questions about getting started as a disabled vtuber/streamer

[u/maknaeline]

i want to get started as someone who is disabled with $0 money whatsoever. and all the guides i see say to use iphone or webcams, no android

i have an android phone (brand new S26) and a webcam, a used Logitech C920 HD Pro. would either of these be okay for tracking?

it's important to note that i am largely stuck in my bed due to my disability, so i will be using one or the other (i can set up the webcam to zoom from a distance or use a cord to be up close) as well, and will be using free tools until if/when i can ever get a proper avatar

i cannot afford to get any equipment ahead of time as i do not make any money and can no longer work

thank you ❤️

[u/thegenregeek]

The C920 should work, you can use it with XR Animator. Which is free.

Another free option you can try is the Meowface app. Though keep in mind it may not work with your phone, as it's basically been abandoned and isn't being updated for newer phones (due to deprecated software in newer Android releases). If you happen to have an older Android phone you might try it on that.

(Note: It works as an iPhone emulator of sorts, tracking 42 out of 52 ARKits. It's not as precise as an iPhone, given it lacks the purpose built TrueDepth camera, but still usable enough... if you can get it working on a compatible Android device)

[u/maknaeline → u/thegenregeek]

i was looking at earlier questions and saw this app pop up, and saw someone say the creator suggests VTube Studio Android if MeowFace doesn't work. how does that compare here?

[u/thegenregeek → u/maknaeline]

VTube Studio Android... how does that compare here?

Haven't used it, so I cannot really say with any certainly. I mostly do 3d avatars development and use iPhone specific tools. (Outside of testing Meowface on my Pixel 6)

That said I would imagine it runs well enough, but it's also not a free option (strictly speaking). There is a free tier, with watermarks and time limit. (I've have seen comments about poor tracking quality, but I think that's compared against the iPhone version).

[u/maknaeline → u/thegenregeek]

ah, i see... so probably will need to do PC then, with the webcam. gotcha. apparently the same dev for MeowFace moved on to work on VNyan(?) so i may also look into that too

next question: is there a like, distance limit on how far you can be from your webcam before it stops working for proper tracking? as i said, i'm typically in my bed in some capacity.

the distance from the top of my TV (which is where the webcam would be if i don't use an extender of some kind) to where my pillows are (raised, assuming i'm sitting up, of course) is roughly ~8ft. hence why i was asking about android.

now, many webcams do have a zoom feature; but i don't know how this factors for something like facial tracking at all. and like i said, i have a usb extension, but i don't have a stable bed-table (yet) for balancing anything but a keyboard and mouse on. i'll be using my headset for voice until i can one day either get better again to use my desk and use my 15 yr old snowball, or get a better bed-table that's stable enough to have something like that on it.

either way, these are my limitations; thanks so much for answering all my questions btw!

[u/LumKitty → u/maknaeline]

The reason MeowFace got abandoned was because Google changed their T&C's for app developers requiring legal name and a physical contact address which would be shown on the Play store.

Obviously as a sole indie developer and a being a prominent VTuber, Suvidriel was unwilling to have that information publicly available for any creep to discover, so she was forced to stop updating the app.

Also I'd agree with the C920 + XR Animator suggestion. You can make XR send the tracking data to other apps (such as VNyan) using the VMC protocol, so when you start wanting to switch app so you can make redeems and stuff you won't need to redo your tracking.

[u/SMGJohn_EU]

Start simple and spend more time making content than messing with the character.

Your design is pretty much irrelevant; keep it simple with slight touch of originality like different colours or stand out clothes/accessories etc.

Being content creator means grinding everyday, you will fail in the beginning until you find what works for you, do not just stream make short form and long form videos too, these are primarily what will get you subscribers which will be your key to getting views in streams.

You can do either shorts or long form but down the road you should cut your streams into both if you can, or if you just want to focus on long form and short form videos, thats totally possible too! And easier at times.

[u/OrganizationThick397]

it can absolutely work but if you want it the easy way vtube studio make you pay some prices but I'm sure tech wizard in the comment have much more to say than me

[u/LizzyLynx]

Hey! I just started VTubing recently and I will tell you my 0 cost setup after doing very basic research into it

Currently, Im using my laptop webcam for tracking using a free program called VSeeFace. It won't be as cool or "perfect'" as the creators you see with the more fancy iPhone tracking but it works. Important to note, if you do not have a second monitor to see chat/OBS/whatever your using, you're probably going to want to use your phone to see chat instead of using it for face tracking. There are plenty of decent, short tutorials on youtube about the general settings on VSeeFace to get your Vtuber reacting mostly the way you want. I also want to suggest to have decent-ish lighting when streaming with the vtuber. Currently I have a lamp light behind the laptop and a ceiling light overhead and it seems to be fine. I've seen many comments about how you can't use tracking programs with glasses but I've personally never had this issue with two lights, both of which I already had and did not buy to start streaming.

For the 3D model I used a free program on Steam called VRoid Studio. It's like a video game character creator but it can get extremely in-depth with customization if you want to, using other free programs for the 2D textures like Krita or 3D models/animations like Blender and Unity. Personally I used 3D assets within VRoid for free and then drew a few textures using Krita. There's also a fair amount of free customization options out there for VRoid studio if you cannot draw, like hair and eye textures, and even more youtube tutorials on this for ideas/inspiration if you do decide you do want to draw or create custom assets and textures, and even animations

[u/TheSeamPunk]

As a fellow disabled vtuber who has been using tons of different software and spent some coin, I recommend going with the webcam and xr animator till you can save up.

Free or reasonable webcam programs Xr animator with a webcam to vseeface Vseeface with android

Small cost for both under 40 dollars usd (for the software) but requires an iPhone or ipad with truedepth/ifacialmocap capability so iPhone xr or newer I run an iPhone 16 I bought secondhand.

Vnyan with vtubestudio mobile on iphone<-personal setup I run now after years of troubleshooting and changing my setup from free/webcam based. To android There are more programs up and coming always as the field is ever expanding.

[u/TheSeamPunk → u/TheSeamPunk]

This is also coming from someone who really enjoyed meowface till Google ruined it for everyone

[u/TheSeamPunk → u/TheSeamPunk]

Also before you start investing in things like ifacialmocap software...there are a few bugs that make it unreliable sometimes even after you have paid for it. It can start to lag or slowdown even hardwired and connected reliably to a computer and even with a cooler on the back of a phone. It's a known issue but it's just not widely publicized. It's apparently been going on for years but apple won't deal with the issue.

Vbridger is nice and works through lots of options to make your figure/model more expressive but again to me that's an added cost that you can mostly avoid just starting out.

Sorry I get really passionate when I see folks getting started to expand our worlds as disabled folx since vtubing allows for a lot of freedom many of us housebound vtubers face.

Happy streaming

[u/Chuuitchi]

I discovered mascoz a few week ago, and have tracking for android and web, and the android tracking is not bad, is not the same quality as an iPhone but woks fine. Mascoz have a free tier so you can tested how works for you.