Exploring VRoid

For this blogpost, I will be exploring the program VRoid. VRoid is a program created by pixiv (aka that anime fanart site) where their goal is to essentially make going from 2D to 3D for artists easier. The program from what I have seen is a base mesh that you can customize through sliders. I initially did not have much interest in this program because I just felt that the results through customization would be very minimal and you would basically have the same model every time. But I have decided to explore this because I think their hair feature is cool and I am getting lazy so maybe I can create some Frankenstein model out of a VRoid model and parts that I model.


Downloading VRoid:
 VRoid has a computer program and an app but the app is currently unavailable in our country(I would like to check it out eventually). Other than that there seems to be four various links: VRoid Studio, VRoid Hub, VRoid SDK, and VRoid WEAR. VRoid Hub looks like a place where you can share and download models and VRoid WEAR appears to be where they highlight various artists.


VRoid Studio is the actual program where you can create these models but from my current understanding is that in order to use the model outside of VRoid I will also need to download VRoid SDK(but I need to apply as a developer in order to get the program so we’ll see what I can do without it). VRoid Studio is free and has both a Windows and MacOS version.


 Exploring the Program:
In order to create a new model you click on “new avatar”. From there you will choose the gender. I’m not using a mouse so without one the controls are zooming by using your fingers, rotate using the right button and shifting the screen by holding the shift button and the left button(there also seems to be no way to change that). From there there are a bunch of sliders where you can customize your character. This is the same for the body editor.


 In the texture tab, you can select the textures you want to edit by selecting “layer” and then edit them. They also have a layer system so you do not have to draw on the photo. In the texture editor you can either do it on the model or on the UV. It also has a brush, erase and blend tool that you can use to make these textures. I also cannot find the texture files so we are stuck with this texturing method for now.


 I really liked the hair feature in this program because you simply draw the hair on. I had a lot fun playing around and overall it is very good but there is this mesh over the head that limits the hair length which is very constricting when it comes to hairstyles. For clothes, you basically have a very limited number of options to choose from which I find pretty disappointing but I could maybe use them as a base to make my own clothes.


Final Thoughts:
 That is basically all there is to editing these models. Currently, although the program is still in the works, I feel very limited when it comes to making the model especially for textures and hair despite both being cool features. I feel that if I can find a way to import these models in Blender and find their textures then I would really begin to rely on this program as a base mesh for my models in the future.