How To Make Good Flaws vs Bad Flaws for Likable Characters

[@CharacterDesignForge]

UPDATE: My character Biko is available as a plush- grab it before it's too late! www.makeship.com/products/biko-plush

[@caroodraws]

I really like the idea of taking traditionally positive traits like kindness or courage and pushing them until they become a flaws, such as lack of boundaries or acting without thinking. Thanks for talking about this topic, it's cool to hear your take on it.

[@JenEFunworks]

Very nice point! I didn't think of that! =)

[@anidaname6880]

I find it cool when these happen Though I don't see too many examples apart from my own thoughts More examples would be great for inspiration~

[@mintgreen5614]

@@anidaname6880 my hero academia. Deku allways rushes in to save people without thinking.

[@anidaname6880]

@@mintgreen5614 true true

[@teaartist6455]

It's great as long as you make sure to actually show how those are flaws in-story. There are tons of people out there that say that their character is "too kind", "too brave" and so on, but that fail to actually show those flaws in-story at which part it starts drifting dangerously close to the fake flaws that are oh so very popular in Mary-Sueish characters and YA novels (Being "so pretty it's a curse", "average looking" (except not really and still magically attracting whatever abuser is in today) and so on). If you're character is "too brave", yet never lands himself in tricky situations by rushing in headlong, somethings wrong. Same if you take naivety as a flaw, if it doesn't actually affect the story, that's not a flaw and shouldn't be listed as such. (That being said, I find this good as well, especially combined with complimentary more traditional flaws. )

[@Cy_Cyborg]

I'm really glad someone acknowledged that a disability in and of itself is not a character flaw. I see that a lot for some reason, the flawless person with a missing limb being perfectly fine and never struggling with anything, physically or mentally. They're still bland, but now they're bland with a cool leg lol

[@CharacterDesignForge]

That there’s Capn Pegleg Pristine

[@anidaname6880]

Yeah not just with characters also in real life Like being disabled isn't a flaw in itself

[@loganplonski922]

Or characters that are autism-coded whose only flaw is having autism. Like.... really makes you think about how people view disabilities, y'know?

[@chocotoasties2671]

@@loganplonski922 or if a character has autism and it a genius, they're usually an asshole or their autism is the only reason why they're a genius in their field and not because of the passion and work they have

[@anidaname6880]

bruh so many special chrs are just super geniuses or smthing And like at this point when I'd tell people I have thing, they'd go like "woowww must mean your iq is super high" And I go "a h B u t, s e e,,," For some people it can actually become harmful cuz expectations

[@dissonanceparadiddle]

One of the best pieces of advice about this I ever heard was take your characters strengths and find the flaws that they cause

[@emilyvillamil]

Basically what Shakespeare does alot in his plays.

[@azir1595]

Example:Immortality seems like a gift because you can litteraly never die, but actually it is a curse, because you can never die you have to witness everyone you loved, you cared about, your family, your friends all of them die in front of your eyes. This can make a character; depressed, broken, suicidal or even make them turn evil.

[@dissonanceparadiddle]

@@azir1595 you have no idea how close to home that hits for me 🥲

[@Hanmacx]

@@azir1595 immortality doesn't mean invulnerable Like if you get blown up to pieces but are still alive

[@azir1595]

@@Hanmacx imagine like deadpool kind of immortality but more depressing and more serious

[@Danmarinja]

Remember to always consider where your characters good traits come from. • They are strong because they believe in protecting others • they are smart because they want people to be proud of them • They are stylish because they care a lot about self-expression Its a lot easier to create believable flaws this way. • They want to protect others but won’t think about their own safety, which regularly puts them in danger • They want people to be proud of them and so any small mistake or misunderstanding is like a cut to the chest to them • They care a lot about self expression and fail to pay attention to other people sometimes, especially on days when they put in so much effort into their outfit

[@Trailtracker]

Yes! One of my guys puts way too much trust and is willing to do anything for anyone who accepts him (in other words, he’s naive) because he hasn’t had anyone stay in his life for long

[@ericraululyeetusdelyeetus5028]

And with this writing experiment you could also combine all of the great traits into one portrayal for a positive version of the character, or combine the bad traits into one to make a negative version of the character. Ex: because he rushes in mindlessly, he makes constant mistakes which ruins his self confidence so he masks it by paying extra attention to his demeanor, style, everything he shows to the world, becoming so self-centered people look more like a crowd of anonimous judges rather than people

[@Tippex_Official]

The middle flaw relates to me incredibly well and I don’t know how to feel.

[@_stupidbro]

Thanks for the advice! :)

[@thatlittlemonstrosity]

If making a character impulsive and emotional, he probably will be a bit reckless and doing things before he thinks how to make it Making a scientist is a hard way, you’ll need to give him a flaw that doesn’t contradict with his knowledge. Make him obsessed with new knowledge that he is ready to give his life for it, a little confidence but not too much (he is a scientist who knows how to stay cool and be ready to anything) If a character has a revered job or something like being more than anyone else (maybe being a king or the only ghostbuster) you can give him a bit of arrogance Characters need to have a reasonable flaws that connected with their personality, acts, sometimes even jobs

[@tickytickytango5634]

You listed a lot of problems with the Alligator Story. I'm just here wondering why the alligator would drive to the store when he has a jet pack.

[@bagandtag4391]

DING

[@rachellynncreates2703]

I want to hear the rest of the story.

[@RickyCruzMedia]

Maybe that’s the conflict. He has this jet pack and carries it around with him to impress people but he’s too afraid to actually use it, and never learns how to by the time he needs to use it to get a can off a high shelf for an elderly person at the store.

[@ANewShadeOfBlue]

I assumed he just needed the storage space.

[@spartanwar1185]

I figured the reason he went to the store was _because_ he needed fuel for the jetpack

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

The best part is that flaws are flexible. You can make an exceptionally flawed character very likable and likewise a conventionally 'good' character very unlikable, or the other way around. Nothing more fun than a character you hate to love or love to hate. XD

[@bestbacongaming3151]

Unlikable very character character is the other way around

[@midnightgamer-21]

Yo I did not expect to find you here lol

[@amead78]

For something to really be a flaw, the character needs to face a consequence for it. For example, if they’re too brave, they should get hurt as a result of it. The character can never learn to overcome their flaw of they’re not forced to confront it.

[@spartanwar1185]

^^^ THIS COMMENT RIGHT HERE! This needs more attention!

[@Hanmacx]

And this is the reason why so many Mary Sue character has only "fake" flaws

[@buddythemoth]

@@Hanmacx Yes, Because obviously everyone knows that being clumsy is a massive flaw that greatly affects the characters personality

[@theod4660]

@@buddythemoth To be fair, being clumsy could be a huge flaw, if they were clumsy all the time, and not just when they say they are

[@hyzmarie]

@@theod4660 like Marinette from miraculous is so clumsy but she has a few other flaws to complement that. She’s clumsy not only physically but verbally so that when under pressure she will blurt out the most ridiculous story without even thinking.

[@jokerson1316]

One major point of Sonic's confidence was him being overconfident. Look no further than Unleashed's opening scene. Sonic's having a good time messing up Eggman's plan, but he gets a little in over his head and is caught. No way out till he reveals his trump card, the 7 Chaos Emeralds. He turns Super Sonic. For all you that don't know, Sonic can fly, is completely invulnerable, and has even trumped gods and other deities in that form. So he easily blows up Eggman's flag ship as Eggman's making a run for it and Sonic gives chase, going out of his way to destroy another ship. Why? Because he can. He's finally got Eggman cornered and drops his guard to brag and throw some snark. After all, he's beaten Eggman how many times regularly? And now the doc doesn't have a mech nearby and he's in his Super Form. Eggman knew this and the entire attack, Super Sonic, EVERYTHING...was a setup. Eggman reveals a trap that rips the Emeralds out of Sonic, shatters the world into 7 pieces, and turned Sonic into a fuzzy beast before ejecting him into space. For the most part in the story, Sonic isn't being the goofball because last time he was, the world got shattered. He was overconfident twice, and could only bail out of one. And Eggman counted on both times.

[@lupinsredjacket3191]

That opening remains my favorite opening of every Sonic game to this day. Beautifully animated & it shows that Sonic isn't infallible. 👌

[@GoblinSquid]

@@lupinsredjacket3191 You can just say fallible.

[@chipsleftwing]

Sonic Unleashed has the best story out of all the franchise in my opinion

[@SoulHero7]

Same thing happens in the Lost World. Sonic's overconfidence and inability to listen caused him to unleash the Deadly Six (basically Sonic's version of demons) from Eggman's control. This arrogance also gets his best friend Tails kidnapped because Sonic walked into an obvious trap that Tails saved him from. Then he managed to force Eggman, of all people, to save Sonic from his own arrogance before Eggman seemingly dies, all while the world Sonic is on is actually dying because of the Deadly Six. In one of the last few levels, Zavok, the leader of the Deadly Six, calls Sonic out on this, basically saying "We may be destroying the world, but none of this would have happened if you listened to your so-called friends! Where's your friends now Sonic?" Zavok jumps away, and instead of Sonic saying one of his usual comeback lines...he says nothing. Because Zavok was right; all of this is Sonic's fault. And all of this comes to a head when he has to face Tails again...under the control of the Deadly Six. Sonic had to swallow his pride and apologize to his friend for his arrogance before finally saving the world from his own screw up.

[@rhett8-u1n]

I wouldn't count Unleashed, because I can't recall any instance where it's held against him (in fact, I'm certain Unleashed is where Sonic's more gary stuish tendencies started to become the norm); Anyways, Sonic just kinda carries on normally afterwards, as do alot of the NPCs in the story, treating him as the hero he's always been. There was one POSSIBLE instance where Sonic suggests Chip's presence is what helps him retain his good side, but Chip himself handwaves that away saying his light is too strong for any darkness. He doesn't fall into that "too perfect" side, but he definitely tilts that way. I have problems with its execution, but Lost World would be a better example, if only because the narrative at least states that Sonic did in fact mess up on his own, and not through some outside circumstances. When Brookes brought up overconfidence, the first thing that instantly came to mind was Aosth and ESPECIALLY SatAM. Both of these series have numerous stories showing how Sonic being brash and arrogant has major downsides, often leading to the conflict being resolved only when Sonic humbles himself.

[@rainpooper7088]

It’s always in the execution. What I see a lot is that a character is said to have a flaw, let’s say a short temper, but it’s never actually portrayed as a flaw, for example, the actual story only ever showcased the short temper when the character in question was standing up to a mean teacher for picking on the shy girl in class and got detention for it. That’s not how flaws work. You can’t bend the narrative to put a character in the right when they’re supposed to be showcasing a flaw. That’s about the worst thing you can do because it either makes them too perfect or it leads to character flaws that are completely unintentional and therefore unresolvable, such as making the character look like a big fat jerk and never addressing it. You’re totally right about Sonic tbh, he’s a Gary Stu in a lot of the post-Dreamcast games. The problem are most likely SEGA‘s mandates that keep the writers from giving him actual flaws. Even stories that try to focus on his weaknesses end up being so confusingly written that it leaves you wondering what exactly Sonic’s flaw was even supposed to be. (Looking at you, Lost World.)

[@KeeperOfUntoldDreams]

Sonic Lost World was insufferable, that was the first time I actually found Sonic (one of my childhood favorite) UNLIKABLE (of course, Tails wasn't any better, himself).

[@landonj7863]

This is why I LOVE Sonic Boom. Yeah, it's basically a Sonic sitcom, but the characters are given fleshed-out personalities that make for witty banter and surprisingly creative situations. In one episode, Sonic meets an obsessive fan, but his ego stops him from seeing the red flags... until said fan kidnaps him and tries to make him act out his fanfiction. ("Ooh, SonAmy! Spicy.") Yes, this actually happened. It's interesting because the writers not only use flaws to make the main cast more relatable, but they also straight-up make fun of the characters at times, especially Sonic and Amy. It actually works well. Anyway, the episode is called The Biggest Fan, if anyone's that curious.

[@KeeperOfUntoldDreams]

@@landonj7863 Sonic Boom is pretty interesting, it's the first installment of Sonic media that made Amy, not only tolerable, but, actually likeable.

[@rainpooper7088]

Landon J That‘s kind of why I HATE Sonic Boom. I‘ll give you that it’s better written than whatever the hell Pontaff are doing, but half of the characters are just not the characters I‘ve come to love, they’re just people who vaguely resemble Sonic and his friends. The TV show gave them flaws that they didn’t originally have like Knuckles being straight up mentally retarded(TVTropes used him as the posterchild for flanderization for a reason) or Amy being a feminist(seriously, what the hell?). Then there are episodes where characters will just have random flaws that come completely out of nowhere just to drive a plot, like Sticks randomly losing all of her paranoia and getting overprotective over an obviously evil robot dog(in the third episode she ever appears in nonetheless) or Sonic and Knuckles turning into sexist pricks for one episode(and Knuckles even completely losing his survivalist abilities, one of his informed *strengths* just to make this dumbass plot work) just so Amy and Sticks can show them up and the episode has literally zero self-awareness about it. Yeah, that also happened. The episode is called Into the Wilderness. Let’s say I didn’t like it very much. This show is way too inconsistent for my liking. How am I supposed to be attached to those characters when they bend and break to whatever jokes the writers want to throw in? Amy’s personality in particular changes in nearly every episode depending on what the writer needs her to be, I literally don’t even know what to think of her. I suppose her overall personality is supposed to be a modernized version of „girl“ which I guess is where the random feminism thing came from, but they never settled on what kind of girl she’s actually supposed to be overall. Good comedy is driven by strong personalities, it doesn’t work the other way around. Especially when those personalities were already there, yet they still felt the need to completely rewrite half of the cast.

[@cosmicspacething3474]

Honestly they had a big chance to change that in Forces. It would’ve been really cool to see Sonic completely hopeless, but then gradually gain back his confidence throughout the entirety of the game.

[@Danmarinja]

I demand more of jet pack alligator parent.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

JetPack Alligator II: Ski-doo Boogaloo

[@Roar2Bheard22]

his flaw is that he chooses to drive to the grocery store instead of the more awesome way and fly there

[@kittycat5972]

@Simple Weirdo but what about his 500 kids😂

[@kompatybilijny9348]

@@kittycat5972 Promiscuity. Another flaw.

[@the_opossum_guy]

@Simple Weirdo maybe he ends up having to save his kid, who somehow ended up on the roof while he was busy trying to watch his other 499 kids, and he has to save him fast, but his only ladder is broken, so he has to face his fears and fly to his kid.

[@mattdoesstuff8987]

Flaws? Finally, something on this channel that I am an expert in.

[@Yipper64]

4:12 quite literally in fact, as in the game you are often going too fast and run straight into an enemy if you arent careful.

[@watchermagic5325]

5:55 Actually, yes, I have read something like that... *que flashback* I was cleaning out my old junk when I came across a binder I'd had for well over a decade. When I opened it, scrawled in sharpie on the two inside surfaces, in my six-year-old spelling, was a story about a baby unicorn who was scared because the mom went away, but then the mom came back and it was all better. Complete with illustration, even. ;P It's really interesting, how a lot of the work I've seen done by children under 7 has very little conflict, which is always resolved through what amounts to an undo button: "I was sacred, but then I wasn't." I find it fascinating, actually, because looking at it, that's how we think when we're that young. Dad goes to work, Mom goes shopping and kisses the boo-boos. When something's wrong it's an external force that solves it, and often we're so inexperienced that just the possibility something *might* be wrong is enough conflict for a good story; or conversely, hiding under the bed until the thunderstorm passes.

[@Kyamusuku]

I never realized that but it’s true

[@midnightgamer2158]

That is too wholesome

[@QqQ3Three3]

I like this comment!!!! ^-^ Gold Star!

[@thelobsterlover9449]

That definitely explains why my 7 year old self's stories were not good by typical writing standards. Children don't really have the concept of inciting incidents, conflict or basic narrative structure. My younger self's stories were about a fish and lobster who would go on adventures and do cool stuff depending on the mood I was in at the time. Upon reading them again, I can appreciate how random they were; I was simply drawing what I liked without a care in the world. The humor still slaps tho.

[@Cavegeckosol]

I always struggle a bit, but for me, it is also vital to know your audience. Kids will relate to different flaws than adults. For example, I grew up thinking that Usagi from Sailor Moon was a big crybaby who never fought and was pretty lame. Same with Shinji from Eva. I thought these were cowardly characters. Only as a young adult did I come to appreciate their flaws. Now they are some of my favorite characters. Pick an audience and really get into the stuff they like. Once you know the framework of a genre or an audience, you can start stretching those boundaries successfully.

[@cobalt_bold]

“The loss of a family member and the character not taking it well” *Tenya Iida*

[@animay6091]

Four eyes have entered the chat

[@ChaosRayZero]

My immediate thought was *Shadow The Hedgehog.* His motive in SA2 being summed up as **minor spoilers** "A human SWAT team shot my girlfriend/sister-figure/BFF when she never did anything wrong, so now I'm gonna get revenge against the entire human race by shooting the planet with a laser cannon" sounds _kiiiiiiiiinda'_ like "not taking it well" to me.

[@parkervalentine4937]

bro i was just thinking about how bakugo is a good likeable character with flaws 😳

[@deathlynightshade4251]

*DON'T REMIND ME OF THAT PLEASE*

[@walkingarmageddon5479]

I wheezed lol, that is true tho.

[@annorakanon]

I needed this so much... About six months ago, I started making up a story, and there was a moment when I realized, that the main character's personality didn't have "great" flaws (There were some, but they weren't serious), so I decided to add "Negative" and "Too serious", but that didn't seem enough, so I added "Worried", "Weak" and "Selfish", and that's when I realized that the main character just became that annoying kid you wish you could kill. Thanks to your video, I could balance all the flaws, and remove those, that made my character so annoying... Thank you so much! 😃

[@luckyedits1165]

Same

[@silverscorpio24]

I like the idea of taking a flaw like naivete or overconfidence and writing their story or backstory and having them make the characters make mistakes. - A naive character was taken advantage of and now has trust issues - An overconfident character got in way over their head and things didn't go well.

[@TPNsBiggestFan]

i say this all the time, but GODDAMNIT THAT WAS ONE OF THE FLAWS THAT EMMA FROM THE PROMISED NEVERLAND HAD AND NOTHING EVER HAPPENED, IT NEVER GOT TO HER 🙁🙁🙁

[@juliannajm3592]

I'm glad this is being spread, great video. If I ever got to a point of creating a series, my main character would have a very strong personality; he gets really competitive, excited, energetic, etc. But with this comes an issue; the strong personality doesn't stop at positivity. He would be easily angered/aggravated leading to him saying/doing things he would later regret. My character is just as susceptible for letting negativity take over as letting positivity strive, leading to internal conflicts with himself.

[@zeatehkcasualaccount]

BulbaSour I support him

[@juliannajm3592]

@Lily Ramsey that's really intresting! And yeah, my character would learn to not let the negativity consume him to the point of harming others

[@ReaganSays]

That is so oddly specific that I can guarantee you’re writing/animating/creating a game around a story

[@mousi8008]

Flawed characters are underrated.

[@SL2797]

Aren't they *necessary* for good storytelling?

[@tiglishnobody8750]

​@@SL2797Flawless is always weak

[@Burnzsall]

I can see what you mean. It's kinda boring reading about a character that is perfect at everything.

[@icycloud7876]

It's also boring reading about a character who's 'character flaw' is their strength in the story. Basically just makes them perfect with extra steps to make them seem 'flawed'.

[@Burnzsall]

@@icycloud7876 I'm not familiar with that. What would be an example of that type?

[@icycloud7876]

@@Burnzsall I don't really know any movie or book examples, mostly because characters like this are basically the most forgettable. Though an example I can give is where a character's flaw is that they are overconfident, but then the story twists it into a strength. Where that overconfidence wins them the competition. Where others might not have the confidence to be bold like the character. And that character never struggles at all during the story. The story might try to introduce tension with other characters struggling, but the main focus would be on the main character who has no struggle.

[@blueberrymuffin_144]

IcyCloud For some reason, you made an exact description of the main character from the Throne of Glass series. And here I am trying to forget that garbage fire...

[@veikko4752]

@@blueberrymuffin_144 Yes, I don't like the MC from Throne of Glass either, she's a Mary Sue and gets everything she wanted. Everything wrong she does gets justified later on. I can't tell if she even has just one flaw which shows her more negative side.

[@comicalsocks711]

Balanced and flawed characters are always great to have, especially when its explored in both positively and negatively!

[@comicalsocks711]

@Leirdo Man64 are you okay? Where's all this hostility coming from?

[@razkable]

Flaws...one flaw isn't enough

[@cyberjackal774]

He's compassionate and selfless to the point where he puts everyone ahead of himself: He ends up letting people take advantage of him and doesn't know how to put his foot down when people cross the line.

[@chanca132]

One of my earliest attempts at a character flaw was... he had insomnia.

[@chanca132]

@Trin Silvers That makes a lot of sense! I haven't touched that story in over a year, but I really like the idea of having a surface flaw symbolize some deeper aspect of his personality.

[@ChaosRayZero]

@@chanca132 Maybe it's a result of another flaw, and he gets stressed out too easily and overthinks things- laying awake at night thinking "what could I have done or said differently that one time?" Maybe he has some kind of fear or PTSD he has to learn to move past, and _nightmares_ keep him up at night. Maybe because he doesn't get enough sleep, his _true_ flaw is that he's a cranky and irritable person during the day and has a short temper and health problems. There's _a lot_ you could do with that! ^_^

[@chanca132]

@@ChaosRayZero I fully agree with all that! 😊 But that story's been shelved for years now, and I kind of doubt I'll ever go back to it.

[@tbana2396]

???: You've got to slow down, Sonic, you'll kill us all! Sonic: Gotta go fast! (Boom) ProZD: As Sonic's lifeless body drifted off into space, the Earth fell into eternal winter, and everyone died.

[@quakezero8968]

That “and everyone died” at the end reminded me of Patrick’s story about the ugly barnacle

[@midnightgamer2158]

Lol

[@exaltedfalcheon1793]

@@quakezero8968 he was so ugly that everyone died THE END 😃

[@thecreepoid901]

Glad that you brought up villains, because I've seen people make baddies that aren't really flawed. A villain sue if you will. A good villain will have a flaw that will work against them and their plans. Overconfidence, too willing to indulge in their vices, quick to fly off the handle and ruin their own plot, ect.

[@TPNsBiggestFan]

i mention the promised neverland a lot, but i truly believe that the sort of “villain” of the story, isabella, is a very good chaarcter for a villain. because she’s not REALLY that evil, but she’s also working against the main characters who are trying to do the good thing because she’s given up trying to do the good thing maybe i’m interpreting her very wrongly but still

[@lupinsredjacket3191]

I'd love to see a villainous character who is, deep-down inside, a good character, because they cannot really make themselves commit to performing villainous deeds that they are expected to do...but they *DO* still want to be villainous, if that makes any sense.

[@yourlocaldemon2195]

Remember, a villain is a person with bad morals. An ANTAGONIST goes against the heroes, they dont necessarily need to have bad morals, just a screwed up moral compass if that makes sense.

[@areoants9453]

but John Brookesegglestoncharacterdesignforge, when are you gonna have Universal pick up the rights to your "Jetpack Alligator Father" IP? because that would make for a killer film tbh

[@valmid5069]

*“The idea of being able to do anything makes you a little uninteresting”* -Stan Lee the Legend

[@AlluMan96]

As somebody who's played roleplaying games for some time now, using the word "conflict" over "flaw" is most often better when trying to fish for good character ideas. When thinking about how to create these conflicts, I tend to run one of these scenarios with the character; 1) "Character wants X. Character does/uses Y to get it. Z gets in the way of that." 2) "Character is doing X and things would have gone swimmingly if Y didn't cause him to do Z." 3) "Character is X. This didn't seem so bad at first, until Y happened and revealed that it was more like Z." Putting this into practice would look something like this; 1) "Character seeks happiness. He aims to become a successful man, as he believes money will bring him this happiness. His greed makes sure no amount will ever be enough and his happiness continues to elude him." 2) "Character is in a conversation, which is going fine until his impulsive nature causes him to make a social faux pas." 3) "Character is protective. Everyone thought it was admirable until he became overly controlling of those he protects." The reason I always try to frame it like this is to avoid what is supposed to be a flaw of the character becoming a quirk instead. If you just write a flaw without a direct reference to how it conflicts with the character's intentions, the intent of the flaw is to just exist in a vaccuum.

[@JonathanTash]

A flaw as I see it, is a subtle form of an evil idea (otherwise known as a lie) that partially possesses a character.

[@stellbz2347]

This video was incredibly helpful! I'm currently working on a webtoon and I realized my main character was lacking depth and with these tips I think I've found a new way to make her more interesting so thanks again Brookes!😊

[@smileyboi9174]

Stellbz Damn, that’s cool! Does it have a name?

[@stellbz2347]

@@smileyboi9174 awh thankyou! And yeah its called My Boys 😊

[@alisiaraissa3687]

Idk how to put this in words but One of the best advice I get for writing characters flaw is not to think as the good part of the character as "THE good" and the flawed "THE bad". Like the flawed personality of the character can be there greatest asset and so is there good personality. Ex a character who is a stubborn. Now that can be a character flawed, but when push comes to shove he will stand by what he believes is right. Unmoved and unchanged on opinions.

[@PurpleFreezerPage]

Brookes Eggleston: Give's inoffensive suggestions on character design That one person that dislikes the video: *dislikes the video*

[@zeatehkcasualaccount]

Making flaws is like the opposite of what you’re supposed to do in an interview

[@ParadigmRabbit]

So true. “My greatest weakness you ask, suited hiring guy? Why it’s that I always try to please everyone, i’m Obsessive about doing good work, and I am a little too giving, always trying to make my team and boss look good. No one dares to be honest -it would be pandemonium. “My biggest flaw sir? Hmm! So many from which to choose...let’s see...I sneak in KZbin videos at work, I have trouble waking up when the alarm goes off, and my state of mind? Well! Let’s just call it questionable, shall we?”

[@OrangeDragonofDusk]

I still wonder if character personality flaws should be permanent, or be resolved at the end of the story. Such as, if one part of the story finds a way to "fix" their flaw, do they get a new one or is the previous flaw still at the potential to haunt the character?

[@RandomPerson-cm2wg]

1 year late, but here’s my opinion. Take example: if a hotheaded character learned to be less impulsive through a personal lesson, you can still keep him hotheaded, just toned down to the point where he doesn’t do something stupid. These types of the flaws are mostly just exaggerated character traits, so you would be fine if you kept them acting as normal, but toned down. Later in the story, you can make an event that tests how mature the character has become. Put them in a situation where they would make a mistake that they had made before and show the audience that they had learnt their lesson and they would not make the same mistake twice. It’s a good way to make your audience feel that your character had truly grown as a person.

[@dDoodle788]

Or you can make new ones arise naturally from the events of the story. Let's say a boy in a village is treated badly by everyone because his father was a cowardly soldier that ran away when the villagers needed him, as a result he's timid and lacks confidence in himself. Through the course of the story he improves ,becomes stronger, more confident (overcomes the first flaw) and saves the village from a monster.After that his reputation changes and he's now treated as a hero , however, he starts to resent the villagers because of their previous mistreatment, as a result he can't get close to anyone in the village and mistrust other people( second flaw) To be fair, you could make the argument that he was always a mistrustful person, but you could just play it up as just another neutral character trait ( he tends to remember the actions of other people) or even a positive trait ( he was a good judge of character,he tended to be very careful in who he became friends with), up until the point that it becomes a flaw because of the events of the story

[@CaptainCretaceous91]

I've often wonder that myself. For example, does a character's shyness have to be "fixed," or can the character stay shy?

[@leviathan1082]

this is one of the reasons i see Subaru, from Re:zero as an almost perfectly flawed character, he like able in the sense that, he is not a bad person necessarily, but he is also both ignorant and arrogant, and as the show goes he starts to form a "white knight complex" his flaw eventually not only drags him down but also those he cares for. He eventually receives a hard dose of reality, and begins to redeem himself.

[@tobyjohn4682]

How can a car have a personality.

[@yourlocaldemon2195]

@@tobyjohn4682 IM LAUGHING WTF

[@everybodyman]

Love, it's what makes a Subaru a Subaru.

[@calmack6637]

I made a character cast an it includes a green and red crocodile-dragon thing called spike and a tiny purple and red exotic bird called Bitty. Both of the characters were neglected by their tribe and found each other in the rainforest and started protecting each other, I coloured them like this because they are opposite personalities (green and purple being opposite) but are united by their flaws (the colour red normally symbolising violence and blood) and both having an incredibly violent personality they developed from their past and when living in the rainforest.

[@emptycanvas8609]

I feel like the hardest thing for writing a flaw is accepting that it's one I have, I don't like to acknowledge that I'm as much of a screw up as I am, but it's flaws I actually know how to write. I don't know if this made any sense...

[@crypticcorvid]

Nah, I get what you're saying. It's hard to write the same flaws because it feels like you're incriminating yourself, lol.

[@theplumscrub1627]

Blank Slate That’s probably why flaws are so important. They make the reader recognize the struggles of the character, and maybe through the character’s journey the reader can reflect on their own journey as well.

[@Umbran]

If it helps you're not alone! It's hard confronting your own flaws. It's a little scary..

[@spartanwar1185]

@Ash Parker Alot of what we make are reflections of ourselves in one way or another I've found that the main characters of the story i'm making are each an aspect of myself, Kinda like the living stitchpunk things in the movie "9", each one is one 9th of the scientist's soul, and one piece of his personality The stories we make come from our knowledge of the world, so it makes sense why everything we make can be directly tied to ourselves as people

[@a.j.morrow5533]

1:57 I would've died laughing if you had said Backstory.

[@robertsimon2885]

My character's flaws are his temper and that he's overprotective of those he cares about, despite him being a kind soul.

[@Plumpus3545]

There’s also Sonic the Comic’s Sonic being insecure and lashing out at others in response

[@spartanwar1185]

Just gonna echo in my own words what someone else said here, that i thought was really smart and very important When you make a flaw, you have to have that character suffer consequences because of that specific flaw There is no point to a flaw if a character never has to confront it

[@averageknight9804]

I don't know if you would call it naive but would chosen ignorance work simply because the character lacks interest even In important plot points? Like important info being told by a prophecy and the hero goes "wait! I seem to have stopped caring."

[@user-hz5hn7ts1i]

"Woah! That's interesting, but I sure don't care!" -Sonic the Hedgehog

[@SM-yz4hi]

I'm immediately interested in what that flaw will cause, so I think it's great!

[@peggedyourdad9560]

@@SM-yz4hi I immediately thought of the character often being completely unprepared for important plot things and vastly underestimating opponents due to not paying attention to the briefing.

[@GustavoSilva-ny8jc]

That's AWESOME, how is this video so underrated?!! So many great points, advices and examples and a lot sensibility. I also wish to add that a character without a flaw might work depending of your story, not that they're good at everything, takes Akagi Shigeru, he's set to be basically unbeatable but he's also lacks self preservation, so this will bite him, right? WRONG, he's so good he never makes mistakes even when it seems he's going too far, and still amazing to see him play, because huge level of the unpredictability of Mahjong. Play well and you still can lose and you never know if he's actually making the best choice. But you are never thinking "unrealistic", you're thinking "he's so badass!!!" and even if backfired you wouldnt be surprised. He feels like a villain actually, the one others struggle to beat and you still root for him.

[@thelobsterlover9449]

This is exactly what I've been trying to tell people! It took me a while to figure out but pretty much flaw is just a good character trait that has been twisted. It definitely helped me in revitalizing one of the characters I was losing interest in because she didn't have any good flaws

[@sikawhite5278]

One of my ocs, a wolf cub named Lola isn’t really fleshed out yet but I have a small personality for her right now. Lola is kind, helpful and innocent. However, she’s also skittish, indecisive in the heat of moments, and can help far too much for her own good, hurting normally herself in process. Also, the innocents she has can also make her question is killing the infected monsters good, as they were once normal. Ok that’s all I have (:

[@pinkietastic9430]

Okay I don’t know why but the music fading in as you said, “Let’s take a closer look.” just hit the spot for me. It was like “Hey Vsauce, Michael here!” And I vote that you should make it your thing. 😤

[@justnikyta6455]

i cant stop looking at the yoda figurine in the back and how its ear moves

[@Fabiocean2000]

Came for the advice, stayed for the alligator story.

[@TheManFromWaco]

Aristotle had a moral/ethical concept which he called “The Golden Mean”. Essentially, he believed virtues existed between two of their opposites. For example, courage is obviously good and cowardice is clearly bad, but excessive courage turns into recklessness, which can be just as destructive as cowardice. Or how self-esteem is better than self-loathing, but can potentially go overboard and mutate into self-centered arrogance. In my experience, this way of seeing a character’s virtues and flaws as two sides of the same coin has been both easier to use and more effective than simply creating a character who is initially flawless, then trying to tack on a random, unconnected flaw afterwards.

[@lordaragon901]

Netflix when they run out of ideas for character flaws: “I diagnose you with gay”

[@bigshrekhorner]

Personally, I feel that a narrator mocking a character or at least having a negative disposition towards him could make for more impact when the character overcomes or deals with his flaws It would also make sense if the narrator is actually a character *in* the story

[@izu9040]

Oh I just came across your videos and literally, your voice is such soothing and soft that I could listen to it even if you talked about silliest things

[@cartoonygothica]

Very good points, here. No one, fictional or real, is perfect, but while cruelty or having a bad attitude are common flaws, I feel like those are the kind of flaws that make a character less likeable. Those kinds of flaws feel fitting for an antagonist or secondary character, but if a protagonist had them, I would be less likely to care about them. Traits such as disabilities and sad backstories may not be flaws, but they can still add to a character's story, I think.

[@senpieloven]

Great advice as always. Especially the "is a disadvantage a flaw?"

[@syahaz7088]

Kaiji is probably one of the most realistic character I ever know because he has flaw (too addicted to gambling) and has some good quality (helping some people in need while gambling his life as well) in good balance. The fact that he lives in non-fictional setting (no superpowers etc.) makes him more relatable for some reason.

[@prezadent1]

I think that the crocs flaw is that he is a person.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

😂"crocodiles can't drive cars, just one critic's opinion"

[@SirDrFriend]

At 4:15 and at 4:29 you kept in two different takes of the same part of the script! Solid video with good advice, thank you very much

[@mastertofu]

With that example, it would be interesting to see the crocodile bring his 500 kids to the store whilst keeping his sanity with so many kids. You can even right in short-temperedness as a flaw, he snaps at his kids and let that be a main conflict. I'm sorry, I just really want such a story right now.

[@nevergonnagiveyouup1180]

I have a character who lies and puts on a fake persona. He’s an idol who pretends to be all cutesy and sweet to others. He pretends to like everyone despite not actually caring about some of the people in his life. He constantly plays with other people’s emotions but the only thing he wants out of them is their admiration. He grew up in an abusive household that dwindled his self worth which led to bullying at school so he felt that he as himself was unlovable. In fact he can’t even look in the mirror at himself so he always keeps his face covered. So he put on an act and faked a lot of things about himself in order to be liked by people. But despite people liking him, it didn’t fix anything with him instead being only more disgusted to look at his own face. Once he starts trying to stop lying and be “himself”(he has troubles discovering that at times) he shows how bad his self worth is with him being really untrustworthy that is friends aren’t faking liking him still believing no one actually likes him and only likes the idol persona. He also ends up overthinking the whole honesty thing and is brutally honest with people which actually causes people to dislike him Things only actually get better for him when he confronts his self worth and his trauma. Because that was the root source.

[@666herescared]

I have a character who has a deep rooted depression and masks it by being aggressive but she has a brother who has been threw similar things but copes with a smile instead of a knife. Do you think those are good flaws? I don't want to wind up with a bad character.

[@chaincat33]

the jetpack alligator sounds more like a joke story than anything. The mundane act going well is the punchline to the extreme setup at the start

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Not sure if you've heard little kids tell stories, they're exactly like this.

[@KiwiSnidvongs]

Is it just me or does the alligator story remind me of "A man goes to the store to buy some milk"?

[@StephTHatt]

Thanks for your thorough advice and information it was very helpful.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Glad it was helpful!

[@taqresu5865]

I am very impressed by these tutorials and educational videos. Art has been my hobby since Kindergarten, but nearly ten years ago, I was inspired to try writing stories because I met Christopher Paolini (who wrote and published Eragon when he was a teenager). Here was a local author of a similar enough background who found success in his work. I love reading and getting immersed in a fictional reality, and now I wanted to share that kind of experience with my own stories. Needless to say, I've stumbled in that journey since then, but I still have that desire to share my own stories with the world, and perhaps incorporate my talent as an artist as well. That's where your videos really come in handy.

[@RF-mc8cx]

Hi, I don't know if you have any advice on writing an unpleasant character who dislikes the main character and writing the right balance between the audience disliking the character but sympathising with them a little? (I'm writing this late at night, I have no idea if it makes any sense, or if I've managed to form coherent sentences.)

[@mobiledatano1787]

Based on my experience. People who try to write villains as the victims don't tend to really get the sympathy from the audience because it is just out of nowhere where they would introduced their tragic back stories or something to make the viewers sympathise with them. I don't know about others but that would just kill the mood.

[@RandomPerson-cm2wg]

There are many ways, but a common solution is this. Give them a good reason to hate the main character. Maybe because of something they did in the past or that their ideals just don’t get along with each other. Example: Jason Todd and Batman. Jason hates Batman because he won’t kill criminals and just leave them inside a jail that they can easily escape from and potentially hurt more people.

[@georgeb5262]

Good way is to make the vilian have a good goal. Like help to someone, but he just made it the wrong way. One of the best examples is Light Yagami. He started to murder criminals so he can make the world a better place, but he was also selfish and sadistic.

[@yourlocaldemon2195]

Badabingbadaboom everyone just described ✨anti-heroes✨

[@ShyDigi]

Wow! I’ve been subconsciously doing this with MCs for my whole (hobby) writing career. This is really informative!

[@Trailtracker]

Your videos always come at the perfect time

[@mollymcmurtrie8037]

I agree make them flawed give them flaws because you need relatable flaws but good flaws to make those characters really likable and relatable not obnoxious and annoying

[@Wizkid_Utopia]

What I like, especially, is that character flaws are the key to bringing out the best in stories. An example of mine would be a character I have in one of my novels. This character is an archetype of the warrior trope, in and of that they're confident, heroic, self-less, etc. At a young age, they were exposed to their parents' crooked behaviour as heroes so they vowed to clear their parents' names. But in the future, I'm searching for a chance to kill off this character. Seeing as they have touched the hearts of many, it only figures to kill them off in order to strengthen the others' resolves to overcome their flaws.

[@scarxnnivs]

This video made me realize why my main oc was so plain and boring to me, she lacks flaws and I didn't really ever think of how her committing mass genocide as a kid (it's related to her story arc, in short just imagine the immortals from Twilight) would affect her as a teenager, I think I have a good way to remedy it.

[@barmecideblu5323]

My personal favorite character flaw that I find myself coming back to a lot is nosiness or a bad sense of boundaries, which is mostly because I write a lot of mystery stories. My protagonist needs to be curious to keep the story going, and needs to be TOO curious so conflict can arise. I just adore the idea of sticking your nose places where it doesn't belong. It's fun to pair with an older more experienced character who absolutely refuses to give more information as an understandable means of protecting the protagonist, but inevitably causes their downfall by pushing them to nosier means, and eventually has to save their ass. Exposition dumps have never been my thing- I love a red herring and a breadcrumb trail. So to have a character that actively impedes progress going up against one that refuses to stop asking questions helps stretch the mystery a liiittle bit further, and adds nice conflict as well. I also feel like both of these characters are easy to sympathize with, depending on whether you're viewing it for the first time or not.

[@dragonballrobloxmaker7215]

I'm really taking these to heart for a good while!

[@brook8340]

Omg I loved this. thank you soo much I’ve recently been struggling with character flaws though if possible I would like to one day see another video in the future that could touch a little deeper into the topic of character flaws

[@h.t.c-u.k3198]

i love the videos wish you could take some more time to go a bit more in depth with some of these concepts, really helpful thank you

[@jackhammer4499]

Sonic Lost World tried to give Sonic a character arc through his overconfidence, but it didn't really affect the ending like, at all, so it just felt kinda forced and pointless and sloppy.

[@speedslider3913]

Sonic also acts like a wise-cracking douche for most of the game before and after the one or two moments of conflict, so it's hard to care much about him and the plot, especially since the new villains aren't taken very seriously either. I respect Unleashed a lot more for it's shorter moment of overconfidence that isn't referenced much at all afterwards since there, you at least have to spend the entire game owning up to your mistake and dealing with it's physical and societal effects (also the writing's a lot less quippy and hollow, and a bit more serious imo), while in Lost World, the adventuring continues just as it did before the serious scenes.

[@danwilliams1989]

Thank you, random KZbin recommendations. You actually have me something useful.

[@chriswolf622]

Thank you helps me understand vibe I was looking for ideas to my book (crime thriller)

[@ahha540]

this has good vibes, vibe check passed with flying colors!!!!

[@jcplays5831]

In my personal experience, and character’s flaws should be ingrained into the character’s personality. They should have a certain quirk or tell when they’re speaking or onscreen to show that flaw. Along with that, the character should almost always be at odds with their flaw and learn to use it to their advantage.

[@vamrack8344]

This is hard for me cuz i dont like my characters seeming weak but my sona at the moment is boring.

[@oscarpineda9459]

6 flaws that my main character suffers from: 1- Hates friends, and does not like anyone. 2- Have mental health problems and acts like a jerk. 3- Gets Bullied and beatings and have anxiety depression and anger issues. 4- Become a villian. 5- Made a whole clone army to of himself and took over the world. 6- Got a super psycho girlfriend. (Where she always threaten him and forced him) HE'S NOT REALLY LIKEABLE BECAUSE HE DOESN'T HAVE TO!!! Just kidding. What do you think about that KZbinr does that make a character?

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Am I... KZbinr?

[@boi-fw8jp]

Thanks, this video was really useful!

[@PondiTheBard]

Im coming back to this late, but its really useful, my character is a mutated orc who is a war criminal and wanted in several nations. Due to backstory reasons he has two souls inside of him one being him, gullible, easily irated and peace seeking and the other one being a curse, manipulative, cunning and heartless The point of the character is that he constantly shifts between good and evil and proves even the worst person can become good just as the best person can become evil The shenanigans between him and the curse fighting like children is one of the main things i planned. The character itself is inspired by another character, who has a very similar story and mechanic, made by dingo doodles. I liked the concept so i tried to make my own spin with it and ended up really liking my character, too bad i never got to actually play him in D&D since my group's internal conflicts brought it to split apart before it even began cause of the usual meta gamer who just wants to "win" at D&D

[@syweb2]

This is some good advice! I'll try to keep it in mind. 4:35 This part is a repeat of a part that happened a few seconds before it.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Didnt notice until a year later, il see if i can edit out on the youtube side. Honest mistake

[@giarnovanzeijl399]

It's not about character FLAWS it's about character STRUGGLE

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Not necessarily, if you'll watch the video!

[@giarnovanzeijl399]

@Ferd Ferd.D You tried to disprove my point mockingly but ended up basically agreeing. Yes, flaws are the best road towards struggle. But a struggle on a character without flaws is better than a character with no struggle and many flaws. The stuggle is what counts, the flaws is how you get there.

[@spartanwar1185]

I mean that's true, you could have a flawless person in a story and the story still has a chance of being great Perhaps everyone picks on them and they just shrug it off, never getting to become much more before the end of the story The character won't be very interesting but you could still get the ball rolling, though it's more like trying not to beach a ship in shallow water, much advisable to have more interesting charcters

[@JDubs1464]

I feel like things such as physical limitations due to those flaws make their presence more obvious. Like if a character has a tendency of becoming frozen in thought over minor things, playing off their curiousity, maybe this caused them to stop in the middle of a road and get hit

[@garteroid8892]

Came here to learn hiw to write flaws and then realizing i even have flaws myself. neat

[@JenEFunworks]

Very insightful! Your videos are really good and helps making characters and art! Thanks for the very great advice.

[@teriosshadow17]

Amazing video 😎🙏👍👍 I've always hated this notion of "You can't be relatable or flawed, unless you are an asshole or rude person" which i believe is not true at all. You don't have to be malicious person in order to be relatable. Humans are imperfect and even the most good people, who are flawed do not have malicious intentions.

[@strawbexxy4737]

I feel like a perfect example of a character with no flaws is superman. What I mean by this is that superman isn't a very likable character because he is so powerful. His only flaw is the magic thing, so it is used repetitively this makes the character unlikable. Flaws shape your character, and try to make them have more than one it brings out your character.

[@BluePhoenix_]

Magic isn't even a consistent weakness. Most of the time, it's just one of the few things he isn't completely immune to, therefore a "weakness".

[@undertalefunchannel2307]

So.. i got a question: I got this universe, Dysutopia. its a sort of hidden dystopian that at first, if you were raised in the correct areas (which "correct areas" are the around 75% "good" of this world im creating) you would have no clue about the other "dystopian towns", them being towns with cruel rules, mostly crazy people, or just REALLY bad situations going on, like a small town where slavery rules, or a town where everyone is labeled at birth and must stick to that label. in any case i got many, many characters (my friend does too), with each having their own role in story. my question is that i want each character to have their own story, so is it alright to instead of JUST having a main story, having small elements of the main story in smaller stories. like each small story following small group of characters, and like the small group finds out something that connects to the larger picture of it (aka figuring out why this world is the way it is, how long it has been going on, and figure out a way to fix it.)

[@johnathonturner2279]

You've never driven to the store before? I find that relatable!

[@Annabelle-ev2cc]

Is writing too much flaws can be a bad thing? I know this video is all about creating flaws etc, but it's just that I'm worry if I added too many flaws and ended up making my character even more unlikeable.

[@kaltsssit]

That's an issue of having too many character traits in general. There's no exact number that's too many, but do remember that you need your character to have a general theme for them. If you add too many traits they can become confusing, and possibly even contradict themselves at points.

[@RT--dj7hr]

Thanks

[@kingdorm2001]

Kindergarten Kid: *makes up cool story about his favorite animal* This guy: "literally unreadable" XD

[@CharacterDesignForge]

…HUH

[@Evo-B.]

The guy to the right on the thumbnail looks like every undertale character combined lol.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

It's pretty funny seeing these kinds of comments, because this video was obviously made last year and all the comparisons to Deltarune characters after the fact is hilarious

[@Evo-B.]

@@CharacterDesignForge Baha, I guess I can sort of see it as kris as well. Mr. Toby Fox sir, maybe you need to work on your character flaws. Lol.

[@ProjectEchoshadow]

The alligator drove because he couldn’t find his jet pack. He figured one of his five hundred children took it but if he went through the process of questioning them all he’d have no time to make them all breakfast with the food from the store so he drove.

[@yourfavoriteperson3653]

a flaw is a lie or misbelief that the character believes in, it is something that will stop the character from achieving their goal, it is something that they have to overcome in the future. EVERY DECISION THAT THE CHARACTER MAKES IS BY THEIR MISBELIEF!

[@deimmartillo1674]

5:46 the one thing everyone hates about FMA.