Tutorial Designing UTAU Characters: DOs and DON'Ts

[Cdra]

Cdra submitted a new resource:

Building UTAU Characters: DOs and DON'Ts - Mostly DON'Ts, honestly...

Before I begin, a disclaimer: Design, in the end, is a matter of opinion. If your UTAU has the traits listed, I'm not telling you that you absolutely must change them in order to be taken seriously or whatever. This resource is simply advice to be taken for exactly as much weight as you want to give it.

With that out of the way, let's get this on.

INTRO AND PURPOSE​

So, you wanna make an UTAU. Awesome! But amid all the voicebank-making and...

Read more about this resource...

 

[KNΞMΛTCS]

I'd like to point out although you mentioned the infamous "-ne" suffix, you forgot to give mention to the -LOID naming scheme. This, like the -ne suffix, is washed-up and boring. And telling people to not use -ne but not even mentioning -LOID will probably result in people using -LOID. Just a pointer, if you like that suffix then that's fine.

 

[Cdra]

Nope, -loid (or -poid, etc) is just as bad. I'll make sure to note it. Not only is it overplayed, it also stands for "Vocaloid" -- which, when you think about it, is really not something you should be using to name an UTAU.

 

[VocAddict]

I honestly laughed when I checked the 'weaboo' name list and saw that two of the words literally makes up UTAU's name. I really don't even remember how I came up with the name now honestly. Nice guide.

 

[Nohkara]

I think that "Ai" is fine name because it is a "real name" and doesn't mean bad thing. ("Ai" can be also written other way than use kanji "love".)

But yeah, I agree with "suki" and "daisuki" because them aren't... well, let's say real name and sounds very weird.

 

[Cdra]

I think that "Ai" is fine name because it is a "real name" and doesn't mean bad thing. ("Ai" can be also written other way than use kanji "love".)

But yeah, I agree with "suki" and "daisuki" because them aren't... well, let's say real name and sounds very weird.

Kuro, Shiro, Hikari, Sakura, and others on the list are also real names and don't mean anything bad. However, they hold the connotation of "weeaboo" when used as names by people who are not themselves Japanese, because they are words that are easily and often picked up by those who have casual encounters with the language (and their meanings are... especially "generic", in a sense). Thus, they shouldn't be used as names for UTAU.

 

[Xepheris]

Hahaa if I had only had this when I was making my utoot a few years ago (Last name being Myuto (Mute) and all) Now I don't have the heart to change it- hnngmajorcrisis

Good guide, handy for noobs.

 

[dragon doll ♕]

Finally someone pointed these things out, thank heavens.
Although I don't really agree on avoiding names similar to popular UTAUs... What if the character existed long before the creator knew about them? Luckily I have never been interested in Japanese names (My UTAU -plural-'s names can't be even written in katakana, and I also stopped using the word "ACT1/2/3"), but I would be really annoyed to change my character's name just because of someone more "popular" than me. This is a bit tricky, because an UTAU's release date doesn't tell when it was actually created (i.e. My male UTAU was a project since 2012, but I managed to find a voicer and release him only this year).
I completely agree on desings, because many people don't give many importance to this aspect of their UTAU (plural), making them look a bit "boring". Even a simple design can be out-standing sometimes, it's all about finding the right style for your character(s) and keep it going.

 

[Cdra]

Finally someone pointed these hings out, thank heavens.
Although I don't really agree on avoiding names similar to popular UTAU (plural)... What if the character existed long before the creator knew about them? Luckily I have never been interested in Japanese names (My UTAU -plural-'s names can't be even written in katakana, and I also stopped using the word "ACT1/2/3"), but I would be really annoyed to change my character's name just because of someone more "popular" than me. This is a bit tricky, because an UTAU's release date doesn't tell when it was actually created (i.e. My male UTAU was a project since 2012, but I managed to find a voicer and release him only this year).

Two things: as to your issue, my point still generally stands in the sense that when making a new character, you should avoid it. Names should be recognizable; if it's the same as someone else's that's commonly talked about, constant confusion will arise and it'll be impossible to say, search for your UTAU on sharing sites. Otherwise, as with the entire guide, take my advice with a grain of salt.

Secondly, anything can be written in katakana. Anything. It may look ridiculous and nothing like its original spelling, but there's always a way.

 

[WendytheCreeper]

I think the point about having an outfit be of a reasonable complexity is very important! Too often I see people who don't put any sort of meaningful detail on their characters' outfits: If you're going to do jeans and t-shirt, you better be able to accessorize!

Another point with outfit complexity: complexity applies to colors too! If any of you have encountered a design with too many highly saturated colors clashing into each other at once, then you know what I mean. In fact, part of what makes Miku's design work so well(and be really stealable) is how colors are used in her design: her design's only main color is teal, with everything else being neutrals that help tie it together. Color counts!

 

[Cdra]

Another point with outfit complexity: complexity applies to colors too! If any of you have encountered a design with too many highly saturated colors clashing into each other at once, then you know what I mean. In fact, part of what makes Miku's design work so well(and be really stealable) is how colors are used in her design: her design's only main color is teal, with everything else being neutrals that help tie it together. Color counts!

A great point, though at least a few people would call me a hypocrite if I don't word this sort of thing very carefully (i.e.: look at Halt's color scheme)! I'll add a point about color in there somewhere.

 

[PrinceofHades]

-quietly wishing this had been around 2 years ago because dammit she used a "weeaboo" word in the surname and now feels like an idiot-
-please forgive the young Ib who had absolutely no idea how Japanese worked 2 years ago-

 

[melobuniiP]

Aaah I do hope my UTAU Usagi is at least OK ;;v;;

 

[slashhearts]

oh man, i originally made my utau in like 2009 so i broke like every rule here. that being said, it was an earlier time so i suppose there's some wiggle room there.

while it might be too late for me, i'd also recommend perusing the list of jinmeiyo kanji (with jisho for definitions) for characters that are actually used for names. the list even has some stylistic variants with certain characters!

jinmeiyo list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinmeiyō_kanji
jisho: http://jisho.org/

 

[Deleted member 4851]

This is super helpful for my UTAU!

 

[AkariUTAU]

Is it okay to start off with a ''beta'' sorta thing? Like for now my character's design is a simple yellow turtle neck sweater with gemstones and a laced purple skirt, plus wired headphones thingy with shiny green hair... for now, she's that simple, as a beta because I'm just starting off, and because I'll be using a terrible mic I named her ''kimyona koto'' which means strange thing... and koto can also be translated into some japanese instrument.... im not very sure, im still a beginner in japanese... anyways, do you think that's good for now?

 

[Kiyoteru]

Is it okay to start off with a ''beta'' sorta thing? Like for now my character's design is a simple yellow turtle neck sweater with gemstones and a laced purple skirt, plus wired headphones thingy with shiny green hair... for now, she's that simple, as a beta because I'm just starting off, and because I'll be using a terrible mic I named her ''kimyona koto'' which means strange thing... and koto can also be translated into some japanese instrument.... im not very sure, im still a beginner in japanese... anyways, do you think that's good for now?

This thread is years old. I don't think you can expect a response from OP, nor do I think you need to worry too much about creating a "horrible design". Treat your UTAU as you would any other original character- there are plenty of resources out there for artists and writers for character design and development. Even if you're unsure about your current ideas, you can always iterate on it and improve over time.

If you need help on Japanese names specifically, here's a guide you can refer to: https://utaforum.net/resources/tips-for-giving-and-writing-a-japanese-name-for-your-utau.272/

 

[KrimsonDCLXVI]

Out of curiousity, what about an Utau who is missing a body part or two? How much would that play into this? Asking because I may or may not in the future plan to re-use a very old OC for Utau in the future. They lost an eye but wears an eyepatch and is also partially missing a pinky finger if you needed more detail on what I meant.

 

[Kiyoteru]

Out of curiousity, what about an Utau who is missing a body part or two? How much would that play into this? Asking because I may or may not in the future plan to re-use a very old OC for Utau in the future. They lost an eye but wears an eyepatch and is also partially missing a pinky finger if you needed more detail on what I meant.

I'll copy my previous post for brevity.

This thread is years old. I don't think you can expect a response from OP, nor do I think you need to worry too much about creating a "horrible design". Treat your UTAU as you would any other original character- there are plenty of resources out there for artists and writers for character design and development. Even if you're unsure about your current ideas, you can always iterate on it and improve over time.