Today's topic is VRoid, my personal recommendation when it comes to beginner 3D character creation.
Let's start with VRoid Studio!
VRoid Studio is a free to use character-creating program that aims to make 3D character creation more accessible. The base for every part of the body, hair, and outfit, is included and can be painted on like a sculpture. Since creators don't have to model their own parts, it's very beginner-friendly.
All details are drawn on, instead of individually sculpted. The con of this is losing some customization with your model. There are sliders for things like height, arm span, hand size, and so on, but they all have a set range and some parts of the base can't be adjusted. Your characters will always be humanoid in shape.
For people who want only humanoid characters, though, it's an excellent choice. You can draw hair on, there are several included options for you to use in terms of customization, and the links this program has to the others that will be explained in later posts makes it both extremely versatile and the heart of VRoid as a whole.
Even if you can't draw what you want to make, there are plenty of free to use assets available online at places like booth.pm! My avatar actually is an example of this. I'm using the 'VRoid【Free / 無料】小さな庭セット Mini Garden Set' outfit by bikonos. Isn't it cute? I love the pattern on the sleeves. If you're willing to dabble in image editing software (something I do regularly), you can splice different pieces together to make your avatar unique!
Hold up! About Free Assets!
But if you do use free assets, please check the terms of use first! (What the creator does or doesn't approve of you doing with the asset). I'll break down some of the more common ones here (though not all, because terms are decided by individual creators) :
Commercial Usage : This means whether or not you can use the item in any way that makes you money. This includes using it in advertisements, your own products you intend to sell, etc. Many assets will have a more expensive 'commercial license' option, where you can pay extra to have these permissions.
Redistribution : Creators are extremely serious about sharing files. Generally speaking, all paid files (files that cost money to access) are labelled as 'No Redistribution'. This means that once you access the file, you're agreeing that you won't share it with anyone else. Generally, even with free assets, distributors want you to link to their page instead of posting or sending the file yourself. For paid products, sharing files would be digital piracy (stealing), but even for free products it reduces the creator's reach and potentially prevents them from drawing in interested customers.
Credit : Whether or not you're expected to include the creator's name somewhere in the work that you're using their creation in as a credit. Most free assets will require you to credit them! It's good practice to bookmark or save the distribution page (or creator name) of every asset you use in your work.
Expression : Whether or not it's acceptable for the item to appear in certain types of controversial content. This includes adult content, political or religious content, and violent content. These each can have different permissions, depending on the creator.
Editing : Whether or not you're allowed to modify the file when you receive it. From what I've seen, edits for personal use only that you keep to yourself are generally considered perfectly acceptable. Avoid sharing edits unless the model maker says it's okay!
If you're ever unsure about something in the terms, or you can't tell if something you want to do is against the terms or not, contact the creator! From my experience, creators are very kind as long as you're trying to be respectful of both them and their terms, so don't be scared to tell them about your idea and ask for permission!
That's all for today! The next part will be in the next post! In the meantime, let me know if you want to see a specific topic or have any questions, and thank you for reading!
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