Becoming
a VTuber has always been a rather expensive dream for those
who are starting out, but trying to lower costs based on artificial
intelligence usually goes quite wrong. The launch of the VTuber
Original Character Maker computer program promised to revolutionize
the industry by transforming a simple 2D illustration into a fully functional
3D model for a fraction of the usual. However, the tool soon caused enormous
discontent among digital artists and Live2D creators, who warn
about the serious copyright risks and the poor quality of the results.
Developed
by the creator known as Sato Dai under the signature Sumeragi, the software hit
the market for Windows and macOS systems as a free download option. The main
attraction of the program lies in its ability to generate the front, side, and
rear views of a character from a single image, applying automatic rigging and
local lip-syncing using the user's microphone. Although the basic streaming functions
do not require payments, the generation of the 3D model is charged through a
point system that costs around 2,000 yen per basic package, allowing you to
obtain a couple of avatars with their respective facial expressions.
The problem
exploded when the first users and professionals of the medium tested the
application. The gap between promotional examples and real creations turned out
to be huge, offering rigid and misshapen models that are far from ready for a
professional live show. In addition, the tool uses external generative AI
services, which set off alarms about how impossible it is to verify if users
are uploading their own art or stealing other people's illustrations, putting
the intellectual property of hundreds of illustrators at risk.
In today's
virtual entertainment industry, commissioning a custom model from an
illustrator and a professional rigger typically ranges from 100,000 to 400,000
yen. This price responds to months of craftsmanship to ensure smooth movements,
unique expressions and fully protected commercial use rights. The emergence of
low-cost applications that promise to skip this process has revived the debate
on the devaluation of artistic work and the dangers of depending on algorithms that
do not guarantee the originality of avatars.
With a
visual result that leaves much to be desired and the collective anger of the
artistic community
