"Face Claims" - do's, don'ts, resources?

[Yankee]

Hey I've been wanting to make this thread for a while but now is as good a time as any.

Whether you prefer drawn or live FCs, do you stick to a pattern or just use whatever works? How do you go about finding them? Do you prefer to use them at all? Ever reused a FC?

In particular I've always had issues finding "live action" FCs that aren't super recognizable movie stars so I tend to stay away from RPs that use them. I would love some pointers from people that DO regularly use live FCs.

[Hey Im Jordan]

I don't have any specific links for you off the top of my head, but I know if you google 'fc helper tumblr' there are a bunch of blogs that have potential FCs organized by gender/race/age/etc. Might be worth a shot!

[Yankee]

Oh I hadn't even considered Tumblr as a resource. Thanks, I will definitely try that!

[Carlyle]

Hey I've been wanting to make this thread for a while but now is as good a time as any.

Whether you prefer drawn or live FCs, do you stick to a pattern or just use whatever works? How do you go about finding them? Do you prefer to use them at all? Ever reused a FC?

In particular I've always had issues finding "live action" FCs that aren't super recognizable movie stars so I tend to stay away from RPs that use them. I would love some pointers from people that DO regularly use live FCs.

@Yankee

1) Depends on RP and concept e.g. not using an anime FC in something that is clearly not anime.
2) Google, Pinterest, Pixiv, etc. Again it depends on the RP and concept as to where I look.
3) Yes, I prefer to use them on top of written appearances (for the lesser known things like scars or piercings).
4) Yes.

As for IRL FC pointers, if you have a problem with choosing an actor/actress as your character's FC, just google haircuts. Female character? Female haircuts. Want something more specific like, say, an Asian female for your FC? Asian female haircut. Be as specific as you want. You can also google, like "male police officer" or something along those lines for FCs.

[Yankee]

Wow haircuts is such a great idea! I sometimes find it weird to just google specifically what I'm looking for but I'm definitely gonna keep the haircuts thing in mind, and maybe try and get over the weirdness (personally issue, ha).

[Carlyle]

Wow haircuts is such a great idea! I sometimes find it weird to just google specifically what I'm looking for but I'm definitely gonna keep the haircuts thing in mind, and maybe try and get over the weirdness (personally issue, ha).

@Yankee

Before I forget to mention it, there is a downside to googling haircuts for FCs. People tend to download and reupload them a ton, which degrades the quality each time they're downloaded/reuploaded. Unless you don't really care to look for somewhat pristine pictures, you might have some trouble finding one that isn't super compressed.

[AlteredTundra]

Tumblr is one of the best places to find good fcs, especially if you're new to the RL fc hunting scene. For anime ones, it's a little harder cause unlike RL ones where the celebrities you might choose to represent your character change their looks quite frequently, drawn ones are just that: they're drawn. You might get lucky for different art styles and fan art, which I personally have no problem with since we aren't making any money off of them (some might disagree but meh fuck em).

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Tumblr and Pinterest are the two most popular places you might find what you're looking for.

[Yankee]

<Snipped quote by Yankee>

Before I forget to mention it, there is a downside to googling haircuts for FCs. People tend to download and reupload them a ton, which degrades the quality each time they're downloaded/reuploaded. Unless you don't really care to look for somewhat pristine pictures, you might have some trouble finding one that isn't super compressed.

@Kuro

Thanks for the heads up, I'd hate to subject people reading my sheets with a grainy image.

Tumblr is one of the best places to find good fcs, especially if you're new to the RL fc hunting scene. For anime ones, it's a little harder cause unlike RL ones where the celebrities you might choose to represent your character change their looks quite frequently, drawn ones are just that: they're drawn. You might get lucky for different art styles and fan art, which I personally have no problem with since we aren't making any money off of them (some might disagree but meh fuck em).

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Tumblr and Pinterest are the two most popular places you might find what you're looking for.

@Altered Tundra

I can't navigate pintrest for the life of me, I feel like an old geezer struggling with electronics whenever I even try! Tumblr at least is familiar to me so I'll be using it in the future. Thank you! I agree about the anime FCs, especially fan art when the artist's style can make a character look totally new.

[POOHEAD189]

Personally I never actually like using real people as faceclaims. I think it's somewhat creepy.
I like using good art though.

[Dion]

I like using good art though.

@POOHEAD189

Really? I like using bad art.

[POOHEAD189]

@Odin I've noticed

[PrinceAlexus]

Whatever fits the RP and the situation.

Anime, real, cartoons, art or graphics.

Google is a great and loyal friend though for finding them, especially when you click and brings up related widening your options.

[FantasyChic]

So when I look for FC's, I like to get a feel of how I picture my character. And this varies based on the RP. I'll usually scour FC tumblr pages, as mentioned, but I will also look for TV shows, movies, etc. that heavily feature the setting I will be RPing in. For example, if I am joining a Victorian period RP, I will be looking at shows and such that revolve around that setting. Google image results help a lot.

I also look in my free time. If I see someone I think will make a good FC down the road, I save it in a PM to myself on here (and a back-up, just in case). I have about 15 at the moment, for various settings.

As I've grown as an RPer, I've decided I don't like art as my FC. I prefer real people, but that's personal preference. If you use art, I feel you need to give the artist credit for their work. It's different with a celebrity since they can be easily found (though I will, of course, tell ppl who my FC is if asked).

Either way, I would just google dive whenever I have free time. It can be a lot of fun!

[mickilennial]

As I've grown as an RPer, I've decided I don't like art as my FC. I prefer real people, but that's personal preference. If you use art, I feel you need to give the artist credit for their work. It's different with a celebrity since they can be easily found (though I will, of course, tell ppl who my FC is if asked).

Either way, I would just google dive whenever I have free time. It can be a lot of fun!

@FantasyChic

So we’re supposed to credit the artist but not credit a photographer who is beholden to the same copyright protections? Seems like a weird double standard to me. That said, crediting someone is always a good thing to do—but sometimes sourcing things back can be difficult for a variety of reasons, so there is a lot of hurdles no matter what approach you take.

[PaulHaynek]

Lil' bit off topic but when I find a faceclaim (always drawn) I like, I do research on that face.

Like, hard research.

I attempt to find out who that face is. If it's just art from an artist then it ends there but if it's an actual character, I find out who he/she is, what franchise he/she comes from, learn about the character and the franchise, etc. I even compare her/his original personality to the personality of the OC sometimes.

I don't do this all the time, just most of the time.

[Salty Spitoon]

Hey I've been wanting to make this thread for a while but now is as good a time as any.

Whether you prefer drawn or live FCs, do you stick to a pattern or just use whatever works? How do you go about finding them? Do you prefer to use them at all? Ever reused a FC?

In particular I've always had issues finding "live action" FCs that aren't super recognizable movie stars so I tend to stay away from RPs that use them. I would love some pointers from people that DO regularly use live FCs.

@Yankee

Honestly, for preference it depends on the RP. Sometimes live FC's simply can't work for some settings; especially like futuristic plots.

Though how I go about finding live FC's is I will find myself on mild tangents in google images. Instead of searching specific names I will use key phrases like "Short Hair female", "Brunette female", "Tattooed male", etc. Then as I search through and find stuff I like, then I will reverse image search the images I like to either search for the person's name to search specifically them or if I like simply like the aesthetic of the image I will use the "View Similar image" option from the reverse image search. (View similar is especially helpful with character art searches)

And the biggest help is just during your free time looking through images to find and upload them to imgur.com or similar sites to keep a repository of the stuff you found. So you have images on hand that you've already spent the time finding the images and can quickly skim through images you know you like.

Like currently I have 6,625 images saved on imgur separated into art, live FC, Stuff (my character headers I have created over the years), etc. So when I join an RP I will open the corresponding 'folder' thing and skim through that quickly to find an image I think fits my character idea. Or if I am drawing a blank on a character idea for the plots I like I will skim through images to use as inspiration.

[Crimson Flame]

Written descriptions of what the character looks like, with an anime avatar from an avatar/dollmaker site to supplement it. Images are not a substitute for writing.

[Spambot]

Search by Image on Google may take those low-tier haircut images you like and give you a selection that includes an excellent original version.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

I'm gonna have to second saving anything you come across online that you think you could use later to Imgur. My collection is pretty big at this point. Most of the time I brows with the skeleton of an idea in my head of what kind of character I want to play and wait for an image to jump out at me, then use the details of that image to fill out the character. Sometimes one grips me so tightly I throw out the skeleton and make up something new on the spot, so I'd say the image is a very important part of the creation process for me.

If you're looking for something real life, but still out there, look up fashion show photos. They're incredible.

[stone]

I know some people have issues with finding FCs for specific characters. My strategy is to build a character off of a FC first (tends to work better with art rather than people).