Tips for Designing a Ghost OC!
The spooky characters just keep coming! With aliens, monsters, vampires, and other creatures lurking around, another ghoul joins the party…ghosts! Ghosts are a popular character type, often found in fantasy or folktales! You’ve probably seen ghost characters before, and you might recognize some such as…
- The Headless Horseman
- Emily (I personally think she falls into the ghost category!)
- Nabstablook
- Spectra
Ghosts are a fairly popular kind of character! They often serve as characters who have died and haven’t been able to move on! Sometimes they’re friendly and just want help, other times they’re evil and out for vengeance! So, how do you design a spooky ghost character? Enter the nearest haunted manor, and let’s talk about it!
What kind of ghost is your OC?
First off, what kind of ghost character are you designing? A design for a spooky specter in a horror story might appear different from a sweet spirit in a comedy or fantasy story! Depending on the purpose behind your ghost OC, you might want to consider different kinds of designs that match that! Ghosts are often characters who died a long time ago, so their design might reflect the past instead of the modern day! Before brainstorming ideas for your ghost OC, you can consider different questions such as…
- What kind of story is your ghost OC in?
- What kind of ghost are they?
- What time period are they from?
- Are they meant to be scary?
- How did they become a ghost?
- Why are they a ghost?
- How long have they been a ghost for?
- Are they a nice, evil, or morally grey ghost?
Coming up with answers to the questions above, or questions of your own, can help give you an idea on how to go about designing your ghost character! If you want a scarier or evil ghost, you could lean more into the horror aspects of their design! If you want a more cutesy or sweet ghost, you could give them a design that reflects their friendliness!
If you’re stumped on how you should design your ghost character, considering different things like their personality and role in the story can help give you ideas! As we go through this article, try thinking of answers to some of the questions above, and see if you can use those to give you inspiration for your ghost OC!
Give your ghost an eerie outfit!
Outfits are a great way to make a ghost design look interesting and eerie! Whether their outfit shows what kind of person they were before they died, or shows off the time they were from, a good outfit will be a great part of your spirit’s spooky look!
Could you incorporate a unique aesthetic into your ghost’s design?
One way to start off designing a ghost design is to research a cool aesthetic to give them! There are plenty of aesthetics that reflect different time periods in fashion, or have a wistful feel that could fit a ghostly OC. If you need some ideas or inspiration for different aesthetics to consider looking up, you can try different ones such as…
- Ghostcore
- Vampire
- Goth
- Romantic goth
- Victorian
- Dark Academia
- Dark fantasy
- Knightcore
- Medieval fantasy
- Whimsigoth
- Plaguecore
- Goth lolita
Giving your ghost an aesthetic that suits their character can be a great way to help create a unique look, and coordinate their design. The ones above are cool aesthetics you can consider, but there are many more options you could use!
A good example of using aesthetics for a ghost design would be Stove’s OC Leo! Leo has a fun gothic aesthetic to their design!
Another good example would be Enfysnarratives’s OC Grey! Grey has a fun victorian aesthetic as part of the design!
Give your ghost some interesting clothes!
Clothes are a great way to create interest in your ghost’s design! Since their deaths often took place long in the past, their clothes are often worn out or outdated. You could take inspiration from a specific aesthetic, or try researching the kinds of clothes worn in the time period your ghost is from! If you need some clothing ideas to get you started, you can try things such as…
- A long tattered gown
- A tattered dress shirt
- A flowy robe
- An old suit
- A faded ball gown
- A corset
- A vest
- A large coat
- An eerie cape
There are lots of different types of clothing you could use for your ghost character’s design! Depending on the context around your ghost, you can pick different clothing that would suit them! A fancy ghost from the Victorian era probably wouldn’t be found wearing modern fashion, and a ghost haunting a modern-day high school probably won’t be wearing clothing from a hundred years ago!
A good example of using clothes for a ghost design would be Frolltomstein’s OC Duke! Duke wears fancy masquerade attire!
Another good example would be Ast’s OC Ghost! Ghost wears fancy and mysterious clothing!
Try adding some spooky accessories to your ghost’s design!
When it comes to a ghostly outfit, adding some interesting accessories can really enhance their design and really make the character look more otherworldly! Ghosts often have eerie or strange accessories that make them look even spookier! If you need some ideas for ghostly accessories you could include in your character’s design, you could try adding...
- A spooky lantern
- A spooky candelabra
- A tall staff
- Chains
- A dark veil
- Lace gloves
- Elbow-length gloves
- A wilted flower crown
- A faded shawl
- A plague mask
- A tattered doll
There’s plenty of unique accessories that could really make your ghost look haunting and eerie! Adding some accessories that fit your ghost character will create extra interest in your ghost’s design, and make them look more unique! Accessories could reflect what they might have done in their past life, or just be a fun addition to their look!
A good example of using accessories for a ghost design would be Fiendology’s OC Nocuous! Nocuous has spooky glowing chains!
Another good example would be Emjey’s OC Jora! Jora has a spooky lantern and other accessories!
Could you use your ghost’s appearance to your advantage?
Ghosts are often known for having an otherworldly and melancholic look, and you can use their appearance to show that off! Since they’re supernatural beings from beyond the grave, they often have spooky traits that reflect that!
Consider your ghost’s build!
Something you can consider about your ghost’s appearance is their build! Since they are a type of undead character, they can have details that a normal human wouldn’t have! If you want to add to your ghost’s spooky factor, you could play around with details that could make them look extra eerie! You could try giving your ghost different things such as…
- Elongated arms
- Elongated legs
- A frame thinner than a human’s
- Features that reflect how they died
- Limbs replaced by bones
- Missing limbs
- A ghost tail instead of legs
- Claw-like fingers
- Uncanny features
There’s lots of ways you could use your ghost’s build to create an interesting and spooky look! Features like the ones above can help the audience determine that your ghost is, well, a ghost!
A good example of using build for a ghost design would be IllegallyExisting’s OC Dr. Vincent! Dr. Vincent has a cool ghost tail!
Another good example would be Phantaloon’s OC Phantrap! Phantrap is another character with a cool ghost tail!
Is there an eerie hairstyle that would suit your ghost?
Another aspect of your ghost’s appearance you can consider when creating their design is their hairdo! You could give your ghost a hairstyle that makes them look mysterious, or you could try a hairstyle that was trendy in a different time period!
- wispy wavy hair
- A short, choppy bob
- Long bangs covering the eyes
- An old-fashioned bun
- Long curls
A fun and spooky hairstyle can be a great addiction to your ghost’s design! It can help reflect their character, and show off their ghostly character!
A good example of using hairstyles for a ghost design would be Rainbo’s OC Lini! Lini has some fun green braids!
Another good example would be Sol’s OC Merona! Merona has glowing multicolored hair!
Add some spooky details to your ghost’s design!
A final cool way to really add to a ghost character’s design is to incorporate some spooky details! Since ghosts are supernatural creatures, they can have fantasy-like elements as part of their appearance! Some fantasy elements can help your ghost feel mystical! If you need some inspiration, some ideas you could add could be things like…
- Translucent skin
- Transparent skin
- A gradient on limbs
- Floating hair
- Glowing hair
- Glowing eyes
- A ghostly color palette
- Cartoony, jelly-like organs visible
- Sparkling skin
- Floating objects around the OC
Adding some eerie and interesting details to your ghost will help them look unique and cool! Just like with your ghost’s build, details like the ones above will help the audience tell that your character’s a ghost!
A good example of using spooky details for a ghost design would be Jesso’s OC Nefarre! Nefarre has eerie, glowing yellow eyes!
Another good example would be Marcelo’s OC Jackson! Jackson has a spooky pumpkin head!
Designing a ghost character can be a fun challenge! Incorporating a fitting aesthetic, choosing spooky clothes and accessories, and giving your ghost an eerie appearance are all fun ways to create a cool design for your character!
While we’re on the topic of ghosts and ghouls, have you considered using a public domain monster for character inspiration? If you want to learn about different public domain monsters, check out this article here! If you already have enough spooky characters for a story and want to learn how to write a scary scene, check out this article here!