Create a Vocaloid
So, you love the cool designs and amazing voices of the Vocaloid characters. Maybe you've thought, "How cool would it be to have my own Vocaloid character?" Well, you can make one! This tutorial will show you how!
Contents
Steps
- Know that there are many types of fan-made Vocaloids. There are genderbend Vocaloids, which are Vocaloid designs redrawn to look like the opposite gender, and/or voicebanks edited to sound like the opposite gender, or songs with the pitch edited for the same reason. There are human Vocaloids, who are human singers with Vocaloid-inspired avatars, who cover Vocaloid songs. They are also known as Utaite (for Nico Nico Video) or YTSinger (for YouTube). There are Voyakiloids, or "grouching Vocaloids," such as Yowane Haku or Honne Dell who are "failure versions" of existing Vocaloids. There are fan-made Vocaloid Mascots, who are derived characters that are only meant as mascots and do not sing. There are Original Vocaloid Characters, who are not based off of any existing Vocaloid - and a lot more!
- Think of the idea for your Fanmade Vocaloid. Maybe you want to make Miku's ten-year-old cousin, or a companion to Nekomura Iroha that's based off Kerroppi, similar to how she's based off of Love Hello Kitty. Whatever it is, be original - and be careful that your idea isn't done yet!
- Name your Vocaloid. Make sure you check out Utaus at this point- you might be in a big mess if your Vocaloid has the same name as an existing Utau. If your Vocaloid is based off of a Japanese Vocaloid, it's best to give them a Japanese name in correct order (surname, given name)
- Make your Vocaloid's Design Your Own Anime Character. This is the fun part! Make sure you style their hair, give them an eye and hair color, and of course a cool outfit. Don't just recolor Miku or Kaito - it's overdone, and not as fun and creative! Try making a whole new outfit for them, or blend parts of existing Vocaloid outfits. You can even have them be inspired by anime characters, real life clothes, anything~
- If you can, give your Vocaloid a voice configuration. If you have a Vocaloid, try playing with their settings and make your new Vocaloid's voice. Don't worry if you don't own Vocaloid programs and can't give your fan-made a voice! The fan-made can be a previously mentioned Human Vocaloid and use your voice, or it can just be a mascot.
- Give your Vocaloid a character item. All Vocaloids and fan-mades have their iconic item: Miku has her negi, Kaito has ice cream, Gakupo has eggplants... it can be anything! Typically, Japanloids have food items while English Vocaloids have more materialistic items, but don't be afraid to break the mold!
- Put your Vocaloid out there! Depending on what you are best at, there are a number of things you can do. Of course, there is the obvious answer of making songs for it: you can try to compose your own songs for your fanmade, but you can also have it cover existing songs by either Vocaloids or human singers. You can also post Become Better at Drawing Manga and Anime of your Vocaloid, make an MMD model for it, or write fanfiction starring your Vocaloid. It's your Vocaloid, the possibilities are endless!
Tips
- If you're using your own voice for your Human Vocaloid, try covering things such as Vocaloid songs, songs from Be an Anime and Manga Fan, Sing Japanese Like a Pro, and whatever kind of music you listen to.
- Think of a backstory for your Vocaloid: this'll come in handy for fanfiction, plus it just gives your character more depth.
- Try making a Vocaloid with a friend, so you have two creative minds and two sets of abilities!
- For Vocaloid designs, stick to a basic color scheme (for example, purple and white, or orange and red).
- Give your Vocaloid a unique personality and looks, for example, they could be part animal, have more curves, be LGBTQ+ or have some sort of disability to represent more humans and be seen as not perfect so people could better connect with them.
Warnings
- Be careful not to double up with names or designs.
- Beware of haters! People may not like your ideas, think they are uncreative, think they are copied, etc. Just keep your head held high!
- A production of a Pitchloid (an existing Vocaloid with the pitch of the voicebank altered) may lead your creation to be blacklisted.
Things You'll Need
- An open, creative mind!
- An existing Vocaloid (if you want to configure a voicebank)
- Recording equipment (if you want to have a Human Vocaloid)
- A computer drawing program, scanner, and/or drawing equipment (if you want to do artwork for it)
- A word processing program (if you want to write fanfiction, or if you just want to type up information about your fanmade, or brainstorm ideas)'
- Various online accounts (depending on your country and field, you might want to try YouTube, Nico Nico Douga, Use deviantArt, Fanfiction.net, Wattpad, Piapro, Tumblr, and others)
