Face-Claims: For them or Against them?

Rulke · **Tips:** 0.50 INK by **Rulke** on Mon May 09, 2016 4:29 pm

For me I have huge issue with Face-Claims, that is they always use well-known celebrities and they choose perfect specimens often. Further it limits creativity of characters, yes the GM may have a vision, but rping is a shared experience. Your ideas may seem perfect, but I found giving people no restrictions, they bring new ideas never even considered. Face-Claims forces people into playing character certain way and removes any sense of suspense when awaiting people to join. I like awaiting for new characters, but if I had decided on their appearance already, it becomes more like I am forcing them to play my characters. That is not what I want for rp, I want unique characters that think outside the box, you can't have that with face-claims.

Here from Urban Dictionary a definiton:

Spoiler: show

MartinVole · **Tips:** 0.25 INK by **MartinVole** on Mon May 09, 2016 4:45 pm

I get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I see a celebrity face-claim. Not sick but just confused as to why we are so fixated on Hollywood perfections as a basis of one's own creativity. In a way, it feels like a limitation or crutch. An average joe should not look like some Leonardo DiCaprio even if that is how movies depict it. That is just how I see it, however. It destroys a level of being unique in my eyes.

I understand that not everyone can draw their own faces, I myself am hardly an artist. I understand that. Only recently did I actually use other assets because I had no face picture to use of my own works. Tried to at least get the closest fit to my vision of the character.

Again, my opinion on the matter.

MayContainPlagiarism · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **MayContainPlagiarism** on Sun May 22, 2016 4:40 pm

Mod Edit: This post was unnecessarily abusive in its entirety. Please be considerate to the feelings of others while writing posts. Disparaging language directed at other members of the community and the content they produce will not be tolerated. If you must criticize another user, please do it in a respectful manner.

FyreT1ger · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **FyreT1ger** on Sun May 22, 2016 8:25 pm

To answer the original question, I'm personally against them, hollywood versions anyway. It's nice to have a picture of a character and give other people an idea of what they look like, and with the tagging characters in tab roleplays it's almost necessary to have a picture. Otherwise we're looking at a series of grey shadows completely indistinguishable from each other.

The reason I'm against having prefab face claims is because I generally have a specific vision of my character's appearance, which no prefab anything can recreate. I also have a tendency to remind readers of a prominent feature a certain character has to distinguish them anyway, so the pics might not even be necessary in my case. Not everyone does that and if the roleplay goes on for a long time or ends up having a hiatus for any reason, it is possible to forget.

MayContainPlagiarism · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **MayContainPlagiarism** on Sun May 22, 2016 8:35 pm

FyreT1ger wrote:The reason I'm against having prefab face claims is because I generally have a specific vision of my character's appearance, which no prefab anything can recreate.

I have a clear picture of how many of my characters look as well and having to adapt them for an arbitrary reason is a deal breaker. There are some universes in which characters have to change (an elf wouldn't fit in to a modern-day crime thriller), and that's fine.

chaotix14 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **chaotix14** on Thu May 26, 2016 7:54 am

If I see an RP that has a pre-determined cast of people, it doesn't really even matter if there is a face slapped to that character already or not. They have basically already created all the characters and want others to play their characters, because they are too lazy or incapable of writing their story out on their own. No matter how amazing the idea and the setting may be, I instantly discard the idea of joining them when I see those things.

Roles and such are fine, most RP's need some people to fill some key roles to progress the story, but don't create the character and then ask other people to play it for you.

That being said I do like it when people use images of their characters(at least when it's cartoon/anime/other types of drawing characters being used), it gives me a bit more of a directed idea of who/what my character is interacting with. Since in the case of appearance a picture can say so much more than a thousand words.

Zodia195 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Zodia195** on Mon Jun 06, 2016 10:19 pm

Honestly, face claims don't bother me due to the fact that I have a harder time finding real life pictures compared to the nearly limitless options of an anime picture. So when I see characters with face claims ready for me to pick, I am like, "Yes, less work for me." Yeah that sounds petty, but I already spend a lot of time creating the character profile as is and it's one less thing to worry about in my opinion, especially when I am short on time in creating something. It gets especially hard when you have to find a real life image from a certain timeline.

Viscount Rhi-Rhi · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Viscount Rhi-Rhi** on Tue Aug 16, 2016 3:41 pm

I'm neither for nor against them.

I just don't use them on my games.

I'm very live and let live. For other people, they are super helpful tools that enhance their enjoyment of RP. For me, I just don't like them, because I have a very specific image in my head of what my characters look like, and prefer drawing them myself or describing them in text. None of them look like any celebs I can think of, and many aren't human, anyway. |:

So sites that require face claims/PBs are a deal breaker for me. I won't join 'em.

But hey, if that's what you like and have fun doing and it enhances your RP experience, by all means, go for it!

Summer in the City · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Summer in the City** on Fri Aug 19, 2016 12:40 am

I'm pretty against them, but I'll acquiesce if the RP seems interesting enough. It seems like that's the popular thing to do, though. I think that they really limit creativity and take away from the personality of the character at times, and even when they don't, I feel that they take away attention from the personality the writer has imbued them with. I feel like when I see a FC of a famous actor, I'm already drawing conclusions about that character based on the actor's personality, what they've appeared in, and their reputation. It's hard for me to look at FC's and character sheets overloaded with GIFs of famous actors and feel like I'm getting a roster of authentic, new, and exciting characters. But, as I said I'm more than willing to go along with the crowd since it seems to be something that draws people in.

In addition, I very much agree with chaotix14 in that someone who has preset a bunch of characters already has an idea of what they want to happen and how they want everyone to act. I find that these RPs tend to fall short and end quickly - sometimes I think people mean to just write a fanfiction or short story rather than start an RP.

I'm actually trying out an RP in which characters are not allowed to have any pictures of themselves whatsoever, and I'm finding trouble in attracting players; I worry that the lack of FCs plays a role in that.

passion8 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **passion8** on Sun Sep 11, 2016 7:04 pm

I have a love/hate relationship with face-claims.

Most of the time I love the feeling of being inspired for a character thanks to an image, or finding the perfect face claim for the image of a character floating in my head. I have spent hours hunting for the perfect claim for my characters, and I also like helping others find a face claim.

That said, I cannot stand how limiting face claims can be at times. Either the perfect claim doesn't have the expressions or demeanor to fit the character, or something just isn't quite right with the appearance, clothing, or overall art style. But if I really like the character, I will "settle" on a claim I might not entirely love but they are close enough. I usually end up losing interest in the character because there is such a strong disconnect between what I'm representing with the FC and what I feel the character should truly look like.

And, as an anime/manga role player, I also dislike how limited claims of various ethnicity, body types, and art style are.

SofiUnnie · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **SofiUnnie** on Sun Nov 04, 2018 3:13 pm

This is the very reason, of why I stick to Asian, alternative or even anime face claims, just because I have gotten tired of the same faces over and over again. I don't mind other people using them, but somehow it is hard for me to stick to them - specially, when one of the FC's has been used for a very well put together character and I've been roleplaying with them so much in the past and now someone else picks them up, I just keep thinking back to that one character. I guess it is just me.

But for me personally, I often have outlines for a certain character, and it often lays on the face claim that I'll be finding for this character, and face claim is often the critical point, from where I start to create rest of my baby. There are times, where it is near impossible to find THAT right one and I may abort the original plan and go with the second best, but sometimes that second best can bring you even more amazing character.

Remæus · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Remæus** on Fri Apr 05, 2019 11:47 pm

I find the use of real-world images breaks the supposed fantasy of roleplaying, a strictly fictional activity by definition. Obviously we here at RPG have integrated character avatars, but we've limited them to small, 100 pixel squares as to avoid distracting from the text-based nature of collaborative writing.

Calling them "face claims" doesn't really make much sense to me, unless you're using an image from the real world — in which case I'm opposed to them! :)

leisurelyatwar · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **leisurelyatwar** on Wed May 08, 2019 5:59 pm

To be honest, I usually build characters from a face claim. I usually find someone who's style or demeanor match what I am going for - then build from there. I don't really like the idea of a pre-set cast, but I prefer real-life fcs not anime. Plus I love makin hella graphics with a whole aesthetic and everything - which then i gotta have fcs!

AppleSauce · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **AppleSauce** on Tue May 14, 2019 3:27 am

I feel that, face claims are great when I'm feeling lazy lol.

Sometimes I love the story of a rp but have no idea what kind of character I want to play. Face claims can certainly help with that, and even speed things up with starting. Plus it can be annoying looking for pictures for a character I want to play.

But when I'm not lazy and know what I want, I prefer the freedom of choosing my character's look and role on my own.

I can see some have said the same thing too; it's a love hate thing.

Zodia195 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Zodia195** on Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:30 pm

Rereading my first post to this topic back in 2016, I have to cringe at what I post now. I honestly don't like doing face claims because it's become too tedious of an undertaking to find them now. Now as far as finding a picture that shows what my char looks like (if it's anime) then yeah it's cool to have a picture to a face, but I find looking for face claims, especially real life ones, I feel it does limit me imagination wise.

Now if others do like face claims and an RPG requires I find one, it's cool, but as a rule I don't like them anymore.

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ** on Sat Sep 12, 2020 6:01 am

There seem to be a lot of inconsistencies in defining what a face claim actually is or means. The baseline definition is that it is a character/person from existing media that is used as reference for a character's appearance. The Urban Dictionary definition, while true it doesn't seem to match up entirely with what the OP is talking about which is to say, FCs that have been predetermined for a roleplay. That to me, is a GM issue.

I understand why that would be frustrating since it may clash with a player's vision, but I take umbridge with the idea that having an FC limits creativity in general.

I see the selection process like casting a movie. You find an FC that encapsulates your vision and edit them to suit the aesthetic of the RP (or vice versa). And like movies, there will always be some celebrities or characters that are more popular than others, but that's more of a player (or GM if they are preselected) issue than the concept itself.

The amount of dislike for live action face claims strikes me as odd given the numerous amounts of actors, models and other influencers in the world. And that's not even including the different roles that actors can play. Fantasy, sci-fi, western... All these genres have a wealth of live action media to choose from. Tom Hiddleston for example, has played tons of different characters. Saoirse Ronan has been acting since she was a child.

I've found less diversity in animated FCs, in terms of ethnicity and body type but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist! Tumblr and Wattpad actually have many databases/accounts for both animated and live action FCs.

As somebody who has commissioned art of their characters in the past, it's been very rewarding to see your OC in color but not everyone has the time or money to draw every OC that pops into their brain so I get that it can be a challenge to find that perfect reference.

Nonetheless, there are a ton of resources out there so if one is willing to put in the time, they might just find what they're looking for.

I will say though, that the inability divorce an FC from its original source is something I used to relate to a lot. Less so now that I'm doing more live action RPs.

partially-stars · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **partially-stars** on Sat Sep 12, 2020 6:20 am

As somebody who’s been using face claims for years, it is interesting to read why people choose not to use them. But as was said above, there are definitely pros to using them. I’m not a fan of pre-assigned face claims- when I’m making a character, choosing a face claim is an important part of the creative process and it can shape a character. And vice versa, if I have an idea for a character, using a celebrity that fits whatever “look” I’m going for can streamline things. It can also be fun to do extra stuff around the characters from a community point of view- mocking up fake Instagram accounts for characters is a fun one that me and a lot of people I work with like to do, given that my RPs are usually slice-of-life.

This is something I’ve noticed less and less lately, but there can sometimes be a lack of diversity in face claims- but this could also as I’m not in non-FC roleplays that much. I think this is something that ultimately boils down to the GM encouraging diversity and the players themselves.

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