[00:00] Hello everyone, I'm Monika. And today we're going to talk about such an important thing in vtubing as vtuber character design. There are actually
[00:13] actually a lot of character design videos out there but I haven't seen anything like this for youtubers and I think it's a separate topic topic that can basically be dealt with. And let's get started then. The first thing to consider when creating your vtuber character is the idea of the channel, its theme, character and lore (if you
[00:31] have one) It's easier for those who rely on their real lives without any lore and those who want to do content like talk streams, karaoke streams or game streams.
[00:45] But if you want to go for a different kind of content, like telling some scary stories, then let's face it, a cute kawaii character would be a little off-putting. You can also if you want. And you can lean on any of them. If it's easier for you to follow
[01:05] a certain plan, rules, you can find one that suits you. For example, if you take a dark academia aesthetic, then your character will be mysterious. Perfect for telling some
[01:19] scary stories, since we took that as an example. Now that we've thrown some ideas together, we should head to Pinterest for references. It's better not to look for abstract photos, but for outfits and clothes. The visual image of your character should be starting to take shape.
[01:36] When all the preparations are done we can now make a sketch. Here we have to base ourselves on the character that we have thought up before and on our references. In character design, lines and shapes have a very important role. For example, rounded lines are present
[01:53] in cute, feminine, soft characters.  Sharp, vivid characters have traingles. And the shape of the square is used when
[02:07] the character is reliable, stable, calm. So you can use visual language here, too. So that looking at your virtual avatar you can understand something about you. But the visual language of character creation is not limited to lines. Details in character creation are very important.
[02:24] These details should tell about your character and preferably as much as possible. But at the same time, try not to overload the design. This can be seen on almost any created character when ever,
[02:36] for example the same Sailor Moon, which the tails it sends ears bunny, for example the same Sailor Moon, which the tails it sends ears bunny, and the sailor herself on what a schoolgirl. So it's like the bunny - schoolgirl.
[02:50] And so we already remember her because we've seen these visuals and looking at her design we can tell a lot. And especially for this, I also decided to create a little sketch of this design for the vtuber. I decided that it would be this kind of cute waitress. The idea came up spontaneously
[03:05] spontaneously and besides the uniform is similar to this one in a maid-café, but it also reminds of a Japanese school uniform - seifuku, with its bow and this skirt.
[03:19] And with that we let the viewer know that she's not just a waitress, but also kind of a schoolgirl. She has a strawberry on her head and strawberry print on her socks, which is more of a summer-themed thing,
[03:31] like a summer café, suggesting that she's working part-time at some café in the summer. Again, look, she has a lot of rounded lines. To show that she is such a cute girl. Next, we need to choose colours for your Vtuber character. Obviously,  the palette can reflect not only the character, but also the occupation, for example, or refer to an animal.
[04:12] In this design I decided to do such a warm, summery palette, not to stray from those summer colours and show that the character is so warm fun in itself. And I probably really want to use yellow colours and red.
[04:27] As you can see, I made two paint options to decide which is best. The first option seems warmer and more in tune with my idea and the second option, it's still quite stylish but seems cooler not reflecting my idea strongly enough.
[04:40] Especially the fact that there's such a bright blue here too. And the Dark Hair, it all plays differently on the perception of the characters too. So I think I'll keep the first option, though.
[04:53] And then there's a rather difficult subject to understand, especially for a non-artist. Namely silhouette. In order to explain how silhouette works, I found png pictures of the Hololive vtubers and now I'm painting them black.
[05:05] As you can see, we don't have any details other than the silhouette, but you can still figure out who is in front of you. And this is a sign that the girls in Hololive have very good character design. The character should be read not only by the colour combination and details, but also by the silhouette.
[05:21] This is to make the viewer's brain immediately perceive who it is we're standing here. And so that you're not confused with anyone else. For example, on my current vtuber avatar I have deliberately made my hair slightly unrealistic
[05:36] and slightly wrong, just to be able to understand the silhouette. And so in the design I'm drawing now, the silhouette is also understandable.
[05:52] I painted over it and checked it out, and it's working out fine. Of course I have to correct a couple of things and probably raise the rim higher, but overall, as you see, everything is understandable. And you need to make it readable in your design, too. Obviously, these aren't all tricks for good character design. If you're interested in this topic,
[06:08] I highly recommend delving deeper into it. That's all Thank you for watching. Like, comment, subscribe to the channel, and that's it, see you soon, thanks a lot everyone, bye bye.