Experiences Whats making you angry today? Rp pet peeves

[Antlered]

Anime face claims. I cannot even begin to imagine what your character really looks like when they share the exact same face with 500 other characters, all of which look more like insects than actual human beings. Unless you're intentionally going for the bright-colored-bug-eyed-look in a fantasy setting, which is another horror altogether.

Stolen face claims. If you cannot be bothered to find out who made the drawing you found from Pinterest, ask the artist if it's okay for you to use it for your own character, AND credit them in your character's bio, I do not want anything to do with you.

If I join a new RP group and find out 90% of the people in there use anime or stolen face claims, I will yeet myself out of there ASAP. I'm not dealing with that shite.

 

[defenderofberk]

Stolen face claims. If you cannot be bothered to find out who made the drawing you found from Pinterest, ask the artist if it's okay for you to use it for your own character, AND credit them in your character's bio, I do not want anything to do with you.

This can be harder than you think, as rather than specifically looking for faceclaims/pictures I have a collection of them from all over the place, such as free blogs I follow (where they often post up other people work), discord chats I'm in, fandom groups or fashion websites, where sometimes I save outfits only to realise they'd make pretty good faceclaims. I never deliberately try to steal anyones work or claim it as my own, but as for running around attempting to find the original artists and ask permission... that's a bit much.

 

[Crenando]

Anime face claims. I cannot even begin to imagine what your character really looks like when they share the exact same face with 500 other characters

People pick samey-looking characters anyways. At least they have an excuse when it's generic pinterest anime characters, because most of the time, those are designed to be generic.
What's the excuse when you can take literally anyone's real world face and slap it on your character?

 

[rae2nerdy]

People pick samey-looking characters anyways. At least they have an excuse when it's generic pinterest anime characters, because most of the time, those are designed to be generic.
What's the excuse when you can take literally anyone's real world face and slap it on your character?

Same core issue actually. It’s a lack of search skills. People essentially search the same keywords either way.

Oh blue eyed blonde, blue eyed brunette, etc.

It’s why I try to start with a specific feature. Like braces, frizzy hair, biracial, fuller figure. I also use specific photo sites (or picrew) because that way you are not getting just a generic photo from Google.

But honestly even google would be fine if people just searched for more diverse body types or appearances.

 

[SP3CT3R]

Anime face claims. I cannot even begin to imagine what your character really looks like when they share the exact same face with 500 other characters, all of which look more like insects than actual human beings. Unless you're intentionally going for the bright-colored-bug-eyed-look in a fantasy setting, which is another horror altogether.

Stolen face claims. If you cannot be bothered to find out who made the drawing you found from Pinterest, ask the artist if it's okay for you to use it for your own character, AND credit them in your character's bio, I do not want anything to do with you.

If I join a new RP group and find out 90% of the people in there use anime or stolen face claims, I will yeet myself out of there ASAP. I'm not dealing with that shite.

This can be harder than you think, as rather than specifically looking for faceclaims/pictures I have a collection of them from all over the place, such as free blogs I follow (where they often post up other people work), discord chats I'm in, fandom groups or fashion websites, where sometimes I save outfits only to realise they'd make pretty good faceclaims. I never deliberately try to steal anyones work or claim it as my own, but as for running around attempting to find the original artists and ask permission... that's a bit much.

People pick samey-looking characters anyways. At least they have an excuse when it's generic pinterest anime characters, because most of the time, those are designed to be generic.
What's the excuse when you can take literally anyone's real world face and slap it on your character?

Same core issue actually. It’s a lack of search skills. People essentially search the same keywords either way.

Oh blue eyed blonde, blue eyed brunette, etc.

It’s why I try to start with a specific feature. Like braces, frizzy hair, biracial, fuller figure. I also use specific photo sites (or picrew) because that way you are not getting just a generic photo from Google.

But honestly even google would be fine if people just searched for more diverse body types or appearances.

*Reaches over and slams "use descriptions" button without looking up from what I'm doing*

 

[Antlered]

This can be harder than you think, as rather than specifically looking for faceclaims/pictures I have a collection of them from all over the place, such as free blogs I follow (where they often post up other people work), discord chats I'm in, fandom groups or fashion websites, where sometimes I save outfits only to realise they'd make pretty good faceclaims. I never deliberately try to steal anyones work or claim it as my own, but as for running around attempting to find the original artists and ask permission... that's a bit much.

Google reverse image search exists for a reason.

People pick samey-looking characters anyways. At least they have an excuse when it's generic pinterest anime characters, because most of the time, those are designed to be generic.
What's the excuse when you can take literally anyone's real world face and slap it on your character?

You are absolutely right, people tend to pick samey-looking faces anyway, and those are not the kind of people I care to roleplay with either.
When it comes to using real world people as face claims, everyone's free to follow their own moral compass with the knowledge that they will be judged accordingly.

*Reaches over and slams "use descriptions" button without looking up from what I'm doing*

That's the spirit.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I mean some people are visual readers and that's not a bad thing. I think a big problem is people aren't very creative with their characters in general. If the bulk of your descriptions is; "Skinny but curvy in all the right places, pale skin, blue eyes, brown/red/blonde hair." Then the characters are gonna be generic as hell regardless of whether you use descriptions/photos/art.

Hell at that point I think visuals actually help provided you know what you're doing. Because at least then you might get a different art style or model for your generic description. So you can be like "Well this generic white girl is the one with the red shirt or the more cartoony art style, whereas this generic white girl is the one with the purple shirt or the more photorealistic art style."

Or if the people are just straight up using actors/characters/models. "This is the girl who plays Starlight on the Boys, this is one from Disney Channel, this is the one that is clearly just a model." OR "This is a character from X anime, this is a character from Y anime, this is a character from Z anime."

 

[defenderofberk]

Google reverse image search exists for a reason.

That function isn't all that useful, the few times I have used it (I was trying to find more fanart in a particular style) it has either just shown similar images by other people or the same image posted up all over the place, making tracking down the original owner very difficult (also many people create and then abandon accounts, so even if you do find them getting in touch isn't always possible). If I know someone doesn't want their art shared obviously I wouldn't use it but I don't really see the problem as long as you don't claim it as yours. I'd of thought randomly taking someone's picture off Instagram or something and making that your character would've been worse, as admittedly I wouldn't like someone using me as a character.

I think another part of the problem is that unless you go really out of your way, your character is going to be considered generic to someone. Tall and slim, overdone. Chubby and cute, overdone. Tall and chubby, usually done with guys but can be done with girls too, less common but still fairly generic. Pale or fair skinned, overdone. Tanned or quite dark skinned, pretty popular too. So nothing is really that unique physically wise, although more characters missing limbs is actually something I'd like to see.

 

[Crenando]

On the note of using strangers' faces as faceclaims, it feels morally weird doing it to certain groups, like people who have physical abnormalities or people who have been seriously damaged in accidents or battle. Those are distinct features, which make for more distinct characters, but it feels a bit like you're taking advantage of someone else's appearance without them knowing it.
I know I wouldn't want that to happen to me if I was in that situation.

 

[rae2nerdy]

It sort of depends on how you play it Crenando . If the only reason the person has a physical feature (regardless of what it is) is purely so they stand out it's kind of shitty. Whether that's a scar, a skin color, a missing limb, or whatever. If the character has a reason for being disabled or having a specific set of scars (ex. they were attacked by werewolves or in some kind of accident that influences their character arc) than it doesn't bother me.

You can fetishize literally anything. Hell just making all your characters fit white western beauty standards can be fetishizing. When you focus more on making sure your woman characters are fuckable to look at (at least according to what you as an individual find fuckable) that's not really any better.

I don't need to read a whole paragraph about how much you want me to want to fuck your characters. It's dull.

Plus in all honestly it's just easier to describe most physical features or make your own manips than it is to get a visual of specific scars or physical deformities. Unless your using like dollmakers (there are a few that have like prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs, and various scars you can put on the character) it's usually a case where you find the base image then add in a description to describe whatever physical traits the character has.

 

[SP3CT3R]

Okay, so I admittedly skimmed the responses earlier because I was being my bitter self, but I think you've actually got it flipped. People pick generic-looking characters because of generic-looking faceclaims.

Like my character designs are always super weird. Not as in not conventionally attractive, I mean straight-up monster characters weird. And I hate using faceclaims so much because it's nigh-impossible to find good artwork that comes reasonably close to what I'm looking for.

 

[CecilDMMasters]

It sort of depends on how you play it Crenando . If the only reason the person has a physical feature (regardless of what it is) is purely so they stand out it's kind of shitty. Whether that's a scar, a skin color, a missing limb, or whatever. If the character has a reason for being disabled or having a specific set of scars (ex. they were attacked by werewolves or in some kind of accident that influences their character arc) than it doesn't bother me.

You can fetishize literally anything.

I don't need to read a whole paragraph about how much you want me to want to fuck your characters. It's dull.

Not going to lie, I do find it a huge warning signal when I ask why a character has a scar or foggy eye or a high tech prosthetic weapon limb replacement and the person can't tell me why. Unless of course they at least admit it's a work in progress and they are wanting to RP to 'flesh out the character.' But if they act like they want to check out of character discussion and pretty much just say something that equals 'it looks cool!' then . . . . uh oh.

And I agree, people can literally fetish anything. And I've met more than a few that don't keep it among people of the same interest.

And also, yeah, it's annoying when people just won't stop pointing out some 'hot' or 'sexy' quality about a character. My character is not sizing up yours to have sex with. They are not even thinking about sex. STOP! How would you like it if I kept pointing out my character has blond unkempt short hair all the time like it should mean something!

 

[rae2nerdy]

Okay, so I admittedly skimmed the responses earlier because I was being my bitter self, but I think you've actually got it flipped. People pick generic-looking characters because of generic-looking faceclaims.

Like my character designs are always super weird. Not as in not conventionally attractive, I mean straight-up monster characters weird. And I hate using faceclaims so much because it's nigh-impossible to find good artwork that comes reasonably close to what I'm looking for.

Lol Actually I don’t find that descriptions really make characters any more unique. So it could just be a thing where you and I are roleplaying different genres. I mostly do slice of life urban fantasy, Harry Potter, or the occasional superhero roleplay.

And regardless of the appearance method used my partners overwhelmingly stick to generic white descriptions. My characters on the other hand are different body types, skin colors, etc.

So I think it is honestly down to how much thought you put into character’s appearance. Not the method you use to show the appearance.

I feel like you and I both just think about our characters appearance more than the average role player. The only difference is I have no preference between visuals or written descriptions

 

[defenderofberk]

Lol Actually I don’t find that descriptions really make characters any more unique. So it could just be a thing where you and I are roleplaying different genres.

Because my characters are unique whether they are art, photo, or description. And a lot of times my partners characters are still generic white people with nothing to really distinguish them. And that doesn’t change regardless of how they choose to describe the character.

It's a bit arrogant to say "my characters are unique and others are just plain and boring". Sure, I don't doubt you've come across boring and plain characters just like the rest of us, but "generic" is a matter of perspective. And generic can be okay, not every character has to be amazingly unique.

 

[Melpomene]

It's a bit arrogant to say "my characters are unique and others are just plain and boring". Sure, I don't doubt you've come across boring and plain characters just like the rest of us, but "generic" is a matter of perspective. And generic can be okay, not every character has to be amazingly unique.

While I also agree with rae2nerdy , I agree with you as well! Sometimes a very generic characters work just as well as any other. As long as everyone is having fun, you do you. Some stories don't need the most unique characters ever created and that is fine.

Tropes can be just fine if you build off of them, but I see a lot of people who don't.

Quite frankly, as long as your character's personality isn't duller than a bag of bricks I am fine with them looking like whatever. Make them that nice figured pale skinned Princess, I don't care that's fine by me. But good God, I can't stand it if the only thing to them is that they are pretty and want to date one of my characters.

To me, appearance does matter became it affects how your character and others see themselves, but I definitely don't think a generic looking character is immediately bad, just... If they are generic with no personality to speak of :p

 

[SP3CT3R]

Lol Actually I don’t find that descriptions really make characters any more unique. So it could just be a thing where you and I are roleplaying different genres. I mostly do slice of life urban fantasy, Harry Potter, or the occasional superhero roleplay.

And regardless of the appearance method used my partners overwhelmingly stick to generic white descriptions. My characters on the other hand are different body types, skin colors, etc.

So I think it is honestly down to how much thought you put into character’s appearance. Not the method you use to show the appearance.

I feel like you and I both just think about our characters appearance more than the average role player. The only difference is I have no preference between visuals or written descriptions

I do those same kinds of roleplays, minus the Harry Potter. I always play strange monster types and obvious mutants, when I do.

If you look at roleplays where anime faceclaims are common, you see lots of characters that are either Japanese/East Asian (what subjects in anime artwork are usually intended to be) or white (which usually look similar in the anime artstyle). In roleplays where realistic faceclaims are the expectation, you see more racial diversity, but also less distinguishing features, and no inhuman-looking characters whatsoever.

I've seen a few people openly state that they pick faceclaims first and build characters around them. Not enough for me to say everyone does it this way, but enough for me to say it's an extreme on a sliding scale and a lot of characters people make are influenced to some degree by available faceclaims.

 

[Crenando]

....and no inhuman-looking characters whatsoever.

There are plenty of inhuman-looking characters in anime. It is where we got Akira, after all. There was a period where violent horror affair was in-vogue, from the people who grew up on the original Devilman and the like.
If it was setting-appropriate you could play all manor of spooky creatures and off-putting weirdies.

 

[SP3CT3R]

There are plenty of inhuman-looking characters in anime. It is where we got Akira, after all. There was a period where violent horror affair was in-vogue, from the people who grew up on the original Devilman and the like.
If it was setting-appropriate you could play all manor of spooky creatures and off-putting weirdies.

I was referring to roleplays with realistic faceclaims when I said that, not anime.

 

[Crenando]

I was referring to roleplays with realistic faceclaims when I said that, not anime.

Oh. Sorry, yeah. Then I agree. If you have to use someone else's VFX to represent a character, you might as well use art, or write a description.

 

[defenderofberk]

When I build a character I usually think of their potential role within the story first and then build from there, but appearance does play a part in that, mainly because I like creating a fashion aesthetic for my characters to help them fit in. With group role plays I look to see what appearances we've got already and if I want to do something similar we create a different aesthetic. A 5'11 guy with slick black hair and blue eyes wearing a suit can look very different compared to a 5'9 guy with messy dark brown hair and green eyes wearing tight jeans and a t-shirt. Sure, they might have similar features on paper, but if you saw these two in the street they wouldn't look much alike.

 

[Melpomene]

When I build a character I usually think of their potential role within the story first and then build from there, but appearance does play a part in that, mainly because I like creating a fashion aesthetic for my characters to help them fit in. With group role plays I look to see what appearances we've got already and if I want to do something similar we create a different aesthetic. A 5'11 guy with slick black hair and blue eyes wearing a suit can look very different compared to a 5'9 guy with messy dark brown hair and green eyes wearing tight jeans and a t-shirt. Sure, they might have similar features on paper, but if you saw these two in the street they wouldn't look much alike.

I agree, I think style and aesthetic are two very important things for a character. That is often how I differentiate characters that have similar physical traits such as hair or eye color, and it usually depends on their personality. It is a good way to give your character their own look, at least in my opinion.

 

[SP3CT3R]

Oh. Sorry, yeah. Then I agree. If you have to use someone else's VFX to represent a character, you might as well use art, or write a description.

Although, for the record, while finding anime faceclaims for monster/mutant characters is mathematically infinitely easier than realistic ones, it's still pretty difficult to find ones that are actually unnerving or creepy and not cute monster girls.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I do those same kinds of roleplays, minus the Harry Potter. I always play strange monster types and obvious mutants, when I do.

If you look at roleplays where anime faceclaims are common, you see lots of characters that are either Japanese/East Asian (what subjects in anime artwork are usually intended to be) or white (which usually look similar in the anime artstyle). In roleplays where realistic faceclaims are the expectation, you see more racial diversity, but also less distinguishing features, and no inhuman-looking characters whatsoever.

I've seen a few people openly state that they pick faceclaims first and build characters around them. Not enough for me to say everyone does it this way, but enough for me to say it's an extreme on a sliding scale and a lot of characters people make are influenced to some degree by available faceclaims.

I think we mean different things when we say those roleplay types. When I say Urban Fantasy I basically mean roleplays like Harry Potter in premise only not set in that world. So a world where there are witches and maybe magical animals but no mutants or monster type creatures. For my superhero roleplays (which are by far the least frequent of the roleplay types I do) also have mostly human character who happen to have extra-human abilities.

And so I think it really is a case of just very different roleplay circles when it comes to the face claim discussion. I am mostly in roleplays where the characters look pretty much the same as people in real life. Some might have a few scars or be a different skin color but there is nothing that would need a whole lot of makeup to recreate in real life.

Which I think is where the difference is coming in. The people I roleplay with take an exactly opposite approach. Most of them will actually have a very short description of the character first and then find a visual that fits that description. So, in that case, they are starting out with the generic description and just finding a visual that fits that description after the fact.

I think it might be a difference in 1x1s and groups too. As you seem to be describing group descriptors whereas I'm doing exclusively 1x1s. So that might also account for our different experiences on the matter. To be clear I'm not saying your experience is invalid simply that it doesn't match up with my own on the matter.

 

[defenderofberk]

I agree, I think style and aesthetic are two very important things for a character. That is often how I differentiate characters that have similar physical traits such as hair or eye color, and it usually depends on their personality. It is a good way to give your character their own look, at least in my opinion.

It can be great to seperate out two characters that both have black hair and pale skin, because you tend to get at least two. My characters often dress smart/traditional/chic, which helps set them aside from the goth/emo scene which so many characters are a part of. I think a person's sense of style says quite a lot about them (or at least it influences how other people look at them) so it annoys me how it's often missing from character sheets.

 

[rae2nerdy]

It's a bit arrogant to say "my characters are unique and others are just plain and boring". Sure, I don't doubt you've come across boring and plain characters just like the rest of us, but "generic" is a matter of perspective. And generic can be okay, not every character has to be amazingly unique.

There is nothing inherently wrong with having a generic-looking character. The point was that just because some people use dollmakers or photos does not make them any less creative when it comes to character creation than people who use descriptions. Which was the point Specter was trying to make, that people who do descriptions are making more unique looking characters than people who don't. I was simply saying that is not at all a distinction in my experience.