What's in a sona?

[@alwaysforgetful1089]

I've had the same fursona for almost a decade now! I made him when I was in middle school, and he's just stuck with me ever since-- haven't had any "main" SONA since him, not even CLOSE. He started off as a Pokémon OC of my favorite Pokémon (Zoroark), but as I started drawing/roleplaying with him more I realized he was cool as hell and started projecting myself onto him. I made some design modifications to make the design a bit more to my liking (adding a tail, cutting back on the hair, etc) and basically turned him into my "ideal" Zoroark. It's WILD to me when I look back at drawings I've made only a few years ago and see that his details are ever changing and evolving to fit my style. But throughout it all he's just always been... me. That's me. I think a good piece of advice to keep in mind is not to force it. With my experience, you can't make a sona in a day, *especially* a main one. It's gotta come naturally. And don't be afraid to change details! I've found that drawing from memory helps-- you draw what you think they're "supposed" to look like, which can help you realize when you want to make changes. Just let it flow and see what happens!

[@snail-legs]

oh for sure!! this is such a lovely comment

[@KiyoshiArts]

Another really important part about a sona is that it can change when you change as well! Which is why I tend to redesign my sona once or twice a year!

[@snail-legs]

yes, for sure!!! :D

[@sofialu226]

Yes! My Sona has change many times haha. It representsYou so it Grows with you

[@F_NerdShark]

Same! My sona is a shapeshifter ^w^ However, I still need to keep reworking them because there’s still aspects like names and the rules of how they shape shift that I need to adjust ^^’’

[@T0tallyra1ne]

i made a sona then a few weeks later then changed it cuz i found out i was under the agender spectrum

[@Vlooitjie.]

ahhh thank you for saying this

[@Void_Mother]

I always say when making self indulgent characters/sonas: Don't get rid of the things that make you cringe, get rid of the part of you that cringes! Just have fun, who cares! Get silly with it! Make that sparkle dog, make that incredibly powerful godlike character that your 13 year old self would love! At the end of the day, it's all about what makes YOU happy. Do whatever you want forever!!!

[@iamaylacat3935]

One way I've found helpful to have sonas stick is to divorce things like their outfit or hairstyle from the permanent design. Of course those will change. They're not permanent on people, so why should they be on characters? Actually, just dropping any expectations of permanence for a design supposed to represent you helps a lot. Once you remove the majority of the pressure around picking a design that is supposed to last, suddenly designs feel nicer, they fit better. They're more consistent. Hell, my sona came from a test design I did in a program I was trying out that I fell in love with. She didn't have any permanent or conscious design put into her. She was supposed to be just a goofy assembly of random assets and then scrapped. 2 years later, and I remake her in pretty much every similar tool I find at least once.

[@snail-legs]

oh, for sure!! I think that's definitely part of what helped my previous sona stick so well (3-4 years) - I let myself change his outfits/aesthetics whenever I felt like it, so he was able to fit my tastes at any given time a lot more comfortably! The story of your sona was really lovely to read, that's such a sweet tradition to have with a character ^^

[@Arca-hedra]

A sona I have is an absolute shape shifter, and I made them.... Five years ago? Regardless of that, I still find them fascinating as I explore more of the threads of their being. One downside is that I don't have the "time capsule" Effect as much with them. When everything is made of water, it's easy to swim, but hard to tell where you are at, or where you have been.

[@hinstaru]

the part where u emphasised that u can literally do whatever u want and to just have fun,,, wow i really need to hear that i need to like stop pressuring myself with art when im just supposed to enjoy it ,_,

[@snail-legs]

I hope you can find your fun again!! it's definitely easier said than done, but it's so worth it :)

[@hinstaru]

@@snail-legs im tryingg and im getting there i think ! its a constant little reminder to myself like GIRL get urself together and calm down u are literally just drawing ur silly little characters

[@Aphelia.]

Haven't watched the video yet but for me it was: 1- Simple design that you can draw easily 2- Kinda resembles you- or how you see yourself 3- Random stuff I found cool (for me it was moths + flower crowns + minecraft lore lol) Slapped all of them together and now I have a persona I absolutely love and It's been here since 2020

[@thatwasverypunny.-.]

i REALLY needed to hear that second question omg. i don't know why, but i just never considered making my sona pertain to things i actually like. i just was kinda doing whatever but wow. now ima go make the cringiest cat demon animatronic sona ever and embrace the cringe in all its glory 😌♥️

[@Void_Mother]

YESSS DO IT 💖

[@Calylovespjo]

I saw a tumblr post once that said "you can do whatever you want forever" and I've never forgotten it I'm glad you brought it up

[@snail-legs]

yeah!! honestly that motto is probably one of the most important things I got out of being a tumblr user haha

[@ZennixZap]

“Look at them! Look at the furries!” 😠🫵 I love it

[@mysryuza]

Some of the things I went by was favorite colors alongside applying color theory, references to hobby and animals. What you like and what makes you feel like yourself or your best self. What color palettes do you like? If you like lava lamps, for instance, experiment ways you can implement aspects of it in your design. My Fursona was inspired by a character I saw in a “Hey Brother” Multi Animator Project, my fave animal, and seeing how my fave colors clash and blend with each other. They tend to be glowy because I love dark areas with neon designs (thanks Twilight Princess)

[@phantasmagor14]

The way I came up with my curent sona is by making a silly doodle on a piece of paper. I was like: "that's me!" and it stuck with me ever since. Great video btw! 💜

[@snail-legs]

aww that's so sweet! I had a similar experience with how I made my last sona, and he stuck around for a good long while

[@SeaBuni]

I have two personas. I have a username that can be split into two and thought, “Why not have two personas to represent me?” Plus, I’m genderfluid and have a personality that switches every now and then. I have a fem and masc sona with their own separate traits that I given them. The best way I can describe their dynamic is tiny ball of sunshine x calm giant and oblivious x huge flirt.

[@snail-legs]

oh that's so sweet!! when I was a kid I'd always find an excuse to make a masc counterpart to my fem sona haha (am a transmasc), so I get the appeal of having different sonas to express different genderfeels!! it can be a super fun and freeing way to present your gender/s to the world! :)

[@carimeslockdownedtree2654]

At first I struggled so hard to make a minecraftsona until it's somehow clicked for me. I decided "why not part bug?" And then i kept developing it, and it no longer has any bug elements, but it's now still very creacher. It doesn't look too much like me, but that doesn't matter. I still see myself in it. And i love it. i was so preoccupied with making it look like myself or my cryptidsona (which my friend created for me) that i neglected to treat it as its own creature, and it was only when i learnt to let go that i managed to find something i liked.

[@snail-legs]

oh that's so cool!! I'm glad you found something you liked :D

[@LeftLefttheGecko]

I've got two sonas! Weirdly enough I didn't sit down and design them, I actually was in their bodies in my dreams so I guess my subconscious came up with them at different points in my life with the context of those stages of life in mind. One was made when I was a young teenager and the other one I made when I was in college. If you put them together you'd be surprised they represent the same person. Obviously I'm using the newer one more because that more closely represents me at the stage of life I'm in right now. Just watch I'll come up with another in like ten years lol. Left Left is moreso a mascot than a sona and he acts as a companion to whatever sona I'm using.

[@snail-legs]

ahh that's so interesting! a lot of my characters, current and past, are very wrapped up in my own daydreams so I can def relate in a way! I have a lot of sonas I've cycled through over the years, and I always think it's so cool to see a little window into other people's journeys via the ways their sonas change and evolve ^^

[@PaperLoser-gv4wb]

Thank you for this tbh, I force myself to draw my sona as realistically as possible bc I don’t think I’d be that cool. you’re sonas so lovely

[@just_a_hampa]

I have a silly god of my own world as sona. A bit cringey but I love them and they just click. I once had a fursona, wich stuck with me for a long time. I switched it to an anime girl. Didn’t stick and I couldn’t get myself into designing another one because my ocs of the time all have some parts of me in them. All too specific. So I just used my god silly. And I love them.

[@snail-legs]

ahh I love that! I put parts of myself into my ocs all the time too haha. I alluded to it in the video, but I ended up repurposing one of my oldest sonas into the creator-god of my fictional world recently, I think it's very fun in a meta sense to make choices like that ^^

[@zer0planO.O]

I've had my sona for almost 4 years now and I literally created it because of a tiktok I saw about drawing yourself like you would want to look if ANYTHING was possible. It hat a few elements of interests I had at that time but over the last years the Design slowly shifted without me even paying attention. It's like the sona is changing with me and I love it😊😊

[@AlmondOlives8]

I got so unreasonably happy when you mentioned Sky! Even if it was just for a moment- it still made me so happy :] I’m so glad more people are at least hearing about a game i so much enjoy ♡

[@QueenCami_123]

I’ve vaguely had the same main sona for as long as I can remember. She has changed a bit but the main thing has always stayed the same, long brown hair, pointed ears, wings, and a blue dress. Can’t remember when she first started existing but she’s just here lol. But I just wanna say I loved this video and your sona, the colors are so pretty.

[@snail-legs]

aww thank you!! we love a sona with wings

[@QueenCami_123]

@@snail-legsFRR. I love wings so much omg. But I struggle to draw them sometimes

[@AzariahMarinaStarcaster]

Anybody else just decide to make their sona a shapeshifter so that, if new sona ideas come up, you can just add it to the list of forms they have and not have to retire previous ones completely? >.>

[@Fuzzycryptid]

I've had a pretty solid sona for years, but this video has me wanting to make a million extra sonas just for funsies. Great way of presenting it, super inspiring and easy to jump in!!

[@SnowForC4]

Thank you for making this video! What I want my persona to be seems to change so frequently that I can't keep up with making an actual design, so just listening to this made it more clear to me what I want my sona to be. And I'm sure it'll help me actually design it too! :D

[@chip4410]

"what do you like an abnormal amount" i have the tism.... it could be any of the hyperfixations.... there have been too many to recall.... but youre so right i should get even SILLIER

[@wartygourd]

furries are amazing at art & are so dedicated. I'm so jealous of them because their art is very silly and colorful and i wanna do that more in my art.

[@remilhete]

This video is so nice! Not too long ago, I wanted to make a fursona for me because every artist has one, so I should make one for me, but I focused too much on making it look like me because I thought everyone did that, and when I finished it, I wasn't too happy with it. I don't like my real-life appearance, so that wasn't really a good idea. and recently I had the idea to redesign it, but this time I just fused a lot of other OCs that I had that I really saw myself in and also took inspiration from characters and things from other media that I enjoyed. and now I'm really happy with it. Sure, he looks absolutely nothing like me now, but I still love him. and even wish I looked like that irl

[@Meowstrosity]

I've finally come up with a sona I really love and this is exactly how I went about it! What I like to do with my sona is to make them a version for E V E R Y T H I N G. I take the same shades, design elements and energy that I fell in love with and fkin, squeeze it into a anthropomorphic animal, then a demon, then a pony, then a dragon, then a robot, then a slime, then a plane, then a normal ass human being- I just give them a new shape for every show I like. Literally the same lil guy over and over and over again. I do it with ocs too sometimes! Humanoid, anthro and pony only though, I ain't making an helicopter out of each one of them

[@Tivallia9010]

My persona keeps developing over time. She was once a (unknowingly) self-insert for a story I'm making, but now I split my persona in two. The self-insert is her own character, and now my persona just represents me and what I love! I actually never stopped to consider the 2nd question, though. I represent myself a lot, but I had minor details of the 2nd question. Might incorporate more designs into my character bc of this. Thank you, and this was very enlightening!

[@shim8007]

Very well made video! Your sona is so ethereal 💕 I’m glad I’m not the only one that makes multiple sonas for different interests. My main sona I’ve been using for some years now and I honestly don’t feel too bad about changing her. I just feel like she evolves with me

[@mushroom-dragon]

Your voice is genuinely so calming. I really enjoyed listening, and watching the art, too!

[@vileminthefields]

Accepting the change is hard for me personally and because I'm not that long in the fandom I haven't experienced this change yet, so I will save this video somewhere as a reminder when this change will come. I already created some characters but wouldn't consider them my sonas... or not now, but maybe in the future! Also, I love your new song so much 🧡🧡

[@nyctophellow]

im so glad i found this video because ive been struggling with making a sona for years 😭 also i love your art style! especially the way you color, it feels very homey

[@snail-legs]

ahh I feel this, I hope some of my tips help!! and thank you! I actually tried a couple new things with the colouring on this one, it was fun! :)

[@Gugupimeow]

Omg,thank you for this amazing video!!Your art is so cuteee and pretty,and your sona looks amazing!!!

[@cubby_dragon07gg]

1: I absolutely love dragons and fluffy goat ears and Minecraft so this made me very happy 2: "Just be a pebble" is one of the greatest lines I've ever heard from a KZbin video

[@tankysina2748]

my primary sona has evolved a lot over time but he's always been very similar to how i actually appear in life just with some embellishments. but also all of his past iterations feel like... different people to me. probably because i was a different person back then too. currently he's just a little vampire dude with permanent bags under his eyes. he used to be a regular human who looked a lot more awake. he used to not be a boy, but that changed when I made some self discoveries. but he's always been the same guy to me. a sort of old iteration of him is in my pfp on here. id change it if i used YT comments enough to warrant caring, but alas. ive also recently been making a lot of fursonas. i dont know if i identify as a furry per se, but i do enjoy the process. making sonas is just.. very fun to me. and even if my primary sona is sort of boring because he's mostly just exactly like me with very little design embellishments, he's pretty important to me. we've been through a lot together, and we will continue to for the forseeable future. also, completely unrelated, but your voice is very soothing to listen to, snail legs.

[@snail-legs]

heck yeah!! I'm glad you're having fun with your sonas! I definitely feel you with having that sense of "continuity-of-change", I guess? A lot of my earlier sonas were also not-guys, from my denial phase haha. they're still like. reflective of that time in my life, and a part of me in that way? but they don't really reflect who I am/how I present now haha

[@doukzu]

Yess this entirely, I love your thought process, voice and all the visuals in this! I've seen sona videos that suggest a 'sona' you make of yourself for a fandom/that has a different story from you is not a sona but a mascot, which can be fine and all for some people, but I find that any persona I make is just as much me as my genshinsona or my ponysona,. Even if the characters themselves have their own stories. The point is having fun and putting a piece of yourself into a character that represents you!

[@derpiedoxie]

Wow this video couldn’t have popped onto my feed at a better time! I was thinking about redesigning my Sona slightly to free myself a bit from how I look like irl, since it’s basically just me but goat. I want to try and have some fun with it, so this video really helped me consider some of the things I want my Sona to do! Also I just wanna say that your art looks SO god damn soft like the fluffiest and softest pillow you have ever come in contact with. Probably also tastes like strawberry candy floss.

[@Oswald-no4mi]

I think the phrase "unapologetically self indulgent" was the phrase I really needed to hear

[@Oswald-no4mi]

Update: "You have to be okay with change and uncertainty" also hit me in the gut. You managed to address some of the biggest issues I've had with depicting myself. I know you said you had a little difficulty posting this one, but hearing this stuff has helped my perspective a lot

[@snail-legs]

I'm glad I could help

[@NeoMawz]

Your sona is so well designed! I love love LOVE your colour choices. Thank you for this video :)

[@goldenteddie]

Oh this video was honestly so delightful to watch... As someone with identity issues, making a sona that sticks or feels right has always been a bit difficult. But the questions you suggested sound super helpful, I'm very excited to think about them more!! I think watching this video has also given me more confidence to just switch things up whenever I feel like it. I've always had trouble with being afraid of being "cringe" and this video was definitely some very good reassurance :] ❤

[@amethystseawing9500]

Something in regards to character design, I would say, is that you want your character to be a mix of detailed and simple - not detailed as in lots of small pieces that will make them difficult to draw, but just something specific to make them stand out, mixed in with parts that will be quicker and easier to draw. Highlighting the important things, like you said, that you want your character to represent about you in specific pieces of the character design that’ll really make them recognizable. Like with your sona, even in the cartoon style, the horns and hair still had those swirls that make your character different and interesting visually while the wings were simplified a lot. It’s important to have both, I think. Though again, if you want EVERY part of the design to stand out and scream “I’M DIFFERENT AND I’M AWESOME” then you totally should! Just don’t hurt your hand too much drawing all those individual feathers or spikes or something 😉

[@snail-legs]

oh absolutely!!

[@bdluejay]

i have a few personas that ive made over the course of ~10 years. it originally started with my main persona, Jay, who eventually turned into her own character (though i stole her name for my own lol. its funny how much we give and take from our art). then the next one i made yeeeears down the line was my spidersona because spiderverse inspired me creatively more than anything else had in a long time. and then for a youtube channel i had with my friends, i got a fursona/persona, which is my pfp. it was the first one i hadnt designed or drawn myself but i still love them and love having a little blue jay representation of myself. im still trying to figure out another fursona for myself, but i feel content with what ive got rn. really good video, very useful!! also love your style, its very inspiring

[@L0rar3]

Just discovered your channel but the Sona design is so cute, I had to sketch it down whilst watching xd

[@snail-legs]

aaa thank you!! I'm glad you enjoyed :)

[@C.T-e4k]

Thank you so much, this video was SO helpful. And by the way, your persona is so cute! 🩵

[@Jor.505.]

Your voice is rly relaxing lolol, great art!! :]

[@V0XPhi2]

I think this is a very well put together video for people who don't have sonas, and even do! The questions you posed were stuff that, while I feel were second hand nature for creating my current sona, are ones that I not only didn't really think much about, but are also genuinely helpful for people who want to design their own sonas or even revamp their current ones. Sticking with a sona is also something I struggle with, pretty much having at least one or two designs a year, only rarely completely changing the design, but I think it's okay. Personally, I'm accepting that change, and I hope that people realize what works and get to the point where they feel comfortable with whatever works for them! But yeah you put it best, better than I could. Also I really like your new sona it's really cool!

[@Angel...............]

I appreciate the video. The topics of actually having fun and doing what you want is def something I needed to hear. I tried to just make one persona for myself for a good while cause I feared that having more then ne would stop me from being able to do content and stuff if I chose to. But It never worked out cause I got too many aesthetics and too many ways to express my gender and compromising any one of them is literally impossible. So I may or may not have multiple sonas for myself lol.

[@GAL-CAKE]

First of all I wanted to say your sona is so Stunning and I absolutely adore the design you ended up with!! If you ever make a lore video for your sona I'd click so fast :'D💚💚 Personally I've gone through the journey of making a sona so many times because I liked so many things! But I boiled it down to: A princely robot with a fantasy/ romantic horror elements. I've always wanted to make an arg of sorts and have a channel dedicated to the genres to dissect why characters from movies or webcomics do or act in certain ways, while showcasing how my own persona is creating a story connected to the viewer that can make their own choices! I've taken elements of myself that I like and dislike and embraced them to show that not every sona has to be the best things about oneself (which will benefit me on creating the horror factor). I absolutely adore creating stories, robots, prince/jester (fantasy motifs), the horror genre, and otome games since they're nostalgic to me! ^^

[@GAL-CAKE]

ALSO NDJSK When you mentioned furry designs you called me out dude I literally was searching up Protogens and Kedamono from Poppy the performer.

[@invisibleven2643]

I’ve been having a ton of trouble designing a sona for myself so this vid helped hhhhhh You’re insanely underrated and this channel is cool!!!!!

[@snail-legs]

ahh thank you!! I'm glad to hear it helped :D

[@peachybruiseslego]

rlly good video!!! i enjoyed :) btw your voice is so soft and calming this video was rlly nice to listen to while drawing

[@CoffeeHeadNerd]

I was just talking to myself about how I want to make a sona that'll stick with me for long because I've made many, many sonas before and they never last long but then this video appeared when I opened KZbin. I will definitely try and follow the three questions for my sona! And the speech at the end that you gave sent chills all over me. It was the best advice I've heard in a long time. Overall thank you for the video! Your voice is very soothing and your sona is really gorgeous!

[@bipbipsalat]

this was such a helpful video!! i definitely needed to be reminded that art is supposed to be fun and you can do whatever you want. the part at the end about needing to be okay with future changes in your identity really hit home. i feel like main reason why i don't make sonas or express myself through art enough is due to my identity issues/fear of changing. almost holding myself to the standards of cartoon characters who have unchanging personalities, lol. also, your new sona is awesome!! i love the color palette and the little swirly details on the wings and horns!

[@ADoctorsDreams]

As a person who has their own persona, I would say you did a good job explaining how to make a Persona. I already knew some of the questions you needed to ask yourself about your persona in this video but this video will be very helpful for an artist who still is struggling to make a persona! Also, love ur new persona 💜💜

[@snail-legs]

ahh thank you!! I'm glad to hear that ^^

[@RueTheVee]

I have made lots of different sonas from when i was 12 even now back then i had an eevee sona that fully represented the childlike and carefree side of me and still does i still use every single one of my sonas but nowadays i do have a siamese anthro as my main sona and fully represents the chaotic but creative nature of myself not really sure if ever I'll have one sona in particular that will be the permanent main sona but who knows ultimately it's very fun expressing sides to myself through my sonas and seeing how well i can interpret it whether that is in art a few songs i made for some of them or the stories i write about them And dragons are very cool really adore your artstyle hope to see more good content from you Also that's a very good vid you deserve more subscribers

[@PuffTastic]

I finalised my sona last jan, before then I'd always had a sona that was similar to the previous one but that I wasn't completely satisfied with, when you finalise one YOU KNOW because it just feels right and that's exactly how I feel with mine, gonna do a little info dump on my design choices here because I've never actually really explained it!! SO my sona has always had brown hair, wings on her head and a predominantly red colour palette. Red because it's my favourite colour and the wings represent freedom and possibility which then links into her facial design. I've always given her plasters and eventually gave her split heart pupils - those represent the struggles I've experienced through my life and the heartbreak and hurt I've experienced as well as the scars that has left me with which is the most personal part of her design for me. I eventually decided to give her a wing hairclip to fill some empty space on her design! I've always wanted a recognisable design like vtubers have, so for around 3 years she's had this collared shirt which originally was just a collar with a very long stretched out bow which I'm not sure how I designed the bow but I wanted an outfit that was loosely based off of the heathers outfits from heathers, but I felt like that looked a little empty and too plain for my liking so eventually I designed an emblem for her which I used as a broach which was inspired by veronica sawyer! I also ended up adding a hip accessory which attached to the skirt which I'd always known I wanted my persona to have a skirt. I gave her arm sleeves which were miku and vocaloid inspired as well as a tattoo which was just clouds since I already had other sky elements I thought it was fitting, the tattoos were inspired by yoimiya from genshin impact! She also has vocaloid inspired thigh highs, bows on her shoes with a star on each and a dark red bow attached to the bottom of the thigh highs which honestly I kinda just brainstormed on the spot. I gave her a big bow on her back with a cape connected to it which has no significance other then adding extra details! If you read all of this THANK YOU!! I spent around 6 years experimenting before I settled on something, I recommend to people just brainstorming all the traits you wanna put into a character, trying them out then seeing what works! try implement your interests, past interests and inspirations into your designs if you want your character to feel personal to you!

[@snail-legs]

ahh it's lovely to read about how you incorporated so many different elements of characters/media you like!! yess a fellow vocaloid fan

[@c0l3d.s0n]

How the hell do you only have ~900 subscribers, your content is quality

[@TokiWithCheese]

this was a nice video, thanks for making it!

[@OleIsSleeping]

This is a pretty good video! I expected at first for there to be a huge following on your channel, and was surprised when there wasnt! You've gained a new subscriber, fellow tuber :]

[@snail-legs]

aww, thank you! I'm glad you liked it :)

[@stan_lego_eda]

Thank you for making this !! Ive been struggling making a sona for the past 4 years so this is a huge help 😭😭

[@devynmoran5144]

really lovely and informative video!! also love your art style so much!! ☺️✨

[@Theointheforest]

Wow! this video was very helpful, and your art is amazing!

[@snail-legs]

auaaa thank you! :)

[@emmareiman64]

Watching this with absolutely 0 intention of reworking my sona, but rather out of curiosity & the love of creating characters and hearing stuff on other people's characters That bit on 'what if I don't like my sona anymore or the design doesn't resonate anymore' kinda stuff did bring me down a memory lane xD At first I was like "Ay buddy I designed by sona on accident on a random free-to-use base back in like 2006-2007" MsPaint and just tossing colors on it, then going outside with my friend and 'RPing' as the character while my buddy would play a different one from a show. I Somewhat had a different character that could have loosely been considered as my sona at the time, I completely forgot about that one lol, but I remember now - the 2nd one too But yeah, that quick MsPaint thingie? I just started using it more, gave it the kind of hat & scarf I liked to wear and just went 'yeah, sure, this is me now' and I'd use it to represent myself in drawings. It just... Kinda happened. The design was fine, I never put that much thought onto it but it just felt right Then like 3 years ago, I'm still using the same fella. Minor things here and there may have changed, but it's still the same character, mostly used for memes and small stuff. But one day I'm making a small doodle that turns into a headshot of the character, and someone asks me something about the character and go "Oh, so, how would you draw them if they were X?" like different gender or style and such. And so I made a separate small doodle next to it. And. Hmm. You know. I kinda like that. Like. A lot. They're mostly the same, but with a minor difference here and there, and it just Works. But that's just a random 'haha what if different' thing, you know? Does it have the same feeling of just 'feeling right' as the one that I've used for ages? At this point I've partially adopted a separate name that I don't mind people calling me by. I've grown a ton as a person and who knows what Discover JJBA, the good ol' 'if I made a character for this show, what would they be like?'. Stuff and thingies. I go back to that doodle from earlier. I really did like it, so why not use it? And heck, hey, I like this a lot. I enjoy But that's still just a character My sona is my sona, can't get that stuff mixed The character that represents me Has to be ME, yeah? ...... I mean... the JJBA OC character is kinda sorta 'me' as well. They ended up on turning into a JoJo-sona in the end, even if it's been well over 10 years since I've last made a self-insert of sorts. But cringe culture is dead, we ball. I really kinda like this design & my hyperfixation has me drawing a summer icon with the character on it I sloooowly start representing myself with the character on memes and such But they're still not my sona, because they're not 110% me, right? I'm not this great, I'm not this confident or cool. But... what if... your sona... were allowed to be an idealized version of yourself? Dang. That sounds really nice. Hey. Maybe. Maybe we could have more than just 1 sona? People do it all the time, so it wouldn't be That weird, right? And I do have multiple personalities, so, it'd actually fit pretty well ...... Fastforward to present day, I'm much more aware of myself and who I want to be. That small doodle that became a JoJo-sona? That's my main sona now - The Ideal, the kinda fella I'd like to be and wish to be seen as. Old sona still exists, they now represent my humor & the craziness that comes along with it (you know when you're having an absolute blast of a time? Kinda like that). There's also 1 who embodies my diligence & professionalism, the instinct that stands up when we need to defend ourself and all that, & then there's 1 who represents the strong emotions I've got, empathy, anxiety, depression and stuff like that. Each of the 4 have similar design elements, all of their sames start with the same letter & their design differences are inspired by how I generally feel when these elements & emotions are at play. It's made explaining stuff about myself a lot easier as a whole Making that first step of trying out something new has been wonderful There's a bunch that's still similar to what was there all those years ago, but it's now much more refined You just gotta give yourself that chance, allow yourself to experiment. Doesn't have to be an immediate thing, experimenting is super valid - and well, here I personally am because of that Art is powerful & sonas can do a surprising amount of work to the person who makes and adopts them to play a role in their life {Also hi, lol, I type long, whoops~}

[@NoiseDay]

This video was such a treat 😊 I have been searching far and wide for a video like this about sona design. Thank you! Also I really like your voice.

[@snail-legs]

aww thank you!!

[@erimona9627]

I like making OCs and it was a big hurdle when trying to find my Sona. I'd create a cool design, fixate on it as a potential Sona and be really happy for a few weeks and then get detached and it just feeling like another OC. It sure takes time finding it haha.

[@mommy-mar]

THESE VIDEOS ARE STIARTING TO PISS ME OFF SO MUCH OMG. Where were these videos when I was searching up how to design my sona a year ago!! Don't get me wrong I really love my sona as it is now (but a new outfit idea flashed into my head while watching this hehe) but theres so many videos about designing your own sona now that would have SAVED ME so much struggle and hundreds of sketchbook pages used up to try to find a sona that works for me. How dare you not be a time traveler!

[@mattogie]

your sona is sooo cute it matches your voice so well

[@champion_unit]

As always, Fantastic Art Work Bud. Really happy to see you getting back into content :))

[@bapho-p]

My little mascot for my music, Spiral Face, has been separate from my project to try streaming as a PNGtuber, and I'm so glad to find videos like this on the way! I've gone through a lot of very radically different designs, so wish me luck after considering what was said here!

[@snail-legs]

ahh best of luck on your journey!!

[@dusktheowlgryphon]

I have had the same persona for nearly 6 years, an owl gryphon. They are meant to literally be me and change when I change. I give them a new reference and redesign every 1-2 years.

[@fireworksforme2]

This is awesome, I’d love more videos about character design or your oc world from you! ❤️

[@MossyDroid]

I love your artstyle its so pretty Your channel is super underrated!

[@gummywasp7174]

This is fun to think about. I have a bug-sona lol. I make my features to the extreme side. I have broad shoulders, so I added that. That's just one, and I'm not gunna tell everything about my sona thing xD This is helpful for people who are struggling with that. I was one, but I figured it out over the years ^^

[@nazarostrovsky_]

I went through so much to come up with my final design of my all-main OC, Delta

[@Urushi12kitty]

god as a furry ive gone trough like...4 or 5 fursonas over the years and only recently came up with a new selfsona but i have trouble with designs representing myself sticking. The questions being asked really helps, I never thought about them before aside from like design elements i like/gravitate towards. There's always that feeling of "is this TOO self indulgent?" when im trying to come up with a personal design and i think that holds me (and maybe others) back. So this video was really helpful in getting through that it is infact OK to be elf indulgent when designing a sona. Also yes please to the character design video!

[@thisreallybeabluhmoment8444]

The video was helpful and your voice is very calming to listen to 😁

[@kroinkle]

I SCREAMED WHEN YOU MENTIONED SKY COTL.. omfg i love that game

[@monocasualzari]

ok but that still doesn't explain why I ended up with a fire breathing slender oni guy that loves breaking shit and eating people

[@Maehem_Incarnate]

My sona is a weird little cat dog clown creature. I made them on accident. When I first made them, I was hyper fixated on this dog clown plushie. On my brakes at work, I would draw a little white dog with an orange nose and a hat. They are vaguely any creature as I didn’t want them to represent a specific thing animal. Kind of like I how don’t have a label for my gender. I really love clowns and have many clown characters. The funny thing is comparing my sona with how I dress is night and day. I like wearing suit vests and formal wear usually with the darker color palette, but I do have some more colorful outfits. This is the only sona that has stuck with me for so long and they just started out as a doodle in a notepad during break at my first job

[@gnizzy_is.a.cxke.addict]

Remember me when ur famous u def deserve to be!

[@snail-legs]

🥺💖

[@cattyfacepunny6239]

ive never been able to make a sona, but i do have an oc i consider my mascot?? it represents me but dosent at the same time, but i use it as my pfp on everything and it basically represents me online,, so it might be my sona accidentily

[@Akaryfoxxy]

My longest oc was called "Cleirk" I basically drew her in kindergarten. it started as an imaginary friend, but along the way I started sympathizing with her and making stories! (She started as a Arctic fox with blue hair, which u transformed into a kitsune and later pitch black hair and wings!)

[@Akaryfoxxy]

I added more style, but she still keeps the kitsune charm (She is a animal morphing human, and she has blue roots and some dark blue eyes)

[@SnazzyRazz]

My Sona comes from a connection with one of my DnD characters. She struggles with her wereboar self and i, with my issues, connected with her so now my sona is a wereboar with my favourite colours and themes

[@cirrestratus]

i love this video! i've been thinking about making a sona for my own youtube channel as well. i struggle with my identity quite a lot (it never seems to stay the same for longer than 48 hours ahah) but i've at least been able to settle on this dragon as my profile icon for now. so i probably will base my sona design on him. so there's another dragon boy coming right up.

[@snail-legs]

yesss more dragon boyss!! 🤝

[@MossyDroid]

I've been trying to redesign my sona for weeks 😭 This video is perfectly timed

[@snail-legs]

I hope the video helps!! best of luck

[@deedjrethejester]

i've had the same sona since like 2018 and i've hardly changed her physical appearance whatsoever (changed facial markings and reworked the outfit at most) and i don't know what this says but she's the only sona of mine that's really stuck. i was wanting to make a fursona and nothing was sticking so i basically just made her again with a few changes. and i like that sona a lot, i've used it a few times. i've been trying to make sonas for other things but nothing sticks around for long and i have no clue as to why. They relate to me in specific ways and then i just drop them after designing them. the only notable difference between me and her is that she doesn't have debilitating anxiety. maybe it's a subconscious thing or desire or whatever. anyway i made my sona by redrawing a free minecraft skin i liked (specifically rancid anne) over and over again from memory until it abstracted enough to become original and then i edited it in a few ways over the years. i no longer play minecraft but it's pretty good that i just so happen to have auburn hair, so my sona basically just has that exaggerated.

[@snail-legs]

ahh yeah I feel that! my last sona was basically just me but minecraft so I totally get the appeal! :)

[@parttimelazy4593]

I was playing Garlic Phone with a mate today and one of the prompts needed ME for it. I sat there for a sec like, 'What am I...' since I've never tried to draw myself before. I drew my favourite animal, a butterfly, and left it at that. _It doesn't help that Gartic Phone gives you NO time to think-_ Now, an hour later, I see this pop up. Convenient, honestly, I need a sona...

[@thescrawnykids5360]

thanks for making this video!!! C: the questions help! im struggling so much to make a sona, anything i make im like 'ooh this couLD BE ITTTtT!!!!!!' but then 1 day later i just cant see it as me and its back to the drawing board. my struggle is kinda weird bc my interests and personality traits and what i wanna represent change drasitcally really quickly like v quick, and often so im like not consistent enough of a person to be able to have a long lasting consistent persona i can call myself but FDJFDJGJKD i wantTT oneEE its sorta less like, evolving and changing as a person and more like mood personality disorder stRUggles so no consistent identity --> how make consistent persona? ALSO i love your art so much! its so pretty! the way you shade too is gorgous

[@snail-legs]

awww I'm glad it helped! I think maybe in a case like that it's worth embracing the inconsistency a little and finding ways to make your sona's design malleable and easy to rework to fit with your shifting interests/personality? so for example, designing a base form with the intent of making new outfits/variants as and when you need to :) but that's just one way of approaching it!

[@thescrawnykids5360]

@@snail-legs Ooh! thank you

[@Gleamiarts]

i love sonas! they're so cool

[@snail-legs]

Me too! It's always so cool seeing how creative people get with them :D

[@littysavior9181]

My online persona name came from FFXIV when the name "Kittysavior" was taken, so I did "Littysavior". She was a cat folk white mage and healer. When wanting to design my fursona, I considered my favorite animals, my hobbies, my favorite colors, and also my moral standing. All of which led to my mockup design of a pink wolf humanoid, with blue highlights, blue eyes, a broken halo and horns, and some interesting fae wings. And since I couldnt replicate the fae wings on different platforms, I changed them to feathered wings. An additional piece of information important for her context, is the backstory. Not only was I using her as a persona and fursona, but I used her as a way to influence the characters of my stories. As Ive decided, she appeared on a floating island in the Aetherial plane [the Aether stuff is definitely FFXIV inspired], with memory crystal trees. (They are like pink willows with different colored memory crystals hanging down.(She has a choker with a crystal on it.)) In the Aether, its essentially a void with many floating islands. Its also multi-tiered. On the on the 2nd Aether plane reside the Aetherial Crystals which provide a source of mana to the entire Aether. Litty was created in order to protect their region's crystal. This also pairs with an additonal layer of responsibility, since the Crystal is used to keep universes from collapsing the tether. Litty, with the help of The Aetherial Guardians (a band of entities she has recruited to help manage the issues that may arise within or outside of universes) is able to provide guidance for the individual universes that are heading down the wrong path, and just need a little bit of help. Also, her outfit is based on my preferences and for practicality. And Ive had her ever since... essentially FFXIV. Even before I designed her on paper, my character on FFXIV is what set the premise of who and what I wanted to be. And Ive never gone back :>

[@snail-legs]

yess, video games can be such a great origin point for a sona!! it can be much easier to connect to a character if you've already walked in their shoes for a bit ^^ litty sounds really cool!!

[@SkippyCantDraw]

OH MY GOSH NO DONT BE THIS UNDERRATED YOURE AMAZING 😭😭 i was just thinking about how i need a new persona, because this one is from like 3 years ago when i was a furry dont get me wrong i think furries are amazing and incredibly talented, but like idk i just dont see myself in the community anymore, especially with the bad rep 🥲 but like in early 2023 my best friend introduced me to some robot characters that i like fell in love with sm, and now we both hyperfixate on robots together. its really concerning please help. so yeah!! i think i might start designing a robot persona. tysm for the video :]

[@snail-legs]

aww no, that's really lovely! I hope you have fun making your robot sona!! :)

[@luckybiperson]

Fucking love this video, agree with all your points and also love the sona!

[@probablyacultist]

hiiiii! I'm the furry! It's me! I'm having a blast with my silly goobers! I relate to feeling cringe online and liking dragons also I love your new son's hair its like a cloud and that man is slaying it.

[@mildlymarvelous]

Your sona is soooooo cute/pretty!

[@kosminen-kettu]

I actually made my most long lasting sona when I was in the MLP fandom, ask blogs and such, and I didn't really want to use a pony to represent me because I have chronic not like other girls syndrome/j so I went and mashed two animals together! A cat and a goat! I have no particular attachments to either of those animals (I'm allergic to cats and I've never owned a goat??) But something about the combination of those two animals struck a cord because it allowed me to keep an ungulate as a base while adding another cool animal and that was really it! I genuinely have not stopped using her since like 2012??? And I think its because at the core of her design I asked myself to make her simple and expressive so I could quickly draw her for my fleeting thoughts, as well as I have a big love for biology and mythology. A few years later (like 1 or 2) I decided to make my second permanent sona, I asked people what animal they saw me as and got Parrot a few times, so I made her a green naped amazon because my grandparents owned two of those parrots and I was really attached to them. No reason I really kept her I just went you know what you're so right (the people who said parrot). I really thought about it and made her the antithesis to Catgoat, shes calm and sweet and sincere, she loves with her chest and is happy in comparison to Catgoat who is more cynical, blunt, and humorous but overall reliable. They're both me but they fill niches that the other can't always perfectly fit in to, but they both are exactly what I need as not only self expression but also as a mouthpiece to meet others! Sonas to me should fill what you need from yourself and what you're doing. A sona can be a simple natural cat, a biological Frankenstein, hell you can go fantasy lizard with 3 eyes and biblically accurate wings ♡ as long as you're loving them and also loving yourself. Loving a sona is to love yourself, I swear :)❤

[@snail-legs]

oh for sure!! it's been so lovely reading everyone's sona origin stories, there really is a lot of self-love in the process of making one!

[@PeriluneStar]

I've made a sona I'm very happy with, but I still love to watch videos like these!

[@p0p525]

Your sona looks magnificent

[@CreativaArtly]

My main sona is a ponysona since I’ve always been mega into MLP since 2003.

[@oldladyjuljul]

Very insightful video

[@inklingplush7592]

my sona has slowly evolved from just Some Guy™ to a shapeless creature from the void wearing human skin. especially after i came to terms with being agender, asexual, and aromantic, as well as the fact i’ve been “othered” my entire life-i just think it fits :3c

[@kat_is_a_kitty]

We are really alike with our personas, but I don’t want it to feel like I’m copying you :( I also have an interest in dragons, and my persona is also a dragon and a parallel version of me that lives in **my** fantasy world. So, I’m just making sure that’s alright, I just don’t want it to feel like I’m copying you! :)

[@snail-legs]

hey, you're all good! I think it's probably impossible to come up with an idea that nobody's ever had before, so it's usually the execution of the idea that makes a work unique, if that makes sense? so no worries if we've got similar sonas haha

[@meakimon]

I recently changed sona! Now I'm a lil green monster that has the head of bulbasaur, body of a stubby legged pony, chunky tail of a dragon, and leafy fairy wings ^^ life is too short not to be a fun lil sona haha!

[@snail-legs]

ahh delightful!! I'm so glad to hear you're having fun with it :D