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May 2021

So over the course of just a few days I've managed to make a Vtuber model for free! I'd like to see what other artists here end up creating.

Here's the list of software I used:
On Steam:: Download "VRoid Studio" https://store.steampowered.com/app/1486350/VRoid_Studio_v0131/12 ((is used to make the model))
On Steam:: Download "3Tene" https://store.steampowered.com/app/871170/3tene/15 ((used to animate the model with or without webcam, has emote animations built in you can hotkey))
With Pixiv account (you can make one with a google login):: Download VDraw (Free Trial) https://ogulabo.booth.pm/items/9393897 ((with just mic audio, animates the face very well, without expressions))
Regular download:: VSeeFace https://www.vseeface.icu/4 ((used to animate model with a slight wind, no emotes, various expression capture settings and ability to turn some off))

First and foremost is building the model (with VRoid). I used the base male model, adjusted the eyes basically like a Sims game. In the hair section, I figured out how to do "layers" of hair to build up and down the hair. The coloring highlights and shadows is important but less so at this stage inside this program as you'll see.
Here's a highlight of me working on the hair for the first time in VRoid. Deleting and adjusting layers as I play with the webbing.
Below is a link to a highlight video, at least 20min long of hair being built

the rest of the twitch links are to 30sec or shorter clips
After you're done with your model, adjust the expressions and other such things. Keep in mind you can import and export things like the irises. Highlights can also be on their own section and do not NEED to be on the iris. I just liked the look. I've also mirroed my eyes, but you don't have to.
Here's VRoid's default, and then the one I built by eyeballing (ha... pun) what Albedo's eyes look like in Genshin Impact.

From there, "Export" (if you're just doing testing and such at first, or gonna be compressing down like I am for streaming, make sure to change the "materials" count down to 2 or 4. It'll be in a drop down on the left somewhere in the Export menu area). OH before you export make sure you go to the "Bone" section somewhere in the Export or Hair or Body section. It's somewhere. Without the "bones" it's hair will be a statue on your head.
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After that with the .vrm file, you just need to load it up or import it into a model reader software which is where the other programs come in.

First on the list is testing VDraw with just a microphone. No webcam.

Next is 3tene. This one requires prob the most CPU it seems since it's also a login to Steam + the program. Without a webcam. It has built in emotes like the Stretching I use a hotkey to trigger. It also has "breathing" that's pretty obvious.

Then in VSeeFace there's a few settings.
First is "Simple" expression tracking. It means your model will only access the Fun / Angry / Shocked expressions that you've set up for it. This test was done with a webcam.


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Next up is VSeeFace with "No Expression" tracking vs "No Face Detection". "No Face Detection" means no webcam on at all, and it just reacts to your voice. This program does not have a "breathing" it seems, but you can turn on a wind and control the direction and intensity levels.


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PLEASE let me know if you have questions. I am happy to offer help with this very odd but fun exercise I've done over the last few days. I think VRoid has pressure sensitivity capabilities because all of the hair I made with my tablet. And when working on the eyes at first, it seemed like I had access to pressure changes with the brushes built into the program too.

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    May '21
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For fun, I also opened it up and tweaked the model to make it a chibi and tried building up a "top" ontop of the vest's artwork. Not terrible but... very odd.
Especially the neck trying to balance the giant head as it moves hahahahahahah It's a little terrifying.

This came out pretty cool! I've often considered trying the Vtuber model thing (especially since people who make custom ones as adoptables can potentially make good cash) But I just haven't had the time yet. It's good to hear that it's not such a huge wall to scale that I thought it would be.

I honestly didn't expect to find VRoid, the thing to make the model for free, to be literally so EASY to manage. It's like a step by step, work from the menu options left to right and then BAM. You're done. Especially once I learned about the export/importing as a possibility I was able to make the eyes as pretty as I wanted.

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Did another test with different hair shades/colors so I could build the "bones" for the hair animation myself. It's kind of fun to tweak things around. You can even go nuts with the gravity or bounciness lol

Oh! Thanks for sharing! I had no idea there were free softwares for this!! :smile:

I'm not sure if you can get VRoid without Steam, but even Steam is a free account so

:hohoho:

Go forth, my children, and show me all of the army!

Also before I forget. Here's a test from earlier today. The hair has different bones than in this test now, but it's more or less the same (except if you look at the far back left clump of hair and how it's not moving, that's fixed now.)

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3 months later
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My adventure continues! I am now building for a Live2D avatar

Sections of the hair are seperate from each other, from a "back" piece of the hair which is the farthest back thing. Each sleeve is seperate from the vest/seperate from each hand @_@ It'll be interesting to see how things come along. Biggest key is name the layers/once flattened entirely to the correct thing! "eyelash R" and such.

For example, the center lock of hair is a single "lock" on a single layer. Lines, shadows,coloring, everything is merged into a single layer.

Oh and from what I googled, you need to have all your assets ready before you import into the live2d program. IE open mouth / lips top and bottom / happy eyes in case you want to program that expression different from a blink

i also want to learn Live2D, but it looks like tedious work and I need to make my comic :sob: :sob: :sob:

It's been kind of tedious so far but all the work I've done has taken me maybe 2 or 3 days. Not muuuuuch longer than the VRoid honestly. The Vroid was just shorter because all of the bones/ect were auto generated with animation in the program itself, and the UI made it really straight forward. In Live2D everything is manual by comparison.

Your character looks so cute in the chibi form. I might just learn it too cuz it looks so great.

I originally made a 2D vtuber, first I drew the whole model in Clip Studio Paint and saved it in a PSD file which I rigged on Live2D Cubism, it was a lot of work despite how simple my model is as it doesn't have textures, expressions, items, animation and more.

First I downloaded the trial version

Then followed both beginner and experienced tutorials by DreamTrove

Finally, I've used my model on Vtube Studio

I did a simple avatar without shadows or highligts, even less effects or reactions. It's not a perfect rigging either


I don't use my model, my computer can't handle having OBS Studio, Clip Studio Paint and Vtube Studio open at the same time, it just began to freeze everything and crash.
As well I don't stream much, but currently I use VeadoTube Mini and use a png avatar.

I don't like how the last few hours of the day I've spent scanning looking for a Live2D software that can work off of just the mic like the 3Dtuber softwares can :cry_02: Like what even... is this? My machine can't handle the webcam running without getting hot.

I did try out Vtube Studio (decent movement but showed a lot of issues with the transitions from the eyes opening closing and mouth issues for things vanishing and not) and PRPR Live (shows the issues with the mouth, but not with the eyes for some reason? and is WAY less noticable overall)

So for the moment, took a few pics of the avatar from the Vtube Studio though... I could've just done it with the stupid art program huh lol and set it up for a PNGtuber. I currently run a PNGtuber off of the Discord/Mic setting in my OBS (as a browser) and it works like a dream.

I hiiiiighly recommend you trying it out. At the very least doing the wee poking around that I've been doing has helped give a sense of 3D space and perspective. It's been like a fun game.
The hardest part is just drawing it so that the parts that you want to animate seperately need to be drawn seperate. IE the hair lock like an ice cream swirl on the top of the head is 1 piece of art as it's own layer, so in the live2d software, I can put on a radial or deformer worms and modify it to swish about freely from the rest of the hair.

This is one tutorial series I saw which clearly the person is using the PAID version of live2d editor. In the free you're limited by the number of points on a timeline you can put (among other things)

This is the MAIN and BEST tutorial I found.

**small note:: you can animate breathing FIRST before anything else if you want and without doing the "physics" file, breathing is included in the base avatar file. All the other animation is in the physics file and would need the set up from the engine (available in the free version, don't worry). I just thought that was an interesting thing since for my purposes I could almost rig everything to breathing lol since It'd be a cool idle animation I could loop

i guess this is the world telling me to get off my lazy ass and try learning Live2D :joy::laughing::tired_face: