General Discussion

Send me some examples of your OC Playlists

• Maybe talk about your process.
• How does it relate to the OC
• Why did you pick the genre (if it is a specific genre) ?
• Is the playlist based on Lyrics, Vibes, or what they would listen to?
• What apps or sites do you use to make them?
• What about length?

Me and my friends often make a lot of OC playlists, and if I'm working on a com or doing an artfight I try to listen to people's playlists while working. I've seen a lot of OC playlists that range in quantity, quality, and genre. this has made me curious about people's thought processes for making them. you don't have to answer all the questions, or even any, just curious!

currently making a spotify playlist for my destiny 2 character (please don’t judge me) and rn my best guess is just vibes and lyrical consistency? it’s hard bc i don’t want to have TOO much tonal inconsistency.

i’d say start with three songs bare minimum to get the right vibes? for example, ev-13’s playlist rn is

• blindness - metric
• six shooter - coyote kisses
• t-rex - k-flay

and i think these three songs alone give an idea of the energy i want for her playlist. she’s fun, energetic, flirty, usually doesn’t take herself too seriously, but also angsty about not really having a say in whether or not she got to be a hero. she just is one.

best of luck!

• Maybe talk about your process.
  I... don't have much of a process. if I like a song, and I think it works for the character, it goes on the playlist.
  that said, sometimes I go through albums from specific artists because I think their songs work well for the character.
• How does it relate to the OC
  usually I pick songs that fit the character's backstory and character arc.
• Why did you pick the genre (if it is a specific genre) ?
  no specific genre, but since my taste in music is mostly rock and soundtracks, that's what's on most of my playlists
• Is the playlist based on Lyrics, Vibes, or what they would listen to?
  lyrics and vibes. especially the vibes are important, sometimes the lyrics don't actually make sense with the character.
• What apps or sites do you use to make them?
  I have most of mine on spotify, but I also use youtube sometimes. depends on where I can find the songs I want.
• What about length?
  eh. I just do whatever. if a song works, it goes on the list.

i build my playlists around the character's story arc, so they're technically intended to be listened to linearly. there's pros and cons to this, i guess? if you shuffle the playlist, there's not much consistency to speak of because they tend to span several genres. because of that i don't ever feel limited by the songs that "fit" a playlist, though. my focus is 100% on lyrical content, and i can rearrange things to make almost any sound fit somewhere.

the playlist that currently has most of my attention is a bg3 character playlist! i started out with a couple songs that really fit the vibe, then refreshed the recommended section a million times to see if it suggests anything good. after that i just add songs as i think of them, rearrange them frequently, and let it out into the world.

some tools of note: i like music map for finding artists with a similar sound! it's actually just really good for jogging my memory, there's lots of artists i don't remember until i see their names pop up. boil the frog also used to be great for bridging gaps between songs with different sounds, but i don't think it works anymore :(

• Why did you pick the genre (if it is a specific genre) ?
  I just use whatever genres that I like, skewed toward which ones fit the OC's vibe (although not entirely, as sometimes there are songs with different genres/vibes that have fitting lyrics).
• Is the playlist based on Lyrics, Vibes, or what they would listen to?
  Based on lyrics for the most part, with some vibe-based influence.
• What apps or sites do you use to make them?
  I currently use Spotify.
• What about length?
  I usually incorporate songs that match my OCs into larger playlists that relate to the setting in general, but when I create playlists specifically for OCs, they don't tend to be too long (about 10-ish songs?). I just kinda struggle with finding new music that fits my characters well and that I enjoy listening to.

• Maybe talk about your process.
  I write about the main points of the character, their personality, key points of their lore, then some songs will start coming into my mind and I'll listen to them to see if they fit or if I just happened to remember a specific line but the rest of the lyrics doesn't fit at all lol. When I gather all the songs I know (and if the playlist is still to short) I start looking for recommendations (Spotify's discover weekly, YouTube's music mix, other people's playlists about a certain topic/aesthetic that fits my character), and ideally I would arrange the songs in some chronological order but I almost never do.
  I also don't like adding too many songs from the same artist, like 3 max, just because at some point I start noticing a certain artist is playing too much and I start thinking it lacks variety.
• Why did you pick the genre (if it is a specific genre) ?
  I normally pick songs I would listen to, sometimes I would find a song I've never listened to before that could be a different genre and I will like it, especially because I can relate it to my character, then I'll start including that genre into the playlist.
• Is the playlist based on Lyrics, Vibes, or what they would listen to?
  Principally lyrics, vibes come in second but still very important because I think it helps giving an idea of what the character's vibes are like without having to pay special attention to the lyrics/analize the songs.
• What apps or sites do you use to make them?
  Spotify! Sometimes I use the notes app to flesh out more the reasoning behind the choosing of the song.
• What about length?
  I like to make them last 2-3 hours, although most I made last 1 hour something because I can't find enough songs.

I've made quite a few ^^


How does it relate to the OC?
I like to pick songs that relate to their feelings or maybe their story. Sometimes it's just purely the vibe of the song that I go by and the lyrics are irrelevant.

Why did you pick the genre (if it is a specific genre) ?
I don't go for specific genres to be honest ^^'' I just pull up my main playlist and scroll through till I find something fitting. Some of my characters have very mixed genre playlists.

Is the playlist based on Lyrics, Vibes, or what they would listen to?
Mostly lyrics, sometimes vibes. I don't make playlists as something the character would listen to because I find those harder to do. So just purely songs that fit their general vibes or songs with lyrics that fit their character.

What apps or sites do you use to make them?
I use spotify to find the music and then the playlist is just written down onto Word/Notes.

What about length?
Ehh, mine are all different. I don't like making them super long though. Maybe an hour or two max?

Raiding my pre-determined iTunes playlist called “Free Real Estate”. I just go through what songs I like the best in my library and stick ‘em there until hopefully I have need for them. I also take into account how many times I can realistically hear an individual song before never wanting to hear it ever again. Some good songs get spoiled that way.

• Maybe talk about your process.
  The only kind of process I can really syphon out of my methods are just "I'm making a reference for this character right now, so I might as well make a playlist to listen to while I draw em. Afterwards I shove a bunch of songs I think is fitting and call it a day until I find another song and remember to put it in.
  
• How does it relate to the OC
  Normally through vibes, instruments, or lyrics in some way, shape or form.
  
• Is the playlist based on Lyrics, Vibes, or what they would listen to?
  Sometimes lyrics, sometimes vibes.
  
• What apps or sites do you use to make them?
  Spotify!!!!
  
• What about length?
  Currently all the ones I have are around an hour and a half long if not a little more or less. The size is purely coincidental though and they will likely fluctuate more as I update the playlists.

I only have a few but I try not to think too hard about it, here’s what I kinda do:

• I personally just add music I listen to and add it if it makes sense or fits the vibe. I usually turn on an oc playlist when I draw them to get in the right mood if that makes sense
• Or sometimes I’ll add a song I think my oc would listen to or enjoy, for example if my character is a punk they might be a metalhead and listen to rock or death metal
• Sometimes I unintentionally add songs which lyrics or meaning behind it compliments or describes the character, like their background, personality, or relationship with all the love songs lol
• The most important part in my opinion is just having fun experimenting and messing around with it. :) Even if it seems a bit difficult at the moment, once you have a good idea or premise in mind it’ll eventually create itself over time

Hope any of this was any help!