How To Rig VTuber Models For Most Popular Tools - Dere★Project

How To Rig VTuber Models For Most Popular Tools

by Bilal · September 16, 2022

VTubing has become popular in recent years. Gone are the days when you had to pay through the nose to get yourself a VTuber model. With the surge in popularity of VTubing, there are now multiple tools on the market that you can use to create a VTuber model for free. Today, you are going to learn how to rig VTuber models with the most popular tools out there.

Whether you are a person who wants to learn to rig a VTuber model for yourself or an artist who wants to learn to rig, this guide is going to help you with your goals.

Table of contents

Rigging

Today, you can find tons of VTuber model software on the market. But which one is right for you? And what tool should you invest your precious time in to learn to rig a VTuber model? Watch these tutorials and, based on the difficulty level, functionality, and options, decide for yourself which one you like the most.

Rig Live 2D VTuber Models With Live 2D Cubism

Live 2D Cubism is the most popular software used by many artists to rig a VTuber model. Even amateur VTubers have learned to use Live 2D Cubism to rig their own VTuber models for free. Here are some great tutorials to watch to learn how to rig.

VTuber Eyes Tutorials For Live 2D

Rigging VTuber model's eyes
Rigging VTuber model’s eyes

In the following video, you’ll learn to illustrate VTubers eyes and set up a folder of parameters for each eye needed for physics in Live 2D Cubism. You’ll also learn to add meshes to the eyebrow, eyelash and iris. For detailed movement of your VTuber model’s eyeball and its elements, including its pupil, you’ll learn eyeball XY as well.

In the latter part of the video, you’ll find out how to make your VTuber model’s eyes blink and how to make them move when your model smiles!

Layer division reference:

This is the second part of the video above, where you’ll learn more about eye rigging with Live 2D Cubism. Give it a watch!

VTuber Mouth Tutorial For Live 2D Cubism

2D VTuber model mouth rigging
2D VTuber model mouth rigging

The following video is the first part of the series to learn how to rig your VTuber model’s mouth. In this video, you will learn about meshes, mouth forms, and the mouth openings of your VTuber model. This is a great tutorial for realistic lip-readable movement, so a must watch!

Here is part two of the series, where you’ll learn to stick your VTuber model’s tongue out and, additionally, the general physics of its mouth. A true lesson in anatomy!

VTuber Model’s Eyebrows Tutorial For Live 2D Cubism

The following is a separate video tutorial for eyebrows where you’ll learn to rig your VTuber model’s eyebrows to be more detailed and add more realism. You can learn it pretty quickly as this video teaches you all that in under six minutes. That’s fast!

Rigging The Head XY Of Your VTuber Model With Live 2D

For head movement, we chose a two part tutorial series. In the first part you are going to learn head X which you can watch below:

A huge tip for beginners is that if you’ve already rigged mouth movement and other things like blinking, etc., make sure to put the head XY deformer within the movement deformer. i.e., put the head XY deformer within the mouth deformer as a “child” and the mouth deformer as a “parent”!

Layer division reference:

Following is the second part of the head XY series, where you will learn to rig the head Y of your VTuber model.

Rigging Your VTuber Model’s Body XY With Live 2D Cubism

In this first video tutorial of the two-part series, you’ll learn to move your VTuber model’s body to the left and right.

  • 1:30 Rigging your VTuber model’s body for a broader movement
  • 5:36 Rigging your VTuber model’s outfit to move along with your model’s body.

Watch this second part of the tutorial to learn the body Y movement of your VTuber model.

  • 2:00 Rigging your VTuber model’s chest for Y movement (up and down).
  • 4:50 Rigging the outfit of your VTuber model for up and down movement.

Chest Physics Of Your VTuber Model With Live 2D Cubism

This next video tutorial will help you learn why you should always have your draw order correct. And how to rig the chest of your VTuber model to have that perfect lewd movement that will always have your audience’s eyes on you!

  • 2:40 Draw order
  • 6:04 Chest Physics of your VTuber model

How To Rig Puffy Cheeks For You VTuber Model That Are Trackable

Puffy cheeks make your VTuber model look as cute as a kitten. Learn how to rig them by watching the following video tutorial:

Creating And Rigging 3D VTuber Models With Blender

When it comes to 3D VTuber models, there is no match for Blender. You can even turn your amateur VTuber model created in software like VRoid Studio into a dank-looking 3D VTuber model with excellent physics and realistic movement.

This video series of tutorials will help you cover almost all the elements of a 3D Vtuber model. From the head to the toe of your VTuber model, you can rig anything in Blender.

So without further ado, let’s get straight to 3D modeling with Blender to rig your VTuber model!

How To Model A VTuber 3D Avatar’s Base In Blender From Scratch

The following video tutorial will teach you how to create a 3D VTuber model in Blender from scratch. You’ll learn to make the base of your VTuber model, including its face, body, and all other elements.

  • 0:57 The head base
  • 1:56 The body base
  • 2:41 The basic hand
  • 3:26 The basic feet
  • 4:08 How to use the character sheet to make your 3D VTuber model’s body
  • 4:45 How to use the character sheet to make your 3D VTuber model’s face

Reference sheet to be used for the whole tutorial for Blender:

View post on imgur.com

Coloring Your 3D VTuber Model Base In Blender

In the following video, you’ll learn to UV unwrap your 3D VTuber model’s base, coloring your model’s base and texture painting the whole thing.

  • 0:19 How to UV unwrap your 3D model’s base in Blender 
  • 3:03 Start to color the model’s base 
  • 5:17 How to texture paint 
  • 7:00 How to texture paint the ears, hands, and feet of your 3D VTuber model’s base

How To Rig A 3D model for VTubing in Blender

Finally, the video tutorial you’ve all been waiting for, the 3D model rigging tutorial! In this video, you’ll learn how to create an armature rig and how to weight paint your 3D VTuber model.

  • 0:26 How to create an armature 
  • 4:48 How to weight paint your 3D VTuber model

Using Blender To Rig Model’s Face

Watch this tutorial to learn rigging the face of your 3D VTuber model including its eyelashes, pupils, and pupils for blinking and eye movement. You’ll also learn rigging your model’s face for trackable mouth and realistic lip movement.

  • 0:48 How to rig the model’s head 
  • 0:57 Rigging eyelashes and eyelids (Blinking) 
  • 3:08 Rigging mouth

You’ll need this cat plugin for Blender to rig your VTuber avatar:
Cat Blender Plugin Github

How To Create And Rig Hair For A 3D model

Hair rigging is a make-or-break factor in your VTuber model. If the physics of your hair is wrong, your whole character will look unnatural. Learn how to create and rig your VTuber model’s hair like a pro!

  • 0:24 How to model hair for your 3D VTuber Avatar 
  • 6:15 How to rig the hair of your VTuber model

How To Create a VTuber Model Without Rigging

If you have gone through this article and decided that rigging a model isn’t your cup of tea, don’t worry. There are some programs that you can use to create a VTuber model without having to sweat about rigging. These include VRoid Studio, Vtube Studio, etc.

We are going to create a guide on these soon. So stay tuned for that.

Wrapping It Up

If you are a VTuber who wants to make a free2D or a 3D VTuber model for yourself, you would be on a whole other level of skills now after going through this guide. Even if you are a professional artist who wants to learn to rig, this guide is a pinnacle of knowledge and an amazing review to polish your skills.

Good luck with your careers!

FAQs

Where do VTubers get their models?

VTubers go to the artists to commission a VTuber model, or they make it themselves using software like Live2D, VRoid Studio, Blender, etc.

What is VTuber rigging?

VTuber rigging is the process of adding bones for movement to your VTuber model. Joints are added to a static model so it has a point where movement can happen.

How do people make VTuber models?

People make VTuber models using software like Live2D, VRoid Studio, Blender, etc.

Tags: dere projectderedeckRigging a VTuber ModelVTuberVTuber Models

Bilal

Beyond my knack for writing great content, I'm also a massive VTuber fan! There's something about the virtual world that has me hooked—watching VTubers stream games, getting entertained by their shenanigans, and connecting with their audience is awesome. When I'm not busy spending hours going over a single paragraph to find the right sentence that just ties the whole thing together (if you are a writer, you'd know the struggle is real), you'll likely catch me chilling out, watching my favorite VTubers do their thing.

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