OCs come in all shapes and sizes and all sorts of colors too. When it comes to creating a new character,
we for the most part have an unlimited array of choices and combinations of colors we can pick from. Of course
what actually looks good is a bit subjective, but you get what I mean.
Yet there's one combination of colors that seems to annoy us to no end: red and black. Why is that? So in this video
we're going to be taking a look at red and black OCs.
What are they and why is there such a hatred towards them? Let's talk about that!
*Good Mythical Morning Intro Music*
So what's the deal with red and black OCs??
OMG, that is literally the worst lead up to a joke ever.
I mean, Red's a great color, Black's a great color artistically speaking they can work very well together.
Yet, there's this negative stigma associated with the choice, so what am I talking about when I say red and black OCs?
Red and black OCs are characters that are known and notorious for being overly edgy, dark, angsty, tough, mysterious.
You know the type. Often times they're presented in shows and entertainment as the bad guys; the evil ones,
intent on destroying the world or accumulating massive amounts of wealth or power, you name it.
Or they're presented as the lone wolf silent, but strong types. Cold, capable, cunning. *Alliteration is fun*
They'll get the job done
and they're not out to make friends.
In MLP especially, you tend to not see characters that are truly red and black in appearance.
In shows like these, the appearance is often very telling of the mood and personality
of a character.
That's why the happy and bouncy characters are colored very brightly and vividly,
whereas the more emotional characters tend to have
darker more flat colors. And of course the dark evil characters often have an appearance to match.
It's important to note that red and black OCs at least in the way that I'm referring to them, don't actually have to be red and black in appearance!
They tend to be called this because often enough they have a darker more... unfriendly appearance to them.
More often than not being a mixture of, you guessed it: red and black. But they can look like almost anything
And on that same note just because a character is red and black in appearance does not necessarily make them red and black OCs.
At least in this context. Now, how's that for a head spinner.
So again, why is there so much negative criticism towards red and black OCs? What's the problem?
Well, what are the major problems many have with them is that they just don't fit into the world of Equestria!
They often look very out of place.
Remember: Equestria is for the most part a very bright and friendly location plenty of pastel colored characters going about their happy lives
It's a very idealistic world
It could be a bit jarring suddenly seeing a red and black OC in this
environment. And as I mentioned earlier
in shows like MLP the appearance of a character is often very telling of their personality.
Red and black is almost always reserved for the truly evil in Equestria
So guys like Sombra and Tirek.
This is why the Changelings were given a whole new look,
specifically a new color palette and theme when they were reformed.
And why villains who end up being redeemed like Starlight and Sunset tend to not be so outwardly evil looking.
Now obviously that isn't to say that your character has to solely consist of
bright pastel colors, the choice is yours, but the fact is: unless they're full-time villain, red and black characters
just do not fit in easily from a visual standpoint with the rest of Equestria.
Of course it's not just the appearance of the character that matters here
Personality and disposition are as much of a factor at play as the presentation.
Now maybe this is just me, but often times when I see or hear about red and black OCs
they're frequently these dark angsty mysterious edgy individuals.
They're often the perfect assassins trained in 43 different fighting styles!
Highly skilled at covert operations with little 35 technology deadly with the well bound spork and practically unstoppable
So the problem that characters like this face
is that they end up being exactly like Mary Sues.
Now obviously the more common and well-known version of a Mary Sue is the typical perfect princess. Great at everything loved by all
unbelievably powerful and unstoppable yada, yada, yada,
set to achieve an unrealistically high standard and while the traditional Mary Sue's are normally presented as good and just characters
Red and black OCs are their opposite counterpart; both, are Mary Sue's but on completely different sides of the spectrum
and this is where I think a lot of the negative criticism stems from for red and black OCs.
They tend to be anti Mary Sues.
Sure, they're usually dark, and gloomy, have tragic backstories, and don't live what we would consider glamorous lives.
But they're still often absolutely unrealistic characters, and it could be quite insufferable.
As I've mentioned many times over in previous videos,
it's important to make your character realistic within the scope of the universe they live in.
Equestria is a very bright and happy place. You tend not to have characters who are perfect soldiers.
Now that's not to say that you can't have a dark or gloomy or edgy character
to begin with but you should take into account the world that surrounds them.
Again Equestria is a generally very safe and kind place to live! That's not to say that characters in this world can only
have great and positive upbringings, but if your character has a backstory that befits the Fallout universe
That might be a bit questionable. In my honest opinion, I've never really had too many problems with red and black OCs.
Visually they can actually be quite appealing when done correctly!
Such as using less
contrasting colors and shades and a personality with a touch of edge to it can create an excellent
contrast to the bubbly world we know and love!
Red and black OCs can absolutely work, but of course
it could be off-putting to see the truly dark, edgy, red and black OCs.
They just don't fit into the world. In many ways. And they can admittedly come across as just a bit cringy.
Often a futile attempt to make their character as hardcore, or powerful, or as
misunderstood as possible. Simply put: they don't make interesting characters at least in my opinion.
They tend to be boring and uninspired when taken to the edginess
extremes, I think it comes from novice writers trying too hard to make their character as impressive possible.
There's nothing wrong with making badass characters,
but it's always helpful to keep things within the reality and scope of the universe they were created for.
But now I want to hear from you. What's your opinion on red and black OCs?
Do you like them, hate them, somewhere in-between? Let me know in the comments section below!
I always love hearing what you have to say. So with that,
I want to thank you all so much for watching this video
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But with that, thank you again SOO much for watching this video, this Tyndaga signing out!!