Making a Fandom OC: A Self-Insert Starter Guide
Want to create an OC for your favorite fandom? Learn how to research the source material, blend it with your own ideas, and bring a self-insert or fandom character to life.
Ever thought to yourself, “gosh, other people’s fandom OCs are so cool, but I don’t know how to make one?” Or maybe you’ve got an idea in your head, but you’re used to making characters for your original world and the idea of making a fandom OC is fresh and new? Well, this article is for you!
What Is A Self Insert OC?
A ‘self insert’ is often a version of yourself, the author, that you’re creating to put into a story; basically a persona (sona) of sorts. It’s you, but with powers or a backstory that fits the world you’re making the self insert for. My sona, Solar Sunrise, is a great example of a self-insert OC for the Nintendo series, Splatoon; I gave her my real-life hairstyle and dressed her how I would dress using clothes from the game.
What Is A Fandom OC?
A fandom OC is a character you make to insert into an existing work, and is actually usually the way the term ‘OC’ (original character) is used as most writers describe their characters in their original works as just ‘my characters’. They can be from book series, movies, or even video games.
Below is art of a fandom OC of mine for Path to Nowhere, Beatrix. A fandom OC can interact with the canon characters of the work, exist in their own space in the world, or cross-over with another series, whatever you’d like!
You can also create fan OCs for collab worlds on Unvale. These are community created worlds open for others to join and create their own OCs and stories for, so keep an eye out for a collab world that might be perfect for you.
Seeking Inspiration For Fandom OCs
You don’t need a deep understanding of a work to make a fan character for it, but personally I think the research is what makes it all the more fun! When you’re a big enough fan of something, you often start to note down interesting questions that you have about the world, and things that excite you about. Do you have any questions about how your favourite worlds work that you want answered? Other fans might have collected all the info you need on a wiki, or this could be a chance to completely create your own explanation!
If you have a favourite group or species of characters, you’ve also got a great place to start creating a character from. Since they have established traits and a place in their world, you can take advantage of the template to create your own unique OC for that group; you can even easily connect your new fandom OC to other people’s OCs of the same group!
Here are some fandoms you can make a specific type of character for:
- A Gem from Steven Universe
- A Pokémon or Pokémon trainer
- A Hylian, Rito, Zora, Goron or Gerudo from The Legend of Zelda
- An Inkling or Octoling from Splatoon
- An OC for The Amazing Digital Circus
Conclusion: Why Make A Fandom OC?
Whether you want to connect to other fans, delve deeper into a story and world, or just want to date your favourite character, there are tons of reasons to create a fandom OC. It’s a way to keep interacting with a work even after you’ve finished reading, watching or playing.
You can insert yourself into the story or create a new character to adventure across the fantasy landscapes that sparks your creativity; fandom OCs are an expression of love for a piece of media, and are simply fun to make, so why not make one today?
Community Fandom OCs
The Unvale community has thousands of fandom OCs for you to discover, just by searching for your fandom on the site. Don’t be shy about leaving comments; you might just make a new friend for your OCs or even for yourself! Here are a few examples of fandom OCs in the community.
- Snapshot by EAries (Transformers OC)
- Roran The Rabbit by Odysseyre (Sonic the Hedgehog OC)
- BERRYSWIRL by KandiArtKit (My Little Pony OC)
- Vijaya Sahdmadhi by corpsemo (Ace Attorney OC)
- cardboard box by chlcken (The Amazing Digital Circus/TADC OC)
Solar