JoP Mini: StarSue

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I was planning on writing another journal about my opinion of a certain subject i want to talk about, but these topics aren't really that much of a big deal since majority of people who reads news paper articles aim for recent news as apposed to topics that are old but are still a problem at this moment. So, i'm going to make a journal mini series, in which i discuss topics that are minor but are part of DA activity on a daily basis such as using bases or users worth talking about.

So today's topic is something that has been bugging me since then, although it isn't something troubling like a troll ranting about nothing, but more of a minor problem when it comes into making art. This is StarSue.

I have nothing against people using/playing StarSue, in fact i see it as nothing but a poorly made site for dress up games based on media for girls that sells dolls or just any animated media for girls in general. It's not the site or the games being a problem here, but the main problem is users using the dress up games for making an OC. more accurately, a FC, a fan character.

Now this takes up back to a few years when people are discussing issues about pony maker and how it limits the skill of creators when making an FC, same way it limits the skill when using a base. Though, i do think that got it wrong, but i find it understandable. Here me out for a bit. Even though i already discuss these topics in previous journals, they need to be said again since my view on them has change a bit then and that i sort of cheated by including other people's opinions instead of mine, despite that i agree with them.

First off, let's differentiate an OC and an FC. An OC(Original Character) is a fictional character that exists in your own world, your own idea. While an FC(Fan Character) is a character specifically made to be a part of something that you are a fan off. Games, movies, television series, etc. The problem here is that people seem to confuse them for some reason. That's what bought us to people recommending not to use pony maker, starsue, azalea's dolls for making characters. In this case, original characters, because not all of the games(especially StarSue) doesn't have everything you want for your character.

This brings us to our second problem, StarSue itself. Though it's just a harmless dress up game, it is heavily recommended not to use for making characters. Like a base, it already has the illustration for to draw all over. Unlike a base, you can simply add and color clothes with a pick of a button. This can be of a problem since individual game is simply have this character have a different hairstyle, clothes and color. That's just it. This is slightly worse than recoloring a character, mainly because it allows users to just simply have this character be in a different color in a click of a button. Contrasted to bases where you actually have to make the hair and clothes your own. Sure it can be tiring(like reaching a remote while sitting on the comfy side of the side), but you can learn a thing or two and even make a completely new outfit for a character as opposed to simply recoloring a character completely. See RainbowKitty for example.

Here's the third problem, Limitations. Although it isn't technically a problem, but i'll talk about that later. I get why people recommend others not to use pony makers and dress up games, because they limited your skill into drawing for yourself, in which you spent all your time using them instead spending it on practicing to draw. Remember the whole confusion thing with OCs and FCs? Here's another problem. The reason why using dress up games can limit your skill on making characters is wrong but understandable, because they are actually referring to OCs while unaware that they are referring to FCs. This is the part where limitations can be useful. When Sonic Forces came out with the option that you can make your own original, and since the Sonic fandom is nutritious for making a crap-ton of FCs, they took this as a chance into making their characters official or something like that. Some fans are quite disappointed because you can't design your character as you envision it, but they seem to be cool with it. In fact, limitations are an important factor when making an FC, in which you don't want to add too much not your character to make them feel 'out of place' in a series they're supposed to be a part of. While an OC doesn't have any limitations because they are not part of a series, aside from inspirations from here and there. Of course, when i meant by 'OC doesn't have any limitations', i mean an OC can their limits if the creator chooses to not add more onto their design, personality and backstory. Which is why that adorable tomato known as Gadget the Wolf is fitting in the Sonic universe than Coldsteel the Edgehog.

So, overall i do think people can make an FC using a dress up game, but i heavily recommend not to use StarSue, well, at least i my opinion, mainly because the characters made from that can either be misinterpreted as a recolor since the games is basically have these characters be in a different hair, clothes and color.

Also, i advice when making an OC, please draw it yourself or have a friend draw them for you.
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