Video summary

How to design YOU

Main summary

Key takeaways

Lifestyle

Summary of the video

The creator discusses why they repeatedly redesign their YouTube persona/mascot (“Sona”) and shares a practical checklist for rebranding character designs—especially designs that are easy to draw and stay consistent over time.

Key idea: Your “Sona” is your brand (and it evolves)

  • For content creators (particularly art/VTuber-style channels), your brand is often centered on you—and on personas/mascots.
  • Each redesign becomes a way to document how they’ve changed over the years, even when the changes are subtle.
  • They mention redesigning multiple times due to personal growth and rebranding:
    • One iconic version was associated with the early pandemic era (tied to “Kyrie”).
    • Later iterations shifted toward a more earthy/academia direction.

Personal redesign problem (what they’re optimizing for)

They’re redesigning their character because they hate drawing certain details, especially:

  • Collared shirts, due to:
    • Hard folds
    • Confusing under-vest collar tucks

The goal of the redesign is to make frequent sprite/video drawing less frustrating.

Design checklist / lifestyle tips for mascots & Sonas

1) Gather references (and organize them)

  • They spend significant time collecting references (joking about “hundreds of hours” on Pinterest-like saving).
  • They use Milanote to organize visual research:
    • An infinite, customizable whiteboard for mood boards and visual connection (strings/thumbtacks style).
    • The Milanote web clipper to add images without screenshotting—keeping the source link attached for later checking/citations.
    • Boards within boards for deeper organization (e.g., outfit visualization).
    • Templates and recolored background variants to keep mood boards visually coordinated.
    • Real-time sharing with collaborators; also usable on mobile with syncing to desktop.

Sponsor note: sign-up is free (link in description).

2) Start with a strong color foundation

Color is framed as one of the most important parts of design.

  • Choose:
    • A favorite color, or
    • A color combo that “feels right.”
  • Use a color distribution guideline:
    • 60 / 30 / 10 rule
      • 60% primary
      • 30% secondary
      • 10% accent

Personal example from the creator:

  • Primary: black
  • Secondary: green
  • Accent: white (they particularly like white fringe for facial emphasis through contrast)

3) Pass the “marketable plushy test” (reduce drawing pain)

Avoid overly complex, highly detailed designs (their example: “Genshin Impact”-style detail) when you’ll need to draw the character repeatedly.

“Marketable plushy test” (credited to Squidgy3D):

  • If simplifying a plush forces you to remove details, those details probably shouldn’t be core to the design.

They also suggest a workaround for keeping details without making everyday drawing painful:

  • Create a simplified “Goober-verse” version for quick sprites.
  • Offload complex accessories/details into a version intended only for full-detail contexts.
  • They joke about using “blob mode” when energy is low.

4) Don’t be afraid to make it idealized or weird

Final permission statement:

  • Make your Sona as silly, stylized, or close to yourself as you want.

They include examples of permission such as:

  • Drawing yourself as abstract shapes
  • Turning concepts completely non-realistic

Personal context: why the redesign matters to them

  • The creator connects redesigning the mascot to rediscovering their femininity.
  • They describe themselves as a tomboy for years and avoiding “girly” things—especially:
    • Skirts/dresses
    • Makeup (due to comfort)
  • Earlier this year, they bought their first real skirt and felt good—like “for the first time in a decade” they felt cute.

They describe a tension they still feel:

  • They feel “edgy” underneath,
  • but fully dressing in that femininity/edge style is hard due to:
    • Cost
    • The hassle of finding outfits

Their Sona redesign reflects that mix of femininity + edge.

Ongoing maintenance reality

A major downside of redesigns:

  • They must update all sprites afterward, which is time-consuming.

They argue it’s still worth it because:

  • The new version looks great, and
  • it stays consistent as long as key identity elements remain intact (they use the example that “as long as she keeps her basic elements, she’ll still be Raja”).

One stable identity element

A design detail they’ve kept for a long time:

  • A choker
    • They broke the real-life version years ago,
    • but the character element persists.

Ending / community / scheduling

  • They note university begins tomorrow.
  • They plan an additional upload later in December (framed as a Christmas gift).

They promote:

  • Channel membership for $2/month, offering early access and sketchbook scans.

They also thank:

  • A co-creator (voice)
  • Fans who contribute fan art

Notable locations, products, or speakers mentioned

Products / tools

  • Milanote (web clipper, boards/templates, mobile sync)
  • Pinterest
  • A “coolers” color palette website

Speakers / creators referenced

  • Squidgy3D (coined “marketable plushy test”)
  • Genshin Impact (used as an example of overly complex design)

Platforms / communities

  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • VTuber/Live2D/rigger community

Series / character names mentioned

  • Raja (their Sona)
  • Kyrie (earlier/most iconic version)
  • EC (referenced as a redesign project)
  • OC “jester”

Original video