Character Design and OCs

Server structure

Overview

Original-character communities drown in their own content: everyone has six characters, each with art, lore and a reference sheet, and a chat channel cannot hold that. #character-profiles is a forum with one thread per character, tagged by the kind of design, so a character keeps its art, its sheet and its notes together permanently instead of being re-explained every time it comes up. #reference-sheets is the read-only companion where the current sheet for each character lives, because an out-of-date reference is the commonest cause of a commission going wrong. Design is the craft half and what separates this from a gallery: #design-critique covers silhouette, colour and readability rather than the story, #silhouette-and-shape-language, #palette-help, and #redesigns where members rework their own older characters, which is where visible improvement happens. Trades and Requests is the social engine: #art-trades pairs members off, #draw-this-in-your-style runs the prompt, #gift-art, and #adopts-and-designs for designs offered on, with the rules stated in the channel. Community keeps #general, #character-lore for the writing side, and #ask-about-my-oc. Voice has a Design Session and a Chat room. The Trader role is granted after a member completes one trade, which is a small but effective guard against the half-finished-trade problem every OC server has.

When to use it

Original-character servers fail on volume: six characters per member, each needing art, a sheet and lore, all posted into a chat channel where it is unfindable a week later. This layout gives every character a permanent forum thread, keeps current reference sheets in one read-only place, separates design critique from story chat, and puts a small completion gate on art trades so the half-finished trade stops being routine.

What makes it different

• One forum thread per character keeps its art, sheet and notes together permanently.
• Current reference sheets live in one read-only channel, so commissions use the right version.
• Design critique is about silhouette, colour and readability, not about the character's story.
• The Trader role is earned by completing one trade, which curbs the half-finished trade.

Recommended Vetox setup

• Auto Roles

  Give arrivals the Member role automatically so the trade channels stay behind the Trader gate from the start.

• Starboard

  Point Starboard at #character-profiles so the strongest designs surface out of a forum that grows quickly.

• Self-Roles

  Post a Self-Roles panel in #your-interests for trades, prompts and adopt notifications so pings are opt-in.

• Suggestions

  Run Suggestions on #draw-this-in-your-style so the prompt is chosen by vote rather than by whoever posts first.