Oc Character Sheet

An original character (OC) comes alive when you know more than their look: what they want, what they’re afraid of, the little habits that make them recognisable. This character sheet maker walks through the essentials, offers random prompts for traits, goals, flaws and quirks when inspiration stalls, and prints a tidy one-page profile you can keep with your art or story notes.

What goes on a character sheet

You don’t need every box filled at the start — many creators add details as they draw and write.

Wants, flaws and conflict

The most useful part of a character profile for storytelling is the tension between what a character wants and what stops them. A cartographer who longs to map the unknown but can’t ask for help will run into trouble the moment the journey needs a team. Pair each want with a flaw or fear, and you have a character who can change over a story — which readers find far more engaging than a character who is simply good at everything.

Building a colour palette

• Choose one main colour that people will associate with the character.
• Add one or two supporting colours for clothes or accessories.
• Include a light and a dark neutral for skin, hair or outlines.
• Keep the same palette across drawings for recognisability.
• Test the palette in greyscale to check the character reads clearly.

The five colour pickers save straight onto the printed sheet, and the hex codes are included in the text download for digital art programs.

Worked example

Wren Hallowell is a 19-year-old cartographer’s apprentice in a floating city. Her palette pairs a copper main colour with slate blue, parchment cream, moss green and ink black. She is endlessly curious with a dry sense of humour, wants to map the unexplored, can’t ask for help, and has a habit of drawing maps on napkins. Her backstory — found as a child in a crate of charts and raised by the city’s map-keeper — explains both her skill and her need to prove herself. Her rival Cass gives her someone to push against.

Using random prompts

The dice button fills personality, goal, flaw, quirk and setting with random prompts from a list of hundreds of combinations. Use it for warm-ups, art challenges or when a character feels flat. Keep what sparks an idea and rewrite the rest — the prompts are starting points, not rules.

Avoiding common pitfalls

• Too many special powers with no limits — give abilities costs or weaknesses.
• Tragic backstory with no effect on present behaviour — show how the past shapes choices.
• Only positive traits — flaws make characters relatable.
• A look that doesn’t match the setting — think about climate, job and culture.
• Being “different from everyone” without specifics — show it through actions and quirks.

Questions to deepen a character

• What do they want, and what do they actually need?
• What would they never do — and what would push them to do it?
• Who do they trust most, and why?
• What is their happiest memory and their biggest regret?
• How do they talk: formal, blunt, rambling, quiet?
• What do other people get wrong about them?

Answering even a few of these in the backstory box gives you material for scenes and dialogue.

Character arcs

Add a line to the backstory about where the character might be by the end — it gives every scene a direction.

Designing for drawing

• Give the character a distinctive silhouette — recognisable as a black shape.
• Choose two or three signature details (a coat, a scar, a hairstyle) and keep them consistent.
• Match clothing to their job, climate and personality.
• Draw a turnaround (front, side, back) so the design stays consistent.
• Record height relative to other characters for group scenes.

Where OCs are used

Original characters appear in comics, novels, animation projects, tabletop and online role-play, fan communities and art challenges. A consistent sheet makes collaboration easier — commissioning art, sharing with co-writers, or keeping a long-running role-play character consistent.

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