Denpa Darling

Becoming a VTube and obtaining a custom model can be intimidating! Hopefully this guide can helo simplify and streamline the process for you. *Note this is only about the model itself, not other assets such as logos, schedules, overlays, etc. I may add those in the future thougth!

There are three basic components to a VTuber model: the design, the model art, and the rig.

• The Design: The core character concepts and details of your character. 
• The Model Art: The illustration file that is animated by the rigger
• The Model Rig: The animated skeleton that makes your model move in your motion capture software

The design:

 The core concepts and appearance of your model, what makes you you.

This does NOT usually include the actual model art. Concept design and VTuber model illustration are very different skillsets, not every artists provides both. Some (like me) do offer both, but many artists only offer one or the other.

The details of the process may vary from artist to artist, but generally the character design process goes as follows: You contact the artist and explain the basics of what kind of design you are wanting. They will usually ask for references at this stage. They could accept any random references, or ask for them in a specific format. please feel free to send us as many references as possible, from general to detailed. You can provide real life photographs, video game characters, other VTubers, anything you find that you like and communicates something you want in your design. A basic sketch from yourself, even if you aren't an amazing artist, helps a lot! After the references are sent over, there may be some back and forth quetions and siscussion to gather more information and obtain clarification on certain details.

From this point on, the artist will send you multiple iterations of sketches and the two of you will go back and forth with these sketches until you decide on a finalized design. Some key notes to expect to be brought up in this process from an experienced designer are: design silhouette, color scheme, key design elements, and character feel. (define these in detail better)

When commissioning a VTuber design, you might recieve a few different types of deliverables depending on exactly what the artist offers. You may get a neat and organized character sheet, or simply a clean sketch (see examples below). The objective of this deliverable is to clearly communicate the major design details, so it may not be rendered or shaded in detailed. Your artist should state clearly what the final deliverable will be and give visual examples. Whatever the final deliverable is, your model artist will be creating the VTuber model based off of it's guidance.

The Model Art:

Half of the magic behind VTubers! From this point on it is advised to have your artist and rigger be in communication with eachother. While there are general cutting guidelines that I will go over below, some riggers may request specific parts of the art file be cut in a certain way to best achieve the affect the client wants or to best preserve the artist's style while animating the still image. 

random points:

• not all artists consent to have the psd edited, some want to ask etc
• - has to be in a psd
• layers can only be add and multiply
• layers organization checklist

The Model Rig:

The other half of the magic, what makes the art move and respond to motion tracking.