OC Maker: Create Your Own Original Character (Fan OCs Included)

Quick answer: An OC maker is a tool for creating an original character: their look, personality, backstory, and relationships. A fan OC is an original character you design to fit a fandom’s world or art style. It isn’t a copy of a canon character. Redbean lets you make an OC and then watch them come alive in a pixel world.

Whether you’ve been doodling the same character in your notebook margins for years or you just watched a show and thought “I want someone like that, but mine,” this is the place to start. This hub covers what an OC is, how to make one, a free template, an ideas generator, and fandom-specific OC guides. It finishes with how to take your character off the page and into a world where they actually live.

Table of Contents

What is an OC (and what is a fan OC)? #

OC stands for original character: a character you invented yourself, rather than one taken from an existing book, game, or show. Your OC’s name, look, personality, and history all come from you.

A fan OC (sometimes called a fandom OC) is still an original character. The difference is that you design them to fit a world you love. That might mean a survivor who’d belong in a horror game, a toon who matches a cartoon’s shape language, or an adventurer with a fantasy RPG-style element and weapon. The key word is still original. A fan OC borrows a setting’s vibe and rules, not its existing cast.

	Original OC	Fan OC
Who invented the character?	You	You
Setting	Your own world	Inspired by a fandom’s world or style
Uses canon characters?	No	No. They can know the world, but they’re new people in it
Official art allowed?	n/a	No. Draw or generate your own

How to make an OC in five steps #

Start with a hook. One sentence that makes someone curious, like “a cheerful mail carrier who is secretly terrified of dogs.”
Give them a personality with a flaw. Pick three to five traits and one real weakness.
Design a recognizable look. A strong silhouette and two or three signature colors.
Write a short backstory and a goal. Where they came from, and what they want right now.
Add relationships. A friend, a rival, someone they owe a favor to.

For the full walkthrough, including how to make a fan OC that fits a fandom without copying it, read How to Make an OC.

Free OC template / character sheet #

Once you have the basics, put them somewhere organized. Our free OC template comes in basic and detailed copy-and-paste versions, with a fandom add-on for world, role, and style notes. It works in Google Docs, Notion, or your phone’s notes app.

Stuck? Use the OC ideas generator #

Blank-page syndrome is real. Our OC ideas generator uses simple roll tables for trait, role, quirk, flaw, and look. Roll once on each and you have a character seed in under a minute. No AI is required, though you can bring the result into an AI-powered world afterward.

Fandom OC makers #

These guides show how to design an original character in a specific fandom’s style, and how to bring them to life in Redbean. Every guide uses original example characters and no official art.

Roblox fandoms #

Forsaken: Forsaken OC Maker. Build your own survivor or killer.
Dandy’s World: Dandy’s World OC Maker. Make a toon OC with its own personality.
Animal Hospital: Animal Hospital OC Maker. Design an original character for the hospital’s spooky halls.

Indie and animated worlds #

The Amazing Digital Circus: TADC OC Maker. Create a toy-like, digital-circus-style OC. Also see our Amazing Digital Circus games roundup.
Sprunki: Sprunki OC Maker. Design a rounded, sound-themed character.
The Walten Files: Walten Files OC guide.

Games and stories #

Genshin Impact: Genshin Impact Character Maker. Make an OC with an element, a weapon, and a region.
Dispatch: Build your own hero OC.
Project Hail Mary: Create an Eridian-inspired OC.
Tomodachi Life: Miis guide and character creation alternatives.
Catch! Teenieping: Teenieping-style OC maker.

Anime-style OCs #

If your character lives in a big-eyes, bold-hair, dramatic-lighting kind of world, see our AI anime OC maker guide. It focuses on anime-style design choices for a first original character.

From OC to living world #

Most OC makers stop at a picture. That’s a great start, but characters really click when they have somewhere to be. In Redbean, your OC lives in a cozy pixel town. They talk in their own voice, go about their day, and run into the other characters you make. If you want to build an entire cast and setting, read Build Living OC Worlds.

Fan OC etiquette and IP basics #

Fan OCs are a wonderful part of fandom culture. A few habits keep them fun and respectful:

Style, not copies. Borrow a world’s vibe, shapes, and rules, but don’t trace or reuse official character designs.
No official art. Don’t use screenshots, sprites, logos, or promotional images in your OC sheet. Make your own art or use a maker tool’s original assets.
Don’t claim it’s official. Phrases like “fan OC” or “inspired by” are honest. “Official character” is not.
Credit creators. If you use someone else’s base or template, follow their rules and credit them.
Respect other fans’ OCs. Ask before using another creator’s character in your story.

FAQ #

What is an OC maker? #

An OC maker is any tool or method for creating an original character. That includes design tools (dress-up and picrew-style makers), templates, and idea generators. Some apps, like Redbean, also let your OC come alive in a world.

What does “fan OC” mean? #

A fan OC is an original character designed to fit an existing fandom’s world or style. The character is new and yours, even if the setting is inspired by something you love.

Is there a free OC maker app? #

Yes. Redbean is free to download on iOS and Android. You can create original characters and see them come alive in a pixel world.

Can I make an OC for any fandom? #

You can design an original character in almost any fandom’s style. Check the community’s and creator’s rules on fan works, and keep the character original.

Can I use official characters in my OC? #

No. Make a new character instead. Your OC can live in a similar world, but they shouldn’t be a renamed or recolored canon character, and you shouldn’t use official art.

Fan-made guide. Redbean is not affiliated with or endorsed by the owners of the games, shows, and franchises mentioned on this page. All names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Example characters on this page are original and were invented for this guide.

Make your own original character #

Your OC starts in your head, and Redbean gives them somewhere to live. Create an original character, drop them into a calm pixel world, and watch them talk in their own voice, wander the town, and meet the other characters you make.

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