How to use a Vtuber Base the right way?

Have you ever wondered how to turn a Vtuber base into your own OC? How to change the skin color, or maybe how to change the proportions? Well, worry not, fam, I gotcha!

Hey, Strangers! Bitsy Tandem here, to help you make your Vtubers in the most efficient way possible! So you can get back to important the more things in life, like napping.

Vtuber Base Customization Process

So when you are building a Vtuebr Model (with a base or not) the last thing you want is for your Model to turn out looking like everyone else’s. Let me walk you through how to use a Vtuber base the right way so that your model is one step ahead of the game before you even put hair on them!

Step 1 – How to set up Symmetry in Clip Studio Paint

One big problem for first-time Vtuber model artists is fear of the Symmetry tool. The best way to combat this is to understand the ins and outs of what this function CAN do, and what it CAN’T.

To access Clip Studio Paint’s symmetry ruler, tap on the ruler button in your tool menu. This is shown as a triangle icon. Next, click on the “Sub Tool” menu and click on the “Symmetrical ruler” button. Note: There are tons of ways you can change the setting of this ruler to get it to make neat Mandalas and other patterns. But for us, all we need are the default setting.

Now comes the Hard Part, Centering the ruler!

First, make sure your canvas size is set to an even number of pixels (I like to use 8000×8000 to keep things nice and tidy.), next you want to turn on the CSP Ruler Grid which will enable you to find the center line. You may need to count the squares on both sides of the canvas to find the middle as CSP has no easy center option. To make this easier I change the Grid setting to around 400x400px to get a nice size square.

Step 2 – Resize your Vtuber Model Base

After you find the middle, Simply hold down the “shift” key as you drag your symmetry line vertically. This will make it snap to a vertical or horizontal position. Be sure to drag the ruler over onto the Full Model folder itself, so that it will affect everything inside of it.

Pro Tip: Make sure the Model you have bought is ACTUALLY in the center of the line, sometimes they are not and OH BOY is that wild, haha!

Now we can start changing proportions and resizing your model base. One of the best things about the Symmetry Ruler is that it affects the Selection Tool! This means you can drag any old messy rectangle and it will always be perfectly in line, this way you can copy/paste and flip anything from one side to the other.

Step 3 – Vtuber Base Skin Recoloring

Let’s talk about Gradient Maps and Adjustment Layers! Using a color correction layer in combo with the CSP Layer effects can help you recolor your base’s body into a very realistic and believable new skin tone.

Unlike an Adjustment Layer that will only affect your color at a single hue. A Clip Studio Paint Gradient Map will allow you to vary the hues used when making color effects. There are two ways to access Gradient Maps:

• Edit > Tonal Correction > Gradient Map will apply a gradient map to the layer you are currently working on.
• Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map will create an adjustment layer above your selected layer, which can be edited and adjusted later.

I prefer to use the latter way of creating a new layer so you can easily Clip to a layer below, Multiply the color, or copy/paste and move the map to specific places.

You can find a ton of premade Gradient Maps over on Clip Studio Assets, HERE.

Step 4 – Detailing

Once you have your skin tone, it is time to take your Vtuber Model Base and customize it to really look like your OC. I recommend making a new layer for each add-on, and later if they can be merged down then you can do that.

Now, there are actually 2 ways to make the art for a Live2D Vtuber.

• Painterly Vtuber – Where you make all the colors work together and merge them down onto a single layer such as L_ARM_TOP. This way is best for beginners seeing as there are fewer moving parts. But what you gain in simplicity and art style, you will lose in movement.
• High Movement Vtuber – This is an advanced way to make a Vtuber where you keep all coloring layers (Flat, Detail, Shadow, Light) and the line art separate. Using the Live2D Masking functions to create the most mobile Vtuber Models. But you will have to keep track of and Rig way more layers.

Feel free to work in whatever way you feel comfortable! And if you are wanting to make some High Motion Vtuber Models but don’t know where to start then Sub to my Youtube channel as I will be getting into more detail on that later.

One thing to note when working with a Vtuber Model Base, they are usually set up in the Painterly Style. So if you want to go hard, then you may need to cut and rework some color layers for a more advanced model.

Step 5 – Cut into R_ and L_

After your OC is looking good, you need to cut them in half. Well, not straight down the middle, but into Left (L_) and Right (R_). The head, chest, torso, hips, and other middle parts can stay as they are.

To make the rigging process easier, I highly recommend putting naming your layers like this:

R_Arm_Top_Line

R_Arm_Top_Light

R_Arm_Top_Color

L_Arm_Top_Line

L_Arm_Top_Light

L_Arm_Top_Color

I always put the side at the front of the name, and I also make sure to keep R items above their L counterparts. Make sense? Great! Because once that is pretty much it.

When your OC is clothed, cut, and ready to export, be sure to do so as a .PSD file so that you can easily drag and drop it into Live2D.

How to use a Vtuber Base, Conclusion

So… That was a lot!

And we have only just scratched the tip of the Vtuber Creation iceberg. But I do hope this helps you make your newest Vtuber Baby even bigger and better than before! If you have any questions, then drop a comment and I will see if I can help you out. Or you can at me on Twitter @TheBitzr :3

If all of this has been a bit overwhelming then, well then I would like to let you know that if you would appreciate having some help turning your OC into a Vtuber then you can hire me to do it for you <3, view my portfolio HERE and check for pricing over on my carrd.

Thank you so much for reading!

Stay Strange,

Bitsy the Alien