7 Tips for Designing a Sona

some ideas for designing a character that you'll have attachment to..
qwizz.carrd.co/
music used in this video: • Poké & Chill

[@wonderhoydotorg]

when I find a helpful video that isn’t very popular I feel like I’ve solved the KZbin mystery

[@thesolardude]

The ad was timed perfectly “you can have a flexible character and give it some TAKIS INTENSE NACHO” lol

[@Cylidae]

Qwizz: I never get bored of drawing him Also Qwizz: I didn't feel like drawing new stills

[@Qwizz]

HAHA SHSHSHSHHHH i hate making stills since i hate leaving layers unmerged

[@KartsSafespace]

⁠@@Qwizzomg i have the opposite problem! at least when im designing a new character, i always keep all of the different colors on different layers so that i can easily adjust them without changing the size or shape. i actually drive myself mad sometimes with how badly i need my layers separated and organized!

[@ghosti287]

"These are tips, they aren't rules" is such a helpful sentiment. This guide is great, I love how it focuses on enjoying your designs and such, many guides about character making are written like rule lists with the creator's preference in mind and I think it's so important especially for newer artists to discover their own likes and characters.

[@cervidae3291]

since i'm a system, i've always struggled with making my own sona even though i/we've really wanted to try our hand at designing one. what one alter finds fun design wise another alter will disagree with and want something completely different, so we'll probably go down the multiple 'sona route 😂 this was a really well laid out video, and i loved seeing your characters + a bit of the process you go through to make/draw them! thank you for posting this, its really motivated me to sit down and try character designing again 👏

[@childeofepickness]

I’ve never really thought baout that either until now!!! I’m not a system but I have a hard time pin-pointing things that make me “me” even though I’m pretty in touch with my interests so the multiple sonas path is very helpful for me :)

[@Mizu.ki-Akiyama]

I'm a system as well, one of my headmates wanted a persona (the rest of us are fictrojects) so we decided to decide one for them, but all of us ended up liking it so we use it to represent all of us sometimes as well

[@SelcouthChaos]

Time stamps O:44 1. less is more 2:28 2. redesign over remake 3:31 3. do more with the character than drawing it 4:58 4. design the character with yourself in mind 5:29 5. you can have more than one character 6:11 6. accessories make a big difference 7:06 7. colours are important

[@splitfox5027]

0:19 HOLY SHIT YOU COMMISSIONED ME BEFOREE OMGGGGGG THE LITTLE MINT AND BROWN AND CREAM CREATURE IN THE TOP LEFT!!!, Uou were like Lethalu or smth at the time?,,.??? Omg no way!!!!,!! I made a fullbody for you on deviantart I think for a ridiculously low amount of points lol but honestly no way! Thank you so so much for these vids, they’ve been so fab omfggggggg

[@Qwizz]

I REMEMBER YOU!! I WAS QWIZZICAL AT THE TIME :D I REMEMBER I WAS IN SHOCK AT UR PRICES CUZ UR ART WAS SO CUTEEEE... i still remember the fullbody and the bust u made tehe

[@splitfox5027]

@@Qwizz SOBBINGGGGGGG honestly since then I have been able to slowly knock the prices up lol but they’re still pretty low :’)))) but ur vids are helping me be more confident to up them!

[@voseybeans]

i agree with a lot of the points brought up here! i find its also helpful if you want a character you'll enjoy drawing to think of traits you just enjoy drawing and try to create something with those traits that is harmonious. you might end up with several characters that you connect to. i think this is why so many people have multiple sonas. cuz its hard to show so many different, sometimes even contrasting parts of yourself in one character so you make a bunch. characters are also fun to explore yourself with :) but yeah! great video ash/gen

[@freakonaIeash]

Hey just wanted to say that I love this video a lot, found it like yesterday and it has already helped out a lot. Most tutorials like this _exclusively_ focus on things like memorability and branding, but this goes way more in depth on how to actually Enjoy drawing the character and how to get attached to it, which is like, exactly what I needed this whole time. This is also helping me with just making OCs again in general. So thank you for this ^^ Wonderful video

[@RandomTomatoMusic]

I resonate with point 5 so much. I have seven fleshed-out characters in total (my main being a 4'3" kobold with shadow and fire magic... may or may not be half-posessed), all representing some facet of my own personality, so it's very hard to get burnt out with any one character because I have so many that I'm comfortable with. Another thing I'd like to add to point 3 - if you have the time, interest, and decent enough creative-writing skills, maybe try your hand at roleplaying! RP can be a great way to get yourself in the mindset of your character, so you can develop and fine-tune their personality. Bonus points if you end up in an ongoing, lore-based RP-you get to introduce your sona(s) and their lore to an already vast universe, further expanding upon the potential to make these characters truly your own.

[@solaristhecatccsys3132]

its very amusing to see this video appear like a day or so after our system host made us a systemsona for a minecraft skin. will probably remake it a bit with these tips in mind :D very nice video btw!

[@Nyankitty61]

“Came to them by accident” Susie, my main main OC (out of 3 main OC’s) is a random character I designed for a singular drawing I made when I was eight, EIGHT. My 2 other mains (made later) weren’t even supposed to be part of the same stories! One was from an edgy character group thing and one was a Gacha Life character, but eventually I drew them together and it just stuck I think what’s interesting is that I tried replacing one, 5 different times, and eventually I just stuck with the same character I made originally just redesigned to be less edgy.

[@CakedPie]

this is a great video. im currently designing multiple mascots for myself, and sometimes hearing stuff like this really helps! i've been a long time viewer of yours (since when Stello was your main sona,) and im glad to watch more of your videos! (theyre intertaining and informative) my friend said that when you make a design you will know when it'll be your sona/mascot. And it's true! (like you mentioned in 8:10 ) my current mascot came to be, when i made a base design from a melanie martinez song 'cake'. TL;DR :: great video love it very useful

[@angelsofu69]

i really enjoyed this video, especially at the end where sona designs just come to you. My sona is a small white guy with a blue hoodie, similar to this animator named icecreamsandwhich. He was never meant to be my sona, as i just wanted a simple character to doodle in school, but now he's my everything and i indentify with him a lot :3

[@honeycloves-]

This is actually the most helpful sona designing tips video i've seen ever I'm still firmly attached to my current sona w/ no intention of changing her but now I'm inspired to draw her in some new outfits ^^

[@kit_raccoon_boi]

For me the sweet spot is when i figure out how to make them distinct and recognizable (at least among my friends) with as little detail as possible (literally. I drew them as a pet rock and my friends still guessed the oc right) and when drawing them comes naturally enough that i can doodle them in class on the borders of my paper without thinking about it too much :)

[@BobiiTheDutchAngel]

I agree to all of these points, and a suggestion that is strange but personally works for me, is listening to music. Specifically music that matches the mood of the character.

[@nidgithm]

i always struggled with making a sona because i don't know myself very well. i didn't really know what to make, and anything I tried didn't feel like "me". in the end i just gave up on making a sona thats like me, and instead tried to approach it as making a mascot character that has some things in common with me, and that worked for me

[@templecatt]

i dont even want to make a sona, i just enjoy listening to your videos while i play games lol your voice is quite nice

[@dulipvoid6015]

Omg.. i'm in a qwizz vid!!! BUT I LOVED ALL THE TIPS IN HERE very cool very cool

[@untrustfool]

the colour one! the colours of are actually my favourite part of my sona, because basically they're divided into putting all the cold colours into their base design, and all the warm colours into their fashion, and i just think it's super neat how i can draw my character with literally two colours and it'd work

[@Brenilla]

For my persona she came from an old (self insert) fan fiction I made and when I learned about personas I just adapted her into it. One of my favorite things is making alternate looks. Keeping the same base but adjusting colors a bit and new clothes. I don’t typically redesign characters, but I did redo her base look (well mostly the clothes, plain T shirt and pants wasn’t really doing it for me XD) Thease are some great tips on making one or adapting one!

[@jaspersoceans]

This makes me want to draw a new oc now

[@childeofepickness]

found you from your most recent video (the reference sheet one) and I gotta say, your videos are so so helpful and I’d love to see more!! definitely gonna try these tips myself! also,,, what brush do you use for lineart??? it looks so textured and I’d love to try it on my art. very eatable

[@parkfever]

I LOVE to make plushies, and I have made plushies of my sona! It’s so cool and I get to have her physically

[@thelobsterlover9449]

This video is so helpful and well presented. I have a sona who is a lobster and I tend to draw her in a simple dot eye style. She was originally designed as a sonicsona and I'm having trouble translating her into a more furry style without it looking weird.

[@portobeIIa]

(i have been binging your videos dont mind me) i used to swap sonas every year and a half or so, and the one i currently have made me very anxious because his "expiration date" was arriving and i was sad, but i accepted the fact that one day the novelty would wear out and i would move on from him... here's the thing, that has yet to happen! i never felt this apprehension, this "fear of loss" over a sona, and in hindsight, that was exactly the attachment that was missing in the other sonas. he is very simple, basically a monochromatic, brown cat, and someone with your artstyle would find him boring, but he is all i could ever want! he is simple, recognisable, and doesnt belong to any story so his presenting personality is extremely versatile. i've had him ever since 2019 and I still feel giddy every time i draw him, no matter the current artstyle i'm going for,

[@Alyssa-ii3vy]

Dude where are all the subs!! I just found you with this video and this is so well made and engaging with good info!!

[@beescared]

I have my persona, mushroom girl, who was originally an oc! It came to me that she’s my persona by me commissioning someone to make a vtuber for me, i made a quick and totally improvised and new design, but after I commissioned it i realised that’s not me. So, i thought my favourite oc, mushroom girl, would be perfect!

[@AveryGrindsStuff]

Great timing! I was looking to work on a new sona!

[@meteorshowerz_]

Average Qwizz W

[@KartsSafespace]

id like to add to this that its a good idea to make multiple sonas for different fandoms with designs that help the characters fit in. for example, i have my main cat-demon sona, but then i also have an mlp ponysona too, along with other non-sonas that im also attached to for mlp, undertale and sonic etc. that last one actually brings up a good point too, because all of the characters that ive made into sonic designs so far are actually previous failed sona attempts. if you make a sona design of some kind but you just dont end up getting emotionally attached no matter how much you love their design, you can save the characters off to the side until you find a use for them later on instead of feeling like you need to trash them. ive never drawn my oc jericho as much as i am now that i sonic-fied him! just some food for thought and encouragement.

[@Nyaalexi]

Well my main character is basically just me in cartoon form. I don't think she has too many or too few details. And I draw her all the time. I don't really know what else to do with her, I'm a terrible writer. I only have a few characters, and I think that works well. I do a few accessories. I don't think I ever get tired of drawing my characters. And I think they have pretty good color schemes. And since my main character is me, I think she was definitely designed with intent.

[@ratboy9181]

I’ve been trying to learn more professional level character design Here’s 1 important tip I feel is missing Silhouette If you completely black out your character what do you see? Can they be recognized just from that? Can you tell their personality just from that? You should be able to I often design my characters silhouette first

[@starthe_notfurry_]

These are honestly really helpful, and I'm certainly not the best artist but even I know these are absolutely smart from an artistic perspective! With all this in mind I really do not understand the low view count; regardless, don't let KZbin's algorithm slow you down, keep doing what you enjoy!

[@organism_enthusiast]

I make ocs based if my interests and that makes me really connect with them :3

[@wildstallionsoul]

Super helpful video for a newbie like me, thank you!

[@sonicthefox2478]

My fursona is very simple in his design, maybe too simple at points, but I sure do love him. That said, watching a video like this is fun. Nice work. ^^

[@joejojo6704]

Wow that was really inspiring, thank you ! Where can we message you for the toyhouse code ? I'd love to prepare for next year artfight and try it please 🥰🙏❤

[@klarachaos]

my main oc ravyn was funnly enoth never supposed to become my sona he just somhow became my sona and now has nearly 1500 arts XD

[@herofroot]

hi qwizz!! what do you use to keep track of all the commissions you've received of your char?

[@Qwizz]

hi! i use toyhouse! i made a tab for the character and keep track of the value by using a free value log template :]

[@gabrielbuyk5992]

I'm starting to get back into the furry fandom and i wanna make some fursona's so this video is very helpful, thank you!

[@Trappedinthefuckinvoid]

is it okay to have more thne one persona or is it just suppose to be on and only one cause it has to be personal

[@user-hh3rn7bu7d]

My sona doesn’t look anything like me (it’s an animal like yours). Is that fine?

[@panda5490]

What's this site that you use at 3:40 pls?

[@rat_in_a_bucket]

Toyhouse