Bubble's Guide to making an Animal Jam FC!

Welcome to my guide of making an Animal Jam FC!.... Or just making a character in general. So let's get started! Note that this is inspired by Emerald Pup's Writer's Tips and Lessons blog post and not all of the facts here are accurate. I'm new to this wiki, but yet, I know how to create an OC, usually :V

Lesson One - Design
My suggestion is to start with the design of your character. Of course, you don't always have to do that first, but I'll start with that in this page. Let's start with the body shape of your character. You can design whatever you want your character to be! However, for FCs from fandoms, you MUST use the basic body type that fits with the media. Of course, it's not always this way. In fact, I've seen a few OCs that don't look like they fit in their fandom at all!

Next, we got accessories. According for fandoms, this must be on your character, while with others, it's optional. BUT, for original ones, you can design anything you want! It's your character. How about put accessories that fit with the character's personality. There's such thing as 'aesthetic,' you'd know? For example, have a gothic and edgy character wear some spike bracelets or ripped jeans.

Then there's face expressions and poses. This also depends on the character's personality. For example, someone with CRIBBLING DEPRESSION can have a stressed out face with his head down. You can also draw multiples of face expressions and poses for the character, maybe with his sad or angry face!

Finally, we got colors. Make sure the colors you choose match together and don't hurt you eyes. I suggest not using most neon colors. However, pastel colors can fit, as long as the character's personality is kawaii! Also, don't use distracting colors that will confuse the reader at what part he/she/they should look at. For animal jam fan characters, I suggest usually going for colors to relate to the actual color palette when decorating your animal.

Lesson Two - Personality
Okay, up next is personality. It's your character's traits, according their minds. This includes likes, dislikes, their hobbies and maybe jobs, and other stuff I'm too lazy to add in! Just saying your character's personality is perfect, will just (maybe) be too bland, and maybe lazy? I dunno about that, but saying that they're 'perfect,' isn't gonna make the cut.

Also, give them flaws! Nobody's perfect, so why not our characters? Maybe a determined warrior can be stubborn and have pride at time, just like Sir Gilbert... and Liza, at least. Anyway, that's doesn't mean you have to add TOO many weaknesses! A character with only weaknesses is called an 'Anti-Sue.' You should also add strengths, but not too many, or you might get a 'Mary-Sue!' A Mary Sue is a character with no flaws. And yes, a bland character is what you get if you exclude both weaknesses and strengths. I mean, it's fine, but doesn't have much variety within it.

Lesson Three - Backstory
Backstory is what it's says: a story of your character! This is what causes their personality. Think of it as Cause and Effect, one of those terrible lessons in English Class. Backstory is the cause, and personality is the effect. For example, a gothic person may have a tragic backstory, or a normal guy/girl may have a normal backstory.

I've also got another thing to say: ask questions in order to figure out their backstory. For example: Owen the Otter from my series, 'The Huntleys,' wants to explore the deep depths of the ocean, but can't. Why? He's too young. Why? Because the Jamaa Government says so. Why? Because jammers might get hurt and never come back. See what I mean?

Lesson Four - Names and Relationships
Names are also an important part of your story. They're known usually for their name. A character's name can describe their appearance, personality, and other stuff! It can be a word for an object, or an actual name! The choice is yours.

Now, for relationships. These are bonds (and arguments) that your characters has triggered overtime. It can be a lover, friend, family member, or enemy!

Conclusion + Suggestions?
Now that concludes this guide of character design (ha, that rhymes. AGAIN!). Not everything about character design is on here. Remember, this isn't completely accurate. So, any suggestions? Comment down below, so I could add them. I'll all be updating this every now and then, so stay tuned!