Questions

Everything about keeping your OCs on OC Shelf. Missing something? Write to hello@oc-shelf.thetowers.ai.

Starting out

Do I need an invite code?: No. Anyone 13 or older can sign up and start adding characters right away.
What's free?: Up to 10 characters, one world and a shareable relationship web. Shelf+ unlocks unlimited characters and worlds, more image storage and custom themes for $4 a month, after a 7-day free trial.
Who is it for?: Artists, writers and roleplayers with casts of original characters, from a handful to dozens. You need to be 13 or older to sign up.
What goes on a character?: A name, one line about them, ref images, a 5-color palette pulled from the main ref (you can tweak it), custom fields like age, pronouns or species, stats from 0 to 10, and a backstory with paragraphs, bold and italic.

How is the web drawn?: Link any two characters as family, friend, rival, crush, partner, mentor, enemy, or your own label. OC Shelf lays out the whole cast for you, colored by the kind of link, and redraws it when links change.
What are worlds and the timeline?: A world holds a cast and its web. Inside it, the timeline lets you pin events in order ("Year 3, spring", "Chapter 2") and tag who was there.

Who can see my characters?: Only you, until you choose. Each character, world and web can be private, unlisted (link only) or public. Unlisted pages never show in the public gallery or in search engines.
How do share links look?: A clean page with your web, your cast and each profile. Pasted into a bio or Discord, it shows a preview card of your web.
Are uploads checked?: Yes. Every ref is screened for nudity, gore and anything unsafe for minors before it can show on a share link. Until it clears, only you can see it, and a flagged image stays private.
Is AI art allowed?: OC Shelf is for your own art and writing. We never train anything on your uploads.
Someone posted my character as theirs. What now?: Use the report button on any shared image, or choose "DMCA notice" in the same form. Reported images are hidden while the claim is checked; the uploader is told and can send a counter-notice, and the image only comes back after 10 business days if no court action is shown.

I'm coming from Refsheet. Can I move my OCs?: Yes. Upload your ref images and paste your character text; OC Shelf splits it into fields for you to check. Nothing is saved until you confirm.
And from Toyhouse, Notion or a doc?: The same Import box takes any profile text you can copy. Labels like "Likes:" or "Age:" become fields, long paragraphs become the backstory.
Can I take my cast with me later?: Yes. Your account page has an export: one zip with your characters, worlds, links and timeline as JSON, plus every ref image.

	Free	Shelf+
Characters	10	Unlimited
Worlds	1	Unlimited
Ref storage	25 MB	100 MB
Relationship web, timeline, import, share links	Yes	Yes
Custom theme color on share pages	No	Yes
Price	$0	$4 a month, 7 days free

I'm under 18. How do I pay?: A parent or guardian can pay for Shelf+ with their card. You can cancel any time from your account.
What happens when a trial ends or I cancel?: You keep everything you made and can still view, edit and share it. Adding past 10 characters or one world needs Shelf+ again.