Tips for Designing a Scientist OC!

What kind of character can you usually find doing research in a lab? Why, scientist OCs! Scientists and similar characters are a fun addition to stories, especially stories of the sci-fi genre! You might recognize different scientist characters such as…

• Ryland Grace, also known as Dr. Grace, from the book and popular movie Project Hail Mary!
• Victor Frankenstein from the book Frankenstein!
• Dr. Doofenshmirtz, from the show Phineas and Ferb!
• Professor Oak, from the Pokémon franchise!

There’s a lot of different types of scientists with all kinds of unique roles! Whether you need a cool smart professor for your protagonist OC, or you want to create an evil inventor antagonist, a scientist can be a great addition to a story! So how do you go about designing a scientist OC? Let’s talk about it!

What kind of scientist is your OC?

First off! You want to think about what kind of scientist you want to design and what their world looks like. You might design a scientist differently if you’re trying to create a more realistic story than if you were to design a scientist for a sci-fi story!

You’ll also want to consider what field of science your character is in. There’s a lot of different kinds of scientists! If you need some ideas for what you can consider before you start designing your scientist, here’s some to think about!

• What genre is your OC’s story meant to be?
• What’s the personality of the character?
• Are they good, evil, or morally grey?
• What field of science do they study?
• What kind of scientist are they?
• What role in the story does the scientist play?

Once you have an idea for what kind of scientist you’re creating, you can decide how you want to go about their design! Since there’s so many kinds of scientists, there’s plenty of ways you could go about designing your OC! Having an idea for what kind of character you want to create can help you get started with designing!

Give your scientist a fitting outfit!

It’s time to design your scientist’s outfit! Whether it’s a lab coat or a nice suit, scientists often have outfits that fit their role and job!

Add a cool motif or aesthetic to your scientist’s design!

One thing you can think about is giving your scientist a design motif or aesthetic. Both can be used to give the design a cohesive look that also fits the OC! There’s plenty of aesthetics that have a scholarly or sci-fi look that you could choose from.

There’s a lot of different motifs you could use for a scientist as well! You could choose a motif that fits the field of science your OC is in! If you need some ideas for what kind of aesthetic or motif you could add, you could try…

• A gear motif
• A dark academia aesthetic
• An electric motif
• A light academia aesthetic
• An animal motif
• A cyberpunk aesthetic
• A bone motif
• A steampunk aesthetic
• A plant motif

A motif or aesthetic can provide you with a guide for starting your scientist OC’s design! You can choose one based on something like the personality of your OC, their interests, or the genre of their story! What aesthetic or motif you give your character is up to you, and you don’t even have to give them one if you don’t want to!

Earlier I mentioned that you could choose a motif based on an OC’s personality. If you haven’t given your OC a personality and you need some ideas for how to get started, check out this article on how to choose your OC's personality! 

What clothes would fit your scientist best?

Now that you have a motif or aesthetic picked out, it’s time to pick the actual clothes of your scientist character! While not always, scientists often wear professional clothing that suits their scholarly role. 

That being said, the clothing your scientist wears will also depend on the character’s unique personality. A more carefree or experimental researcher might have a more disheveled look than another scientist who’s more uptight. If you need some ideas for clothes you could give your scientist, you could try…

• A vest
• A sweater vest
• A suit and tie
• A button up shirt
• A turtleneck sweater
• Dress pants
• A blouse
• A blazer
• A T-shirt with a science joke on it

There’s plenty of options when it comes to clothing for your scientist OC! You can also add different accessories to make a scientist OC look more…science-y!

If you need more ideas for designing your OC’s outfit, you might consider how their design changes over the course of their story. If you need ideas for how to visually design your character’s growth, check out this article on the topic here!

Give your scientist some cool tools or gear!

For the next aspect of your OC’s outfit, you can think about giving them tools, gear, and accessories! Scientists, especially ones who run experiments or work in the field, often wear protective gear while on the job. They also might have special tools specific to their job!

Scientist characters might also have fun accessories that match their interests. They might have a cool pin, earrings, or something else that has a cool theme to it! Accessories could also be a great way to incorporate your OC’s motif if you decided to give them one! If you need some ideas for gear or accessories you could give your scientist, you could try…

• A labcoat
• Goggles
• Rubber gloves
• Protective headgear
• Headphones
• A lanyard
• Animal earrings
• A skeleton-themed hair clip
• A gas mask
• A glass vial
• A clipboard
• A research journal

Accessories can be a great way to tie a look together! The accessories could help your audience tell what kind of scientist your character is, as well as just being a cool way to add interest to your scientist’s design!

If your scientist resides on a unique planet, they might have more advanced gear than a human scientist would. If you need help creating a planet for your OC’s world, check out this article all about creating a planet for a sci-fi story!

Can you use your scientist’s appearance to your advantage?

Another thing to consider when designing your scientist OC is their appearance! You could utilize aspects like shape language, hairstyles, and unique details to enhance your scientist’s design!

Could you use shape language in your scientist’s design?

One aspect you can think about when designing your OC is shape language! Shape language can be helpful for showing your audience what type of character your scientist is. Different types of shape language can give a character a different look!

Sharp shape language often indicates a more action-based character. It could also indicate a more dangerous one! Square shape language often indicates a steadfast character, while round shapes often represent a more friendly character! If you need some ideas for how you could incorporate shape language into your scientist’s design, you could consider…

• Sharp shape language for an energetic scientist OC who’s always on the go
• Square shape language for a scientist OC who never backs down
• Round shape language for a sweet scientist who wants to help others
• Sharp shape language mixed with square shape language for a dangerous and imposing scientist
• Square combined with round shape language for a strong but sweet scientist
• Round shapes combined with sharp shape language for a scientist who’s both energetic and friendly

You can mix and match shape language however you see fit! You might incorporate it into the face shape, body, hair, or clothes of your scientist OC! Shape language can also help give your OC a recognizable silhouette and make it easier for your scientist to stand out among other characters!

If you need more tips on shape language and silhouette, check out this article all about the topic here!

Give your scientist a fun hairstyle!

You can also think about giving your scientist a cool hairstyle! Some scientists wear their hair tied back so that it’s out of the way. Other scientists might wear their hair more wild!

You could pick a hairstyle based on the scientist’s personality. A more uptight character might wear their hair neat, while a more laid-back scientist might just wear their hair down. You could also consider incorporating the shape language you picked for your character into the hairstyle! If you need some ideas for hairstyles you could give your scientist, you could try…

• A high ponytail
• A tight bun
• Spiky messy hair
• Neat braids
• Wild curly hair
• A short bob
• A short mid-part style

There’s lots more hairstyles you could choose from as well! Pick whatever you think will fit your scientist character best; have fun with it!

If you need more tips for choosing hairstyles for your OCs, check out this article all about the topic here!

Add some unique details to your scientist’s design!

Lastly, you can choose to add unique details to your scientist’s design! This can be especially fun if you’re creating a sci-fi story, and you can incorporate cool elements into your scientist’s look!

Maybe an experiment went wrong and it left them with a white streak in their hair. Or, maybe an experiment succeeded and it gave the character superpowers! If you need some ideas for details you could add to your scientist OC, you could try…

• Multicolored hair
• Multicolored eyes
• A streak of color in the hair
• Glowing eyes 
• Glowing limbs
• A fantasy skin tone
• A gradient on the limbs
• A large scar
• Neon tattoos

There’s plenty of different features you could add to your scientist’s design! Unique features can help a character stand out among other OCs, so mix and match to see what you like best for your character!

If your OC ends up with too many extra details and you’re not too sure how to simplify the design, check out this article here for some tips to help you out!

Once you create your scientist OC, be sure to share them with us here on Unvale! You’re also welcome to make a post about your scientist character in the Unavle-Blog community! Have fun creating!