In the art community, young artists go through the thrilling experience of creating their first original characters, commonly known as OCs. This is due to the many influences of the media and people surrounding these artists and giving them that spark of originality that motivates the gears of their minds to turn.
The Beginning Origins of Long-Term Creating
Ask any artist about their beginning steps into art, the possibility of them responding by creating OCs is extremely likely. For instance, senior Eden Fuentes created his first OC back in 2015. He doesn’t remember much about the character itself; however, he created it for the indie RPG game Undertale. Eden, who drew out his character to test out different designs, no longer holds onto it, having moved on to create more that are vastly different.
On the contrary, senior Jacob Toyens is still working on his first OC, which he named “Space.” When Jacob was first introduced to the concept of OCs, he was interested enough to give it a try. This later evolved into a vast amount of different content for Space.
A Creator’s Development
With the creation of these OCs came the creation of many other forms of art. This can range from music to literature, like senior Hayley Gardener, who said, “I drew them, (the OCs), wrote stories, and drew comics. I even created scenarios in my head and envisioned a whole scene of the character.” Hayley, like many other artists, has undergone moments of creativity and imagination to bring forth more personality and backstory to her character.
Freshman Angie Jarquin, despite being an even younger artist, has written her own short stories with one of her first OCs.
Deep Connections and Inspiration
Despite the many differences artists have that distinguish them from others, one major reason they begin what they do now is thanks to sources of inspiration, like TV shows, books, and even other artists. This also comes in various forms, and since the open world and the internet have these sources, artists are free to base their ideas off their surroundings. Enough inspiration can lead to artists growing attached to their original characters and growing connections with them.
Hayley claims to have seen herself in her first OC. She said, “I felt what I created is mine and mine alone and I felt that I could do more.” Most artists tend to insert themselves in their original characters, especially at the start of their journey in the creative realm that is the art world.
Comparisons: Unconditional Improvement
This beautiful expedition full of new experiences such as discovering cultures for inspiration, ways to write character lore, and improving in art in general is part of the growth of any artist. Senior MC describes the effect growing up has when creating and revamping original characters.
“My OCs have more identity, such as sexual orientation and more diverse ethnicities. I also began to treat them more like people than just characters,” she said.
This is a prominent trait in us artists, and it will be what we are most known for: our growth and imaginative domains that are our minds.
