User blog:HS664/Guide to Building a Fan Character

Sonce I'm reletively bored, and this is something I've been dying to do, I've decided to spend this Saturday bringing you this guide. Making a Fancharacter is NOT easy (I should know), and I've been here for almost 3 years. I've improved Greatly in that time, and I'm going to share that wisdom with all of you in several easy steps.

Step One:The Character's Appearance.
This is by far the most important part. You NEED to have a good scope of who your character is. Who is your character? What species are they? What kind of person are they? Where do they live? What Alignment are they? This is so important I have to break it down.

Design
This is very hard for those who lack drawing skills/proper ways to draw. But, do not fear:You can EASILY give a good description for a character. This isn't very hard. But, down to the basics. These are important things when starting.

'''What Species are they? '''This is pretty dang important. The most common species are Hedgehogs, Foxes, Echidnas, Cats, Bats and Rabbits. Your characters don't need to be any of these, but you must remember that each species has its ups and downs. These are the easiest to work with for a first time.

This is also what people screw up on alot. People tend to make characters hybrids, like Hedgechidna, or Hedgefox. Now you might be saying "But what about Turbo?" Well, Dragons usually can breed with anything, so lets leave that there.

Now, in the wild, hybrids are sterile (meaning they cannot reproduce) due to the incompatible chromosones. Also, if they can reproduce, this repeats, and the offspring is even more genetically unstable. Not pretty.

'''What is their general appearance? '''You need to ask yourself what your character looks like. Do they look tough, weak, small, big, heavy, skinny, cute or sexy? Say we have a hedgehog. How many spines does he have? 5, 6, 12? What is there height? What is their weight?

Now, Sonic characters are normally lighter than humans. This is crucial. You shouldn't have a character who's a hedgehog be five feet. Sonic himself is only one meter tall (a bit over 3 feet). Also, a character shouldn't  have fox like features when they are a hedgehog.

These are some important questions: '''What is there color scheme? '''Now, this is an easy question. What color is your character? Do they have black fur, white fur, red fur? Are there stripes green, blue, or yellow? What us the color of their shoes? Why am I asking so many questions?
 * Do they have spines/ how many/ what shape
 * Do they have stripes/ how many/ what shape
 * Do they have tails?
 * Do they have hair?
 * Do they have scars/ birthmarks/ tatoos/ other distinguishing marks?
 * What clothes do they wear?
 * Do they have gloves?
 * What is there eye color(s)
 * What are their shoes like?

Clothing: If you want your character to be unique, you might want them to have clothing. Also, if they are female, they probably should have clothing. What do they wear is an important question. Do they wear jackets? Do they were tank tops? Do they wear pants?

What to stay away from when making designs!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT PUT THESE INTO YOUR DESIGNS AT ALL. THESE WILL MAKE YOUR CHARACTER LOOK HORRIBLY STUPID!

The reason I put that in all caps is because I needed to point out how important that was. Seriously, don't do these.

Recolors:This is the BIG one. What is a recolor? Well, recolors are characters made from

official Sonic art that were just recolored (hence the name) with very little design changes, crappy detail, and usually NO shading. Now, Recolors are not a 100% bad way to start with, but only to start with. If you really must make your character, use a character designer, or draw them yourself.

Now, by wiki rules, you must say that your character is a recolor if it is. Now, if you can actually make a good recolor (with good shading, proper details, and dosen't look stupid) you'll be on sorta okay terms.

Art Theivery:This is the only thing worse than recolors. Taking someone elses art, claiming it a s your own, getting all the credit, and doing nothing on your part is not only wrong, but ILLEGAL.

This is plagarism. You could get banned for this, and in real life, get arrested, sued, or be ruined. DO NOT STEAL ARTWORK.

StereoTypes:I'll keep it simple. Just because Tails has 2 tails dosen't mean your fox should either. Tails is a mutant. That is why he has 2 tails. Give your foxes just one tail. No more.

Other stereotypes include:
 * Echidna's with spiked knuckles:Knuckles has these because his bloodline has this genetic trait. And, as we know, they are all dead. Stay away from this.
 * Creams huge ears:Nothing to say here really.

Step Two:Backstory
This is a fun part, but also a part where ****ing up easy. Here are some cliques that are used a lot.

Genetic Expirement
Ya, this is one you might want to stay away from, but if you really want it, use ONLY ONCE. Basically, your character is an artificial or genetically enhanced life form that came to being because of some genetic expirement. These characters tend to be really powerful, and have a similar backstory to Shadow.

Vengeance Seeker!
These characters had the people closest to them killed, or had something done to them by a person that scarred them for life. Now they want payback. These characters tend to be moody. These can fall into to categories:Those who hide that lust for vengeance, and those who make it the reason for their very existance. This is a BIG clique, but works GREAT if you can pull it off.

The Outcast
These people were shunned from society, possibly because of their powers, or something they did, or many different reasons. These characters are sometimes moody, but other times agressive, lonely, or evil. If you choose this, you need the reason they are outcasts.

The Apprentice
These characters trained under a master. They usually inherited their personalities from their Masters.

Long Lost Relative
These characters are siblings or have siblings they never knew they had. Normally, they were adopted by some foster family, and some cases adopted by the person who made their lives this way. This ties with the Vengeance Seeker.

Never have their relatives be Canon. This is asuming you didn't retcon the series for the purpose of your Fanfic.

Character Notes
Remeber, a character needs a backstory. Revealing it if you keep it hidden is crucial at some point if you want a good character.

Step Three:Personality
This isn't exactly hard, but still not easy. Making a personality is where a ton of people go wrong. They tend to make their characters mind clones of Shadow, or Tails, or Sonic. Then they never adhere to that personality. A character's personality should be a reflection of their what happened in their life.

For example:A person who had their parents murdered right in front of them SHOULD NEVER have an always happy personality, or at least be covering their own personality.

Remember, staying in character is VERY hard, and is sometimes impossible.

Alignment
Alignemt is part of your character, and is mandatory. Let me go over the concepts on the top. You don't need the Law/Chaos Axis, but you can use it if you want. Remeber that your alignment is an important part of your character.

Good and Evil
You have NO EXCUSE not to no what these two are. Now, to go in depth. Good and Evil are not black and white. First and foremost, these alignments are based on concept. Someone who kills someone else is not neccessarily evil. Rather, why they did that is what determines if they are good/evil/neutral.

Law and Chaos
This is the most confusing. People would think that just because someone follows laws makes them good, and doing the opposite makes them evil. This is false. For example, Sonic is Chaotic Good, and Eggman is Lawful Evil.

Those who follow laws or a set of laws are Lawful. These can even be laws they made for themselves (a personal code). A person who's Lawful Good is like a paladin, always spreading the will of justice. Lawful Evil people go by "the strong rule the weak" but still follow some laws. These people tend to be dictators. Lawful Neutral follow laws, but don't get caught up in "Politcal Ramblings". Most people in the US and other Developed Counrties are Lawful Neutral.

Chaotic people go by the "Screw the rules, I don't give a ****" Lifestyle. Hence Sonic. These people do what they want, and never let anyone rule them. Rather, they choose to follow others. To them, rules and laws don't exist, and some even oppose the law. Chaotic Good people don't follow laws, but have good intentions in heart (once again, Sonic. As seen in SA2). Chaotic Neutral People go by an extreme "I don't give a flying furby" additude, and don't get caught in stuff like good/evil fighting.

Chaotic Evil is by far the most dangerous and feared alignment. These people do whatever the want, and take what they want through force and fear. Chaotic Evil people kill, burn and destroy and have fun doing it.

Neutrality
Those who are neutral choose good/evil and/or law/chaos and say "Ya know what? This is stupid. Screw this." Those who are Neutral Good are people who do what they need to survive, but help other along the way. Neutral Evil People crimes, kill, and oppose, but still don't lean to Law of Chaos.

True Neutrality is the philosiphy of not caring, just do what Number 1 needs.

Step Four:Powers!
Where do I star here This is an area that needs something. Two things. I can't put my finger on it.......Oh yeah. Now I remember! Balance and Sensiblity. Making your character a god is not making them good.

The problem with Powers
People give their characters NO original powers. For example, they rip off 2 characters constantly. They are Sonic, and Shadow. Countless characters are faster than Sonic, being able to break his average of 761 MPH. You do realize that Sonic is the only character with actual super speed?

But HS664! Shadow can move as fast as Sonic!

Ya, because his shoes are flippin rockets! Tails and Knux can only keep up with Sonic for some time. Not forever. Amy can't either. Blaze is slower also. Unless there isn't any Sonic in your fic, try to SEVERELY limit the use of Super Speed.

Then, we have Chaos Powers. Chaos Powers are awesome, I'll admit, but people give no Limits to them. This is the fate of Chaos Control. People can freeze time, teleport, slow down time, and Godmod with it so badly. Even worse, people do it with NO limits.

Shadow the Hedgehog, (given his title "the Ultimate Lifeform" for one of the reasons being he can use Chaos Powers) can only use the true power of the move with At LEAST One Emerald. The only exception was at The Last Way, because of the heroic energy in his head.

Balance is Key!

Other Powers
Fire Powers, Lightning powers, and Ice powers are the most common. These are fun, unless your ruining your character with it. Powers need to have limits. Your character also need weaknesses. A character with no weaknesses and tons of power is stupid and terrible.

Also, Characters who use weapons need proper training. If I was holding a gun, pointing it at your head and standing from 20 feet away, and no X Factors, chances are, I'd miss. I have no training with them, and there is bullet drop to calculate.

Swords are heavy, and you need proper training to use them.

BALANCE AN SENSIBLITY IS KEY!

Super Forms
A super form is a transformation activated by some form of great power, whether latent (like Super Turbo, who can't do it at will), or through some great power like the Chaos Emeralds. These forms are very powerful, complete with some appearance change, a huge spike in power, and almost always free flight.

These need balance, a proper power source to use, and even some weaknesses to use. People give characters forms that are totally invincible, and that is Godmodding. Also, as stated by Sonic, continous use of a Super form will cause you to dissapear. That means that you can't constantly use your super form, or DEATH is assured.

Closing Note
This is not the best blog out there, but really just a step in the right direction. The message is that you need a character who dosen't look like it was made by a 4 year old. Give your character what you want, but keep this in mind 24/7.