Hi fellow doodlers!

Let me guess. You’re working on a Doodly video, and it’s coming along pretty well.

The script’s solid. The scenes make sense.

You even found a few characters that kind of fit what you need.

But then you notice something.

In one scene, your character has brown hair. In the next, it’s black.

At first, they’re smiling and waving. Later, they look like a totally different person—new outfit, new vibe, maybe even a new face.

Now you’re stuck.

You scroll through your library. You try resizing, flipping images, tweaking colors.

And before you know it, you’ve spent more time fixing characters than building your video.

Sound familiar? I’ve been there too.

It’s frustrating when your story doesn’t flow because your characters don’t match.

Your viewers get distracted, and instead of following your message, they’re wondering if you swapped characters halfway through.

Consistency matters.

When your character looks the same from scene to scene, people stay focused.

They build a connection—whether it’s a friendly teacher, a quirky business owner, or a guide showing them the way.

But finding a ready-made character set that works for your whole video?

That’s tough. Most free libraries don’t offer enough poses or expressions.

AI tools? One prompt looks great, the next… not so much.

And mixing different characters? It just looks messy.

So, what’s the fix?

Simple: make your own consistent characters using People Builder.

Design them once. Tweak them as you go.

And keep your story looking polished from start to finish.

In this walkthrough, I’ll show you exactly how to create custom characters with People Builder—and bring them into Doodly.

Ever watched a video or a movie where something was just... off?

Maybe a character’s outfit suddenly changes mid-scene, or their hairstyle flips back and forth between shots.

It’s distracting, right?

The same thing happens in Doodly videos.

One minute, your character is smiling with brown hair.

Next scene? Blonde, no glasses, different vibe.

Your viewers might not say it out loud, but they feel the inconsistency.

And when something feels off, they stop focusing on your story.

By now, you’re probably thinking, “Okay, I get it. Consistent characters make a huge difference. But how do I make one without spending hours in complicated design software?”

Good news: you don’t need to.

There’s a tool called People Builder, and it’s like having your own character workshop—without needing to be a designer, illustrator, or even all that tech-savvy.

Here’s the deal.

People Builder lets you create a custom character that looks exactly how you want them to look.

You’re not picking from a limited catalog of pre-made poses or random stock characters that almost fit your video. Nope. You’re building someone from scratch who’s meant for your story.

And it’s simple.

You start by choosing a base character. Then you tweak everything—skin tone, face shape, hairstyle, outfit, even their expressions and gestures.

Need a smiling teacher for one video and a serious business owner for another? Done.

​ Want your character to have curly hair, glasses, and a hoodie? Easy.

There are thousands of combinations. And because you’re in control, your character will always be on-brand, on-message, and consistent across all your videos.

But here’s the part that makes it perfect for Doodly:

When you finish your character, you’ll export two versions.

Before you dive into designing a single character, take a beat.

One of the biggest mistakes people make? Jumping straight into building characters without knowing who they need—or why they need them.

The magic starts with a solid plan.

If you’ve already got a script (or even a rough outline), that’s your map. It tells you:

Think of it like casting a show. You wouldn’t hire actors without knowing what parts they’re playing, right? Same goes here.

​ Your characters aren’t just faces on a screen. They’re the ones delivering the message, explaining the details, keeping things interesting. And every single one should have a reason to be there.

Time to roll up your sleeves and bring your characters to life.

For this example, we’re going to create Sarah. She’s the friendly, business-casual guide who’s going to walk viewers through the story. Once you get the hang of creating her, you’ll be able to whip up the rest of your cast (like John and Emma) without breaking a sweat.

Let’s get started.

For Sarah, we’re choosing a female character standing upright, gesturing as if presenting something. This gives us a solid base to work from.

Now, let’s make her look exactly how we want.

Face

Body

Arms

Legs

You’ve got Sarah looking great in her first pose.

But if she stays frozen in that same stance for your entire video, things might get a little boring.

Let’s fix that by giving Sarah some additional poses—starting with a seated yoga pose.

The key here is to keep Sarah recognizable, no matter what she’s doing.

Let’s walk through it.

Before jumping into the next pose, take a moment to double-check and jot down Sarah’s details:

Now you’re ready to create Sarah’s next pose.

When you click the preset, a message will pop up:

After clicking the new pose, Sarah’s appearance resets.

Time to bring her back to life!

Now that you’ve got the new yoga pose, it’s time to tweak a few things to match Sarah’s original look.

Here’s what to adjust:

The process for creating John and Emma is pretty much the same as we did with Sarah.

Once you’re done exporting Sarah’s pose, you’re ready to start on your next character.

At the upper left-hand side of People Builder, click My People.

A message prompt will appear:

Click Discard to get to the main screen.

From there, click Create New, and you’re all set to start building John or Emma.

​ Follow the same process:

No need to overthink it—just stay consistent with their style and how they fit into your video’s story.

Now that you’ve created Sarah, John, and Emma in People Builder, it’s time to bring them into your Doodly project. This is where your characters finally get to shine in the scenes you’ve prepared.

Let’s walk through how to do it.

Step 1: Open Your Doodly Project

First, open the Doodly project where you want to add your new characters.

In this example, we already have our scenes set up—starting with a title screen and following scenes that tell our story.

If you’re doing this for the first time, it helps to lay out your scenes in order before adding characters, so you can easily decide where each one goes.

Step 2: Go to the Characters Tab

On the left-hand panel in Doodly, click on the Characters tab.

​ This is where all your character assets live. You’ll notice three sections:

Right now, we’re focused on adding our custom characters, so stay under All for easy access later.

Step 3: Import Your Characters

At the top-right of the Characters tab, you’ll see a blue plus (+) sign.

Click it to open the Add New Character window.

Here’s what happens next:

Pro Tip:

Use clear naming conventions for your PNG and DAS files before uploading—like Emma_Line.png and Emma_Line.das. That way, you’ll quickly spot them when scrolling through the list.

Step 4: Add Characters to Your Scenes

Now that your characters are imported, it’s time to place them inside your scenes.

Scene 1: Title or Intro

This is typically your opening scene, the first thing viewers see.

​ For example, you could:

Scene 2: Introducing Sarah

Scene 3: Adding John

Scene 4: Emma Joins

Step 5: Prepare Colored Images for the Final Scene

For your final scene, you’ll showcase the colored versions of Sarah, John, and Emma inside three circular placeholders. Think of this as the “Meet the Team” moment.

But here’s the thing. Your colored PNGs are full-body images. If you drop them into the circles as-is, they’ll spill over, showing feet and legs that don’t belong there.

How to Fix That (Using Canva)

Once you’re happy, export each image as a PNG with a transparent background so it blends seamlessly in Doodly.

Step 6: Import the Cropped PNGs into Doodly

Go back to Doodly and click the Props tab this time. While you could technically put them under Characters, it makes more sense to upload these as Props since they aren’t being drawn like characters.

Next, click the blue plus (+) button to add a new prop. Either drag the PNG into the box or click Browse Files, then upload.

​Lastly, hit Continue, and your cropped images will now appear in the Props library.

Step 7: Arrange the Final Scene

Now it’s time to bring everything together in your last scene.

Step 8: Set the Reveal Animation

When you preview the scene, you’ll notice something. The characters you imported as PNG props don’t draw with the hand by default. Instead, they get scribbled on (the standard Doodly animation for props), which might feel inconsistent if the rest of your video is line-drawn.

If you want a smoother, cleaner reveal:

Repeat for the other two images.

​ Now when you preview, the images will gently fade in rather than getting scribbled on, giving the scene a polished, intentional look.

After arranging your characters, hit Preview to watch the flow.

​ Check for:

If something looks off—sizes, placements, or animation speed—now’s the time to tweak it.

That’s it! Your characters are now fully imported, placed, and animated in your Doodly project.

​ Next up? Let’s wrap this all together and show off the final video.

Now that everything’s in place, let’s take a look at the final result!

And that’s a wrap!

You’ve just learned how to:

Now it’s your turn.

Play around with different poses, outfits, and expressions in People Builder. Experiment with how you tell your stories in Doodly.

Maybe create a series of characters to star in your next explainer video or online course.

The possibilities? Endless.