Source: Tenor
Welcome to Vtubing! Have a look around. Anything that brain of yours can think of, bring around. There’s mountains of ideas. Some newer, some less. If you think you’ve got a great one put it to the test…
Okay, enough riffing on Bo Burnham. Let’s get into the meat and potatoes of generating some Vtuber ideas. This includes resources you can use to generate ideas, questions you want to ask yourself, and places to ask for help if you get stuck.
Questions to Ask Yourself to Help Come Up With Ideas
So you’ve already done your research on how to be a vtuber, now let’s go over some quick questions that will be helpful for you before you get started on your Vtuber journey:
What’s My Theme?
Are you fantasy inspired? Science fiction, perhaps? Your model might also be heavily inspired by anime and draw from some of your favorite character designs.
What Does My Vtuber Model ‘Do’ Outside of Stream?
A great way to generate some Vtuber ideas is to think about your Model/Vtuber outside of streaming? Do they have a job? Do their hobbies include raising the dead? Are they often seen on Twitter posting questionable fan art?
What Do I Want My Vtuber To Be About?
This might seem obvious, but it’s worth mentioning. What do you want to do? Vtubing and streaming generally are about having fun, so have some fun! If you want to be a barn animal, be a barn animal. Wanna be a pro-wrestler? Go for it. A stick figure? Why not?
What Am I Willing To Invest in My Vtuber?
This is twofold: Money and Effort. Vtuber Models can range from free to thousands of dollars. And that’s not including your Vtuber software, stingers, overlays, effects, computer, social media, icons, etc. You don’t have to spend big money to be a Vtuber because there’s the other half of the equation: Effort.
It doesn’t matter how much money you put into streams. If you don’t put in the effort to be entertaining, noticeable, and worthy of your viewers’ time, it won’t matter. Nobody will care.
VTuber Model Ideas & Examples
1. Takahata
Source: twitch.tv/Takahata101
Overview: “No, it’s not Perfect Cell or Alucard, it is I! Takahata, the handsome bartender and Vtuber, here to provide comedy, drinks, and a good time at The Weary 101.” (For those that don’t get the reference, he’s part of Team Four Star and voiced Alucard and Cell in Hellsing Abridged and Dragon Ball Z Abridged.
What’s My Theme?
Dressed to the nines and constantly rubbing his trusty glass, Takahata’s model is a classy bartender at the local club ‘The Weary 101’. When it comes to The Weary 101, you never know who’ll walk through the door and join the stream next.
What Does My Vtuber Model ‘Do’ Outside of Stream?
As mentioned previously, Takahata is a bartender for The Weary 101. Owning a bar can be stressful, so don’t be surprised to see Takahata say “screw it” and take a few drags from his cigarette.
Interestingly enough, he makes it a point not to ever tell viewers or guests to have a drink. A recovering alcoholic himself, Takahata instead uses his stream’s setting as part of his recovery. “He couldn’t truly move forward with his work as a content creator if he didn’t acknowledge that he had spent years of his life struggling with alcoholism.” – Credit to Kotaku.
What Do I Want My Vtuber To Be About?
Takahata’s been on Twitch since 2011 and a prominent YouTuber since 2008, as part of the aforementioned Team Four Star. The point is, he’s been around the block. But that didn’t stop him from transitioning to Vtubing and fully embracing a new world and new friends.
(Of course, he’s happy to reference his old YouTube life occasionally: https://vid.kinja.com/prod/190033/190033_720p.mp4)
What Am I Willing To Invest in My Vtuber?
On top of his top-tier hosting with guests and sweat equity, Takahata has easily invested tens of thousands of dollars. (Just don’t think you gotta start here.) If you look at his credits page, you’ll see some incredibly talented people and companies that have helped make his stream incredibly professional.
Model: Kamaniki
Rigging: Nokoyama
Cat Daddy Machine: Script Daddy
Set and Props: 7M Digital
Animations: Lee Mounsey
Logo: Citric King
Emotes: Bunny
Promotional Art: Aaron Schmit
Editor: Trav
Tech truck: Arcolf
2. Porcbuns, AKA: Penelope the Orc:
Source: twitch.tv/porcbuns
Overview: Porcbuns, better known as Penny to her viewers, is a PNGtuber best known for her art streams, Horizon Zero Dawn and Monster Hunter Rise. Equal parts chaos, chill vibes, and teasing, Penny’s stream is always a great time.
What’s My Theme?
Depicting an Orc in modern clothes while frequently collaborating with other Fantasy/Dungeons & Dragons-inspired Vtubers, Penelope the Orc squarely fits in the urban fantasy design.
What Does My Vtuber Model ‘Do’ Outside of Stream?
Delivering Bao’s the Game, and Penny’s the name. Penelope, the Orc’s signature welcome to new followers, is “Welcome to Butaking, how may I take your order?” Also, her intro depicts her on a scooter delivering through the city. Really helps sell the vibe and tie into her theme.
What Do I Want My Vtuber To Be About?
Penny’s streams are a mix of collaborative chaos, friendly chat interaction, mildly flirtation, and v i b e s. Penny’s friendly demeanor jumps off the screen at every opportunity, and there’s a reason you see her frequently collaborating with other streamers: Everyone wants to hang out with Penny.
What Am I Willing To Invest in My Vtuber?
If you check out her channel stats, you’ll see that the #1 stream type on Twitch.tv/Porcbuns, are art streams. You’ll catch her drawing other Vtubers, herself, or working on an art challenge. Art that she uses as alternative outfits, social media iconography, and the like, all while vibing with chat.
She’s smartly pulling double duty by creating content, interacting with chat, and creating material that she can use to grow and spread on social media. That’s a winning combination.
Additional Vtuber Idea Help & Resources
If you still need help on your Vtuber, or you just want something to help kickstart the creative juices, /u/Extinction-Events provided a list on /r/VirtualYoutubers on some online resources to help. We’ve also included a couple other websites.
Clevergirlhelps: This blog has a ton of different resources that you can use to get into the minutiae of your character’s details. This has generators, blogs, government documents, and resources galore for you to try! And if you’re unsure where to start, try out the search function. (Just don’t fall into the rabbit hole the way I did. Or do. I’m not your parent.)
Seventh Sanctum: Seventh Sanctum is one of the OG generator websites that I can personally recommend. This is one of my go-to resources when creating characters, cultures, or anything in my personal writing projects. Seventh Sanctum is also great for building ideas or sparking creativity with its many available generators. This is an excellent jumping-off point.
Powerlistings: This wiki lists basically every superpower in fiction. At some point, your Vtuber will pick up some crazy power, and this is a great resource to pick one. Not sure which to choose? Try out the random buttons and get taken to a random page!
Fantasy Name Generators: Need a name for your home world? How about your fictional city? Maybe you want to get a quick prophecy your Vtuber must one day fulfill! FNG has you covered here, with tons of different options.
Virtual YouTuber Wiki: Look, this doesn’t mean plagiarising. Quite the opposite. Instead, this wiki is an excellent resource for inspiration. This wiki is filled with over 4,000 pages of Vtubers and Groups for you to check out. With so many types of Vtubers out there, you’re bound to find a spark of stimulation! Be inspired by the Vtubers you want to emulate and figure out how to make yourself the best version possible!
Chosic Playlist Generator: Okay, hear me out… When I’m not sure how I want to write a character, I’ll create a playlist for them. When I imagine that character’s custom iPod playlist or CD, it makes it easier to come up with the details for how they look, act, and what motivates them. (What do you mean CDs are too old of a reference!?) Try it out and see what works for you!
One Last Note:
Before you head off to create the next big thing, remember one crucial fact: You should never stop evolving as a content creator. How your Vtuber starts and what they’ll be in the weeks, months, or years that follow could be totally different. And they should be! Life is a journey, and it’s rarely linear.
Your Vtuber model will change. Concepts about your character and channel will get dropped. There will be bits of lore that never materialize into anything more than an idea bubbling around in your head.
That’s okay.
