Drawing Dice

OC ideas: original characters to draw

Here are 88 OC ideas: original character concepts by genre, ideas for designing how they look, prompts for drawing your OC in new situations, and challenges. An OC is an original character, one you make up yourself, so take any idea and change it until it's yours.

Pick one for me Random character generator

can't choose? The dice pick one of these, and you can keep rolling, set a timer or save it.

88 ideas. Updated October 2026.

tap an idea to draw it with a timer

Fantasy OC ideas

  1. A dragon who runs a bakery
  2. A knight who's afraid of horses
  3. A witch who can only do weather magic
  4. A forest spirit who collects lost buttons
  5. A retired hero who now runs a flower shop
  6. A thief who only steals books to return them
  7. A mermaid who wants to live on land
  8. A ghost who haunts a library
  9. An elf blacksmith
  10. A goblin who's the town's mail carrier
  11. A young wizard whose spells always turn into birds
  12. A troll who guards a bridge and writes poetry
  13. A fairy who's too big to fly
  14. A healer who talks to plants

Sci-fi OC ideas

  1. A robot who wants to be a chef
  2. A space courier with a talking ship
  3. A mechanic on a desert planet
  4. An alien exchange student
  5. A time traveler stuck in the wrong century
  6. A pilot with a cat as co-pilot
  7. A cyborg gardener
  8. A space station janitor who knows every secret
  9. A hacker who only uses their skills to fix things
  10. A scientist who shrank to the size of a bug
  11. An android learning to paint
  12. A lighthouse keeper on a moon

Everyday and cozy OC ideas

  1. A barista who remembers everyone's order
  2. A night bus driver
  3. A beekeeper with a bee always on their hat
  4. A kid detective with a magnifying glass
  5. A street musician
  6. A grandma who skateboards
  7. A librarian who reads much too fast
  8. A delivery cyclist who never gets lost
  9. A baker who works through the night
  10. A park ranger
  11. A vet for very tiny animals
  12. A tailor who sews magic into clothes

Spooky OC ideas, family-friendly

  1. A shy vampire who only drinks tomato juice
  2. A werewolf who dreads the full moon
  3. A ghost who's scared of people
  4. A scarecrow with a pumpkin head and a kind heart
  5. A witch's apprentice who's a cat
  6. A friendly monster who lives under the stairs
  7. A gargoyle who comes alive at night
  8. A candle spirit
  9. A raven who carries messages
  10. A moth person drawn to every lamp

OC design ideas

  1. Give your OC one oversized accessory
  2. Design three outfits for the same OC
  3. Pick a three-color palette and stick to it
  4. Draw your OC's silhouette in solid black
  5. Give them a small scar with a story
  6. Design a pet or sidekick for your OC
  7. Draw their bag and everything in it
  8. Give them a hairstyle that shows their personality
  9. Design their room
  10. Draw their shoes
  11. Give them a symbol or a logo
  12. Design their outfits for winter and for summer
  13. Draw their face showing five different feelings
  14. Make a reference sheet with front, side and back views

Draw your OC...

  1. Draw your OC as a kid
  2. Draw your OC as an old person
  3. Draw your OC in a different art style
  4. Draw your OC as an animal
  5. Draw your OC in another genre
  6. Draw your OC on their worst day
  7. Draw your OC's morning routine
  8. Draw your OC meeting another of your characters
  9. Draw your OC in their favorite place
  10. Draw your OC in pajamas
  11. Draw your OC as a chibi
  12. Draw your OC celebrating their birthday
  13. Draw your OC facing their biggest fear
  14. Draw your OC caught in the rain
  15. Draw your OC ten years from now
  16. Draw your OC as a famous painting

OC challenges

  1. Design a new OC in 10 minutes
  2. Make an OC from three random words
  3. Design an OC from a random animal
  4. Swap OCs with a friend and draw theirs
  5. Design a hero and a villain who are siblings
  6. Design an OC based on your favorite food
  7. Turn a houseplant into an OC
  8. Design a team of four OCs
  9. Redesign your oldest OC
  10. Draw your OC as their own opposite

Still can't choose? Let the dice pick one of these 88 ideas, or roll a random drawing prompt.

A few tips

Start with a contradiction

A gentle giant, a nervous knight, a dragon who bakes. One surprising detail makes a character memorable.

Design the silhouette

Fill your OC in solid black. If you can still tell who it is, the design works. Hair, hats, tails and coats help most.

Give them a signature color

Pick two or three colors and use them every time you draw them. People recognize the colors before the face.

Draw them on an ordinary day

Not only heroic poses: draw them eating breakfast, waiting for a bus, or annoyed. That's how they come alive.

Questions

and honest answers

What does OC mean?

OC stands for original character: a character you invent yourself, rather than one from a book, game or show. Artists draw their OCs again and again, in different outfits, styles and stories.

How do I come up with OC ideas?

Combine two things that don't usually go together: a job and a creature, a fear and a skill, a place and a hobby. Or let the random character generator roll the parts for you, then change what you don't like.

How do I design an OC?

Start with their personality and one contradiction, then choose a silhouette, a small color palette and one signature item. Draw them from the front, side and back so you can draw them the same way every time.

What should I draw my OC doing?

Their morning routine, their worst day, meeting another character, in pajamas, ten years older, or in a different art style. There's a whole section of prompts for that on this page.

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