a character profile/mini biography about a page long on size eleven type. Here's a sample one I made for one of my characters: shacklesoul.deviantart.com/art…. This will help give them a unique personality and flavour to set them apart from all those boring, generic creepypasta OCs out there. I can't help you come up with their personality nor should I, but this is the fun part anyway. Don't just ask yourself what sort of things they like and dislike. Rather, why do they like or dislike those things? How was their childhood? How do they usually interact with the world when it doesn't involve killing? These are all just sample questions, I'm sure you will think of many more.

On the subject of your character's backstory, please, treat dark subjects like rape and incest with respect. It is both disrespectful and ignorant to make them into some throwaway little feature. Not only does adding "And they were raped" really add nothing, it turns something which is incredibly dark into an unimportant detail. If you have to use these subjects, remember, use them as an important subject of horror and revulsion to make your character more tragic, not a teensy footnote. Believe me, if sexual abuse is treated as though it is just another detail it feels tacked-on and makes you as the author seem both uncaring and unimaginative.

Now that we've got that out of the way, we're onto an aspect you probably already have in your head: physical appearance. What they look like, in other words. Let your imagination run wild; remember, this is horror so anything scary is possible. If you're really having trouble thinking of something that hasn't been done before, come up with a list of interesting details and then pick and choose ones which work well together until you have your character. As for drawing them, well, I'm more of a writer so you could probably teach me more in that area!

One last little thing about appearances. MASKS. F*&%ING MASKS. Why does every pasta have to have a mask now?! Okay, two of my OCs have masks but they're at least original masks, not knockoffs of Eyeless Jack's that were probably made in China! Seriously. Why masks? Sorry, it's just a real pet peeve of mine. Masks aren't bad, they're just a little overdone so if you give your OC a mask, make it a damn good mask.

And that's pretty much all I know. OCs are a lot of fun, and remember, no one's OCs are perfect in the rough draft but just keep refining it and you'll get better. Listen to the good advice you get, ignore the haters, and most of all be creative!