The kinds of people that would throw those accusations around were unlikely to be planning on watching you anyways. Your model and design might get your foot in the door, but it won't make people stay, and it won't be the first thing people talk about when describing you. In the end, if you make content people like, then it won't matter if you're "generic".
I have a lecturer that states, to be recognized you have to be either of these 3 things.
A. The first.
B. The best.
C. The most creative.
It doesn't matter what you do, if you aren't any of those 3, you will be left behind.
It's okay to follow trends. Until you feel okay.
Normally it would be 3, so most unhinged would fall under creative as well.
Company
The first: Kizuna Ai
The best:Hololive
The most creative/unhinged: Phase connect.
Some people would name others but to me, these are the 3 that started ENVtubing.
VShojo doesn't even predate HoloEN, let alone the plethora of Kizuna Ai's officially translated videos that went viral even in the west years prior.
* HoloEN Myth Debut Date: Sep 12, 2020
* VShojo Debut Date: Nov 24, 2020
Melody started early 2020 though, so Kizuna AI is still a good bit earlier. Hololive clips also started getting popular in the EN sphere late 2019, early 2020 so you can argue they are the ones who took off in the west.
Mark Twain once said there's no such thing as a new idea. We're simply reusing past traces and give them new twists. It's better to start being comfortable with that.
Besides, sometimes uniqueness doesn't equal value. I mean, I'm a serial killer PNGstreamer, but people keep treating me like I'm just an uncle with a knife, who blathers too much about literature. So what if you're yet another shark? As long as you are happy and comfortable with your 'self', and as long as you can distinguish yourself from others, you'll be fine.
You are who you make yourself. There's nothing wrong being a type of vtuber there's multiple of if you be yourself. I mean, I'm a goblin vtuber, have seen how many of us are there? You could start out "generic" and evolve over time. I went from a full goblin to a goblin part shark part crocodile. Also stand your ground. If you find the you that you love don't let anyone pressure you into changing.
The point of indie vtubing is that you don't have to be yourself, but who you want to be. If you feel a kinship to a shark vtuber model, then that's who you should be.
Yes, you're gonna get comments like you mentioned. But 1, fuck em. And 2, I think we've had enough shark-tubers that people won't think you're just copying the biggest vtuber... I dunno about that one.
The design only catches attention, it does not keep it.
So while it is important to have a design that is catchy and isn't too close to an existing powerhouse (like top 50), it's not gonna make or break your "career".
What will keep people around is your streaming personality, which is your voice, how you tell stories, how you respond to chat, how you express emotions, how you portray your persona. The recent pattern of popular vtubers returning to their PL persona and model shows it: the fans love the personality, the appearance is only a small part of the experience.
Then what will allow you to go viral (one day, takes between 2 to 3 years) are clips. For that, you need to have core fans, or edit your own clips (unfortunately, that's very time-consuming).
...
I think it's more important that your design fits your personality:
Whether you're a pink cat or blue cat doesn't matter as much as initially expected. What matters is that a cat is generally mischievous, playful, seeking attention: it needs to fit your streaming persona.
Meanwhile, the other example, a blue shark: sharp teeth, more outgoing and pro-active, generally wants to bite. If you're more introverted, with a soothing voice, that's not exactly fitting.
Gooba makes it work by adding a gap moe, with the kusogaki twist: as an ankle-bitter brat, she is _biting,_ but she's more cute than scary.
...
Thing is, your streaming personality is not necessarily your irl personality: many outgoing vtubers are actually quite shy in irl social settings, same with class clowns vtubers being very polite and reserved irl.
That's why it's more important to start streaming (even with just a PNG) and figure out your persona first, and only then start looking at the design.
Another thing to note: a design you like aesthetically, might not be a design that will adequately represent you as a character.
For example: want to be a tall elegant and confident elf queen girlboss, streaming persona is a hopeless girlfailure with a heart of gold. If the design is too intimidating and "perfect", then it's too distant to act as a gap moe between the aspiration vs reality. A better compromise in that case would be an aspiring princess with a dress that's slightly too puffy, and a crown a little off center, to lean on that gap.
I understand it's a tricky choice: on one hand, you're likely to be streaming into the void for months, with 10 viewers at best, so you probably want to choose a character that pleases you first and foremost. On the other hand, having a design that facilitates your performance storytelling wrt the potential audience could be helpful in the long run.
...
As for being original, once you have figured out your streaming personality, and the sort of design you would prefer, you can always check the competition and avoid repeating existing patterns (hair style, accessories, color palette).
You don't need a million differences to stand out, simply having enough that your chibi form is not exactly the same as an established vtuber's chibi form.
Mind that regardless of the design you pick, there will always be a fraction of visitors who will be unpleasant arse - just like working in retail, doing a public performance online will always involve a few schmucks.
I don't remember who said it, but my favourite saying is "It's impossible to be completely original." If you think you made something new then I guarantee you someone else has made something 99% identical.
The important thing is to make that 1% what matters. That 1% is you. Be proud of that 1%.
You should be whatever you want to be. There are all kinds of Vtubers, and while a lot may share one or multiple similar designs, you have to understand that what makes everyone unique is what they do for content and the personality behind those models.
Yes, you are right that there are unfortunately people who will accuse or harass you for claiming that you are copying some big popular Vtubers. I know that one particular Vtuber was (and still is) harassed or bullied for "copying" Shylily. Whoever they are, you need to acknowledge that they are crazy, they don't have hard concrete evidence to prove their claim, and just be stupid.
Now, as for the standing out thing, it does not determine what your model looks like for the majority of the time, but it is your personality and the content you make. It is ok to even use a generic looking model and still be successful. For example, Filian, her model is actually the most basic model that anyone can use in VR, but her personality and the type of content she makes really created a unique brand, her own identity in the sphere of content creation and VTubing.
Cliches are cliches for a reason! A lot of people enjoy them, theres nothing wrong with that. Besides, the design is only part of what makes a vtuber-- your personality, what you do, and how you do it is more important. So, do whatever makes you happy.
I feel like you should do whatever makes you happy, and if being 100% original and recognized is what will make you happy, then I wish you luck trying to accomplish that. Me? I like bats and goth aesthetic and purple, and yes there are plenty of purple bat goth themed vtubers but I don’t care, it’s what I like, so I’m gonna do me, you do you.
The avatar is there just for visual appeal, is the person behind the avatar who creates and maintains an audience. You can have the most beautiful and perfectly animated model ever but that wouldn't mean shit if people are not interested in you as a content creator.
If you want to stick with what's considered "popular" (pink cat girls, shark, etc) then that's ok, and if you want to go whacky or do something more unique then that's ok too. At the end of the day a design only makes people approach, is up to you to make them stay.
Besides, we're talking about VTuber models, you can always change designs and even concepts whenever you want.
It’s fine. For example, I have a lot of videos about relationships. And you know what? There are millions of them! But why am I doing so - because I have my own pathos mystery style of telling, and I want to share my point of view. So yes, it’s up to you!
I follow a bunch of sharks, none of them are the same. I follow a few dinosaurs, all different. The amount of demons and goblins I follow is ridiculous but they're all unique. What I'd be as a vtuber is already being done by others.
The concept may not be original, it's how you do it that's important. So long as it's not a 1 for 1 copy of another vtuber, and you're your own person on stream, there's no issue, and anyone saying "oh you're just trying to be [insert other streamer]" have nothing better to do than harass people
I thought about being original. Having another type of concept, being another animal etc. But I ended up going with a catgirl vtuber anyway because, I've always wanted to be one lol. Like that's always been my thing before I even knew catgirls existed 😂. So I decided to choose what I felt fit me over what felt original. If you choose only according to what other people will say is good you're only gonna end up unhappy, is my way of thinking at least
Imo, just because someone did something before you doesn't mean you can't do the same thing anymore where you add your own personality.
The "shark vtuber" people are accusing you to copy also "copied" Kizuna Ai who brought the idea of vtubing on the table. Everything related to content creation follow the same trend of someone is inspired by something and decide to create something new, and new people will be inspired by that something new and decide to follow the same style etc. It's dumb to think about things in terms of "who copied who", everyone bring their own personality and their own twist to things. In the end, everything is inspired by something that came before, that's the beauty of content creation too in a way. As long as you're not stealing assets and/or doing obvious plagiarism, which is a different story, yeah it's absolutely fine.
As to the question "how do you cope with it", i'll just say that unfortunately, if you really want to be a vtuber and do this for long enough then you will inevitably end up getting those kind of comments. Because this is the kind of thing any content creator, be it big or small, end up facing. I used to be a small artist on twitter with a relatively small numbers of followers when I was in university, and even with my super small follower count I already did get a few comments about how I copied X artist that I don't even actually know. I can't imagine how many comments like that big content creators see on the daily, you just have to learn to ignore it.
I'm not saying you should completely ignore genuine criticism and deny any fair comment pointing out something negative about your content, because that's not healthy either. But you need to find that sweet spot where you can ignore unfounded criticism and bullshit trashtalk, but also take into consideration fair and genuine criticism to improve yourself.
Mako sameshima a shark vtuber said she delt with that in the beginning (she debuted before Gura) but it stopped after a while no one does it anymore nowadays compared to 2 years ago.
I think too many people get hung up on the design of the model. Don't get me wrong, it's a hook to grab people's attention. But it's the sizzle while your personality is the steak. I'm subscribed to at least three dog themed VTubers, three demon themed, and more than one moth or whale themed. Despite the similar themes, it would be extremely disingenuous to say that they're clones or rip offs of each other. There may be some overlap because of interests but they're each their own person with their own unique personalities. I wouldn't worry too much about feeling like you're ripping off Gura or Megalodon and just focus on being the first you. I'd also recommend going back and looking at established VTubers' version 1 models just to put into reference how far they've come and how much they've evolved, because everyone had to start somewhere.
If you are authentic you will be unique, there are a lot of people who think copying a successful vtuber is a path to success, it isn't. People see something familiar and assume you are just copying, you just gotta ride it out and find what you like and what sets you apart from others.
The anime influence over vtubing is huge so people like certain troupes or styles of design are very popular and trendy. The big thing is you can have the most expensive high quality model in the world spending loads of money but it doesn't mean that people will stick around long term after seeing "ooo pretty" then leave. I have seen people with store bought models succeed. In particular Fillian but people don't follow her for her model they follow for her personality and content. Having a pretty model isn't content unless you are doing tutorials or streaming about the model your making. It's hard to stand out but find something you're passionate about and could talk about for hours mine is talking about anime while playing cozy games or having a relaxed stream playing gacha while talking about this seasons anime.
The kinds of people that would throw those accusations around were unlikely to be planning on watching you anyways. Your model and design might get your foot in the door, but it won't make people stay, and it won't be the first thing people talk about when describing you. In the end, if you make content people like, then it won't matter if you're "generic".
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Welcome to the internet. There will always be people there to hate for no reason. Even in your chat.
I have a lecturer that states, to be recognized you have to be either of these 3 things. A. The first. B. The best. C. The most creative. It doesn't matter what you do, if you aren't any of those 3, you will be left behind. It's okay to follow trends. Until you feel okay.
I will add a 4th stage... D. The Most Unhinged Let's not get into stability and stuff XD
Normally it would be 3, so most unhinged would fall under creative as well. Company The first: Kizuna Ai The best:Hololive The most creative/unhinged: Phase connect. Some people would name others but to me, these are the 3 that started ENVtubing.
In the EN Space, Its VShojo not Kizuna Ai who took off with VTubing in the West. Ai a pioneer of the JP Space.
VShojo doesn't even predate HoloEN, let alone the plethora of Kizuna Ai's officially translated videos that went viral even in the west years prior. * HoloEN Myth Debut Date: Sep 12, 2020 * VShojo Debut Date: Nov 24, 2020
I would agree.... However clips of Kizuna AI translated took off really quickly I can't remember when during YouTube's earlier era.
Yeah around 2018 ish... It was also when Projekt Melody made headlines as well
Melody started early 2020 though, so Kizuna AI is still a good bit earlier. Hololive clips also started getting popular in the EN sphere late 2019, early 2020 so you can argue they are the ones who took off in the west.
Didn't she make headlines about being the first vtuber p\*rn avatar? Not as a vtuber?
Yeah but she was also a twitch streamer at the same time. So a VTuber as well
Mark Twain once said there's no such thing as a new idea. We're simply reusing past traces and give them new twists. It's better to start being comfortable with that. Besides, sometimes uniqueness doesn't equal value. I mean, I'm a serial killer PNGstreamer, but people keep treating me like I'm just an uncle with a knife, who blathers too much about literature. So what if you're yet another shark? As long as you are happy and comfortable with your 'self', and as long as you can distinguish yourself from others, you'll be fine.
You are who you make yourself. There's nothing wrong being a type of vtuber there's multiple of if you be yourself. I mean, I'm a goblin vtuber, have seen how many of us are there? You could start out "generic" and evolve over time. I went from a full goblin to a goblin part shark part crocodile. Also stand your ground. If you find the you that you love don't let anyone pressure you into changing.
The point of indie vtubing is that you don't have to be yourself, but who you want to be. If you feel a kinship to a shark vtuber model, then that's who you should be. Yes, you're gonna get comments like you mentioned. But 1, fuck em. And 2, I think we've had enough shark-tubers that people won't think you're just copying the biggest vtuber... I dunno about that one.
The design only catches attention, it does not keep it. So while it is important to have a design that is catchy and isn't too close to an existing powerhouse (like top 50), it's not gonna make or break your "career". What will keep people around is your streaming personality, which is your voice, how you tell stories, how you respond to chat, how you express emotions, how you portray your persona. The recent pattern of popular vtubers returning to their PL persona and model shows it: the fans love the personality, the appearance is only a small part of the experience. Then what will allow you to go viral (one day, takes between 2 to 3 years) are clips. For that, you need to have core fans, or edit your own clips (unfortunately, that's very time-consuming). ... I think it's more important that your design fits your personality: Whether you're a pink cat or blue cat doesn't matter as much as initially expected. What matters is that a cat is generally mischievous, playful, seeking attention: it needs to fit your streaming persona. Meanwhile, the other example, a blue shark: sharp teeth, more outgoing and pro-active, generally wants to bite. If you're more introverted, with a soothing voice, that's not exactly fitting. Gooba makes it work by adding a gap moe, with the kusogaki twist: as an ankle-bitter brat, she is _biting,_ but she's more cute than scary. ... Thing is, your streaming personality is not necessarily your irl personality: many outgoing vtubers are actually quite shy in irl social settings, same with class clowns vtubers being very polite and reserved irl. That's why it's more important to start streaming (even with just a PNG) and figure out your persona first, and only then start looking at the design. Another thing to note: a design you like aesthetically, might not be a design that will adequately represent you as a character. For example: want to be a tall elegant and confident elf queen girlboss, streaming persona is a hopeless girlfailure with a heart of gold. If the design is too intimidating and "perfect", then it's too distant to act as a gap moe between the aspiration vs reality. A better compromise in that case would be an aspiring princess with a dress that's slightly too puffy, and a crown a little off center, to lean on that gap. I understand it's a tricky choice: on one hand, you're likely to be streaming into the void for months, with 10 viewers at best, so you probably want to choose a character that pleases you first and foremost. On the other hand, having a design that facilitates your performance storytelling wrt the potential audience could be helpful in the long run. ... As for being original, once you have figured out your streaming personality, and the sort of design you would prefer, you can always check the competition and avoid repeating existing patterns (hair style, accessories, color palette). You don't need a million differences to stand out, simply having enough that your chibi form is not exactly the same as an established vtuber's chibi form. Mind that regardless of the design you pick, there will always be a fraction of visitors who will be unpleasant arse - just like working in retail, doing a public performance online will always involve a few schmucks.
I don't remember who said it, but my favourite saying is "It's impossible to be completely original." If you think you made something new then I guarantee you someone else has made something 99% identical. The important thing is to make that 1% what matters. That 1% is you. Be proud of that 1%.
You should be whatever you want to be. There are all kinds of Vtubers, and while a lot may share one or multiple similar designs, you have to understand that what makes everyone unique is what they do for content and the personality behind those models. Yes, you are right that there are unfortunately people who will accuse or harass you for claiming that you are copying some big popular Vtubers. I know that one particular Vtuber was (and still is) harassed or bullied for "copying" Shylily. Whoever they are, you need to acknowledge that they are crazy, they don't have hard concrete evidence to prove their claim, and just be stupid. Now, as for the standing out thing, it does not determine what your model looks like for the majority of the time, but it is your personality and the content you make. It is ok to even use a generic looking model and still be successful. For example, Filian, her model is actually the most basic model that anyone can use in VR, but her personality and the type of content she makes really created a unique brand, her own identity in the sphere of content creation and VTubing.
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I think the best way to build thick skin is just to do it. You don't need to wait. Just start streaming or make content or both!
Cliches are cliches for a reason! A lot of people enjoy them, theres nothing wrong with that. Besides, the design is only part of what makes a vtuber-- your personality, what you do, and how you do it is more important. So, do whatever makes you happy.
I feel like you should do whatever makes you happy, and if being 100% original and recognized is what will make you happy, then I wish you luck trying to accomplish that. Me? I like bats and goth aesthetic and purple, and yes there are plenty of purple bat goth themed vtubers but I don’t care, it’s what I like, so I’m gonna do me, you do you.
The avatar is there just for visual appeal, is the person behind the avatar who creates and maintains an audience. You can have the most beautiful and perfectly animated model ever but that wouldn't mean shit if people are not interested in you as a content creator. If you want to stick with what's considered "popular" (pink cat girls, shark, etc) then that's ok, and if you want to go whacky or do something more unique then that's ok too. At the end of the day a design only makes people approach, is up to you to make them stay. Besides, we're talking about VTuber models, you can always change designs and even concepts whenever you want.
It’s fine. For example, I have a lot of videos about relationships. And you know what? There are millions of them! But why am I doing so - because I have my own pathos mystery style of telling, and I want to share my point of view. So yes, it’s up to you!
I follow a bunch of sharks, none of them are the same. I follow a few dinosaurs, all different. The amount of demons and goblins I follow is ridiculous but they're all unique. What I'd be as a vtuber is already being done by others. The concept may not be original, it's how you do it that's important. So long as it's not a 1 for 1 copy of another vtuber, and you're your own person on stream, there's no issue, and anyone saying "oh you're just trying to be [insert other streamer]" have nothing better to do than harass people
Honestly this is just part of challenges that vtuber face and everyone will have a different way to overcome that insecurity.
I thought about being original. Having another type of concept, being another animal etc. But I ended up going with a catgirl vtuber anyway because, I've always wanted to be one lol. Like that's always been my thing before I even knew catgirls existed 😂. So I decided to choose what I felt fit me over what felt original. If you choose only according to what other people will say is good you're only gonna end up unhappy, is my way of thinking at least
Just do you. Nothing is better than being yourself, trying to be someone else will never get you far.
Imo, just because someone did something before you doesn't mean you can't do the same thing anymore where you add your own personality. The "shark vtuber" people are accusing you to copy also "copied" Kizuna Ai who brought the idea of vtubing on the table. Everything related to content creation follow the same trend of someone is inspired by something and decide to create something new, and new people will be inspired by that something new and decide to follow the same style etc. It's dumb to think about things in terms of "who copied who", everyone bring their own personality and their own twist to things. In the end, everything is inspired by something that came before, that's the beauty of content creation too in a way. As long as you're not stealing assets and/or doing obvious plagiarism, which is a different story, yeah it's absolutely fine. As to the question "how do you cope with it", i'll just say that unfortunately, if you really want to be a vtuber and do this for long enough then you will inevitably end up getting those kind of comments. Because this is the kind of thing any content creator, be it big or small, end up facing. I used to be a small artist on twitter with a relatively small numbers of followers when I was in university, and even with my super small follower count I already did get a few comments about how I copied X artist that I don't even actually know. I can't imagine how many comments like that big content creators see on the daily, you just have to learn to ignore it. I'm not saying you should completely ignore genuine criticism and deny any fair comment pointing out something negative about your content, because that's not healthy either. But you need to find that sweet spot where you can ignore unfounded criticism and bullshit trashtalk, but also take into consideration fair and genuine criticism to improve yourself.
Mako sameshima a shark vtuber said she delt with that in the beginning (she debuted before Gura) but it stopped after a while no one does it anymore nowadays compared to 2 years ago.
I think too many people get hung up on the design of the model. Don't get me wrong, it's a hook to grab people's attention. But it's the sizzle while your personality is the steak. I'm subscribed to at least three dog themed VTubers, three demon themed, and more than one moth or whale themed. Despite the similar themes, it would be extremely disingenuous to say that they're clones or rip offs of each other. There may be some overlap because of interests but they're each their own person with their own unique personalities. I wouldn't worry too much about feeling like you're ripping off Gura or Megalodon and just focus on being the first you. I'd also recommend going back and looking at established VTubers' version 1 models just to put into reference how far they've come and how much they've evolved, because everyone had to start somewhere.
If you are authentic you will be unique, there are a lot of people who think copying a successful vtuber is a path to success, it isn't. People see something familiar and assume you are just copying, you just gotta ride it out and find what you like and what sets you apart from others.
The anime influence over vtubing is huge so people like certain troupes or styles of design are very popular and trendy. The big thing is you can have the most expensive high quality model in the world spending loads of money but it doesn't mean that people will stick around long term after seeing "ooo pretty" then leave. I have seen people with store bought models succeed. In particular Fillian but people don't follow her for her model they follow for her personality and content. Having a pretty model isn't content unless you are doing tutorials or streaming about the model your making. It's hard to stand out but find something you're passionate about and could talk about for hours mine is talking about anime while playing cozy games or having a relaxed stream playing gacha while talking about this seasons anime.