Tips for Making An Original Monster High Character

    TAKE THIS GUIDE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. This was made for those who wanted to RP Monster High ocs on tumblr and stuff, so that there would be unity in the RP MHoc community and none of the characters would be totally off the mark and whatever. Rping on tumblr isn't quite as popular as it once was 4-6 years ago and so most of this guide is outdated... I'm just keeping it in my gallery because it has a good references/resources for character creation. Everything that this guide says about building your character and things to watch out for are still accurate as well.
     

TL;DR --- Don't take offence to this guide and please don't be mad at me. I only made this for those wanting to roleplay MH ocs on tumblr 4-6 years ago. It is outdated, but still useful in some ways.

<sub>IF YOU ARE TOO LAZY OR DON'T HAVE THE PATIENCE TO READ ALL OF THIS, THEN JUST STICK TO READING THE ACTUAL GUIDE AND ALL THE WHITE SENTENCES. This is something the Monster High fandom needed. I know it's not the greatest but I tried to gather the things I thought would help you guys (and myself) the most when in the process of making a new MH character...OR fixing one that is already made! I REALLY REALLY hope you read all of this and at least give my suggestions a try. Also, as a side note, I'm sorry for any misspellings or whatever. I'm not the best at typing.



Remember, if you don't understand something, just ask! I personally may not know the answer, but I can always take you to someone who CAN help!
There is going to be a LOT to read and take in here so don't rush it.. I DO write a lot but what I've written is all important stuff! <3</sub>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

YOU CAN SKIP THIS SECTION IF YOU WANT AND MOVE ON TO CHOOSING A MONSTER PARENT
BUT IT WOULDN'T HURT TO READ.

You might see me use these words:

Plagiarism - "presenting the words, phrases, ideas or work of another, including certain facts and statistics, as if they were your own." - from cai.ucdavis.edu/plagiarism.htm… - This means stealing someone's art or the design of their oc or art and posting it on your own account, as if you drew it or created it.

Lore - "A body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth." - from dictionary.reference.com/brows… - This is the myth or story about the monster parent you want to use. Like bigfoot is famous in American lore.

Mary Sue - "A fictional character, usually female and especially in fanfic, whose implausible talents and likeableness weaken the story." - from en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mary_Su… - This is BAD. It's when your oc has the best of everything. She is perfect but has had the most tragic back story ever. Somehow she recovered and now has the best skills at what she does, looks much younger and more beautiful than her natural age would allow and she always knows what to say or do.

Gary Stu - "A male Mary Sue." - from en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Gary_St… - the same definition as above but this time, your oc is a guy.

Special Snowflake Syndrome - "The belief that every snowflake is special and unique so, then someone who is a special snowflake thinks they are even more special and unique than the others and deserves more special treatment." - original text from answers.yahoo.com/question/ind… - Basically if your oc (or YOU) constantly complain about how "other" girls wear make up and don't read and how your oc is such a nerd or somehow better than others. Of if they constantly complain about how hard or difficult their life is and that everyone else's life is easier... you have a Special Snowflake on your hands.

Moderation - "The trait of avoiding excesses." - from dictionary.kids.net.au/word/mo… - This means a little goes a very long way. Moderation and being moderate can help you to not make your oc stereotypical or racist.

Stereotypical- "The act of judging a person or group of people because of the actions or behaviors of others that are similar. Stereotyping can be on people in certain racial groups, certain age groups, or even on people who live in a certain area." - from www.ask.com/question/what-is-t… - Most of you know what these means, but for those who don't...Let's say your oc is Irish. So you give her red hair, make her love the color green and she loves potatoes. What's the problem? It's a stereotype. It is like you are saying EVERY Irish girl is like this. This is offensive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"HOW DO I CHOOSE A GOOD MONSTER PARENT?"

This can be the hardest thing ever. I'll get more into detail after I've given you some more links on oc development and flaws!

In the meantime, here is a few sites that can help you pick a monster parent!


Mythical Creatures Guide -- This site gives you a lot of different monsters to choose from!

Mythical Creatures List This site is a lot like the Mythical Creature's Guide but it's a bit differnet.

Mythical Creatures and Beasts Another site of lists. Here is very good information.

These only give you so much info. Remember, Google is your friend!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"HOW CAN I DEVELOP MY CHARACTER?"

These sites might help.

Seventh Sanctum -- I love this site. It gives you a lot of generators which will randomly give you a name or personality trait! Perfect to get your creative juice flowing.

How to avoid making your oc a Mary Su or Gary Stu! -- This is a site meant for Lord of the Rings but the information here still works for Mosnter High characters! ((A lot of reading though!))

Giving a Mary Su Flaws Do you have a character who already is a Mary Sue/Gary Stu? Then this site might help you un-sue/stu them!

123 Ideas for Character Flaws A list of 123 different flaws a character could have. If you want to use this list, only use two flaws per character. Moderation!

Tips for Outfit and Color Scheme Some very helpful hints on that.

22 Rules of Storytelling (for backstories!)

Anthro to furry chart. If/When making an animal based oc (werecat, werewlolf, ect) this might help with making sure your character is not a furry.
There isn't anything WRONG with furries but for Monster High, it's not really accepted.

These tutorials can help you make your character's physical trait (face and body) development go from an idea in your head to on a paper/canvas.

fav.me/d1tfbje - for general facial features.

fav.me/d2j3z86 - for body traits.

fav.me/d2k4ym6 - for faces on female and feminine characters.

fav.me/d3a6v8u - for faces on male and masculine characters.

fav.me/d37hme5 - For facial expressions and shape.

fav.me/d63uyze - For heavyset females.

i899.photobucket.com/albums/ac… - For chubby and thick males.

dyemelikeasunset.tumblr.com/po… - various female body types.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO TO DEVELOP MY OC'S PERSONALITY?"

If you are up to draw, once you have created your oc, then you can give these meme's a try! Meme's are like pre-made charts you fill out with writing or drawings.

Here's a few that you might want to fill out! You don't have to an entire one, you can fill out half or as much as you want!

Character Balance Meme This chart will help you make sure your oc has both good positive traits, AND good negative traits/flaws.

Character Traits Meme This can be a bit frustrating to fill out if you don't have patince and about an hour of time to kill. It's not hard to do, but you have to think about your oc a LOT.

Personal Life Meme A meme of personal questions for your oc.

ABC Expression Meme This can be great practice for both MH oc's and your art in general! For your MH oc, though, you can have fun drawing them making sad faces, happy ones, and a bunch of other emotions!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"SO TELL ME ABOUT MONSTER PARENTS!"

Like I promised, here is some details on picking a monster parent! : )

Choosing one can be a nice walk in the park... OR a giant headache. Depends on how you go about it.

Like I said already, you might want to AVOID using Slenderman, Jigsaw or the changelings from My Little Pony. Why should you avoid them?

---Well, in Slenderman's case it'sjust a moral thing. Now, I know like 3 things about him and about Creepypasta... which means I don't know alot about either. BUT I do know that his main prey is small children and if he had a child, then that could mean his child would be the child of a child.. which is a really bad thing. BUT if that doesn't stop you from using him as a monster parent, you should know that he is overdone.
Just about every month a new daughter or son of Slenderman is made for Mosnter High, I swear.

--I'm personally not really a "Saw" fan but I do know something important about it. I've seen some MH oc's who are supposed to be the child of Jigsaw. What's the problem?
Jigsaw is not a mosnter. Jigsaw is a non-living object. Just a lifeless puppet that never killed anyone or anything. In fact it never did anything at all...on it's own. And the person controlling the Jigsaw puppet was exactly that. Just a human person.

---Characters from My Little Pony would also NOT work.
Why, you ask? Take a look at the My Little Pony characters, then at the Monster High characters. Notice anything differnt? Of course! The MH characters are all humonoids... this means they look or seem mostly human!
If you made the child of Chrysalis (the changling queen), everyone would be wondering HOW can she have a child who has the body of a human-type creature, if she looks like a pony!
NOTICE: While the Eqeutria Girl's movie could give you an excuse to do this, that does not mean the excuse will work.

---Another thing I've noticed is a lot of repeats when it comes to oc's. No, I don't mean people coping. What I mean is, a lot of people use the same mosnter parent over and over and over until that monster parent is played out (like Slenderman). Some other examples would be Genies (either the one from Aladdin or just genies in general), or werecats. I'm sure the kid's of these monster parents people have made, are good, fun and cool ocs but since there is SO many of them, this can make them ALL seem boring and make you seem uncreative.
Try not to choose a monster parent just because everyone else is picking it, or because you don't feel like searching for a monster. Have some pride in your oc!

Okay.. I know you might have your heart set on making a genie or a werecat. One way you COULD avoid getting your oc thrown in the pot of boringness with the others, is by doing a trick I do a lot.

Go to google. Search your monster and then type a random country beside it. So you would be searching something like "werecats africa" this way you might get a different TYPE of the monster you wanted, so your oc will standout somehow.

--There is something else I've seen some people do. The whole point of MH is to use a monster or mythical creature from a movie, show, religion, lore, mythology, whatever. BUT sometimes I've seen people use the ACTUAL monster as their character instead of making the child of that monster.
THIS IS ONLY ACCEPTABLE IF YOUR CHARACTER IS A TEACHER.
If your character is actually Bloody Mary, she can't be a student. Her daughter would be, but she would be a parent, teacher or sub.

--And one last point here.. When you have chosen your monster parent, please do not make a mini-me of the monster parent.
What do I mean? What I mean is, don't make your oc look like a younger version of their parent. It's okay to have similarities physically or mentally but no kid looks EXACTLY like one parent. They have to get something from the other parent, whether that parent is in their life or not.
Try to give your oc similar traits or looks as the monster parent but don't make them identical.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"WHAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH VILLIANS AND BADDIES?"

Eventhough this is still about choosing a mosnter parent, this deserved it's own section.

As I already said, just because a character in a movie, tv show, comic book, video game or whatever is a villian or the bad guy, that does NOT mean they are a monster.

--I know. The Joker and Harley Quinn are pretty hardcore baddies, but guess what? They aren't mosnters.
True, the newer Batman movies show the Joker as an insane and loonie kinda guy but he isn't a monster. He is still 100% human and so is Harley. If they had a kid, it would not be allowed to go to Monster High since it would also be human. Other examples would be Cruella De Vil and Sweeney Todd. They called Todd the "demon barber of Fleet Street." But guess what? he is not an actual demon.
Humans call other humans who do horrible things "monsters", "demons" and other inhuman names. But that person is still a human.

--Speaking of The Joker, let's talk about insanity. I know in a lot of animes it's acceptable and pretty trendy to have a character with an super crazy alter ego or an insane streak. And in anime it's okay. BUT for MH it doesn't cut it. Why?
Because, insanity doesn't mean that character isn't human. It jsut means they need to be in a padded cell. Yes, there are a few MH oc's who are pretty crazy but they actually are mosnters.
SO just becaue your oc is "crazy" or a "serial killer", does not mean they can be considered a monster in the Monster High universe.

--This might get a little confusing but listen up! There are also some monster characters from movies/shows who also would not work as a monster parent. For example, Shrek, Stitch, Doctor Who monsters, Black Butler demons, or Monster's Inc characters.
Eventhough these characters ARE technically monsters, due to their stories, their personalities, or how they were created, it is highly unlikely they would have a child or have another.

--Other characters to avoid would be:

Alice and the Mad Hatter -- they are humans.

Pokemon -- they are in the same category as My Little Pony.

Willy Wonka -- He is human. Unless the kid was MADE of actual candy, it would not work.

Superheros -- Superman, Batman, Fantastic 4, the Avengers, ect

Santa -- No. Just no. ALTHOUGH it would be okay for there to be elves.

The Toothfairy -- I mean the version from Rise of the Guardians. If you are going to make a fairy, try to be a bit more creative.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"WHAT ABOUT GODS AND GODDESSES?"

This also deserved it's own section.
This is pretty tricky. I have a Monster High oc who is the son of the Hawaiian volcano goddess. It's pretty tricky for ME to deal with because I have to fight my urge to give him "powers". Thankfully, he is half human and he has no powers.

What's the problem? you ask.
Well. The main ISSUE is that making the child of a god or goddess can cause your oc to be a Mary Sue or Gary Stu.

If your oc gets powers from their parent, it might cause them to always have the right thing at the right time, or always have the upperhand or advantage in a situation, no matter what. Your oc may appear "perfect" and prepared for every little thing. This is a big problem.

Another problem is more about the story of that god or goddess.
If they are from a certain, sacred religion, you might end up offending or making angry the people who really believe in that god/goddess in real life.

Why?
Because..let's say you made the daughter of some random god. You are proud of her and she is perfect-- but in that religion's lore that god never had children- or they only had a certain number of children and that is it. You might end up offending someone who really believes in that god because it's like you are making fun of their religion and you are not taking it serious... as if it is just a myth or story to you (even if it REALLY is).

The best way to avoid all of this, is to just not use a god or goddess as a monster parent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"OKAY NOW I'M MAKING MY OC'S BIO. WHAT DO I DO FIRST?"

We all know what the Monster High Bio sheet looks like. There are two. One you write out and another with pictures of your oc, their friends and pet.

Here is the written bio sheet -- fav.me/d300juk

Here is the photoshop/sai and MS paint bios -- fav.me/d3fw1k7 -- fav.me/d3kigxm

BUT both sheets have the exact same info on them. So I'm going to go through each section and give some suggestions for you!

HERE WE GO!

---Of course first there is the easy things. Your character's name and monster parent. You don't need me for that haha.

---Now.. your oc's age. There is something weird here that was pointed out to me a while ago and now it bothers me.
A lot of people go by the canon character's bios. Draculaura is 1600 years old. It's okay if you make your oc 1500 or 1400 or whatever, but THINK about it. If you have been alive for thousands of years. If you have lived through 2 world wars, civil wars, faminies, plagues, ect would you still be in high school? I mean, if I was 1600 years old, I know school would be the LAST place I'd want to be. Ah well. It jsut seems WEIRD to me but you can make your oc that old if you want. BUT don't go over the thousands. We don't want a character who is in the millions.

---Killer Style. This is pretty easy too. Try to use words to describe the type of clothes your oc likes in general. Don't just list what they are wearing in their bio picture.

---Freaky Flaw. EVERY character has to have a flaw. If your oc is cocky and thinks they have no flaws, don't just have them say they are flawless. They can say this, but you still must tell us a flaw they have.
A lot of people seem to have trouble with this, and don't even realize they are having trouble!
What's the issue? Well, a flaw is some type of personality trait or physical thing your oc has that stops them from functioning normal in life, or causes issues for people around them.
A lot of people get cute personality quirks mixed up with flaws.
If you say your character is "shy", "doesn't talk much", "chatty", "sneaky", or anything like that... guess what? Those are not flaws.
Those are just personality traits that a lot of people actually like.'
Real flaws would be that your oc insults people without realizing it, babbles on and on about thing no one cares about (even after being told to shut up), or that they have panic attaks or anxiety from meeting new people.
These are flaws and things that will cause discomfort for both your oc and those around them... which is why it's called a flaw.

--FAvorite color. Easy peasy rice and cheese my friend.

--Favorite food. Okay.. I think the only problem I've seen is a stereotypical or racist thing going on with the food. What am I talking about?
Well, dear artist, let's say your oc is from China. As her favorite food, you choose egg rolls. Not because she likes them really, but more because they are a Chinese food and your oc is Chinese.
What I'm trying to say is that, REMEMBER just because your oc comes from a certain place or culture does not mean they are only going to eat that type of food. Unless they are poor or a certain type of monster that can only eat one type of food.

---Biggest Pet Peeve. This is something that really just annoys your oc to no end. If your oc had the power to change one thing in their life, it would be THIS thing. But they can't change it, so they complain about it.

--- Favorite Activity. Keep in mind the type of creature your oc is, and if they are from a differnet country, you can find different activities for them to enjoy. Also, this can be based off of what type of mosnter they are.
List at least 3 differnet things they like to spend their extra time doing.

--- Pet. Try not to get too crazy. One thing that always confused me was having a monster own a pet that was the same type of monster. Like Toralei owning another cat. It seems weird to me (like the age thing) but it IS accepted, and it's usually okay if you do it.
If your oc is from a different country, do a google search to find out what type of creatures or animals live in that area of the world. Or find a type of animal that ties in with their parent.

--- Favorite/Least Favorite Classes. This is really easy. You guys know that.
Click HERE for a list of the general Monster High classes. Click HERE for some newer classes.
Choose at least two classes your oc loves and two they hate, and tell why they feel that way.

//IMPORTANT: I've noticed a lot of people not realizing elective classes (classes YOU choose) and required classes for school.
Below is the list of electives::
--Freaky Economics: Economics
--Fierce Fashion 101: Art, mainly fashion design.
--Dead Languages: Language
--Home Ick: Feeding,Cleaning,Sewing
--Oceanography: A class on the oceans and underwater life

If one of these classes is on your oc's "least favorite class" list, then it needs to be removed. Because these are classes that your oc does not have to take if they do not want too. Their least favorite should be a class they HAVE to take.

Non-electives(classes that MUST be taken to graduate)::
--Clawculus: Calculus math
--Mad Science: Science
--P.E, AKA Physical Deadecation: P.E. aka physical education
--History of the Undead: History
--Dragonometry: Geometry
--Home Ick: Feeding,Cleaning,Sewing
--Monster Literature (A.P.): Advanced language arts
--Biteology Lab: Biology
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And Just like that, you've got your oc's bio info filled out!

Some things to remember:

---When you add your oc's bio art, try not to cover the words. If words will be covered because of large wings, or hair, use a program that has layers. I will talk more about this a little later, so hold tight!

---Use a font that is readable. What is a font? It's the look and style of the letters you use when you are typing. Pick a style of font that is easy to read, so you won't have to retype the bio info in the description and no one will ask.

---As brought to my attenton from Candy2021, be careful of accents! If your oc has a strong accent, all you have to do is TELL people they have an accent. If you try to type in their acent, it might be hard for people to read or understand what they are saying.

---When you add friends and family to you oc's bio page, keep in mind your oc's perosnality.
If they are shy and they don't like loud people, don't add Heath to their friend's list, just because you think he is cute. If your character would not talk to them for a good reason, then you don't need to add them.
If your oc is anti-social and quiet, it's OKAY for there to be blank spaces on their bio friend's list.

---ALSO Do not add someone else's original character to your character's bio page as a friend or family member WITHOUT asking first. Most people will tell you that you can have your oc be friends with theirs but if you just do it without asking, then they will absolutely say no!
On that note, also do not make the sibling or friend of someone else's oc without asking first.

Why can't you do this? You cannot do this because it is plagiarism. You are STEALING their character.
This is both illegal and a huge pain in the butt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"SO WHAT'S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS PLAGIARISM THING,THEN?"

Glad you asked.

Plagiarism is a HUGE HUGE HUGE issue going on in the Mosnter High fandom, and other fandoms and communities as well.

REmember, plagiarism is when you steal the ideas, design and/or art of a thing that does not beliong to you, and you claim that you made it.

There are two types of plagiarism going on usually.

---First up, is design theft! Click HERE for what this looks like, and an deeper explination (yes more words, but it's sooo good to read this stuff!).
You can steal the design of someone's character and that is not okay. It is okay to be inspired and see little details drawn on an oc that you want to have your own take on.
Like, if you saw an oc with flowers in her hair, you could try giving your oc a flowered headband with a different type of flower or something like that.
BUT it's not okay to take what someone already made and rework it so you can say it is yours.

---The other type of plagiarism is art theft. This is when you take completed art from someone and upload it as your own. It does not matter if you recolor, draw over it, change the style or just trace it. The original picture was not yours and you did not have permission to use it.

Please, do not upload art that you did not make yourself to deviantart. If someone has made you something and they directly gave you permission to use it however you want to, then you can do whatever you want with it.

Bottom line, IF YOU DIDN'T ASK, YOU DON'T USE IT.

--But hey! If you ever find out someone has stolen your art or character designs DO NOT get into an argument. DO NOT post an angry journal entry and DO NOT get your friends to gang up on the theif and terrorize them.
All you do is either leave a comment saying "You stole this, you do not have permission to use this art and it should be deleted." and then report them. You don't even have to leave a comment if you want to. Just report them and move on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH BASES, SO WHY DO YOU HATE THEM?"

Ah. That is where you are mistaken my friends. Twice.

First of all, I do not hate bases. I love them. I've been using bases for a long time and I don't have anything against them . BUT there is a certain type of base I hate.

Which brings me two the second issue.

There IS something wrong with bases. The Monster High bases, at least.
What is wrong with them?
Well, guess what? Remember what I said about art theft?

Yes. That's right. Monster High bases are art theft.

But how? you ask.

---Well! This is how. Most Monster High bases (like 99% of them) were traced. How is this an issue? Well they were traced from someone's art. FOR EXAMPLE, this image is the ORIGINAL, COPYRIGHTED, OFFICIAL artwork of Purrsephone and Meowlody by the artist Darko Dordevic. If somebody traces that picture to make a base, they can be reported for art theft and plagiarism. They did not get permission to trace Drako's art so they were not allowed to use it.


---There is a site where they "give away" free clip art of Monster High characters for "Free use". It is in Spanish and said to be a Mattel site. HOWEVER I for one am suspicious of this site. There is no way to know A)If it really is a Mattel site, B) If the laws for using this clip are for free do or don't apply, and C) if tracing the free clip art is covered by said "Free" offer. IN ANY CASE, LEGAL OR NOT, TRACED BASES = HORRIBLE

----If someone were to make a Monster High base from scratch, without tracing art that already exists, then it would be okay to use that base!

---I know, you want to see your oc in Monster High style, but if you can't use bases, then what? Well... unfortunately I can't really say. There is not a breakdown of the Monster High style (yet) and it can be REALLY hard to pick up (I speak from experience). One thing you have to remember is that you won't become a better artist by using bases. The only way your art will get better is by trying on your own and sketching a lot. Most Monster High bases have awful anatomy or were traced really badly.

IF YOU CAN'T DRAW.
One thing you can do is commission art from someone. Unfortunately most artist won't draw you free art, so you'll have to pay either money or with points, but it's usually cheap (like 3-5 dollars or 20 points a picture).

If you don't have points or money to spend, you can also try doing a trade with someone. This means someone makes you a picture of your oc and you make them something. It could be a picture of their oc or a story, or whatever. Of course it has to be an equal thing and if you are not confident in your art then this option is out as well.

The last option you have is to build a bridge, get over your troubles and draw your oc yourself.
It doesn't have to be Monster High style, it doesn't have to look pretty. Just TRY. ANYTHING is better than using those silly looking traces bases.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"SPICE YOU DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT DOLL MAKERS OR DRESS UP GAMES. CAN I USE ONE OF THOSE?"

Unfortunately my answer is no.
Why?
Because that is art theft as well. Monster High (or non MH) dress up games were not meant for you to use as bio art for you MH oc.
They were just meant for momentary fun.

--- If you take a screencap or picture of something you made with a dress up game, and you want to upload it to dA, you HAVE to save the screencap to your scraps.
I'm not just saying this, it is a DeviantART rule. Right here. FAQ #502: Can I submit things which I made using different "games" like a doll maker or with other character generators?
I know the FAQ is pretty ...fancy and hard to read sometimes but it's basically saying that you can only save dress up game and doll maker screencaps to your scrapbook.

---Lucky for some of you, some of the dress up game creators are dA members, so you CAN and SHOULD ask them for permission before using their dress up game art for your MH oc.

--- Siblings. A lot of artists making a MH oc use the Monster High dress up games to make the sibling of a certain canan character. This is a no-no.
Think about it. If you have a sibling, do you look EXACTLY like your sister or brother? Do Nefera and Cleo look EXACTLY alike? Even though Howleen wants to be like her sister Clawdeen, does she look EXACTLY like her? NO! Of course not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"OKAY WELL, WHAT'S LEFT?"

Well, dear aritst, what's left is some extra info and important things I think you should know! :3

When you make a MH oc but you don't have confidence in your art, it's hard. You want to have art of them but since you lack the ability to make it yourself, and you probably have no money or points to request the art from someone else, you resort to using bases or dress up games.

BUT YOU HAVE TO REALIZE. Sometimes your art skill is much better than you realize. And even if it ISN'T that good, how can you get better at it if you sit and complain about how bad it is, but do nothing about it?

TRY. At least try to draw your oc and you don't have to upload or share it with anyone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"YEAH YEAH, OKAY WELL WHAT WAS THAT "LAYER" THING YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT?"

Oh yes. Layers!
Layers are very helpful and you can do all sorts of great things with them!
What are they?
It's a feature that comes with a lot of art programs. They allow you to draw things overtop and beneath other things (like the color of a shirt can go on a layer below the lineart).

Unfortunately MS Paint doesn't have a layers feature, so if you use it for bio making or art in general, it can get frustrating.

The most popular art/graphics programs that support layers are Adobe Photoshop, Manga Studio 5, and Paint Tool Sai. Of course each of these programs cost $50-60 but you can try them for free for 30 days if you like. HOWEVER!!! IF you are a full-time student then you might be able to use some programs for free (for at least 3 years)! I know Adobe and Autodesk (more for 3D art though) offer free programs to students!

Anyway, if you are still looking for programs that you can have forever with no cost or time limit, NEVER FEAR. I got your back. 

Here are some FREE programs that are similar to the popular programs, but MUCH better than MS Paint. (don't get me wrong, MS paint is great, but frustrating).

Sumo Paint -- One I used to use a lot when I was in high school. You don't even have to download anything! You just start using it straight from the browser!

Rate My Drawings -- This is a really cool site that allows you to draw things on a canvas and post it for others to look at. Much like Deviantart, they can comment on your art and give you good feedback (you can even add the app to your Chrome browser, if you use that).

-- The rest of these programs are free as well, BUT must be downloaded to your computer. --

Krita -- A very nice alternative to Photoshop. One of the best, I'd say.

Medibang Paint Pro -- Not one I've used yet, but I have it downloaded and I plan to try it out. It is supposed to be a good alternative to both PaintTool SAI and Manga Studio 5. You can use pre-made backgrounds, screentones, and textures, all for free!

Gimp -- I've never used it but I hear it's good.

Open Canvas -- I've never used this one either and I'm not sure how good it is.

Fire Alpaca -- I've used it for doodles and so far it's a pretty good program. It offers a lot of cool features as well.
 
Speedy Painter -- Haven't actually used it but it seems to be like a hybrid of photoshop and MS paint. !!!!Designed to be used by ONLY Wacom AND Windows users!!!

Inkscape -- This is ideal for vectors BUT is great for lineart!

Project Dogwaffle  -- Outdated, buuut still good(and free)!

Smooth Draw -- Another good one.


Of course, dAMuro is actually not too bad a graphics app either. It isn't the BEST but it's better than nothing (or MS Paint).

AND LASTLY, if you would like to try Monster High-ish styles then CLICK HERE. There are a lot of tutorials that show how other artists draw in their own Monster High-ish style.
Of course, 99% of these tutorials are for Sai but you guys are smart... you can pick up the general idea of the tutorials.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"GOT SOME LAST WORDS AND TIPS TO GIVE?"

I surely do.

** Something cool you can do is find a voice actor and/or singer that would play your oc in a movie or be their singing voice! Even if your oc doesn't sing, it's still a fun thing to do, and adds more depth to your oc's personality!

** Spend less time on outfits, more time on backstory. I know you want your oc to look cute and have all the needed outfits for each series (DotD, dead tired, Gloom Beach, and so on) BUT you can't let that be the only thing you do. You could have a million pictures of your oc in cute outfits, but your oc will still be flat, boring and uncreative if you don't spend the same amount of time on your oc's backstory. Where they came from, what their family is like, what has made them who they are right now?

** Don't be afraid to ask for help! Don't be scared or embarrassed to message or note a fellow artist for critique and tips! Someone else might just have the information you were looking for!

** Remember.. just because the monster parent you choose is not well known, does not mean you can't make a great oc from it! It can give you more creative control as well, without you having to worry about other oc's, movie cliche's, or stereotypes!

** Remember, just because someone is from a certan place, does not mean that is their whole world. You can be East Indian but love French food. You can be Asain, hate anime and love rap. It's all about your character's personality. NOT where they are from.

**NO. Gypsies, pirates and fortune tellers are NOT monsters. They are humans with a glorified or mystified profession/life style.

**Try not to go with the crowd. I can't tell you how many werecats, werewolves, skeleton kids, genies and vampires I've seen just this year alone. Take the time to google and READ about types of monsters!

**Don't be a butt and steal the Create-A-Mosnter pack doll designs. YES the CAM packs were made for you to put together a "custom" doll BUT that isn't an invitation for you to draw what comes in the CAM packs and call it your oc. BE MORE CREATIVE THAN THAT. I know you can. Dont just copy what's already there.

**BEWARE OF FURRIES. Yeah.. I know there's such thing as were-animals, but in the Monster High world, this doesn't mean you can just any random animal you love and turning it into a MH character. There has to be some sort of backstory (like with werecats, kitsunes, werewolves and lizard people). THere are myths and stories about these types of creatures but makign the son of the "were-porcupines" just doens't cut it. DO RESEARCH.

AND WITH THAT, MY FIRENDS, WE HAVE REACHED A STOPPING POINT.

Notice how I didn't say were were finished? BEcause you aren't. It takes months, and years to develop an oc and don't worry! If you oc changes and becomes someone totally different from what they are now, 6 months from today then that's great!
Oc's are suppsoed to change, grow, learn new things, try new things, and get into lots of trouble!

If you have any links, tutorials or helpful info just tell me and I'll add it to the list here, to share!

Remember take your time and DO RESEARCH!!

Brushe sused (c) MarianasMasterpiece