The Face Claim

[EndlessStarlight]

Okay, so I am an artist and before I started drawing my own characters and even sometimes now I just used reference pics I found on google images for my role plays. Now, one thing that I have noticed that always just kinda bugged me, not made me mad and especially not a deal breaker for a rp, was the use of face claim where people choose very popular characters or celebrities for their character's physical appearance. For me, this was distracting, as when I looked at a person's character I just saw Ellen Paige or some popular anime character and not the character the other person had created. This, of course, is just my opinion and I wanted to discuss and hear other people's opinions on the matter, especially if you are on the other side of the coin!

I hope you have a nice day wherever you are!

 

[junebug]

I honestly don't know whether I like face claims or not. I was conditioned to accept them on another host that now I'm just like "meh" unless they're faces I seriously dislike (i.e. justin beiber) or face ship (i.e. ian x nina, damon x elena) which I don't go around spreading my opinion about those sorts of things, I just feel strongly opposed towards face shipping and certain faces. I usually try to stick to underused fcs though, because the stigma of popular faces is frustrating for me as a writer, in my experience, because people like to hog popular faces or face ship them and pics is the only reason two characters will be the best together and blah blah blah. I haven't seen this kind of mentality on here (which is awesome) but I've seen it on another host and it's just... like why? Why do the faces matter so much more than the character? This is just me though.

 

[Indabayou]

It depends for me. I do like using rarer FCs though, both for the variety it allows and that if you reuse characters a lot and join a lot of rps, it means there's less of a chance someone has also chosen that same face claim. Sometimes though a really famous/popular celebrity just looks like what you imagine your character to look like and that's fine. It's an actor's job to play several if not hundreds of people in their lifetime, so putting their face to a character isn't all that different in my opinion.

 

[Vars]

I don't mind drawn things. If it's a character I know of, it can be a little distracting but it's easy enough to get over.

Photographs, however, have always seemed a little too weird to me. That's an actual person that you're associating with whatever you're RPing, and I would never do that.
I've never told people to not use those in roleplays I've been in, I just would personally never do it myself and find it weird that other people do it.

Of course, because of how they're so popular now, I can't join a lot of RPs that require them. It's a little limiting but I don't think it's a line I'll ever be willing to cross.

 

[King]

I'd love to have drawn pictures for my characters, but I lack the talent / commission expenses to get them done! I also don't like using art I find online, I feel like I'm stealing somebody's OC lmao. I try to source my shit, when I do use art!

So currently, I always read and write my characters as if I'm watching a movie scene, since most of my RPs revolve around humans on earth lmao. I enjoy gifs of faces and such for characters, sometimes I even get inspired by seeing a model or actor I like. As long as they're public faces (I.E actual actors/models/celebrities and not some girl's face that you found on her tumblr) then I'm all for!

I don't watch anime, so I can't imagine a RP with anime characters :P Although I love how anime CS's look!

 

[Diana]

When I first started roleplaying I ONLY used art I found or drew myself. I was also big in to anime so I used a lot of that. After I grew out of anime, I found it harder and harder to get art that fit my characters, especially for Modern and Sci Fi settings. And I am a lazy amateur artist who is also broke and can't often commission stuff. ;_;

A couple years ago I got in to the habit of using REAL LIFEY pics. I used to think using famous stars was lame (pretty much the exact same opinions everyone here has already mentioned), but then I was like "Well, if my roleplay was going to be a MOVIE who would I want to star as my character?"

So... that is how I look at it now. 8D If someone is using Hugh Jackman for their character pic, I am not seeing Hugh Jackman himself, I am seeing Hugh Jackman STARRING AS GRANPA POTTER.

I still want custom art for all my charries, but it's also super cool being a "cast director" choosing who I would hypothetically hire as a character's actor. >:3

 

[Jorick]

I went no simply because I prefer to use art rather than images of real people for my characters.

 

[SacredWarrior]

Since I can't draw for shit, I do indeed use FCs for my characters unless it's anime based.

 

[Sidhe]

Started out with no visual references whatsoever, then got introduced to forum role-playing (InvisionFree) where celebrity face claims were The Thing. You know, big sheets just for face claims, and squabbles over who got to use whose face for their characters. I did that for a while, but once I stopped role-playing on trendy sites and moved over to nerdy pet sites like Subeta, I started drawing my own characters/commissioning art of them. This is still what I prefer, but since I'm not really involved in communities like that any more and I'm too lazy to draw my own shit, I either end up reusing images/characters or using other art. I try not to do the latter, and if I do, I try my hardest to find the artist to credit. I also try to use generic drawings and not art of specific characters from anime or, god forbid, someone else's OC.

Occasionally I will use a photo of a real person if my partner prefers it, though. Just not super famous faces. Also sometimes it's fun hunting for a real face for characters that I've only ever drawn before.

 

[Touch of Insanity]

I actually do a mixture of using art and real people. I only got into face claims when I joined sites when they site was around a plot and you made an account for each character you had. Much like Diana I picture these people as the actors I would use to play my characters. Not that these people themselves are my actual characters. The same goes for when I use art. They are playing the part of my character and not actually them.

 

[Dervish]

Nope. I feel like they're lazy substitutes for just writing a description.

Either you have a celebrity, which immediately discounts your character being distinct because their appearance is molded to fit the picture, or you're pulling some random person's picture to use. I don't know about you, but I would feel weird and kind of objectified if I found one of my pictures randomly on the internet as someone's character.

I really don't like using them, I only do it if my partner is insistent on it.

 

[Greenie]

I don't really like face claims. Mostly because there never really is a certain person that I picture as my character.

As well as the fact that it's hard to think of so and so as my character.

That being said, if the general norm is using a picture then I do use them. Otherwise I tend to write description of my characters.

 

[Lackadaisical]

I'm a very visual person, even back in the days when I used to write out descriptions for all my characters I usually had one of two pictures (not posted) that I would refer to for visual descriptions. Having a picture helps me anchor a character in my mind. If I'm playing just one game with a small group written descriptions are fine but if it's bigger I need some sort of picture.

As for FCs, I view them like movie actors playing my characters and so I generally don't mind it. I try not to use really common celebrities but on the other hand I do try to use actors/models/musicians/etc as oppose to just random folks on the internet.... that's a little weird to me especially if I'm playing a young teen or kid. Then I'd really prefer it be an actor. I'm also fine with anime from tv shows. Granted, I don't watch much anime so it's entirely possible I'm posting really popular characters and don't realize it but eh. If it ever really bothered someone they could ask and I'd change it.

I really like using nice fantasy art, and while I generally try to hunt down the artist I'm not as good about this as I should be. I would feel somewhat bad using someone elses OC but see for me I just don't get attached to my characters. I mean, I guess I'm attached but not so much to their physical appearance. I don't have a bank of characters I go back to, instead, I tend to write up new characters for every single game I join. Occasionally recycling favorites. There's no way I could draw or get all of those commissioned and even if I could draw them (which I can't unfortunately) I feel like I'd be thrilled to have people using them in RPGs but eh, who knows? I might feel differently after drawing them.

 

[Astoria]

Generally not.

I never use photographs and usually try to find original or obscure characters. When they're not but I like the particular picture for a sheet I want to make, I might do some photoshoppery or redrawing to get it the way I like. If not, I'll definitely associate it to the intellectual property more than my character, and that goes for the images other people use as well.

Very rarely will I draw a character for a CS since I'm lazy and it takes too much time, but that would be the most ideal.

 

[Shiri]

I don't generally mind other people using face claims. I don't use them myself except for very rare occasions. Its just easier to write out a description and go. Then again I did rp in the Doctor Who fandom for a few years so I'm used to seeing face claims for OC Time Lords and the like. Bonus with Time Lords is that you can pick many faces if you so choose. Haha!

 

[Kehvarl]

My characters don't get images, and I generally don't pay any attention to whatever image other characters might have. Then again, my characters don't get descriptions, backgrounds, or last names either. They sometimes get a first name. Usually they get a stat block, sometimes a class and some gear.

 

[Kestrel]

I used to dislike the concept. Then I stopped giving a fuck.

I mean it's kinda like coloured dialogue. You don't need it and it feels lazier in comparison to flexing your prose muscle, but it makes role-playing more accessible. Which is pretty big considering nobody reads anymore. I mean. Most roleplayers watch more Netflix or anime than read books. Especially as an entry level this brings in new players that a site like this needs in order to survive.

 

[Brovo]

My opinion on it is still the same as it's been for a couple years now: I don't like using face claims. I don't like using pictures for forum role plays as a general rule and will only use them when required. The reason being is quite simple: I call myself a writer. I, therefore, write the description of a character and let a person's imagination fill in the blanks. I may use a picture as a visual reference for describing a character, but I don't use the actual picture in question. How can I pride myself as a writer if I can't even describe something as fundamental as the appearance of my own character without stealing someone else's work? All that displays is how lazy or incompetent I am.

That's the main reason anyway. There's a couple of secondary reasons, too.

• It's Not Legal: No, it's not covered under fair use. You're not using it for educational purposes, you're not using it in a journalistic manner, you're not creating parody. You're just straight up using it without consent. Whether or not you use it for profit has no application on fair use, for all those wondering. (That being said, it's not like this is a crime that you're going to be busted for, and I sincerely doubt it will cause serious harm to anybody. It's like jaywalking: Just understand that while it's not legal, it's not necessarily immoral. It's also a crime that just isn't worth the cost of prosecuting, obviously.)
• How Would I Feel?: I have two role play universes I've invested years of work into. They are Legend of Renalta, and The Last Bastion. How would I feel if someone came along and stole entire parts of that work--or even the entire work in question--and used it? How would you feel if someone stole your character verbatim and used it elsewhere, in a manner that could potentially make you uncomfortable? This goes double for face claims: I'm pretty sure I wouldn't ever want to discover that someone used my picture on the Internet as a representation of a rape victim in someone's power fantasy, or something equally deranged.

Where's the unpopular opinion puffin meme when you need it...

EDIT

Also, to clarify: I don't hold other people to the same standards I hold myself, nor do I consider others particularly inferior or superior for doing what I think is right or not doing what I think is right. This is just my perspective on it all.