diff --git a/main-site/content/feed/3-years-of-avatar-making-progress.md b/main-site/content/feed/3-years-of-avatar-making-progress.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5828761 --- /dev/null +++ b/main-site/content/feed/3-years-of-avatar-making-progress.md @@ -0,0 +1,161 @@ +--- +title: '3 Years of Avatar Making Progress' +description: 'No technical stuff, just an evolution in my tastes' +date: 2025-04-30T22:07:32-07:00 +thumbnail: '/img/avi-progression-3yr/intro.png' +ContentThumbnail: true +article: true +--- + +# Where it started - Luna + + +Featured in the thumbnail **Luna** was my first model that I used +for a couple months while I still just hopped from public to public. +At some point she even got a disco out fit :smile: + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/01.png" >}} +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/02.png" >}} + +Two things I learned from this first foray into model making: + +1. I love bright colors.... a lot +2. Gloves on vr hands do **so much** for making the hands more connected. + +The second point is really important because I realize making the dorsum +and palm feel slightly more beefy makes the fingers better ( for me at least ). + + +# The Beginning of My Current Model + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/03-bright.png" >}} + +This was the first time I started messing with the idea of using a +male model :scream::ghost::scream::ghost::scream::ghost::scream::ghost: +Back When I first made this model male models were somewhat rare ( they +still kinda are though). Most male models were either hyper feminine or +hyper masculine [ see e-boys and girl models marketed as males -.- ]. + +I still wanted something femine since I'm a bit of a fruitcake myself :3 +so i ended up making this: + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/032.png" >}} + +:information_source: +Should note that at this point I still didn't have full-body so that +pose is done in [:link: VRoid Studio](https://vroid.com/en) not VRChat. + +I started getting into really fem stuff at this point but I was still +more/less in my _amazon-basics-femboy-fit-phase_ hence the uhhh, outfit. + +# Moving on to my Raver Era + +:warning: I still very much go to raves at every opportunity I'm just +more selective about them since I have more experience now and _vibe-check_ +certain scenes before deciding to full send. :warning: + +Basically I wanted something casual, fun, and rave-inspired so I cut off +the sleeves of a hoodie in vroid and swapped to shorts from skirts: + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/04.png" >}} + +This is the part where I start learning some really nasty tricks with VRoid; +like dropping poly counts by abusing alpha channels and putting stuff on +the **skin texture** because **omg** does that save a ton of space. Also I +finally decided to take on the prospect of using a non-default shader, +[:link: Poiyomi](https://www.poiyomi.com/download/). Which is how I got my +first fancy looking shiny things :3 + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/05.png" >}} +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/06.png" >}} +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/07.png" >}} +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/08.png" >}} + +You would be amazed at how long it took me to realize I need to use a cutout +rendering mode to get rid of those little black triangles (which are nearly +empty polygons but opaque sets all transparency to black). + +> :stop_sign: Is that a hat in the last pic??? + +Yes I also picked up blender but only to make super simply hats which ended up +being super useful later on since it gave me the fundamentals to make more +complex things like these neato googles I made for a halloween project +:jack_o_lantern:. + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/09.png" >}} + +That one had some nice pulsating animations that made it appear like fluid was +pumping through the pipes but in reality it was just a regular emmision that +flowed from the middle out :wink:. + +Eventually I realized that I needed to fix my fitment; that is the way the +avatar is proportioned in relation to your actual body. The closer to your +actual proportions the better the avi will feel when wearing it. This took +a lot of recompiling and reuploading but was super worth because it felt +literally flawless eventually. + +Below you can see in the first pic that my avi's hand is on the hip but it's +also perfectly lined up like that in real life. + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/10.png" >}} +{{< clip "/img/avi-progression-3yr/11.png" >}} + +Couple of updates to the outfit and I can get super tight poses in VRChat +that are completely 1 to 1 IRL to VR because of the fitment work. + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/12.png" >}} +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/13.png" >}} + +Love that old club logos hat :smiling_face_with_tear:. Ended up learning how +to do audio link with it: + +{{< clip "/img/avi-progression-3yr/audio-link-ex.mp4" >}} + +Minor adjustments to the outfit but this ended up being the final outfit that +I ended up with for a while on this version. + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/14.png" >}} + + +# My Cottage Core Era and Maturing as a Femboy + +Excuse the tangent(kinda). While I love the _cutesy hehe style of a lot +of femboy aesthetics_ I also realize that it's not a style that will age +very well. Coming from a background with a lot of older people I want to +be able to maintain an aesthetic that is still feminine but like more +grown up. + +Thus my switch to **cottage core** so some shit idk zoomers have like 9999 +names for every subgenre of styles and I don't bother to keep up. + +My solution to the "aging femboy" that "dresses their age" is uhhh, long +skirts :3 + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/15.png" >}} + +Was not feeling the under turtle neck so I switch to a simple crop top +with a strap and kept the torn up edges from the halloween outfit. + + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/16.png" >}} +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/17.png" >}} +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/18.png" >}} + + +# And Right Now + +Currently I've got back to a more "masc" fit but still keeping the light +colors and generally easy going aesthetic. I do want to try making more +"femguy" models that feel more "mature" but still retain the fun :3 + + +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/19.png" >}} +{{< pic "/img/avi-progression-3yr/20.png" >}} + +# Future models? + +Definitely going to bounce around in what I'm calling :house:"fem-home-core" +because I really like being fem but I still like masc stuff; guess I just +need to find a way to establish a more mature femboy aesthetic :wink: + + diff --git a/main-site/static/img/avi-progression-3yr/03-bright.png b/main-site/static/img/avi-progression-3yr/03-bright.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..25ee21c --- /dev/null +++ b/main-site/static/img/avi-progression-3yr/03-bright.png @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1 +oid sha256:5e051e71de2cdd0e18fbcc265f76594c106bbf3d1967478ade97ca060ce362eb +size 2578324 diff --git a/main-site/static/img/avi-progression-3yr/032.png b/main-site/static/img/avi-progression-3yr/032.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a91c5fe --- /dev/null +++ b/main-site/static/img/avi-progression-3yr/032.png @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1 +oid sha256:38990602a0244d9805da6181f6fcc9f648ecc79548eaa76dd7af6cee0e601b10 +size 407415 diff --git a/main-site/static/img/avi-progression-3yr/audio-link-ex.mp4 b/main-site/static/img/avi-progression-3yr/audio-link-ex.mp4 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0af495e --- /dev/null +++ b/main-site/static/img/avi-progression-3yr/audio-link-ex.mp4 @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1 +oid sha256:7a23f4d077821fac8059dea4c743798601eb53e78da580fda59e8a0b9a07d00e +size 2176942