An Inventive Choice
Ironmouse has always resonated with me as a standout streamer and vtuber in her class. She streams frequently, updates her various 2D and 3D models on a regular basis, and has built up various means to collaborate with content creators across Twitch, YouTube, and elsewhere.
As an aspiring vtuber illustrator myself, her models distinguish themselves by their aesthetics and polish. Despite their variety, they all live cohesively side-by-side by carrying Ironmouse’s unique pink and purple colour scheme. They often have a distinct design and are rigged with smooth, natural movements.
My favourite has to be her angel 'form', drawn by Hentie. It captures a mix of kitschiness, elegance, and extravagance. Her hair and dress bounce softly with broad movements. Her hair buns even twitch with a blink like rabbit ears.
To get inspiration for my own models, I set the task of emulating Ironmouse's angel form in my 'style', heavily inspired by the Japanese illustrator, Cogecha. While imitation is my primary strategy, I was enthusiastic to improve distinguish the design as my own through a mix of aesthetic and logistical changes.
To Keep the Cut in Mind
This was one of the first designs I completed with cutting and rigging in mind. It’s common for illustrators to draw a vtuber model portrait in full so they can retroactively cut the model into simpler, independently animatable shapes later. However, my art style already ditches gradients in favour of hard outlines and flat planes of colour. With proper planning, I figured that I could divi and duplicate my layers to get individual parts (hands, strands of hair, dress skirt) made as the drawing progresses. I can get the drawing and cutting done at the same time.
As proud as I can be of this strategy, it was a blatant consequence of my iPad Pro 2018’s RAM limitations. With a 3000px by 6000px canvas in Procreate, the tablet could only support 24 layers per canvas. Given that vtuber models often require an exorbitant number of layers for all the pieces, building a vtuber model was off the table without a way to get more layers.
Put Into Practice
After finishing the top-level line work for Ironmouse’s body, hair, and dress, I duplicated the 'mother canvases' to multiple distinct canvases to flesh out individual parts.
The bulk of the work was a matter of copying, erasing, and filling in the inevitable gaps. You can't see the Mouse's forehead when the drawing is still, but what about when the bangs sway?
As tedious as this process was, it was nice taking advantage of a non-destructible workflow so I can cut and delete pixels with reckless abandon.
Things like the colour palette and lighting information were nailed down early on, and I even finished the eyes to completion before anything else. Getting these chores done early on make it easy to maintain consistent visual language no matter what I'm working on. They also act as monoliths that make the finished drawing feel just around the corner.
Improving Efficiency Improves the Art
Dozens of hours and nearly 100 canvases later, I'm proud that I focused on how I draw as much as what I draw. While tedious, my canvas-heavy solution adapted to the shortcomings of the tools available. It was also fun to use the specifics of my art style to work off the beaten path. I felt the innovation coursing through my veins for at least a few hours!
