Weebish Utau design?

ChoKun

Momo's Minion
My friend drew a thing:
- http://saphireadopt.deviantart.com/art/Oufit-Saga-Nyaonkunu-445355440

And she asked me to ask you what you thought of her design for Saga Nyaonkunu (she doesn't like going on utaforum because some people were mean to her)

Now on a scale of 1 to 10 how unoriginal is her art
(and would mind giving reasons for the score)
 

shinami

Procrastination Queen
Tutor
Supporter
Defender of Defoko
I think it could use a lot of improvement, but it isn't a terrible start.

First off good on her for not just copying Miku/Rin's outfits. That's the worst you can do when designing an UTAU, and while copying other Vocaloid/UTAU designs is just as bad everyone is just tired of seeing Miku/Rin recolors.

Unfortunately, the outfit isn't nearly as creative as it could be. It uses very generic outfit parts that many UTAUs have and makes for a not very noteworthy character. You'd probably think "she looks okay" and if you remember her it would be for her voice. That being said if she has an absolutely outstanding voicebank the design does not matter whatsoever. But still if you want improvement I'll say what I can in hopes of giving advice and hopefully this bluntness doesn't come off as bashing.

I do like the shade of pink chosen - it isn't the obnoxious or pastel pinks you mostly see and instead a sort of clay rose shade. It's very nice. Perhaps combined with the red and more shades of gray and i think it will make a good color scheme.

If she's going for a real-person, more casual outfit, she can/has done better. Both http://saphireadopt.deviantart.com/art/Adopt-Open-444997917 and http://saphireadopt.deviantart.com/art/Adopt-Closed-444800118 have interesting outfits that look casual but have interesting and original designs, unlike the hoodie+laced boots that I see everywhere. Also, while she can keep it if she likes because I see it on plenty of successes, the eyepatch feels very out of place and unless it's there for backstory or something (which not many people care too much about in UTAU but if you do that's fine) I'd remove it. It just feels like it's there to be cool.

The hair style could be amped up a bit. Something as simple as making her hair wavy or curly in the same style, or making her have an interesting bang style…I'd Google hairstyles or even use character generators with lots of hairstyles to find inspiration. I don't think it would be hard to transform that cut to something good though.

Also, Googling fashion or fashion websites is a GREAT way to find interesting ways to clothe your UTAU. I recommend it 100%.

All in all, it has the basics for a good design, it just needs some more flair and pizas that will make it stand out from the crowd (without going too crazy of course).
 

ChoKun

Momo's Minion
Thread starter
I made a demo of her voice here (flags = Y0g6)
https://soundcloud.com/chokun-1/demo

Saga's voice is not really that good or memorable

Her design is just mascot for Saga's voice because Saga has no official appearance
 

shinami

Procrastination Queen
Tutor
Supporter
Defender of Defoko
Just like a design, the only thing that determined whether an UTAU's voice is good is the effort you put in. A decent mic is needed for the voicebank is just like how you'll need a tablet or good art materials to make the art. It's a worthy investment in my opinion to get a good mic. Then you have to put in the effort. If you think her voice isn't good, record in new styles! Make multiple pitches for a multipitch bank! Try other languages! It's all about effort.

If you truly want to get into UTAU and have a strong UTAU representing yourself, you'll need to invest your time, not just say that it's only okay and that the design is fine because it wasn't supposed to mean anything.

…That sounds a lot more mean than I wanted it to. I'm trying to be motivating (and failing, sob). Everything I'm saying is NOT to beat you down, to say that you are inadequate right now, but that there is always potential for greatness, you just have to reach for it.

I really do hope that my advice with the design helps, as I'm not sure if you were only insulted by what I was saying or not. And if I have to show you UTAU success stories I will, hah, because we all start from the bottom with our first basic voicebanks and designs and only get better.

i'm just really worried that you're taking this badly when i'm trying really hard (but still continually failing) to motivate ahhh
i'm the kind of person who speaks before thinking so it's a big problem i have

EDIT: Ah, here, have a sketch of what I meant by how even just changing the composition of the hair could help, or even branching out to other styles. http://imgur.com/1LAjTRm my handwriting is bad gomen

also looking at this thread is making me laugh and realize i'm trying too hard my responses are so huge pfffft it's probably just your statement that people were mean to you here that rubbed me wrong and i must make a better impression