Want to learn more? Here's some videos I reccomend on Character design: For Silhouette: th-cam.com/video/8wm9ti-gzLM/w-d-xo.html For Color Palette: th-cam.com/video/W2LJAP-Srhk/w-d-xo.html For Clarity: th-cam.com/video/sNhZun4-h7c/w-d-xo.html For Unique Visual Identity: th-cam.com/video/CjiKlLE3NuI/w-d-xo.html
aaaaah gomenasorry, Yam-sensei! 'was typing a reallllly looooong comment but moi browser crashed and took away all moi motivation to type them all up again! To summarize: - praising/appreciating your MVD (memorable video design) analytical model as a helpful approach/reminder for any Vtuber model maker - raising the possibility of other Nihongo-speaking Vtuber model designers as well as other EN-speaking Vtuber model designers reacting to your hard work-passionate work here (It would be GRAND to hear Ui-mama-sensei's, Himono-sensei's etc. thoughts!) I wonder if it's okies for my JP friend to try to translate your summary at the end, the screenshot part, so as to maybe start an exchange with Nihongo-speaking design peeps/veterans?) That is, if they have some time to spare... 'would be nice to have someone translate your helpful MVD in Japanese though...! 12:01 MVD screenshot (no intrusive text) - noticing that the tone of your video is on providing advice to aspiring designers, as you have also provided clear litmus tests for each factor (e.g. 10:09 ) - 10:46 feeling that maybe it's not such a bad idea to have compared your Vtuber work with folks in the indie Vtuber scene, as: 1) Since you've set up your old design as a 'what-not-to-do/lesson learned' reference, then mentioning designs from the indie scene shows the great designs that indie Vtuber designers have done! 2) Aren't many "professional" vtuber model designers (character sheet artists + Live2D/3D model artists) also indie, in the sense that they offer their services to companies and Vtubers with the money to pay for them? I wonder if there's a clear divide between "corporate" Vtuber model designers and indie designers though, compared to the clearer divide between corporate-affiliated Vtubers and indie Vtubers? 3) It would be great to have more indie representation of talents, right? Aside from ironmouse (arguably still indie despite now being involved in Vshojo), moi noticed the lack of references to indie Vtuber design.... but actually, it could also be argued that many Vtuber model designers (both JP-side and EN-side) are indie themselves, right? Creatives, artists all~ the only difference is that a few were able to secure work from Vtuber companies. It's actually a good idea to use corporate Vtuber designs as representations of each MVD factor, but perhaps it's not that ok to imply that professional = corporate (I'm not saying your video implies that though!), and that "professional" actually means well-made, really... So recognizing that many indie Vtuber model makers are involved in making those corporate model makers + acknowledging lesser-known indie Vtuber model makers that have made MVDs would also be nice! 'looking forward to peeps reacting to your awesum analysis, maybe by using your MVD factors in a tier-list stream of some sort, or maybe a Part 2, showcasing indie Vtuber designs as proud examples! Sorry for the loooong post! 🙇♀
@@AngelTail Wow!!! Thank you for the in depth analysis and feed back of this video. I would love for anyone to translate and react to this content, as it's a video I spent a very long time researching and condensing into a comprehensive guide! On the topic of indie VTubers, I would love to feature more indie VTuber designs but I've shied away from doing so as I still find my confidence as a video maker. I don't want to upset anyone by using their personal model in a context that they did not approve of. That is the main difference between corporate and indie designs for me: Indie vtubers often have direct input on their designs, making them more personal to the individual. Most agencies (excluding vshojo) have a design made and then find someone to hire to voice the character. Therefore I feel like starting my content with only featuring the corporate designs is a safer way to start as a VTuber commentary channel! As I hone my craft I will be happy to broaden my horizons into featuring the indie sphere!
@@YamAlbat *bows and curtsies and sends congrats Yam-sensei again for sharing all your insight! All your hard work really, really does show in how easy to understand your MVD model is and how accurate it is in identifying what makes a design stand out! Moi will definitely share your vid with my JP friend and see if we could make a Nihongo translation of the summary at the end... and 'will share stuff on your Twitter, hopefully, sensei! " I don't want to upset anyone by using their personal model in a context that they did not approve of." Moi understands! How about... pls reject if it's too time-consuming or if it's nonsense... I feel that it's easier to reach out to indie designers on the Twitter and ask if it's alright to use their design as part of your commentary video/s in future? Moi feels that this could also be a great way for networking as well... indie PRIDE! But of course, it would add time to your work... but at the same time though, at least in your video here, maybe there are only two or three indie designers that have influenced your 1st model... but moi understand the supah-EMBARRASSU feels to associate your 1st model design to that designer ....! Then again... Thanks for pointing out what you think as the key difference between corporate Vtuber designs vs. indie Vtuber designs, as well as sharing how you feel it's safer to use the Vtuber corporate designs for points of comparison! "Indie vtubers often have direct input on their designs, making them more personal to the individual. Most agencies (excluding vshojo) have a design made and then find someone to hire to voice the character." All the best to more of your videos and projects and streams and analyses! It's really awesome that you're providing really, really substantive, meaningful perspectives on Vtubing even though it's taking you lotsa time and mental powah to do so (e.g. this video as well as the Vtuber Census thingy and the Vtuber Revolving Door model... that video-analysis showing a certain pipeline from indie to corporate and back to indie really made me think of how, maybe, thinking of Vtubing exclusively in terms of business, in terms of profit, in terms of the market, may not be the only way to look at Vtubing... maybe re-examining how Vtubing works in terms of FUN instead of letting the whole experience be dominated by exclusively business-based/market-based mindsets leads to cold, uncaring paths... I feel that many Vtuber commentary channels, at least on the EN side, tend to focus on either the controversy side and the capitalist side... while more analytical pieces that took lotsa time, effort, and thinking to craft + offer insight beyond what is trending is ignored... I think there's always going to be space for Vtuber drama and Vtuber business... but having analysis pieces like this and the other ones you've made are very much appreciated! Sorry again for meandering thoughts! 'wishing that Yam-sensei always finds folks and friends and fam who'd appreciate your insights and passion and work... and that you'd find yourself in communities and places that nourish you and let you grow, not letting that spirit dry out just because you have to conform to market demand... Or maybe it is possible to meet that demand and remain true to yourself at times? Regardless of whatever ends your passion leads to, Yam-sensei, moi hopes you and your fam do remain true! Arigatou and ganbatte, sensei!
10:25 Kobo's design is interesting because it has a high-effort look but it doesn't look overcomplicated and is easy to simplify. I am not sure how to explain clearly, but your current model looks both a little simple and yet visually busy or complicated. I think it's because there's a lot of lines but not much tone. For example around the bows. Sometimes adding complexity actually simplifies the interpretation, because more parts of the brain are responding to the image. With your current design I feel a vertical ribbon or frill is easier to visually interpret, but slightly changing the color of the bows (or adding a shadow layer) would dress them up nicely.
This has been very educational. Coming from the Hololive sphere, now we can understand as a concept why our Irys suffers from the clarity aspect. Her artstyle is incredibly difficult to replicate for simple fanart, and she is often unanimously drawn in a more anime but still recognizable style, thanks to her checking off the other 4 boxes besides Clarity.
I agree with you! Her design has a lot going on in a highly detailed style. I do believe a "great change" is coming her way however, so we will simply have to wait and see! I adore IRyS and I hope she gets the model and alternate outfits that make her the happiest! I hope they keep her color palette the same though. She has such an elegant color scheme!
I don't think IRyS' design is too busy to simplify - just look at representations like SmolRyS, Holocure, BeegSmol IRyS, Plushie IRyS and Delivering Hope (and Fauna's Miitopia IRyS), which are all recognizably IRyS even when simplified down to pixelart or smol VRChat models. I think IRyS just had bad timing with debut (coming right before Council), Cover not knowing what to do with her (they debuted her as a Vsinger, but western fans don't follow the JPop scene, so despite her over 18 cover songs, is less known for her music than Calli or Gura), and also her base face design is in a bit of an uncanny valley between 'anime' and realistic. That and streaming in a JP timeslot didn't help her views, although her dynamic with Bae has really skyrocketed her popularity with Western fans. From a design perspective, I think there are many iconic and translatable elements in her design, such as the horns, halo, contrasting wings, and high contrast white/black theme which can be played around with without losing the recognisability of the character. The real problem is that Cover is not giving IRyS the attention and support she needs, such as a 3D model, which would allow her to perform live songs and collabs. IRyS' problem isn't one of design, it's a shortfall of management.
Good analysis here! I'm somewhere in the middle on this. Either way, her model is getting worked on, so at least we know there is an end to her model limbo in sight!
@@Vasharan as someone who dislikes her design (emphasis on design since her personality is a bloody blast, especially on CHAD cast) I agree that it's a combination of multiple factors, however her design definitely plays a big part why Irys isn't as popular as she should be. Her model just feels off,like characters from Mars needs moms. The way her nose is shaded especially stands out. And again, this is purely about her design
The struggle between having a noisy cluttered model and balancing out clarity I think is the hardest thing for first impressions. You see that a lot when people want to nitpick things especially with corporate vtubers
Very true! I think it helps starting your work from afar and doing the macro parts of the design first, only afterwards complement with textures and details!
I always wondered what it is that makes Suisei's design so iconic, in many ways it's really basic, she is just like a girl in clothes simple enough that you could wear them in real life and look good. But yet she is pretty much unanimously considered to have one of the most iconic and sexy designs in the vtuber sphere. It goes to show that you don't need to go overboard on a design and sometimes a simple concept executed flawlessly can stand out so much more than something overdesigned. She has a gorgeous color palette, pretty much every design element is asymmetrical in an eye-catching way, and it has two really clear themes, idol and stars, woven together flawlessly, and those two themes also compliment each other well because an idol is also a star in the metaphorical sense. Arguably she breaks the top half rule since her skirt might be the most stand out feature, but it works for her because she is an idol and is seen in full body as much as in streamer view, but everything else she nails perfectly.
I 100% concur with your analysis here! Suisei having an eye catching skirt totally works in her favor with her stage performances. Isn't it amazing that suisei designed her first model herself? I think her design is incredibly special because of that!
It makes sense considering that Suisei based her original design off traditional idol outfits. The work into making the look iconic has already been done and improved on culturally as idol outfits are constantly critiqued and improved. That's also a strategy used with many of the alternative outfits for EN. Ame's and Ina's for example are very traditional outfits but executed very very well. I like to think that Nabi goes into her work planning to make Ame take the viewer's breath away as her outfits add a lot of vulnerability in the character while being very alluring for the viewer. They pull people in. Ina's instead heavily lean into her character of being a very talented artist and contrast against each other heavily.
Suisei does have that 'quiet elegance' look that's very appealing. Her silhouette isn't all that striking, but I think the tartan pattern especially gives her a unique look that stands out. It interests the viewer long enough that her voice and personality really gets a chance to shine. Poor Aki, on the other hand, has one of the weakest designs in Hololive, in my opinion. It's one of the main reasons she's the second-lowest subscribed member, I think. The hair pods are interesting but they're not something a person notices right away.
The two faults in Lorelei design immediately captured me. It wouldn't be good to try to say they're secretly good things to have in a design, especially in terms of the actual job of marketing your character out there, but you could say its a kind of, breaking the form. Ideally you should know what you're doing trying this, but I like the way the bland middle part highlights the head and the boots, and that IT IS something you don't actually see so easily. How to say it, it's almost an intimate design eliciting something a little bit like gap moe. The same principle has history in the character of Pan, or the satyric devil, and for example carries over to the tarred feet of Devil in Constantine. I believe bloodied feet in the comic but tar is so much better in some historical aspects. And of course the vines being even more invisible in the silhoutte compunds the effect even more, and growing out of the boots to transcend from being hidden in the ostentatious design to being explicit in the bland design. It's a little bit like, uh, a hint of something. And with that satyric legacy, it's kinda moving, like she's done the legwork and has the grit to show from it. "Just a touch" to quote Nina Van Horn. I dunno, maybe somebody would get the reference.
I remember someone said, how to know good character design is by showing your character to a kid and ask them to draw your character in kid style. If they manage to capture the vibes then it's memorable enough.
(sorry for the long reply, I just find this subject really fascinating haha) I definitely see the point that 'someone' was making, but in the nicest way possible I wanna say that's not the most reliable source either. People have patterns in their art, no matter how young OR experienced they are, so the kid may just default to changing the vtuber's design to fit what they're familiar with, or otherwise focus on an insignificant aspect of the design that others may not even notice. For example, if someone is only used to drawing straight hair, they might not replicate a very curly or complex hairstyle correctly because it's out of their comfort zone. Or maybe the character has a really unique ear shape, but the person drawing them decides to stick to what they know, which could be... small, cartoony, round ears. Another example I see more often is people who draw in "anime" artstyles (not all of/ exclusively them! but it's a common occurence) who don't know how to incorporate different body types or features in their art. If someone is used to only drawing K-ON fanart of the main girls, their drawing of an Arcane character may look completely inaccurate, despite both shows having incredible and iconic character designs. One way this could happen is if the artist is used to relying on hairstyles to differentiate characters. They may ignore all the other aspects that make Vi's design effective, and instead focus on a cowlick in her hair. In the end, it doesn't mean the original design was poorly made or that the artist didn't notice her face, her arms, or the way Vi carries herself - all playing a role in her appearances. Just an unfortunate situation where the artist couldn't portray her in a way that's fair to the OG. ......Sorry if this is obvious or irrelevant, I thought it was worth mentioning! I know it's not that deep. And I think your idea could still work if you asked multiple people to, say, describe the vtuber in simple terms instead of/in addition to drawing them. Anyway yeah, have a good day!^^
Excellent video. Not just for vtubing, but for character design in general, this is one of the best character design videos I've seen. Awesome job and a million+ thanks for sharing.
I love how you called these theories instead of stating them as facts for what makes Vtuber Designs memorable; it shows that you are open to critique and ideas on this. Your list was comprised of all strong and good points. That having been said, if I could choose to call one of them as absolute fact, it'd be the distinguished silhouette segment (which was likewise poked fun of by the anime adaptation of Gintama and also got the point across to great effect). Obviously, everything matters on this list and Unique Visual Identity is arguably as, and perhaps even more, important. But, if you can tell just by the shape and outline of something what it is, then the artist has 100% succeeded (and in this case the Vtuber) because they've got something unique and instantly recognizable. I just think that's really amazing, being able to tell what something is without having any of the details filled in. It's also a really interesting and good point of how the top half of models get the most screen time and recognition. In fact, now that I think of it, there are quite a few streamers I've spent hours watching where I haven't seen anything on their models from the waist down. Not having a clashing color palette is important too because if you have something tacky looking then most people won't want to stay and give you a chance, plus having a combination that really pops can help distinguish you from a crowd. In closing, yeah, great points were made all around and this video was excellent food for thought on what to do and what not to do when designing a Vtuber model (or really any sort of character design in any medium). I can't even imagine how hard it was to narrow it down between 5 categories and how time consuming the research for this was (I mean, ok, 6 months, but how many tons of hours across those months). Fantastic job! I can't wait for more videos!
Thank you for the in depth analysis of my video! I'm glad you were able to learn something from my video! I totally agree that unique silhouettes are such an interesting topic and so important for design as a whole! All of these concepts can be explored sooooo much deeper but I really just wanted to make a somewhat comprehensive starting point for VTubers and vtuber fans!
I am a pro character concept artist. To break down a good character design is mostly, a well incorporated theme with creative way of intergrading ideas, followed by good flows of energy and shape design. They also mainly put their focual points on chest up due to the nature of how Vtuber model are used. That is usually why they have some sort of multicolored hair (easy way to create visual interest), accessories on top of the head or around the neck. The rest is up to the drawing skill of the artist. Good artist can make something bland looks good by designing interesting shadow shapes, or folds. When you combine all these together, you get a good character. To elaborate what I mean by theme and creative way of intergrading ideas, I will give an example. Let's say you found a cool looking pineapple, and you want your model to be an alchemist. And so you want to create an alchemist inspired by pineapple. The creative way to do it would be study every single part of an pineapple, and applying onto different part of the character. We can take the outer shell pattern of the pineapple and apply it on the alchemist coat. The spiky top of the pineapple is also very iconic. Easy way would be to use the shape as hair, making the said character have spiky wild hair. Or It can be a top hat that has triangle spike pattern that looks like the pineapple top. Then you can make an alchemy emblem based on pineapple, maybe take the spikey skin part and turn the design more punk looking. Many many possibilities. Character design is often underestimated, and many people confuses good artwork with good design. I am glad you are taking the time to study character design, and spread what you learnt to people. Keep up the good work.
Ah thank you so much for commenting and sharing your advice! I am new to character design studying, but I hope to design characters for pro VTubers some day! I appreciate all the feedback I can get!
This video made me realize now that although I made a Twitch chat redeem to regularly show off my full model from chat requesting it, the realization that people would never know I was wearing extremely long boots unconsciously clicked for me. Now its a fun thing for my chat regulars to get me to do to show off to the new viewers, but it also made me start thinking of how to better create a "Trips 2.0". Great video with great tips!
One thing I notice with some vtubers is overall EXPRESSIVENESS. Hololive usually takes a comparatively minimalist approach to mouth shapes, expression toggles etc. But see Nana Asteria, shylily, buffpup, or ironmouse’s newest model. The mouth and eyes and the ways they deform to convey a LOT of character I think go a long way to giving those designs their appeal
I so much agree with you! Here's my guess as to why this is: Hololive more or less wants to give their talents the same quality model as one another as much as they can. This means that they cannon give the new generations many more bells and whistles than the original JP generations, otherwise they'd have to issue a lot of model updates to catch everyone up. The tracking software and rigging techniques are more advanced outside of Nijisanji and Hololive but both companies have their own proprietary software and talent formula that they've locked themselves into back in 2016. The Indie illustrator and rigger community is constantly evolving to be more advanced, and it's always such an exciting time to be an indie VTuber! Keep in mind this is just my theory though!
@@YamAlbat The 3.0 is beginning to go live. And model quality matters less than recognizability. A certain someone has wrestled with janky movements, crooked pupils, flickering eyes, iffy mouth tracking and rigging with almost zero facial depth. But hoiy are they easy to recognize.
@@YamAlbat The best part is this is partly because of her setup (she has a multi-monitor setup, and chat is on a portrait orientation monitor situated up and to the side). But this has resulted in janky and furtive eye movements that have become iconic to her persona, and if Cover knows what they are doing, they had best keep some level of jankiness in her 3.0 model. Gura also has very good awareness and command of her ability to capitalize on the rigging and expressive capabilities of her model. This is despite the Hololive custom tracking software being (apparently) less full-featured than Vtuber Studio (which many other vtubers use). I mean, they only recently got the ability to attach PNGs to tracked nodes, which is something Vtuber Studio has had for several years (and it's still a lot rougher than what Vtuber Studio allows).
1:06 I don't think Lorelei was the best choice for an example of "bad design" per say because she looks really cool, though she does demonstrate points 1 and 2 well 9:42 I've never noticed Sana's tattoo (also it's hidden on her kimono outfit). I'd say the limiter and hair beads are more striking and memorable parts of her design
That's kind of you to say Lorelei looks cool. I agree she is not a bad design. I have been designing characters for years before becoming a VTuber and I think she would be a cool protagonist of some cottage core type game! I did use her as the "what not to do" for a VTuber design because a) I do see that she could be a more effective VTUBER design, and b) I wasn't going to use another poor artist's character for the 'bad' example. As for the Sana thing, you are right. That was a totally improvised line and for some reason sana's giant colorful orbs were not the first thing I thought of. I probably should've thought for another minute 😂
@@YamAlbat Lorelei took smooth color as a main, i think the main problem is the vine, it'd be much better without the vine and err dirt? i like lorelei without the vine
Great vid. The only thing I'd add to it is the importance of "theme" - it can be both visually interesting and tie into character lore and other design elements (merch, mascots, props etc...) and really round out a character. To use one of your own examples- Gawr Gura's shark/atlantis theme is prevalent throughout her many outfits and models. The shark mouth, the trident. the tail, even the water and great white themed colors all contribute to her theme and directly tie into her character lore. This extends to Bloop and her Shrimps.The same goes for all the HoloEN talents- they all have a theme that ties them all together both visually and into their lore and "brand" for that character. Not to go meta on this, but you have to think of the vtuber model as just part of a package that includes elements that all tie into that vtubers theme as a product- what makes them unique, what do they offer that no one else does, what con viewers expect from watching this vtuber- all of that can be displayed visually inside of their theme. Gura's gremlin nature come thru just looking at her facial features and emotes, same goes for Ame or even Ironmouse or Nyanners from VShojo. If you plan on being a success, planning out a theme and character lore that is displayed visually in the character design is pretty much essential. It can also help inspire ideas for companions/mascots, props, settings/backgrounds etc....
Great point! I did mention that part of Clarity is having a consistent theme or aesthetic, but you are totally right in saying that the theme is important to the VTubers design and brand at large! I agree with you, thank you for joining the discussion!
After a second watch through, I think this video is an amazing resource for anyone looking to create v-tuber designs themselves. The art theories you go in depth on could be applied to many other types of art and character design, but applying the theories to V-tubing and giving examples of designs you think excel in a certain aspect was super helpful. I also appreciate how brave it is to use your own old model to point out some thing you have learned and improved on in your new model. Overall a very interesting and informative video!
Magni has such a good character design and concept... I saw his character reference sheet from his mama and the THOUGHTS they put into his design makes me go insane! People say his design is bad but i really think they just meant he's not visually up to the modern style lol. I want to point out the way he has SUCH a distinguishable shape, a color palette that stands out, and a face that's you just CANNOT mistaken for any other vtubers are so!!! GOOD!! Everything about him screams unique and MAGNI and the way magni himself can use his designs to make his own distinguishable unique mascot that you can immediately point to him is also a bonus! I just love everything about him it's great :)
Yep! spot on~☆ An accessory on the head is a common way artists make sure their design has a unique signature in the top half of the design. I'd personally encourage artists to pick something that won't change about the character from outfit to outfit!
When you first showed the Lorelei design the thing that got my attention were the vines coming out of the slightly oversized boots full of dirt. My initial reaction was "dryad who decided to go mobile".
Very informative video. It sums up character design concepts very neatly and the point about top-half concentration is a perfect adaptation to vtubing. One great source of study for memorable character designs is fighting games. Fighting game characters have to wear their themes on their sleeve and show both personality and gameplay at a glance. They have to be unique to stand out among very busy character select screens. They also need to have good silhouettes for the moves to be recognizable during fast paced battles. I'd very much recommend looking at well known fighting game characters to study how they apply each of the concepts you listed.
Thank you for saying so Guilguis! I am actively studying Guilty Gear: Strive's character design for this very reason. The clarity of theme and the exaggerated silhouettes make for some very memorable and effective character designs! I love fighting games 🧡
@@YamAlbat Feel free to disregard this if you already had done so, but i recommend you to check out Sugar Punch Works. They discuss a lot about character design in fighting games.
It bothers me so much that this tutorial was so educational and helpful, but when I look at the subscriber count, it's completely underrated! These type of content are the things that aren't well known but are supposed to be well known 😭
That's so sweet of you thank you! I've actually just pivoted from being a small art and gaming twitch streamer to deciding to go all in on youtube with analysis content. My youtube channel was mostly for VODs and music. I'm already so grateful for the amazing flood of support I've received already! 🧡
I feel very smart after watching this, thanks for covering it. This makes me wanna see a small follow up vid commentating on great "bizzaro" vtuber designs like virtual gorilla and juniper
Got sent by the algorithm here, never disappointed. This is a surprisingly informative video about character design, not just in vtubing. The silhouette, color palette and top-heavy parts gave me a lot of ideas. I wonder why some of my childhood side character OCs tend to stand out more than the MC and my siblings remember side characters easier. Thanks, now I know what to avoid doing in character design. An average Joe looking character is almost always going to blend into the crowd unfortunately. XD
Thank you for giving my content a chance and stopping by traveler! As a long time OC designer myself I too learned the hard way. Unfortunately jeans and a T shirt are not iconic outfits on their own 😓
THE SILHOUETTE THEORY, OMG. I THOUGHT IT TODAY but involving doujins... And why some characters gets so many doujins while others... Don't. For example: Mash Kyrielight with her glasses and peek-a-boo bang versus Maki Harukawa from Danganronpa with a mole as the only thing to distinguish her from another random japanese student.
This video essay was great! Very informative not only for vtuber designs, but character design in general. Also, I love your new vtuber model! It's super cute! I've never seen anyone else as a bat vtuber before. The hair and eyelashes look great.
Thank you so much! It took me so long to complete the model illustration wise, and she's still not fully rigged. BUT I couldn't put of getting videos out to you guys any longer!
Tbh Shiki has one of my fav designs the colors, the fashion, the hair and eyes!!?! It's all so great and ties together so well along with her theme. But thanks for showing Zentreya! I haven't been watching too many vtubers lately, and I've never heard of them but honestly their design is so awesome!!
I totally agree with you. Shiki's illustrator did a fantastic job with her design. The cool thing about Zentreya's design is she went with a designer outside the VTuber sphere, so she has quite a unique look!
Really cool video!! My yt reccomendations must have read my mind because I’ve been thinking about this exact same topic- you somehow explained everything I couldn’t put into words and more. Personally I really enjoy Vox’s model and the artist’s interpretation of a “modern demon.” Demon characters are so common it’s pretty easy to fall into overused tropes and themes when designing one. However, LAM really flexed their creative muscles when developing this guy and his visual is very unique and refreshing because of it. I think they balanced traditional and modern elements very well, in a way that hinted towards the characters lore and the vtuber’s personality while also giving him memorable visual language/symbols(?) Like if you were describing the model without giving names ie: red, white, black color palette, gold jewelry, red ropes and tassels, red eyeliner it’s like “oh yeah that’s definitely Vox” Also LAM uses contrast very effectively to make the design more interesting ex: the ornate flower pattern and black coloring of Vox’s blanket-drape thing vs the relatively simple white suit and his messy hair which contrast with the tidiness of his outfit. I had to stick this last bit very clumsily on the end of my comment but I really love that red highlighted bit on his hair?? It’s just very cool and I’ve never seen anyone do something like that. Super iconic Anywaysss sorry for this mini essay, I just can’t help but gush over good design. I’m always excited to see what new wacky characters and lore people come up with- what old ideas people can spin into something new. I can’t wait to see what kind of vtubers you make in the future!! ❤️❤️
Love your analysis of Vox, it's right on point! LAM literally never misses with their designs. They may just be my favorite VTuber illustrator of all time because LAM always gives their VTuber children the best foot forward in terms of design!!! I think we could all learn a lot from the many models LAM has illustrated~☆
The best character designs can be instantly recognized by silhouette alone. They are unique and distinct, but not too busy and have one or two major quirks that define them.
Mysta “who is incredibly smart” according to lore, yes. According to cooking streams and basically any streams in general? No. Mr. Rias WASHED HIS RICE AND THEN COOKED THE RICE IN THE STARCH WATER (rip Vox)
I'm not sure if it fits into the same conversation exactly but as a big fan of Ina, I find one of the thing I like about her is the clear fan character. I don't think it was going to be this way originaly but the Takodachi as a stand in for the fan really helps with fan animations, games and art. I really think that having a fan character that fits in with the Vtuber's desing to be a plus.
YES! fan character mascots are hugely underrated. Takodachis and sanalites are my favorite fan character mascot designs personally. They make for great metchandising as well~☆ That's part of the reason why I have my own animal friend on my head~☆
I found these same principles when applied to JoJo fanstand designs I've seen and made (palette, top-heavy design, theme uniformity). Point 5 has a spin, as there's often some kind of deformity that would separate it from a mannequin, like Grateful Dead being a torso or D4C's giant puppet-stitched rabbit ears. Stands are often meant to intimidate rather than be pleasing, so it's a different application of the same principle. It's great to see a video that took so much research get good traction, here's to hoping the fortune snowballs from here and that it stays healthy for you.
Thank you so much. And I agree about your point with jojo stands. Jojo is a big inspiration for me, even though Araki and I have very different art styles 😅
Thank you so much! It was tough deciding what to include in this video because I wanted to keep it brief, but also share what I've learned over the course of 2 years of VTuber design~☆
Such well-articulated points, examples and advice! I found this analysis to be extremely informative and refreshing--I hope your pursuits of model design go in your favor, as you've clearly dedicated lots of time and effort into growth alone (also my respect for you shot through the roof when you mentioned Lettuce lolol)
great video, I love character design it's one strong aspect that made me fall into the vtuber rabbithole, if you can find a translation or if you understand japanese I recommend inuyama tamaki's channel, they are a mangaka, vtuber, vtuber ilustrator and the ceo of a vtuber agency, they collab a LOT with others vtuber illustrators(vtuber mamas) and end up talking a lot about the process of creating their designs
It is a very intresting aspect of VTubers that I never really paid attention to since I mostly watch clips which are usually edited. It is nice to get some explanation on the different design between the talents and the companies.
Thank you! I think character design is amazing when you get into the details of it because a lot of it is only noticed by the casual viewer subconsciously until you break it down!
This video is so good. Thank you for sharing your research and knowledge; however I wish you also talked about rig. Good rig is also a huge buff for a Vtuber model. For example, Shoto, his design not really have something turn out, but smooth rigging make his model looks so flexible and liveable
Thank you for the suggestion! I plan to talk about rigging in a separate video because otherwise the video would be twice the length! I totally agree with you that rigging is a huge deal when it comes to how a VTuber is percieved!
8:50 hilariously I actually got the nymph (pretty late but before the countdown ended). I didn't get "cottagecore" but I did think gardener/farmer. What never crossed my mind was adventurer.
WOW congrats on getting the nymph part. I honestly sort of forgot that I was a nymph character half way through my streaming journey as Lorelei, so I assumed it just was not an easy to read part of the character. I don't know where the adventurer went in her design either...
The algorithm brought me here and I wasn't disappointed! The video was very informing and it was definitely fun to watch! Thank you for making it and keep it up! :> As someone who is learning live2d, it's cool to see what concepts go into a model's design. I tip my hats off to designers/artists because of the amount of work that goes into conceptualizing itself.
From your video I gather that it is best to have a simplistic yet easily identifiable design with a lot of accessories that can be toggled on and off. Full set should have good silhouette, yet the basic set should keep its core personality intact
I wholeheartedly agree! You hit the nail on the head~☆ Toggles aren't a totally necessary part of having a good design, but they can give the freedom for a VTubet to have giant flashy elements that set them apart like a large jacket or hat or a back full of tentacles without the added consequence of taking up too much of the screen during collabs and gaming streams. It's also nice that those toggles can also translate into fan art. Ina's fan base can choose to draw her with or without her tentacles depending on the art piece!
this is helpful im working with a vtuber creator using blender and assets based on my drawings to create a futuristic humanoid android/singer etc ,to create my very unique/ eye catching design that sets me apart in highquality to use on twitch or youtube, so i can be successful ,at first i tried designing traits like hair and eye textures ,but the model looks poorly in vrstudio imo,its good for begginers just not for what i want to jump start my career successfuly which im hoping and praying for.
This is helpful. I can apply your points to character design itself since I think vtuber models themselves are character designs but with more emphasis on the upper half.
This was very informative! I am not an artist or designer (I design software cloud architecture), but this really is illuminating to understanding *why* I like what I like. Have binged all your videos and looking forward to more!
Great video, well thought out and provides good insight into what makes certain vtuber models appealing and memorable. Currently in a designing phase of my own model and aspiring to be a “papa” for models in the future, so this is a great resource!
You educated us soooo much throughout this incredible analysis, how can I even thank you enough?! For me it‘s not reaching VTuber designs specifically, but learning more about character design and moving on… and you can’t believe how much you helped me out just now, it‘s irreplaceable, you‘re irreplaceable! So again, thank you so INCREDIBLY much, keep up the good work and never give up! ✨
this video was so immensely helpful. i really appreciate the corporate examples and detailed explanations! I'll definitely refer back to this video when deciding my own vtuber!
I only found your channel recently but you offer a lot of insight to Vtuber elements I had not fully considered when I started out! Thank you for the wonderful content!
This is a great, comprehensive overview! Another tip that I find helps is a really basic concept in composition, where you want to focus some key details and somewhat higher contrast around the focal point, being the vtuber's face. It might sound obvious to some, but it really does help to keep in mind when you're trying to get that balance right.
Hi, i just want to say your video really helps a lot and changes my perspective in character design. I'm a love designing character, either it's for vtuber models, game illustrations, or webcomic characters. Your video helps me a lot to learn the very basics in character design and what to focus on. Once again thanks a lot for making this video.
This video was really interesting to watch, especially because there are really interesting tips on character design. Amidst all the information you gave us, I feel there's the hidden analogy of a narrative or of an essay. First of all, it's important to know a clear idea of impression and the message you want to convey to your audience. From that starting point, you add elements in a way that it looks appealing and cohesive at the same time, and it is hard to combine clarity and information. Too much elements will make the audience confused because it's all over the place, but at the same time, insuficcient elements might feel hollow and lack of a personal flair that you want to give. In my honest opinion, I really like Gura's and Ollie's design because they convey the message in an effective way but with different approaches. And, despite being far away from VTuber community, this gave me insight of my character design in a certain mmorpg and why there were some changes on her design that i really liked while other changes felt really off the character.
Can I just say as someone making a vtuber model for my college final (3D modeling go brrrr), this video is very handy for the researching phase. Thank you~
Thank you for sharing your insight and the fruits of your hard labor and hard-won lessons. This was a very well thought out and interesting video to watch, and very entertaining to boot! I only started watching vtubers early this year (2022), but I've already fallen deep into the rabbit hole. Like watching 6 concurrent streams during HoloCouncil's Ender Dragon raid (it's a good thing I have 2 ultrawide monitors). EDIT: PS I just realized that your design was based off a leaf nosed bat, which is pretty cool and unique, love that you're pursuing your own themes and pushing boundaries. Also, tjhe bat on your head is very cute.
Aw thank you! It's pretty hard to NOT fall down the rabbit hole ahahaha. Though instead of falling down the rabbit hole of watching streams, I more fell down the rabbit hole of admiring VTuber designs and the hard work that goes into the amazing content VTubers make. That's why I decided to go this direction with my channel~☆
Great video! I did try to make my design look recognizable from the silhouette alone. Not sure if I succeed in that. As for the color scheme, I think White,Black and Red are just the colors that always work. I made my eyes bluish so that it stands out more. My first design was way different. I picked a spider theme and have a suit with web and stuff. It was a cool idea but I wanted to be more...normal? So that I can fit into any environment and won't look out of place. I am not a great designer in the first place so if I go crazy with the design, I'll probably cringe at how bad it actually was in the future.
I legit have been looking for this for a week or so. I had forgotten to like and favorite it before my computer restarted in my sleep for an update. Glad I found it again as it has a large impact on me helping others identify things that might help in the various aspects covered.
@@YamAlbat it really has been as I am an awful client in my opinion. Haha I have such a fuzzy, vague imagination for what I want that describing even parts is a challenge. This gave me some solid direction to consider things from. It's also well thought out and explained. Thank you for the video!
This is giving me a lot to think about! I've been considering trying my hand at streaming, and I've done a few concept sketches of a possible avatar. Knowing these principles should really help me refine those ideas.
this was an amazing video!! as someone who has hundreds of ideas swarming around her head surrounding character design, and even vtuber design, this has seriously been so so helpful!! thank you so much!!!!
Thank you so much! That's so sweet! I am currently working on sounding less monotonous in my delivery right now. It is really encouraging to hear that someone likes my delivery even though I still feel like I'm struggling with it! Your encouragement goes a long way!!!
A lot of these also apply to comic book art, especially old 4-color books. The tip about shrinking your resulting design down and checking how recognizable it remains is a key test.
Yes! I've adapted a lot of my tests from video game, comic, and animation design philosophies! I hadn't seen a VTuber specific video yet so I figured I'd compile a list of the tests I've found useful!
This was a really lovely video, you broke it down in a way that was easy to understand and I think you made a lot of great points. Though I'm no artist and not involved in VTuber design at all, from watching a whole lot VTubers over the last 2 years I can see the evidence of the points you made.
again ive said this before and i'll say it again! your videos are so well produced and written! as someone who struggles with understanding concepts because of people using big words all the time, i understood every second of your video with full clarity and i was completely hooked from start to end. i learned so much from this video alone and it's really added to the spark of my dream of one day becoming a vtuber myself! :)
This is such a sweet comment thank you! I am using this channel to record my own character design learning journey, so that may be why the terms I use are easier to understand. I don’t know any of the proper terms for these concepts myself 😅 I hope even as I get more advanced in character design, I can keep these videos easy to understand! Thank you for your kind words, you’ve encouraged me to work on more video ideas today!
AH thank you! I love old shojo, so I tried to imitate it a little with my model! I love VTuber design so much, I can't help but give my little fangirl blurbs every now and again! Thanks for the comment!
Very good points! And good timing too as I am making my own Vtuber model for the first time right now, thank you! Something I'd like to add, is that I think that eye size/head focus is a big deal when it comes to Vtuber models. I see a lot of holostars members who go for the ikamen/pretty boy look. To do so, they make their characters look more mature by making smaller eyes since in anime, small eyes = older and more masculine character. The problem with this is that eyes and hands are the two biggest sources of expressions for anime characters. Given how 2D vtuber models do not have a very strong range of motion (everything follows the head, even arms don't move much), I worry that making the eyes too small causes a vtuber model to feel static and uninteresting. I don't think it's impossible to create interesting characters with small eyes, but you have to have a large amount of visual hooks to really attract viewers to the face. Lord Aethelstan for example, has a model that wears completely black clothing, but has bright white hair that hugs his face. Because of this, any minor movement in his smaller eyes are still really noticeable because the extreme color and value contrast around his head brings our attention to his face.
This video truly helped me out! as I was trying to plan out my character/persona for this kind of streaming if i have ever tried the contents of it helped me check mark the things that I need and don't need on a vtuber model or character design in general thank you!!
Hi just stumbled in your channel, everything you discussed is true when it comes to Character creation. You are right for Vtuber models, When I created my model, I mostly focused on creating my upper half, then worked my way down. However I told myself, I dropped all the character formula and made different costumes for different scenarios as its quite easy with 3d. I live2d model however, I think it's gonna be a challenge because I have to rig them after I painted the costume.
That's awesome that you were able to recognize that the top half is the most important when designing your 3D! What I would reccomend as a 2D artist is to do A LOT of expiramental sketches before drawing the final model. That'll help you figure out the placement and balance of everything! Good luck with your 2D model!
This video was really insightful! I took screenshots as notes multiple times throughout, haha. As a 10000% novice with zero experience in the vtuber scene, I’m learning so much. Thank you for sharing your avatar design journey, and being so concise with your information as well. :) Also, your new avatar is very cute! The glow up is real, and you should be proud of yourself. Please take care!
Ahhhh thank you so much for all the kind words! This video took me a long time to formulate, I was working on the script for 6 months probably. I had such a hard time describing what I was trying to explain at first! Making this video helped me clarify concepts in my head and really helped me grow as a designer! After all, the best way to make sure you know concepts is to teach them! And thank you for the compliments on my model. I absolutely love Yam! I connect with her much more than my previous avatar! I am designing her a new outfit and working on her 2.0 rig to improve things as we speak!
@@YamAlbat Wow, you put so much hard work into this. 🥺✨ It was well worth the effort, because you were clear, relatable, and engaging. It may have taken a long time to get the writing for this video done just the way you want it, but it was well worth the time spent. :D And that’s so exciting that you’re creating a new outfit and updated rig for Yam. It’s obvious how much this means to you! Thank you for sharing your journey, and I look forward to all you have to share. Also. Thank you so much for responding to my comment! Your time is valuable and I’m very grateful. Please have a great day! :3
Really fun watching your thought on vtuber models at the same time Its true that I got my interest in the design first before the characters of the talent (I usually choose the eyecatching models to stan)
I agree that I'm definitely more inclined to give a VTuber with a model I like a try. Once I'm there though, the main appeal becomes more about their personality. Appealing designs are great for getting people in the door~☆
Ignoring other factors for a moment, my favourite VTuber models are Botan, Nene, Gura, Calli, Mumei and Kobo from Hololive, Finana and Rosemi from Nijisanji and independent designs like Haruka, Pikame, Kson, Woohoolad and Shylily.
This video was really heckin informative i gotta say! Also as someone who is interested in joinin in the vtuber fun, I havent gotten much success in desgining my own vtuber look but would totally love to learn a lot through other vtuber designs
Glad to hear it! Whether you join in as a VTuber or just participate in other VTuber's content, I think it's always fun to learn about VTuber design so you can further appreciate what makes them shine!
😭 aaaaaa Genevieve! So glad to see you in my comments section! I'm sorry I've shed the nymph persona, but I do feel like bat fits me way better 🧡 My Lorelei days were a lot of fun though! Someone had to take the bullet as the "what not to do" example and I wasn't going to do to anyone else 🥲
i actually really like your old character. the lil vines growing out of the dirt in her boots, is super cute imo. and one of my guesses was actually nymph, but only cuz i saw art of her sitting on a lilypad haa but just from the base design, yeah i would be hard to guess. i think i saw you or someone comment, shes be cute as little gam charcter or something. and i agree. i can just imagine her running around taking care of her garden and her mob of froggies. thank you so much for your informative videos! ive been interested in vtubers this past year and have been slowly getting into them. im slow tho cuz theres alot of exploring to do and i have too many interests haa. but i really love the idea of vtubing and want to make my own design someday. weither i use it or not, i feel like it would be so much fun. similar interests in VRchat for that reason. i just want to make a design i can wear. anyways, ur channel recently came up in my recommends, i assume cuz ive been clicking on more and more vtube stuff. i adore your bat model and appreciate you helping me learn more about all this!
I like Rushia’s design it is a very minimalist simple design that maximizes on cuteness that is then betraying by her antics making it funny. The color choice is also good.
I agree! Her color scheme is personally very appealing to me. I love that the artist took inspiration from a blue morpho butterfly 🦋 for the color scheme and theming of her model. Pair that with the pop of red of her eyes made hers such a striking VTuber design!
Trying to apply this to my upcoming VRoid redesign + my future future model commission... I think silhouette should be ok (bit limited with Vroid). Top half concentration could use some work. Color palette... I don't really get color theory or how to make it work with what I've envisioned, hmm... Clarity is going to be a nightmare because it seems like it is in direct contradiction to Silhouette (more distinct shapes/protrusions) and Top half concentration (condensed features) are in contrast to Clarity wanting to keep things clear and simple. As for unique visual identity... that's hard to do with VRoid being as limited as it is (without knowing how to manipulate Unity/Blender or 3D design), but I think my final concept is definitely unique enough! This was great to learn, I feel like there should be more researched videos like these!
"Color palette... I don't really get color theory or how to make it work with what I've envisioned" I can encourage you to find pre-made color palettes while you learn more about color theory! "Clarity is going to be a nightmare because it seems like it is in direct contradiction to Silhouette" I was feeling that way for a while too! Try to think of it more like this: does every detail efficiently contribute to BOTH silhouette and clarity?" Here's an example: Calliope Mori has a giant scythe on her back. This both helps her silhouette's interesting shape AND contributes to clarifying her theme of grim reaper! This is a tough thing to accomplish in Vroid since you cannot add too much outside the mesh of the VTuber. "As for unique visual identity... that's hard to do with VRoid being as limited as it is (without knowing how to manipulate Unity/Blender or 3D design), but I think my final concept is definitely unique enough!" So glad to hear you are confident in the concept! Honestly, having a solid concept will help you have a more unique design further down the line if you ever decide to invest in a live 2D or Blender model! Best of luck to you on your VTuber journey!
This was very helpful, as I am planning out a vtuber to commission. I wanted to see the things I should look for, and I got a perfect list! Thank you so so much!!
@@YamAlbat Thank you so much! You actually have no idea how much this video helped me. I was worried the character design I was going to use might've been too bland, and that's been confirmed. But thankfully you described what to look for so well and so simply that I have no doubt i'll get them looking their best in no time! Thank you again, and have a lovely earth cycle!
This is such a well structured and helpful video, thank you! I already knew most of the tips but seeing them again with some examples hits different too. I really neglected the top-half aspect in my first two models which is why I really want to update the outfit and hair of my character. But even then, I think the silhouette advice is something I might still have to look into more in detail. Thank you again!
I'm currently streaming very rarely on twitch.tv/yamkoumori but I want to switch to TH-cam for streaming when I am eligible for the TH-cam partner program!
This was very helpful! I may just have to check back with my drawing board and try to come up with some additions to my model to make the silhouette more interesting and bring some asymmetry to it as well.
Want to learn more? Here's some videos I reccomend on Character design:
For Silhouette: th-cam.com/video/8wm9ti-gzLM/w-d-xo.html
For Color Palette: th-cam.com/video/W2LJAP-Srhk/w-d-xo.html
For Clarity: th-cam.com/video/sNhZun4-h7c/w-d-xo.html
For Unique Visual Identity: th-cam.com/video/CjiKlLE3NuI/w-d-xo.html
aaaaah gomenasorry, Yam-sensei! 'was typing a reallllly looooong comment but moi browser crashed and took away all moi motivation to type them all up again! To summarize:
- praising/appreciating your MVD (memorable video design) analytical model as a helpful approach/reminder for any Vtuber model maker
- raising the possibility of other Nihongo-speaking Vtuber model designers as well as other EN-speaking Vtuber model designers reacting to your hard work-passionate work here (It would be GRAND to hear Ui-mama-sensei's, Himono-sensei's etc. thoughts!) I wonder if it's okies for my JP friend to try to translate your summary at the end, the screenshot part, so as to maybe start an exchange with Nihongo-speaking design peeps/veterans?) That is, if they have some time to spare... 'would be nice to have someone translate your helpful MVD in Japanese though...!
12:01 MVD screenshot (no intrusive text)
- noticing that the tone of your video is on providing advice to aspiring designers, as you have also provided clear litmus tests for each factor (e.g. 10:09 )
- 10:46 feeling that maybe it's not such a bad idea to have compared your Vtuber work with folks in the indie Vtuber scene, as:
1) Since you've set up your old design as a 'what-not-to-do/lesson learned' reference, then mentioning designs from the indie scene shows the great designs that indie Vtuber designers have done!
2) Aren't many "professional" vtuber model designers (character sheet artists + Live2D/3D model artists) also indie, in the sense that they offer their services to companies and Vtubers with the money to pay for them? I wonder if there's a clear divide between "corporate" Vtuber model designers and indie designers though, compared to the clearer divide between corporate-affiliated Vtubers and indie Vtubers?
3) It would be great to have more indie representation of talents, right?
Aside from ironmouse (arguably still indie despite now being involved in Vshojo), moi noticed the lack of references to indie Vtuber design.... but actually, it could also be argued that many Vtuber model designers (both JP-side and EN-side) are indie themselves, right? Creatives, artists all~ the only difference is that a few were able to secure work from Vtuber companies.
It's actually a good idea to use corporate Vtuber designs as representations of each MVD factor, but perhaps it's not that ok to imply that professional = corporate (I'm not saying your video implies that though!), and that "professional" actually means well-made, really...
So recognizing that many indie Vtuber model makers are involved in making those corporate model makers + acknowledging lesser-known indie Vtuber model makers that have made MVDs would also be nice!
'looking forward to peeps reacting to your awesum analysis, maybe by using your MVD factors in a tier-list stream of some sort, or maybe a Part 2, showcasing indie Vtuber designs as proud examples!
Sorry for the loooong post! 🙇♀
@@AngelTail Wow!!! Thank you for the in depth analysis and feed back of this video. I would love for anyone to translate and react to this content, as it's a video I spent a very long time researching and condensing into a comprehensive guide!
On the topic of indie VTubers, I would love to feature more indie VTuber designs but I've shied away from doing so as I still find my confidence as a video maker. I don't want to upset anyone by using their personal model in a context that they did not approve of. That is the main difference between corporate and indie designs for me: Indie vtubers often have direct input on their designs, making them more personal to the individual. Most agencies (excluding vshojo) have a design made and then find someone to hire to voice the character. Therefore I feel like starting my content with only featuring the corporate designs is a safer way to start as a VTuber commentary channel! As I hone my craft I will be happy to broaden my horizons into featuring the indie sphere!
@@YamAlbat *bows and curtsies and sends congrats Yam-sensei again for sharing all your insight! All your hard work really, really does show in how easy to understand your MVD model is and how accurate it is in identifying what makes a design stand out! Moi will definitely share your vid with my JP friend and see if we could make a Nihongo translation of the summary at the end... and 'will share stuff on your Twitter, hopefully, sensei!
" I don't want to upset anyone by using their personal model in a context that they did not approve of."
Moi understands! How about... pls reject if it's too time-consuming or if it's nonsense... I feel that it's easier to reach out to indie designers on the Twitter and ask if it's alright to use their design as part of your commentary video/s in future? Moi feels that this could also be a great way for networking as well... indie PRIDE! But of course, it would add time to your work... but at the same time though, at least in your video here, maybe there are only two or three indie designers that have influenced your 1st model... but moi understand the supah-EMBARRASSU feels to associate your 1st model design to that designer ....! Then again...
Thanks for pointing out what you think as the key difference between corporate Vtuber designs vs. indie Vtuber designs, as well as sharing how you feel it's safer to use the Vtuber corporate designs for points of comparison!
"Indie vtubers often have direct input on their designs, making them more personal to the individual. Most agencies (excluding vshojo) have a design made and then find someone to hire to voice the character."
All the best to more of your videos and projects and streams and analyses! It's really awesome that you're providing really, really substantive, meaningful perspectives on Vtubing even though it's taking you lotsa time and mental powah to do so (e.g. this video as well as the Vtuber Census thingy and the Vtuber Revolving Door model... that video-analysis showing a certain pipeline from indie to corporate and back to indie really made me think of how, maybe, thinking of Vtubing exclusively in terms of business, in terms of profit, in terms of the market, may not be the only way to look at Vtubing... maybe re-examining how Vtubing works in terms of FUN instead of letting the whole experience be dominated by exclusively business-based/market-based mindsets leads to cold, uncaring paths... I feel that many Vtuber commentary channels, at least on the EN side, tend to focus on either the controversy side and the capitalist side... while more analytical pieces that took lotsa time, effort, and thinking to craft + offer insight beyond what is trending is ignored... I think there's always going to be space for Vtuber drama and Vtuber business... but having analysis pieces like this and the other ones you've made are very much appreciated!
Sorry again for meandering thoughts! 'wishing that Yam-sensei always finds folks and friends and fam who'd appreciate your insights and passion and work... and that you'd find yourself in communities and places that nourish you and let you grow, not letting that spirit dry out just because you have to conform to market demand... Or maybe it is possible to meet that demand and remain true to yourself at times? Regardless of whatever ends your passion leads to, Yam-sensei, moi hopes you and your fam do remain true!
Arigatou and ganbatte, sensei!
10:25 Kobo's design is interesting because it has a high-effort look but it doesn't look overcomplicated and is easy to simplify.
I am not sure how to explain clearly, but your current model looks both a little simple and yet visually busy or complicated. I think it's because there's a lot of lines but not much tone.
For example around the bows. Sometimes adding complexity actually simplifies the interpretation, because more parts of the brain are responding to the image.
With your current design I feel a vertical ribbon or frill is easier to visually interpret, but slightly changing the color of the bows (or adding a shadow layer) would dress them up nicely.
Hey thank you for the tips! I'm happy to say my live 2D model is not yet finished. Stay tuned for some updates as I work on it!
This has been very educational. Coming from the Hololive sphere, now we can understand as a concept why our Irys suffers from the clarity aspect. Her artstyle is incredibly difficult to replicate for simple fanart, and she is often unanimously drawn in a more anime but still recognizable style, thanks to her checking off the other 4 boxes besides Clarity.
I agree with you! Her design has a lot going on in a highly detailed style. I do believe a "great change" is coming her way however, so we will simply have to wait and see! I adore IRyS and I hope she gets the model and alternate outfits that make her the happiest!
I hope they keep her color palette the same though. She has such an elegant color scheme!
I don't think IRyS' design is too busy to simplify - just look at representations like SmolRyS, Holocure, BeegSmol IRyS, Plushie IRyS and Delivering Hope (and Fauna's Miitopia IRyS), which are all recognizably IRyS even when simplified down to pixelart or smol VRChat models.
I think IRyS just had bad timing with debut (coming right before Council), Cover not knowing what to do with her (they debuted her as a Vsinger, but western fans don't follow the JPop scene, so despite her over 18 cover songs, is less known for her music than Calli or Gura), and also her base face design is in a bit of an uncanny valley between 'anime' and realistic. That and streaming in a JP timeslot didn't help her views, although her dynamic with Bae has really skyrocketed her popularity with Western fans.
From a design perspective, I think there are many iconic and translatable elements in her design, such as the horns, halo, contrasting wings, and high contrast white/black theme which can be played around with without losing the recognisability of the character. The real problem is that Cover is not giving IRyS the attention and support she needs, such as a 3D model, which would allow her to perform live songs and collabs. IRyS' problem isn't one of design, it's a shortfall of management.
Good analysis here! I'm somewhere in the middle on this. Either way, her model is getting worked on, so at least we know there is an end to her model limbo in sight!
@@Vasharan as someone who dislikes her design (emphasis on design since her personality is a bloody blast, especially on CHAD cast) I agree that it's a combination of multiple factors, however her design definitely plays a big part why Irys isn't as popular as she should be. Her model just feels off,like characters from Mars needs moms. The way her nose is shaded especially stands out. And again, this is purely about her design
and now finally she has a new model
The struggle between having a noisy cluttered model and balancing out clarity I think is the hardest thing for first impressions. You see that a lot when people want to nitpick things especially with corporate vtubers
I agree, the balance of being unique without overdesigning a character is a balance that I am still trying to achieve myself!
Very true! I think it helps starting your work from afar and doing the macro parts of the design first, only afterwards complement with textures and details!
I always wondered what it is that makes Suisei's design so iconic, in many ways it's really basic, she is just like a girl in clothes simple enough that you could wear them in real life and look good. But yet she is pretty much unanimously considered to have one of the most iconic and sexy designs in the vtuber sphere. It goes to show that you don't need to go overboard on a design and sometimes a simple concept executed flawlessly can stand out so much more than something overdesigned. She has a gorgeous color palette, pretty much every design element is asymmetrical in an eye-catching way, and it has two really clear themes, idol and stars, woven together flawlessly, and those two themes also compliment each other well because an idol is also a star in the metaphorical sense. Arguably she breaks the top half rule since her skirt might be the most stand out feature, but it works for her because she is an idol and is seen in full body as much as in streamer view, but everything else she nails perfectly.
I 100% concur with your analysis here! Suisei having an eye catching skirt totally works in her favor with her stage performances. Isn't it amazing that suisei designed her first model herself? I think her design is incredibly special because of that!
It makes sense considering that Suisei based her original design off traditional idol outfits. The work into making the look iconic has already been done and improved on culturally as idol outfits are constantly critiqued and improved. That's also a strategy used with many of the alternative outfits for EN. Ame's and Ina's for example are very traditional outfits but executed very very well. I like to think that Nabi goes into her work planning to make Ame take the viewer's breath away as her outfits add a lot of vulnerability in the character while being very alluring for the viewer. They pull people in. Ina's instead heavily lean into her character of being a very talented artist and contrast against each other heavily.
Great point! Thanks for your contribution to the discussion 🧡
Suisei does have that 'quiet elegance' look that's very appealing. Her silhouette isn't all that striking, but I think the tartan pattern especially gives her a unique look that stands out. It interests the viewer long enough that her voice and personality really gets a chance to shine. Poor Aki, on the other hand, has one of the weakest designs in Hololive, in my opinion. It's one of the main reasons she's the second-lowest subscribed member, I think. The hair pods are interesting but they're not something a person notices right away.
The two faults in Lorelei design immediately captured me. It wouldn't be good to try to say they're secretly good things to have in a design, especially in terms of the actual job of marketing your character out there, but you could say its a kind of, breaking the form.
Ideally you should know what you're doing trying this, but I like the way the bland middle part highlights the head and the boots, and that IT IS something you don't actually see so easily. How to say it, it's almost an intimate design eliciting something a little bit like gap moe. The same principle has history in the character of Pan, or the satyric devil, and for example carries over to the tarred feet of Devil in Constantine. I believe bloodied feet in the comic but tar is so much better in some historical aspects.
And of course the vines being even more invisible in the silhoutte compunds the effect even more, and growing out of the boots to transcend from being hidden in the ostentatious design to being explicit in the bland design. It's a little bit like, uh, a hint of something. And with that satyric legacy, it's kinda moving, like she's done the legwork and has the grit to show from it. "Just a touch" to quote Nina Van Horn. I dunno, maybe somebody would get the reference.
I remember someone said, how to know good character design is by showing your character to a kid and ask them to draw your character in kid style. If they manage to capture the vibes then it's memorable enough.
Woah that's really interesting! I want to try that some day~☆
I also try to design my characters off my scribbles from 4th grade these days
Live your 4th grade dreams! Who didn't want to be an anime character when they were a kid. My little kid self would be so proud of Me right now
@@YamAlbat Nice to hear that!! I hope I'll be able to be proud of my art one day too
(sorry for the long reply, I just find this subject really fascinating haha)
I definitely see the point that 'someone' was making, but in the nicest way possible I wanna say that's not the most reliable source either. People have patterns in their art, no matter how young OR experienced they are, so the kid may just default to changing the vtuber's design to fit what they're familiar with, or otherwise focus on an insignificant aspect of the design that others may not even notice.
For example, if someone is only used to drawing straight hair, they might not replicate a very curly or complex hairstyle correctly because it's out of their comfort zone. Or maybe the character has a really unique ear shape, but the person drawing them decides to stick to what they know, which could be... small, cartoony, round ears.
Another example I see more often is people who draw in "anime" artstyles (not all of/ exclusively them! but it's a common occurence) who don't know how to incorporate different body types or features in their art. If someone is used to only drawing K-ON fanart of the main girls, their drawing of an Arcane character may look completely inaccurate, despite both shows having incredible and iconic character designs. One way this could happen is if the artist is used to relying on hairstyles to differentiate characters. They may ignore all the other aspects that make Vi's design effective, and instead focus on a cowlick in her hair. In the end, it doesn't mean the original design was poorly made or that the artist didn't notice her face, her arms, or the way Vi carries herself - all playing a role in her appearances. Just an unfortunate situation where the artist couldn't portray her in a way that's fair to the OG.
......Sorry if this is obvious or irrelevant, I thought it was worth mentioning! I know it's not that deep. And I think your idea could still work if you asked multiple people to, say, describe the vtuber in simple terms instead of/in addition to drawing them. Anyway yeah, have a good day!^^
Excellent video. Not just for vtubing, but for character design in general, this is one of the best character design videos I've seen. Awesome job and a million+ thanks for sharing.
Wow thank you for saying so! I'm glad I was able to pass on some knowledge to you!
Yuppp I agree. I don't make VTubers. I'm an artist who draws characters and this is so insanely helpful.
I love how you called these theories instead of stating them as facts for what makes Vtuber Designs memorable; it shows that you are open to critique and ideas on this. Your list was comprised of all strong and good points. That having been said, if I could choose to call one of them as absolute fact, it'd be the distinguished silhouette segment (which was likewise poked fun of by the anime adaptation of Gintama and also got the point across to great effect). Obviously, everything matters on this list and Unique Visual Identity is arguably as, and perhaps even more, important. But, if you can tell just by the shape and outline of something what it is, then the artist has 100% succeeded (and in this case the Vtuber) because they've got something unique and instantly recognizable. I just think that's really amazing, being able to tell what something is without having any of the details filled in.
It's also a really interesting and good point of how the top half of models get the most screen time and recognition. In fact, now that I think of it, there are quite a few streamers I've spent hours watching where I haven't seen anything on their models from the waist down.
Not having a clashing color palette is important too because if you have something tacky looking then most people won't want to stay and give you a chance, plus having a combination that really pops can help distinguish you from a crowd.
In closing, yeah, great points were made all around and this video was excellent food for thought on what to do and what not to do when designing a Vtuber model (or really any sort of character design in any medium). I can't even imagine how hard it was to narrow it down between 5 categories and how time consuming the research for this was (I mean, ok, 6 months, but how many tons of hours across those months). Fantastic job! I can't wait for more videos!
Thank you for the in depth analysis of my video! I'm glad you were able to learn something from my video!
I totally agree that unique silhouettes are such an interesting topic and so important for design as a whole! All of these concepts can be explored sooooo much deeper but I really just wanted to make a somewhat comprehensive starting point for VTubers and vtuber fans!
Well said, fellow Gintama lover 💙
I've watched a bunch of indies who just didn't even bother getting legs in the first place.
Why are so many people writhing essays in the comment section?
I am a pro character concept artist.
To break down a good character design is mostly, a well incorporated theme with creative way of intergrading ideas, followed by good flows of energy and shape design.
They also mainly put their focual points on chest up due to the nature of how Vtuber model are used. That is usually why they have some sort of multicolored hair (easy way to create visual interest), accessories on top of the head or around the neck.
The rest is up to the drawing skill of the artist. Good artist can make something bland looks good by designing interesting shadow shapes, or folds.
When you combine all these together, you get a good character.
To elaborate what I mean by theme and creative way of intergrading ideas, I will give an example.
Let's say you found a cool looking pineapple, and you want your model to be an alchemist. And so you want to create an alchemist inspired by pineapple. The creative way to do it would be study every single part of an pineapple, and applying onto different part of the character. We can take the outer shell pattern of the pineapple and apply it on the alchemist coat. The spiky top of the pineapple is also very iconic. Easy way would be to use the shape as hair, making the said character have spiky wild hair. Or It can be a top hat that has triangle spike pattern that looks like the pineapple top. Then you can make an alchemy emblem based on pineapple, maybe take the spikey skin part and turn the design more punk looking. Many many possibilities.
Character design is often underestimated, and many people confuses good artwork with good design.
I am glad you are taking the time to study character design, and spread what you learnt to people. Keep up the good work.
Ah thank you so much for commenting and sharing your advice! I am new to character design studying, but I hope to design characters for pro VTubers some day! I appreciate all the feedback I can get!
good artwork ≠ good design is such an important thing to understand! I'm very glad you pointed it out, thank you very much!
This video made me realize now that although I made a Twitch chat redeem to regularly show off my full model from chat requesting it, the realization that people would never know I was wearing extremely long boots unconsciously clicked for me. Now its a fun thing for my chat regulars to get me to do to show off to the new viewers, but it also made me start thinking of how to better create a "Trips 2.0".
Great video with great tips!
What a good idea for a redeem! Might steal it some day 🤔
One thing I notice with some vtubers is overall EXPRESSIVENESS. Hololive usually takes a comparatively minimalist approach to mouth shapes, expression toggles etc. But see Nana Asteria, shylily, buffpup, or ironmouse’s newest model. The mouth and eyes and the ways they deform to convey a LOT of character I think go a long way to giving those designs their appeal
I so much agree with you! Here's my guess as to why this is: Hololive more or less wants to give their talents the same quality model as one another as much as they can. This means that they cannon give the new generations many more bells and whistles than the original JP generations, otherwise they'd have to issue a lot of model updates to catch everyone up.
The tracking software and rigging techniques are more advanced outside of Nijisanji and Hololive but both companies have their own proprietary software and talent formula that they've locked themselves into back in 2016. The Indie illustrator and rigger community is constantly evolving to be more advanced, and it's always such an exciting time to be an indie VTuber!
Keep in mind this is just my theory though!
@@YamAlbat The 3.0 is beginning to go live. And model quality matters less than recognizability. A certain someone has wrestled with janky movements, crooked pupils, flickering eyes, iffy mouth tracking and rigging with almost zero facial depth. But hoiy are they easy to recognize.
Calli's crazy eye tracking is her model's best feature. Some of the facial expressions she can make just crack me up every time
I agree! I love when her eyes dart from side to side. Her expressions are comedy gold
@@YamAlbat The best part is this is partly because of her setup (she has a multi-monitor setup, and chat is on a portrait orientation monitor situated up and to the side). But this has resulted in janky and furtive eye movements that have become iconic to her persona, and if Cover knows what they are doing, they had best keep some level of jankiness in her 3.0 model.
Gura also has very good awareness and command of her ability to capitalize on the rigging and expressive capabilities of her model. This is despite the Hololive custom tracking software being (apparently) less full-featured than Vtuber Studio (which many other vtubers use). I mean, they only recently got the ability to attach PNGs to tracked nodes, which is something Vtuber Studio has had for several years (and it's still a lot rougher than what Vtuber Studio allows).
1:06 I don't think Lorelei was the best choice for an example of "bad design" per say because she looks really cool, though she does demonstrate points 1 and 2 well
9:42 I've never noticed Sana's tattoo (also it's hidden on her kimono outfit). I'd say the limiter and hair beads are more striking and memorable parts of her design
That's kind of you to say Lorelei looks cool. I agree she is not a bad design. I have been designing characters for years before becoming a VTuber and I think she would be a cool protagonist of some cottage core type game! I did use her as the "what not to do" for a VTuber design because a) I do see that she could be a more effective VTUBER design, and b) I wasn't going to use another poor artist's character for the 'bad' example.
As for the Sana thing, you are right. That was a totally improvised line and for some reason sana's giant colorful orbs were not the first thing I thought of. I probably should've thought for another minute 😂
@@YamAlbat Lorelei took smooth color as a main, i think the main problem is the vine, it'd be much better without the vine and err dirt?
i like lorelei without the vine
Great vid. The only thing I'd add to it is the importance of "theme" - it can be both visually interesting and tie into character lore and other design elements (merch, mascots, props etc...) and really round out a character. To use one of your own examples- Gawr Gura's shark/atlantis theme is prevalent throughout her many outfits and models. The shark mouth, the trident. the tail, even the water and great white themed colors all contribute to her theme and directly tie into her character lore. This extends to Bloop and her Shrimps.The same goes for all the HoloEN talents- they all have a theme that ties them all together both visually and into their lore and "brand" for that character. Not to go meta on this, but you have to think of the vtuber model as just part of a package that includes elements that all tie into that vtubers theme as a product- what makes them unique, what do they offer that no one else does, what con viewers expect from watching this vtuber- all of that can be displayed visually inside of their theme. Gura's gremlin nature come thru just looking at her facial features and emotes, same goes for Ame or even Ironmouse or Nyanners from VShojo. If you plan on being a success, planning out a theme and character lore that is displayed visually in the character design is pretty much essential. It can also help inspire ideas for companions/mascots, props, settings/backgrounds etc....
Great point! I did mention that part of Clarity is having a consistent theme or aesthetic, but you are totally right in saying that the theme is important to the VTubers design and brand at large! I agree with you, thank you for joining the discussion!
The real challenge (that seems to rack my mind before I even draw anything) is making a model that fits your voice
AGREED! Perhaps this is another video topic in the making!
After a second watch through, I think this video is an amazing resource for anyone looking to create v-tuber designs themselves. The art theories you go in depth on could be applied to many other types of art and character design, but applying the theories to V-tubing and giving examples of designs you think excel in a certain aspect was super helpful. I also appreciate how brave it is to use your own old model to point out some thing you have learned and improved on in your new model. Overall a very interesting and informative video!
Thank you! Glad you find it so helpful!
Magni has such a good character design and concept... I saw his character reference sheet from his mama and the THOUGHTS they put into his design makes me go insane! People say his design is bad but i really think they just meant he's not visually up to the modern style lol.
I want to point out the way he has SUCH a distinguishable shape, a color palette that stands out, and a face that's you just CANNOT mistaken for any other vtubers are so!!! GOOD!! Everything about him screams unique and MAGNI and the way magni himself can use his designs to make his own distinguishable unique mascot that you can immediately point to him is also a bonus! I just love everything about him it's great :)
I agree with you! thanks for sharing!
Something i have noticed is to AWAYS have a accessory in the head
Yep! spot on~☆
An accessory on the head is a common way artists make sure their design has a unique signature in the top half of the design. I'd personally encourage artists to pick something that won't change about the character from outfit to outfit!
When you first showed the Lorelei design the thing that got my attention were the vines coming out of the slightly oversized boots full of dirt.
My initial reaction was "dryad who decided to go mobile".
😂 I love that Interpretation so much. Thank you for sharing
I really love your Vtuber analysis videos. Very well researched and structured. So informative and easy to digest ♥
Thank you so much!
Very informative video. It sums up character design concepts very neatly and the point about top-half concentration is a perfect adaptation to vtubing. One great source of study for memorable character designs is fighting games. Fighting game characters have to wear their themes on their sleeve and show both personality and gameplay at a glance. They have to be unique to stand out among very busy character select screens. They also need to have good silhouettes for the moves to be recognizable during fast paced battles. I'd very much recommend looking at well known fighting game characters to study how they apply each of the concepts you listed.
Thank you for saying so Guilguis! I am actively studying Guilty Gear: Strive's character design for this very reason. The clarity of theme and the exaggerated silhouettes make for some very memorable and effective character designs! I love fighting games 🧡
@@YamAlbat Feel free to disregard this if you already had done so, but i recommend you to check out Sugar Punch Works. They discuss a lot about character design in fighting games.
Thank you for the reccomendation! I'll check them out!
Oh sheesh! I didn't expect I would see my Millie fanart here. Thankyu for using it 👀💚✨
NO WAY! I'm a huuuuuuge fan of your art style. Its such a great piece. Thank you for supporting my content!~☆
I get the feeling that these tips are commonly over looked.
As someone who overlooked all of them when designing my first model (Lorelei) I agree! It's easy to miss
It bothers me so much that this tutorial was so educational and helpful, but when I look at the subscriber count, it's completely underrated! These type of content are the things that aren't well known but are supposed to be well known 😭
That's so sweet of you thank you! I've actually just pivoted from being a small art and gaming twitch streamer to deciding to go all in on youtube with analysis content. My youtube channel was mostly for VODs and music. I'm already so grateful for the amazing flood of support I've received already! 🧡
I think your design is very memorable, love the bat!
Thank you!
This is a really great video. Informative, clear and the visuals matched the main content very well.
I feel very smart after watching this, thanks for covering it.
This makes me wanna see a small follow up vid commentating on great "bizzaro" vtuber designs like virtual gorilla and juniper
Thank you for supporting my content! Stick around and you may just see me do individual design deep dives on VTubers 🧡
Thats such a great analysis! Im rlly thankful that you made this so other aspiring vtubers like us can learn together !
Got sent by the algorithm here, never disappointed. This is a surprisingly informative video about character design, not just in vtubing. The silhouette, color palette and top-heavy parts gave me a lot of ideas. I wonder why some of my childhood side character OCs tend to stand out more than the MC and my siblings remember side characters easier.
Thanks, now I know what to avoid doing in character design. An average Joe looking character is almost always going to blend into the crowd unfortunately. XD
Thank you for giving my content a chance and stopping by traveler! As a long time OC designer myself I too learned the hard way. Unfortunately jeans and a T shirt are not iconic outfits on their own 😓
THE SILHOUETTE THEORY, OMG. I THOUGHT IT TODAY but involving doujins... And why some characters gets so many doujins while others... Don't. For example: Mash Kyrielight with her glasses and peek-a-boo bang versus Maki Harukawa from Danganronpa with a mole as the only thing to distinguish her from another random japanese student.
Excellent example! I love when people comment their own applications to my theories 🧡
A moment of silence was indeed had for the beloafed
😔 I still miss her
@@YamAlbat Yeah, she was my first oshi. It sucks a whole lot. I feel you
This video essay was great! Very informative not only for vtuber designs, but character design in general. Also, I love your new vtuber model! It's super cute! I've never seen anyone else as a bat vtuber before. The hair and eyelashes look great.
Thank you so much! It took me so long to complete the model illustration wise, and she's still not fully rigged. BUT I couldn't put of getting videos out to you guys any longer!
0:25 “to consume a Vtuber”
YES I TOO GORGE MYSELF ON THEIR VIRTUAL *FLESH*
Lol 😂
Very concise and great examples, a very interesting watch!
Thank you so much for saying so and for supporting my content!
Tbh Shiki has one of my fav designs the colors, the fashion, the hair and eyes!!?! It's all so great and ties together so well along with her theme. But thanks for showing Zentreya! I haven't been watching too many vtubers lately, and I've never heard of them but honestly their design is so awesome!!
I totally agree with you. Shiki's illustrator did a fantastic job with her design. The cool thing about Zentreya's design is she went with a designer outside the VTuber sphere, so she has quite a unique look!
Subscribed, love how concise the information was laid out and that you’re so open to learning more! Thanks for making this video
Thank you so much for supporting my content and subscribing~☆
Really cool video!! My yt reccomendations must have read my mind because I’ve been thinking about this exact same topic- you somehow explained everything I couldn’t put into words and more.
Personally I really enjoy Vox’s model and the artist’s interpretation of a “modern demon.” Demon characters are so common it’s pretty easy to fall into overused tropes and themes when designing one. However, LAM really flexed their creative muscles when developing this guy and his visual is very unique and refreshing because of it. I think they balanced traditional and modern elements very well, in a way that hinted towards the characters lore and the vtuber’s personality while also giving him memorable visual language/symbols(?)
Like if you were describing the model without giving names ie: red, white, black color palette, gold jewelry, red ropes and tassels, red eyeliner it’s like “oh yeah that’s definitely Vox”
Also LAM uses contrast very effectively to make the design more interesting ex: the ornate flower pattern and black coloring of Vox’s blanket-drape thing vs the relatively simple white suit and his messy hair which contrast with the tidiness of his outfit.
I had to stick this last bit very clumsily on the end of my comment but I really love that red highlighted bit on his hair?? It’s just very cool and I’ve never seen anyone do something like that. Super iconic
Anywaysss sorry for this mini essay, I just can’t help but gush over good design. I’m always excited to see what new wacky characters and lore people come up with- what old ideas people can spin into something new. I can’t wait to see what kind of vtubers you make in the future!! ❤️❤️
Love your analysis of Vox, it's right on point! LAM literally never misses with their designs. They may just be my favorite VTuber illustrator of all time because LAM always gives their VTuber children the best foot forward in terms of design!!! I think we could all learn a lot from the many models LAM has illustrated~☆
The best character designs can be instantly recognized by silhouette alone. They are unique and distinct, but not too busy and have one or two major quirks that define them.
Mysta “who is incredibly smart” according to lore, yes. According to cooking streams and basically any streams in general? No. Mr. Rias WASHED HIS RICE AND THEN COOKED THE RICE IN THE STARCH WATER (rip Vox)
YEAH! I loved the reveal of the person behind the mysta model. It's a great choice of casting on nijisanjis part
I'm not sure if it fits into the same conversation exactly but as a big fan of Ina, I find one of the thing I like about her is the clear fan character. I don't think it was going to be this way originaly but the Takodachi as a stand in for the fan really helps with fan animations, games and art. I really think that having a fan character that fits in with the Vtuber's desing to be a plus.
YES! fan character mascots are hugely underrated. Takodachis and sanalites are my favorite fan character mascot designs personally. They make for great metchandising as well~☆
That's part of the reason why I have my own animal friend on my head~☆
this is such a good video! the organization and ideas in it are just really well represented, thank you so much for this it's such a great help
Glad you liked it!! Thanks for your support on the video!
I found these same principles when applied to JoJo fanstand designs I've seen and made (palette, top-heavy design, theme uniformity). Point 5 has a spin, as there's often some kind of deformity that would separate it from a mannequin, like Grateful Dead being a torso or D4C's giant puppet-stitched rabbit ears. Stands are often meant to intimidate rather than be pleasing, so it's a different application of the same principle.
It's great to see a video that took so much research get good traction, here's to hoping the fortune snowballs from here and that it stays healthy for you.
Thank you so much. And I agree about your point with jojo stands. Jojo is a big inspiration for me, even though Araki and I have very different art styles 😅
this is super helpful..please never delete the video!! Your study is amazing :)
Thank you so much! It was tough deciding what to include in this video because I wanted to keep it brief, but also share what I've learned over the course of 2 years of VTuber design~☆
Such well-articulated points, examples and advice! I found this analysis to be extremely informative and refreshing--I hope your pursuits of model design go in your favor, as you've clearly dedicated lots of time and effort into growth alone (also my respect for you shot through the roof when you mentioned Lettuce lolol)
Aw thank you so much! I enjoy studying character design a lot. I'm glad I'm able to share my passion with you all~☆
And yes Tokyo Mew Mew is so good 🥰
@@YamAlbat and you're so talented at it too! And all Tokyo Mew Mew-lovers based as hell, I swear
great video, I love character design it's one strong aspect that made me fall into the vtuber rabbithole, if you can find a translation or if you understand japanese I recommend inuyama tamaki's channel, they are a mangaka, vtuber, vtuber ilustrator and the ceo of a vtuber agency, they collab a LOT with others vtuber illustrators(vtuber mamas) and end up talking a lot about the process of creating their designs
WOW what a great reccomendation! I'll check them out~☆
It is a very intresting aspect of VTubers that I never really paid attention to since I mostly watch clips which are usually edited. It is nice to get some explanation on the different design between the talents and the companies.
Thank you! I think character design is amazing when you get into the details of it because a lot of it is only noticed by the casual viewer subconsciously until you break it down!
This video is so good. Thank you for sharing your research and knowledge; however I wish you also talked about rig. Good rig is also a huge buff for a Vtuber model. For example, Shoto, his design not really have something turn out, but smooth rigging make his model looks so flexible and liveable
Thank you for the suggestion! I plan to talk about rigging in a separate video because otherwise the video would be twice the length! I totally agree with you that rigging is a huge deal when it comes to how a VTuber is percieved!
@@YamAlbat I’m looking forward to it !!
❤ thanks for making this vid Yam!
Thanks for supporting my content!
8:50 hilariously I actually got the nymph (pretty late but before the countdown ended). I didn't get "cottagecore" but I did think gardener/farmer. What never crossed my mind was adventurer.
WOW congrats on getting the nymph part. I honestly sort of forgot that I was a nymph character half way through my streaming journey as Lorelei, so I assumed it just was not an easy to read part of the character. I don't know where the adventurer went in her design either...
The algorithm brought me here and I wasn't disappointed! The video was very informing and it was definitely fun to watch! Thank you for making it and keep it up! :>
As someone who is learning live2d, it's cool to see what concepts go into a model's design. I tip my hats off to designers/artists because of the amount of work that goes into conceptualizing itself.
Thanks for stopping by algorithm traveler! I hope to make more VTuber analysis and design content for a long time to come~☆
From your video I gather that it is best to have a simplistic yet easily identifiable design with a lot of accessories that can be toggled on and off.
Full set should have good silhouette, yet the basic set should keep its core personality intact
I wholeheartedly agree! You hit the nail on the head~☆
Toggles aren't a totally necessary part of having a good design, but they can give the freedom for a VTubet to have giant flashy elements that set them apart like a large jacket or hat or a back full of tentacles without the added consequence of taking up too much of the screen during collabs and gaming streams. It's also nice that those toggles can also translate into fan art. Ina's fan base can choose to draw her with or without her tentacles depending on the art piece!
this is helpful im working with a vtuber creator using blender and assets based on my drawings to create a futuristic humanoid android/singer etc ,to create my very unique/ eye catching design that sets me apart in highquality to use on twitch or youtube, so i can be successful ,at first i tried designing traits like hair and eye textures ,but the model looks poorly in vrstudio imo,its good for begginers just not for what i want to jump start my career successfuly which im hoping and praying for.
This is helpful. I can apply your points to character design itself since I think vtuber models themselves are character designs but with more emphasis on the upper half.
Glad it was helpful! I agree that this applies to character design as a whole!
This was very informative! I am not an artist or designer (I design software cloud architecture), but this really is illuminating to understanding *why* I like what I like. Have binged all your videos and looking forward to more!
Thank you, this is really helpful! I've been getting into making vtuber models, and I'll keep all of these points in mind!
That makes me so happy to hear! Making VTuber models is very tough but very rewarding!
Great video, well thought out and provides good insight into what makes certain vtuber models appealing and memorable.
Currently in a designing phase of my own model and aspiring to be a “papa” for models in the future, so this is a great resource!
Good luck! VTuber models are a labor of love, and are very rewarding when you finally see them in motion~♡
You educated us soooo much throughout this incredible analysis, how can I even thank you enough?! For me it‘s not reaching VTuber designs specifically, but learning more about character design and moving on… and you can’t believe how much you helped me out just now, it‘s irreplaceable, you‘re irreplaceable! So again, thank you so INCREDIBLY much, keep up the good work and never give up! ✨
So glad I was able to help you out on your character design journey!~☆
@@YamAlbat Awww You’re so cute, thank you! It really helped out a lot and I‘m so happy I discovered you! 💗
this video was so immensely helpful. i really appreciate the corporate examples and detailed explanations! I'll definitely refer back to this video when deciding my own vtuber!
So glad it was helpful! Good luck with all your VTuber endeavors~☆
I only found your channel recently but you offer a lot of insight to Vtuber elements I had not fully considered when I started out!
Thank you for the wonderful content!
Great to hear!
This is a great, comprehensive overview! Another tip that I find helps is a really basic concept in composition, where you want to focus some key details and somewhat higher contrast around the focal point, being the vtuber's face. It might sound obvious to some, but it really does help to keep in mind when you're trying to get that balance right.
Composition is huge! Thanks for your contribution!
Hi, i just want to say your video really helps a lot and changes my perspective in character design. I'm a love designing character, either it's for vtuber models, game illustrations, or webcomic characters. Your video helps me a lot to learn the very basics in character design and what to focus on. Once again thanks a lot for making this video.
I'm so glad to hear that! I hope your love for character design continues to grow for years to come!
oh man this video made me feel so proud of how my vtuber design is going omg!! these tips are great uwu
This video was really interesting to watch, especially because there are really interesting tips on character design. Amidst all the information you gave us, I feel there's the hidden analogy of a narrative or of an essay. First of all, it's important to know a clear idea of impression and the message you want to convey to your audience. From that starting point, you add elements in a way that it looks appealing and cohesive at the same time, and it is hard to combine clarity and information. Too much elements will make the audience confused because it's all over the place, but at the same time, insuficcient elements might feel hollow and lack of a personal flair that you want to give. In my honest opinion, I really like Gura's and Ollie's design because they convey the message in an effective way but with different approaches. And, despite being far away from VTuber community, this gave me insight of my character design in a certain mmorpg and why there were some changes on her design that i really liked while other changes felt really off the character.
Aw thank you for the kid words and for adding your insight! Video games and VTubers have similar character design philosophies!
Can I just say as someone making a vtuber model for my college final (3D modeling go brrrr), this video is very handy for the researching phase. Thank you~
I love your videos! I surely found out what i can improve with my wip vtuber model
So glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for sharing your insight and the fruits of your hard labor and hard-won lessons. This was a very well thought out and interesting video to watch, and very entertaining to boot!
I only started watching vtubers early this year (2022), but I've already fallen deep into the rabbit hole. Like watching 6 concurrent streams during HoloCouncil's Ender Dragon raid (it's a good thing I have 2 ultrawide monitors).
EDIT: PS I just realized that your design was based off a leaf nosed bat, which is pretty cool and unique, love that you're pursuing your own themes and pushing boundaries. Also, tjhe bat on your head is very cute.
Aw thank you! It's pretty hard to NOT fall down the rabbit hole ahahaha. Though instead of falling down the rabbit hole of watching streams, I more fell down the rabbit hole of admiring VTuber designs and the hard work that goes into the amazing content VTubers make. That's why I decided to go this direction with my channel~☆
Great video! I did try to make my design look recognizable from the silhouette alone. Not sure if I succeed in that. As for the color scheme, I think White,Black and Red are just the colors that always work. I made my eyes bluish so that it stands out more.
My first design was way different. I picked a spider theme and have a suit with web and stuff. It was a cool idea but I wanted to be more...normal? So that I can fit into any environment and won't look out of place. I am not a great designer in the first place so if I go crazy with the design, I'll probably cringe at how bad it actually was in the future.
Yeah! Your horns are super unique and help your silhouette stand out! what a neat idea 🧡
I legit have been looking for this for a week or so. I had forgotten to like and favorite it before my computer restarted in my sleep for an update. Glad I found it again as it has a large impact on me helping others identify things that might help in the various aspects covered.
Wow thank you for going back and seeking my video out! I’m glad you find it that helpful! 💕
@@YamAlbat it really has been as I am an awful client in my opinion. Haha I have such a fuzzy, vague imagination for what I want that describing even parts is a challenge. This gave me some solid direction to consider things from. It's also well thought out and explained. Thank you for the video!
This is giving me a lot to think about! I've been considering trying my hand at streaming, and I've done a few concept sketches of a possible avatar. Knowing these principles should really help me refine those ideas.
I highly reccomend trying out a low commitment trial run and see how you like it! Best wishes on your potential avatar designing/streaming endeavors~☆
Time to make a character with this in mind xD. Thanks boss
Glad it helped Yoshi!
this was an amazing video!! as someone who has hundreds of ideas swarming around her head surrounding character design, and even vtuber design, this has seriously been so so helpful!! thank you so much!!!!
So glad you found it helpful! That was the driving force behind making this video~☆
You have such a calming voice I love it, it sounds like you’d be a voice actor in some sort of cartoon!
Thank you so much! That's so sweet! I am currently working on sounding less monotonous in my delivery right now. It is really encouraging to hear that someone likes my delivery even though I still feel like I'm struggling with it! Your encouragement goes a long way!!!
A lot of these also apply to comic book art, especially old 4-color books. The tip about shrinking your resulting design down and checking how recognizable it remains is a key test.
Yes! I've adapted a lot of my tests from video game, comic, and animation design philosophies! I hadn't seen a VTuber specific video yet so I figured I'd compile a list of the tests I've found useful!
This was a really lovely video, you broke it down in a way that was easy to understand and I think you made a lot of great points. Though I'm no artist and not involved in VTuber design at all, from watching a whole lot VTubers over the last 2 years I can see the evidence of the points you made.
Thank you for saying so! I tried to make it a basic breakdown for artists and non artists alike! Thank you for supporting my content!
again ive said this before and i'll say it again! your videos are so well produced and written! as someone who struggles with understanding concepts because of people using big words all the time, i understood every second of your video with full clarity and i was completely hooked from start to end. i learned so much from this video alone and it's really added to the spark of my dream of one day becoming a vtuber myself! :)
This is such a sweet comment thank you! I am using this channel to record my own character design learning journey, so that may be why the terms I use are easier to understand. I don’t know any of the proper terms for these concepts myself 😅 I hope even as I get more advanced in character design, I can keep these videos easy to understand! Thank you for your kind words, you’ve encouraged me to work on more video ideas today!
@@YamAlbat thats wonderful to hear! i look forward to watching more of your content in the future! :D
Really, really enjoyed this video! Your little fan comments on the designs were so sweet and wholesome, and I love your 90s anime style.
AH thank you! I love old shojo, so I tried to imitate it a little with my model! I love VTuber design so much, I can't help but give my little fangirl blurbs every now and again! Thanks for the comment!
Very good points! And good timing too as I am making my own Vtuber model for the first time right now, thank you!
Something I'd like to add, is that I think that eye size/head focus is a big deal when it comes to Vtuber models. I see a lot of holostars members who go for the ikamen/pretty boy look. To do so, they make their characters look more mature by making smaller eyes since in anime, small eyes = older and more masculine character. The problem with this is that eyes and hands are the two biggest sources of expressions for anime characters. Given how 2D vtuber models do not have a very strong range of motion (everything follows the head, even arms don't move much), I worry that making the eyes too small causes a vtuber model to feel static and uninteresting. I don't think it's impossible to create interesting characters with small eyes, but you have to have a large amount of visual hooks to really attract viewers to the face. Lord Aethelstan for example, has a model that wears completely black clothing, but has bright white hair that hugs his face. Because of this, any minor movement in his smaller eyes are still really noticeable because the extreme color and value contrast around his head brings our attention to his face.
Hey that's a really interesting contribution, thank you! I've never thought about it that way. Really makes me think!
the only exception is kanda from nijisanji jp 😌😌😌/hj
You made a really good, nice to watch and helpful video! Thanks a lot for your tips, this really helped me to feel better about my design
Thank you! I love the color choice of your design! I think you should be confident in it~☆
@@YamAlbat And I didn't even expect you to answer :') You really made my day! ^.^~
@Nuna Nova We are all just people at the end of the day! I want to reply to comments as much as I can. I love the discussion it sparks~☆
This video helped me a lot trying to design my new Live2D model. Thank you for your work! :3
This video truly helped me out! as I was trying to plan out my character/persona for this kind of streaming if i have ever tried the contents of it helped me check mark the things that I need and don't need on a vtuber model or character design in general
thank you!!
That warms my heart to hear! Best of luck to you and your character design endeavors!
Hi just stumbled in your channel, everything you discussed is true when it comes to Character creation. You are right for Vtuber models, When I created my model, I mostly focused on creating my upper half, then worked my way down. However I told myself, I dropped all the character formula and made different costumes for different scenarios as its quite easy with 3d. I live2d model however, I think it's gonna be a challenge because I have to rig them after I painted the costume.
That's awesome that you were able to recognize that the top half is the most important when designing your 3D! What I would reccomend as a 2D artist is to do A LOT of expiramental sketches before drawing the final model. That'll help you figure out the placement and balance of everything! Good luck with your 2D model!
This video was really insightful! I took screenshots as notes multiple times throughout, haha. As a 10000% novice with zero experience in the vtuber scene, I’m learning so much. Thank you for sharing your avatar design journey, and being so concise with your information as well. :)
Also, your new avatar is very cute! The glow up is real, and you should be proud of yourself. Please take care!
Ahhhh thank you so much for all the kind words! This video took me a long time to formulate, I was working on the script for 6 months probably. I had such a hard time describing what I was trying to explain at first! Making this video helped me clarify concepts in my head and really helped me grow as a designer! After all, the best way to make sure you know concepts is to teach them! And thank you for the compliments on my model. I absolutely love Yam! I connect with her much more than my previous avatar! I am designing her a new outfit and working on her 2.0 rig to improve things as we speak!
@@YamAlbat Wow, you put so much hard work into this. 🥺✨ It was well worth the effort, because you were clear, relatable, and engaging. It may have taken a long time to get the writing for this video done just the way you want it, but it was well worth the time spent. :D
And that’s so exciting that you’re creating a new outfit and updated rig for Yam. It’s obvious how much this means to you! Thank you for sharing your journey, and I look forward to all you have to share. Also. Thank you so much for responding to my comment! Your time is valuable and I’m very grateful. Please have a great day! :3
Really fun watching your thought on vtuber models at the same time Its true that I got my interest in the design first before the characters of the talent (I usually choose the eyecatching models to stan)
I agree that I'm definitely more inclined to give a VTuber with a model I like a try. Once I'm there though, the main appeal becomes more about their personality. Appealing designs are great for getting people in the door~☆
Ollie actually hits very well on all 5 categories the complete opposite of her genmate amya who only has 2 of the 5 done well
Ollie truly is an exceptionally outstanding VTuber design!
character design is my favourite thing as an artist, so a vtuber channel centered around design fits my nieche to a T!
So glad to hear that! I’ve got many VTuber design videos to come!
Ignoring other factors for a moment, my favourite VTuber models are Botan, Nene, Gura, Calli, Mumei and Kobo from Hololive, Finana and Rosemi from Nijisanji and independent designs like Haruka, Pikame, Kson, Woohoolad and Shylily.
I agree, those are all great designs! There's so many great designs out there it was very hard to narrow down my examples for the video!
This video was really heckin informative i gotta say! Also as someone who is interested in joinin in the vtuber fun, I havent gotten much success in desgining my own vtuber look but would totally love to learn a lot through other vtuber designs
Glad to hear it! Whether you join in as a VTuber or just participate in other VTuber's content, I think it's always fun to learn about VTuber design so you can further appreciate what makes them shine!
Great video, a lot of these ideas can be transferred to regular content creators. Making yourself stand out is vital.
Agreed! Thanks for supporting the channel!
thanks for the video!
Thank you for supporting my content!
Oh my goodness, Lorelei!!!!! What a throwback, it was like seeing an old friend! Great informative video thank you!!
😭 aaaaaa Genevieve! So glad to see you in my comments section! I'm sorry I've shed the nymph persona, but I do feel like bat fits me way better 🧡
My Lorelei days were a lot of fun though! Someone had to take the bullet as the "what not to do" example and I wasn't going to do to anyone else 🥲
Underrated channel!, This video is very informative , If art school has teacher like you I will never sleep in class💖💕
That is the highest level of all compliments! Thank you so much!
this was a really good video, thank you for making it it helped me a lot
Thank you for saying so 🧡
i actually really like your old character. the lil vines growing out of the dirt in her boots, is super cute imo. and one of my guesses was actually nymph, but only cuz i saw art of her sitting on a lilypad haa but just from the base design, yeah i would be hard to guess. i think i saw you or someone comment, shes be cute as little gam charcter or something. and i agree. i can just imagine her running around taking care of her garden and her mob of froggies. thank you so much for your informative videos! ive been interested in vtubers this past year and have been slowly getting into them. im slow tho cuz theres alot of exploring to do and i have too many interests haa. but i really love the idea of vtubing and want to make my own design someday. weither i use it or not, i feel like it would be so much fun. similar interests in VRchat for that reason. i just want to make a design i can wear. anyways, ur channel recently came up in my recommends, i assume cuz ive been clicking on more and more vtube stuff. i adore your bat model and appreciate you helping me learn more about all this!
I like Rushia’s design it is a very minimalist simple design that maximizes on cuteness that is then betraying by her antics making it funny. The color choice is also good.
I agree! Her color scheme is personally very appealing to me. I love that the artist took inspiration from a blue morpho butterfly 🦋 for the color scheme and theming of her model. Pair that with the pop of red of her eyes made hers such a striking VTuber design!
Great video! Someone's finally filling in the niche of this type of content that's definitely lacking in the vtuber community.
Aw thank you! I'll try and make more videos like this one soon~☆
4:25 my beloafed 😭
Sana is Eternal! 🥺🌌
I’ll definitely be taking this videos advice into consideration
Glad you found this video helpful!
Trying to apply this to my upcoming VRoid redesign + my future future model commission...
I think silhouette should be ok (bit limited with Vroid). Top half concentration could use some work. Color palette... I don't really get color theory or how to make it work with what I've envisioned, hmm... Clarity is going to be a nightmare because it seems like it is in direct contradiction to Silhouette (more distinct shapes/protrusions) and Top half concentration (condensed features) are in contrast to Clarity wanting to keep things clear and simple. As for unique visual identity... that's hard to do with VRoid being as limited as it is (without knowing how to manipulate Unity/Blender or 3D design), but I think my final concept is definitely unique enough!
This was great to learn, I feel like there should be more researched videos like these!
"Color palette... I don't really get color theory or how to make it work with what I've envisioned" I can encourage you to find pre-made color palettes while you learn more about color theory!
"Clarity is going to be a nightmare because it seems like it is in direct contradiction to Silhouette" I was feeling that way for a while too! Try to think of it more like this: does every detail efficiently contribute to BOTH silhouette and clarity?" Here's an example: Calliope Mori has a giant scythe on her back. This both helps her silhouette's interesting shape AND contributes to clarifying her theme of grim reaper! This is a tough thing to accomplish in Vroid since you cannot add too much outside the mesh of the VTuber.
"As for unique visual identity... that's hard to do with VRoid being as limited as it is (without knowing how to manipulate Unity/Blender or 3D design), but I think my final concept is definitely unique enough!" So glad to hear you are confident in the concept! Honestly, having a solid concept will help you have a more unique design further down the line if you ever decide to invest in a live 2D or Blender model!
Best of luck to you on your VTuber journey!
Hi I just want to say this is an amazing video and it really helped me out,thank you so much,you’re truly amazing
Thank you for the support!
This was very helpful, as I am planning out a vtuber to commission. I wanted to see the things I should look for, and I got a perfect list! Thank you so so much!!
So glad you can put my guide to good use! I wish you the best on your VTuber endeavors! Glad you are supporting an artist's work~☆
@@YamAlbat Thank you so much! You actually have no idea how much this video helped me. I was worried the character design I was going to use might've been too bland, and that's been confirmed. But thankfully you described what to look for so well and so simply that I have no doubt i'll get them looking their best in no time! Thank you again, and have a lovely earth cycle!
This is such a well structured and helpful video, thank you! I already knew most of the tips but seeing them again with some examples hits different too. I really neglected the top-half aspect in my first two models which is why I really want to update the outfit and hair of my character. But even then, I think the silhouette advice is something I might still have to look into more in detail. Thank you again!
Thank you for saying so. Best of luck on all your VTuber design endeavors~☆
@@YamAlbat thank you!! Do you only stream on youtube or also twitch?
I'm currently streaming very rarely on twitch.tv/yamkoumori but I want to switch to TH-cam for streaming when I am eligible for the TH-cam partner program!
@@YamAlbat ahh I see thank you! I'll give a follow there ;w;
This was very helpful! I may just have to check back with my drawing board and try to come up with some additions to my model to make the silhouette more interesting and bring some asymmetry to it as well.
Glad you found it helpful!