Advice/Help Faceclaim etiquettes?

[EmberYouth]

What can be called the most advisable or acceptable way of using faceclaims? I'm not a huge fan of searching for realistic pictures, and usually it ends up being some celebrity even though I'm not very comfortable with that. The thing is, I'm a lot better at describing the appearance of my characters because images searched for online rarely give a satisfactory outcome.

I'm also aware a lot of people despise it when anime images are used for faceclaims, so what's your advice or suggestion for getting that perfect faceclaim? Online doll generators? Or maybe the create-a-Sim feature of any Sims game (if you have one, that is).

 

[rae2nerdy]

So I personally like to use the websites below because the works are either in the public domain (free to use for whatever without permission) or the creators have given full permission for their work to be used (typically as long as you link back).


PUBLIC DOMAIN IMAGES (real, no links required)
- Beautiful Free Images & Pictures | Unsplash
- Free stock photos · Pexels
- Stunning Free Images · Pixabay
- Flickr: Creative Commons
- This Person Does Not Exist

DOLL MAKERS (anime, link back to dollmaker suggested)
- Azalea's Dress up Dolls | Dress up games for creative people
- Doll Divine ~ Dress Up Games
- Home - Missangest Games

 

[EmberYouth]

Some of these seem really useful, thank you so much!

 

[peritwinkle]

I’m personally really uncomfortable with real people or anime characters as face claims - something I’ve noticed is not as uncommon around RPN - so I think to please everyone it would be best to resort to concept art/portraits. That’s what I’ve always leaned towards, and it works especially well with fantasy RPs.

But make sure you tag/mention the artist.

 

[EmberYouth]

I’m personally really uncomfortable with real people or anime characters as face claims - something I’ve noticed is not as uncommon around RPN - so I think to please everyone it would be best to resort to concept art/portraits. That’s what I’ve always leaned towards, and it works especially well with fantasy RPs.

But make sure you tag/mention the artist.

I checked out random concept art images, and it's pretty impressive. Thanks for the tip, I'll be sure to remember that (as well as crediting the original artist).

 

[Idea]

What can be called the most advisable or acceptable way of using faceclaims?

There isn't one "most" advisable or acceptable way. The preferences and acceptance "rules" are as wide and varied as the tastes of RPN users themselves, and we all have things we find acceptable or not. The best advice to give is to talk to your GM and partner, and go for the overlap between what you are comfortable with and what they are willing to go along with.

 

[EmberYouth]

There isn't one "most" advisable or acceptable way. The preferences and acceptance "rules" are as wide and varied as the tastes of RPN users themselves, and we all have things we find acceptable or not. The best advice to give is to talk to your GM and partner, and go for the overlap between what you are comfortable with and what they are willing to go along with.

That makes sense too, I'd rather talk it out with my partner and come to a compromise than either of us having to go as per the other's wishes and against their own.

 

[Idea]

That makes sense too, I'd rather talk it out with my partner and come to a compromise than either of us having to go as per the other's wishes and against theirs.

Indeed, because you'll always find contradictory statements if you try to lump it together. There are some who won't accept anime faceclaims for instance, whereas such as myself, have them as a requirement. Some won't allow faceclaims at all, some may even take offense at you using a faceclaim picked up from the internet or the like, while most are just pretty indifferent to that. So in the end of the day, while I know the advise may not be the most helpful thing ever, it's really something that has to be dealt with on a case by case basis.

 

[deer]

I also agree that faceclaim requirements should be by a case-by-case basis.

Although it seems like I use more realistic faceclaims, there are moment where I just crave using anime faceclaims or even art faceclaims. Either way, my preferences change depending on my mood and what I feel. However, there are times where setting plays a big part of it and how a GM sees their roleplay.

For example, in some fandoms, I would lean towards anime faceclaims such as Fairy Tail, Bleach, Naruto, etc. since it's an anime itself and in my head, a realistic photo in an anime-esque world would mess with my head. However, that isn't the same for say Disney, I tend to lean towards realistic faceclaims than art. Oh, and before I forget! Marvel/DC, to me, personally, art or realistic - it doesn't really matter to me.

In a fantasy roleplay, depending on the GM and its setting, I could lean towards art faceclaims or even realistic faceclaims [ ex: Lord of the Rings vs. Dragon Age , in my head, one would be realistic faceclaim and the other art ].

And, sometimes, if the player isn't comfortable using any faceclaims, some GMs are usually lenient if you just want to describe appearances.

It's just asking and seeing what said partner or GM prefers! So, I guess the faceclaim etiquette is reading the rules to see what they prefer in regards to faceclaims and if it's not there, ask what the person be it partner or GM would like to use for appearances.

 

[EmberYouth]

I also agree that faceclaim requirements should be by a case-by-case basis.

Although it seems like I use more realistic faceclaims, there are moment where I just crave using anime faceclaims or even art faceclaims. Either way, my preferences change depending on my mood and what I feel. However, there are times where setting plays a big part of it and how a GM sees their roleplay.

For example, in some fandoms, I would lean towards anime faceclaims such as Fairy Tail, Bleach, Naruto, etc. since it's an anime itself and in my head, a realistic photo in an anime-esque world would mess with my head. However, that isn't the same for say Disney, I tend to lean towards realistic faceclaims than art. Oh, and before I forget! Marvel/DC, to me, personally, art or realistic - it doesn't really matter to me.

In a fantasy roleplay, depending on the GM and its setting, I could lean towards art faceclaims or even realistic faceclaims [ ex: Lord of the Rings vs. Dragon Age , in my head, one would be realistic faceclaim and the other art ].

And, sometimes, if the player isn't comfortable using any faceclaims, some GMs are usually lenient if you just want to describe appearances.

It's just asking and seeing what said partner or GM prefers! So, I guess the faceclaim etiquette is reading the rules to see what they prefer in regards to faceclaims and if it's not there, ask what the person be it partner or GM would like to use for appearances.

That also makes so much sense, thank you. I admit that I switch my faceclaims based on the type of roleplay I'm doing, but I generally find it creepy to search for realistic ones since I feel like I'm invading their privacy in some way or the other.

That being said, I prefer sticking to written descriptions most of the times, mainly because I can't find an appropriate image for the way I imagine the character's appearance in my head. Doll generators seem like a good option too, but I'm a very lazy and impatient person, so I get bored after a while.

 

[Shotagonist]

I bought artwork for the characters I adore playing the most. View attachment witch.jpg

 

[EmberYouth]

I bought artwork for the characters I adore playing the most. View attachment 585839

That's pretty impressive, and a good option. Wish I could do it too, but I'd probably not be allowed to buy one.

 

[Cicatrix]

One thing that I've seen happen that can become problematic with using just any unsourced art as a faceclaim is that, in the past, I've seen people use art of someone else's OC that they either made themselves or commissioned for their own personal use. I doubt this is much of a problem in a private 1x1 session, but in a public space it could complicate things because it's pretty bad form to just... take other people's ocs. Even a general using/reposting someone's art without permission isn't seen very favorably by artists themselves, but I've noticed that in roleplay circles people don't really care. So it's 'acceptable' to most other rpers, but I'm not entirely sure if it's... the right thing to do?

Another dollmaker website that I've seen people use is Picrew, but try and use google translate so you can read the rules of the dollmakers to see if you can actually use what you make in them (personal use is usually allowed with credit, but it's important to make sure). Though these are generally more 'icon sized' than full body makers, they're still very cute!

 

[Idea]

Another dollmaker website that I've seen people use is Picrew, but try and use google translate so you can read the rules of the dollmakers to see if you can actually use what you make in them (personal use is usually allowed with credit, but it's important to make sure). Though these are generally more 'icon sized' than full body makers, they're still very cute!

I cna definitely attest for the quality of this dollmaker, though it is lacking in some areas that just fetching art will give oneself, it does offer plenty of great options if you aren't looking for something very specific.

 

[EmberYouth]

One thing that I've seen happen that can become problematic with using just any unsourced art as a faceclaim is that, in the past, I've seen people use art of someone else's OC that they either made themselves or commissioned for their own personal use. I doubt this is much of a problem in a private 1x1 session, but in a public space it could complicate things because it's pretty bad form to just... take other people's ocs. Even a general using/reposting someone's art without permission isn't seen very favorably by artists themselves, but I've noticed that in roleplay circles people don't really care. So it's 'acceptable' to most other rpers, but I'm not entirely sure if it's... the right thing to do?

Another dollmaker website that I've seen people use is Picrew, but try and use google translate so you can read the rules of the dollmakers to see if you can actually use what you make in them (personal use is usually allowed with credit, but it's important to make sure). Though these are generally more 'icon sized' than full body makers, they're still very cute!

Exactly, it seems like a lot of artworks end up being circulated amongst roleplayers, and pretty soon, the source of it is lost. Most of the times, we don't even think much of it; I might have done that myself in the past without realising it. That being said, thank you for another suggestion, I'll be sure to check it out.

 

[Melpomene]

Like others have said, there is no one right answer to this. Faceclaims should be tailored to the wants of the people who are in the current RP, and that really is all you can go by. If you do not want to use realistic images, then just don't use them. I know many people who prefer anime images as well portraits. And I know many people that prefer to just have descriptions rather than any picture.

It all depends on taste, so you shouldn't sweat to much over it it is extremely subjective and there is no right answer, but it seems you already know what you're doing.

 

[EmberYouth]

Like others have said, there is no one right answer to this. Faceclaims should be tailored to the wants of the people who are in the current RP, and that really is all you can go by. If you do not want to use realistic images, then just don't use them. I know many people who prefer anime images as well portraits. And I know many people that prefer to just have descriptions rather than any picture.

It all depends on taste, so you shouldn't sweat to much over it it is extremely subjective and there is no right answer, but it seems you already know what you're doing.

I shall take that as a compliment, thank you xD I really did think there were some hard and fast rules for faceclaim usage, but now after this discussion, it is pretty subjective.