Original Character Do Not Steal is a phrase DeviantART artists slap on their creations to warn against theft, but by 2008 it was already being used ironically to caption obvious rip-offs and terrible fan art. What started as a sincere copyright plea became a long-running joke about the Sonic the Hedgehog fandom and amateur original characters, or OCs.
Origin
The earliest documented ironic use came on March 18th, 2008, when DeviantART user Kurobon posted a Sonic parody titled 'LOL PENIS THE HEDGEHOG' captioned with 'original character do not steal'[3]. The phrase itself was already common among DeviantART artists worried about actual art theft, but Kurobon's post captured the sarcastic pairing that spread later: earnest warning plus terrible or derivative art. The originator of the ironic usage is unknown.
- Platform: DeviantART
- Creator: Unknown
- Date: 2008
Overview
The joke pairs the earnest 'do not steal' warning with art that nobody would ever want to steal in the first place, whether it's a lazy Sonic recolor, a poorly drawn anime character, or a blatant knock-off of an existing pop culture figure. The Sonic fandom became the running target because of the community's reputation for derivative fan characters, edgy hedgehog OCs, and palette-swapped clones like the fake blue hedgehog 'Blonic'[1]. By March 2014, DeviantART had tallied more than 29,000 submissions tagged with the phrase[3].
Users also fire off the phrase as commentary, calling out other artists whose 'original characters' look suspiciously like copyrighted properties[2]. The tone is almost always sarcastic now, with the sincerity of the original usage mostly forgotten.
How to Use
Post an obviously derivative or badly rendered character, especially a hedgehog OC that looks a little too much like Sonic, and caption it 'original character do not steal' to signal the self-aware joke. Common conventions include exaggerating the copy (a red-and-black Sonic recolor, a Naruto lookalike) or leaning into how sloppy the art is.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Original Character Do Not Steal?
It's a phrase originally used by DeviantART artists to warn against theft, now more often used ironically to caption obviously derivative or badly drawn art[2].
Where did Original Character Do Not Steal come from?
It came out of DeviantART's fan-art culture, where the phrase started as a genuine anti-theft warning before flipping into a sarcastic caption for bad or copied art[2].
What does Original Character Do Not Steal mean?
Literally: don't copy my character. Ironically, it flags art that's either sloppily drawn or blatantly ripped off from an existing property like Sonic the Hedgehog[1].
How do you use Original Character Do Not Steal?
Post an obviously derivative or poorly rendered OC, often a Sonic-adjacent hedgehog, and caption it 'original character do not steal' to signal the self-aware joke[1].
Is Original Character Do Not Steal still popular?
It's a classic Sonic-fandom joke that still surfaces whenever people mock amateur OC art, though its peak was in the early 2010s[1].
