Virtual YouTuber

Virtual
YouTuber

Virtual
YouTuber

8 Mixed
Identity
46 Like me,
Share me
60 Anyone can
be famous
90 Bibliography

1

Mixed
Identity

“ She is
gorgeous,
she is
talented,
she has tons
of fans and
she is not
real.”

Virtual YouTuber (or VTuber) is a term used
for the YouTubers who are layering 2d or 3d
character over their body with virtual persona.
It's a half virtual and a half real. People are
watching the digital generated character, but
at the same time they are interacting with the
real person who is actually acting and speaking.
Ami Yamato Channel
It's current rising user generated content started
in Japan. In 2018, the amount of Virtual YouTuber
has been counted over 2,000 and is growing
rapidly together with its fandom community.
Beginning of the Virtual YouTubers are
created by a digital entertainment company,
but nowadays most of channels are made by
independent home made YouTubers.
11

One of the reasons for its rising popularity is
that the technology becomes cheaper and easy
to access for everyone. The main technology
that is required to create Virtual YouTuber
is motion capture equipment, face rigging
software and real-time 3d rendering program.
At the beginning of the VTuber was produced
by a company who has expertise in technology.
But most of VTubers in nowadays are home
made by independence user. Because of the
affordable equipment and the online tutorials.
Face Swap application with IphoneX
Nowadays, it's even possible to create a Virtual
character without using complex technology. By
using face swap application, anyone can create
their own virtual feature. Technology is no
matter a problem to become a VTuber, it's all
about the content of video and unique virtual
personality.
12

The beginning of the Virtual YouTuber was
mainly focused on the feminine, young and cute
concept, but now it becomes more diverse in
gender and age.
Motion capture technology
Independent Virtual YouTubers are experimeting
with mixing identity, to create a non sense
and unique concept. Diversity of the character
expands the range of the fandom as well. Most
of the fans in the beginning was the people
who are interested in Japanese animation, but
now there is VTuber fandom community which
is separated from an animation fandoms. Most
of them are based in Japan, but constantly
spreading to different countries.
13

14
KiLA (Kigurumi Live Animator) explaining
about real-time motion capture software

15

Ami Yamato is considered as the first one who
created the concept of Virtual YouTuber. Ami
started her YouTube channel in 2011, which was
earlier than the term Virtual YouTuber has been
used. In 2018, she has 102,943 subscribers with
millions of Instagram followers. She is based
in London, United Kingdom and has Japanese
origins. She present herself as a 3d character
in a real environment. It's almost impossible to
recognize the boarder between the real world
and her virtual character.
Playlist of Ami Yamato Channel
24

When she starts YouTube channel in 2011, motion
capture technology was not easy to access for
everyone. So thus many people are questioning
'What are you really look like?' but she never
clearly reveals the method behind her face. No
one knows how far is real and fake. Instead, she
is filming the no make up character to show the
real face.
The main content of Ami's video is daily Vlog
such as travel blog or how to tutorial. The
content itself is not special, but she makes
humor by using the advantage of being virtual.
For example, she uploaded make up tutorial
about the natural digital outlook by using
Adobe Photoshop tools to put on make up.
25

The term 'Virtual YouTuber' was first used by
Kizuna Ai in 2016. With her cute voice, she
creates the cheerful interacting videos. She
introduces herself as an artificial intelligent
living in the virtual world who has big curiosity
about the human world. In 2018, Kizuna Ai has
1,851,917 subscribers and 70 millions instagram
followers. She is the most popular in Virtual
YouTuber scene.
A.I Channel
Kizuna Ai is made of multiple layers of
identity. Her 3d character is made by software
technicians, she moves by the movement actor,
and her cute voice is from voice actor who is
selected by audition.
28

Kizuna AI has been appointed as the first
ambassador for a Japan National Tourism
Organization (JNTO) campaign titled 'Come to
JAPAN', which aims to increase tourism to Japan.
With this, JNTO hopes to increase fans’ interest
in visiting Japan through her online reach on
YouTube and various social networks.
Come to Japan Campaign by Kizuna Ai
Kizuna Ai creates the contents about Japanese
culture sponsored by government. She is
introducing about Japanese cuisine, subculture
and tourist attractions.
29

“Hai, domo!
I will let
you witness
my super
intelligence.

Don't be shy,
I'm always
here to
conncet with
you.”

Cheerful, cute, vulnerable, innocent, and
adorable are the most common concept of
Virtual YouTubers. So called as 'Fluffy things'.
Even though there is a diverse experiment on
creating different gender and age of character,
those Virtual YouTuber who has fluffy thing
gains the interest more.
One of the reasons for people to watch the
virtual video is to have a relaxation from the
real world and see the fantasy world where
they are dreaming about. Virtual YouTubers
are the storytellers who guide you to another
planet. They make the atmosphere as if they
are always there to cheer your life and interact
with you.
34

Even though Virtual YouTubers are exist
as virtual, it's important to have an instant
interaction with viewers. The popular content
of VTuber is 'let's together' series, such as let's
game together, let's travel togethe and etc.
So that the viewers can feel that VTubers are
reacting and listening to them.
Nora Cat Channel
Recently Virtual YouTubers are starting to
collaborate with each other. Multiple VTubers
are meeting in the virtual space and doing an
interactive games together. By featuring each
others channel, they can be more famous and
gets more subscribers.
35

“I have a soul
in my shell. I can
be a girl or a
boy, depending
on your
imagination.”

NORA CAT
DEBUT 2014/12/05
SUBSCRIBERS 78,896
AGE 16
GENDER
Neutral
HEIGHT
150 cm
WEIGHT
41.5 kg
41

“I'm a princess
of ego searching.
I have an amnesia,
join my journey to
find myself.”

MIRAI AKARI
DEBUT 2014/02/28
SUBSCRIBERS 878,876
AGE 74
GENDER
Female
BWH
B90 W55 H86
43

“I'm dreaming
to be an idol. I
will be the most
innocent person
you will ever
seen. Look how
talent I am!”

SIRO
DEBUT 2017/06/23
SUBSCRIBERS 474,496
AGE 15
GENDER
Female
PAST LIFE
Cat
Innocent Military
45

2

Like me,
Share me

€ 10,000
€ 5,000
€ 2,000
€ 500
€ 8,600
SIRO
€ 5,300
MIRIAKARI
€ 2,600
KEMOMIMI
€ 1,100
SORA CH
€ 500
NORA CAT
€ 200
AMI YAMATO

€
€ 20,000
KIZUNA AI
€ 22,000
€ 13,000
KAGUYA LUNA
VTUBER
MONTHLY
INCOME

“ We as
ourselves and
everything we
experience
are becoming
more virtual
network.”

'Like me, share me and subscribe me!' is what
Virtual YouTubers are saying at the end of
their video. Virtual YouTubers are earning
money based on the amount of views and the
advertisements. The higher the viewer, the
higher the profit. As a reference, one million
views make around $1,000 profit. Once their
video is monetized, they get paid whenever
viewers watch ads. Also they get paid from
YouTube Red subscriptions, which allow members
to watch videos without ads.
YouTube Live streaming by Siro Channel
Money transfer icon in Super Chat
YouTube announces 'Super Chat' which allows
viewers to pay to pin a comment on live
streams. When Virtual YouTubers are going
on a live stream, people can see a dollar bill
symbol in the chat window. Clicking this button
opens up a slider that lets people set the dollar
amount they like to send the YouTuber. The more
they pay, the longer the comment gets pinned.
People also get a few more characters for your
message as well.
51

52
Cosplay of Virtual YouTuber Siro

There is a Japanese term 'Otaku' which means
for the people with obsessive interests,
commonly towards the anime and manga
fandom. Japanese animation otaku was the
big part of the Virtual YouTuber fans in the
beginning. So the fandom culture has been
developed similar from the animie fandom.
Cosplay is one of the biggest fandom activities.
People are wearing the same clothes and wigs
same as VTubers they like. It's also meet up
event for socializing each other.
Kizuna Ai fans meet up
Virtual YouTuber cosplay event
Most of Virtual YouTubers have their own
social media and official website. People can
check their schedule and offline events. Also
merchandise, such as figure, costumes, blanket,
and posters are available to buy.
53

manipulated image of Mirai Akari

Pornographic video of Kizuna Ai

Easy access to the technology allow anyone
can become a Virtual YouTuber. This can also
mean that anyone can hack Virtual YouTuber
by using technology. It's not difficult to find
the pornographic video of Kizuna Ai. As she is
the most famous, there are a variety of sexual
usage. From naked dance performance and
VR sex experience till deepfake pornographic
video.
Deepfake pornographic video of Kizuna Ai
Deepfake porn is manipulated pornographic
videos, so that the original actress's face is
replaced with somebody else's. Celebrities are
most targeted, but Virtual YouTubers are also
being consumed. As these tools become more
powerful and easier to use, it has enabled
the transfer of sexual fantasies from people's
imaginations to the real. It flies past not only
the boundaries of human decency, but also our
sense of believing what we see and hear.
58

Is creating a pornographic video using virtual
human unethical? Does it really matter if it is
not real? Is anyone being hurt? Does virtual
humans need the right to be protected? Or it
is okay because they are fake human? Or it is
okay because it doesn't happen in reality?
There are many following questions to be
concerned and be critical about the usage of
mixed human identity. Technology is blurring the
lines between real and fantasy. But there isn't
decision on how to judge the ethical problems
in mixed reality.
screenshot from virtual sex with Kizuna Ai
59

3

Anyone can
be famous

63

“ We live in
this shocking
time where
virtual
humans are
more genuine
than real
people.”

The idea of virtual human is not only exist in
YouTube, from 2016 it has been appeared in
different social media platform. People are
fascinated about virtual human's trendy and
fashionable feature. So called as 'Virtual
Influencers' are blurring the lines between
reality and the digital world, human influencers
like Kylie Jenner do the same thing in a sense,
with their equally flawless looking skin, cool
clothes and perfectly curated lives posted
through filters. The presentation and standard
of beauty on Instagram are becoming extremely
homogenized. Influencers are, quite frankly, all
starting to look the same.
Bermuda and Lil Wavi
Wilson, the creator of virtual supermodel Shudu,
makes the claim that these manufactured
digital influencers are more genuine than
real people. It's an era where face tuning and
digitally altered photos are the norm across
social platforms.
65

67

“ Virtual
celebrities are
blurring the
lines between
the reality and
the digital
world,

human
celebrity like
Kylie Jenner
do the same
thing in a
sense.”
69

Lil Miquela Instagram pictures
71

73
Lil Miquela is one of the famous virtual
celebrity. She is hyperrealistic digital
generated character who has 870,000
instagram followers. According to her
Wikipedia page, Lil Miquela is a Spanish-
Brazilian-American from Downey, California,
whose real name is Miquela Sousa. Even
though she is digital, she often placed
in real life situations and expresses her
own political views. She has serious money
making potential as well. She has partnered
with Giphy and Prada and posed wearing
Diesel and Moncler.

Shudu Gram is first virtual digitial supermodel
who has over 116,000 followers on her Instagram.
People are fascinated by her or perhaps one
could argue that people are fascinated by the
idea of her and the other digital influencers
gaining popularity on Instagram. Shudu Gram
created by London based fashion photographer
Cameron James Wilson in 2017. By using a 3D
modelling program, he can make the model
pose any which way he likes and there's no
denying she looks uncannily similar to a human.
The photographer describes her as a virtual
celebration of beautiful, dark-skinned women.
Shudu Gram posing for campaign poster
74

Wilson, the creator of Shudu, said she was
largely inspired by Princess of South Africa
Barbie doll and was meant to be a creative
outlet that was free from the input of other
people and an exploration of his own views
and exploring his creativity. Wilson said his
ultimate goal for Shudu is to eventually have
her collaborate with upcoming designers from
emerging economies and underrepresented
countries.
Shudu Gram commercial modeling
“I think we are, as ourselves, becoming more
virtual in our everyday lives.” “Everything we
experience is kind of through some kind of
virtual network now. So, it wouldn’t surprise me
if digital models became more popular and
more standard. I think it’s quite surprising that
someone like Shudu can look more realistic than
some of the real influencers out there. We kind
of live in this shocking time where 3D people
are more genuine than real people. I think that’s
kind of more scary in my eyes.”
75

New era
where digital
avatar
with virtual
persona will
influence you,
real human.

Celebrity refers to the fame and public
attention accoreded by the mass media.
Successful careers in entertainment and sports
are commonly associated with celebrity status.
With the appear of new media platform
changes the traditional meaning of celebrity
and their impact on society.
Social media brings the opportunity for
everyone to become a creator and be famous
with their contents. Those social media
celebrities are gaining fame by self-branding
and self-celebrification. They are also referred
as 'micro celebrity' which operate within a
relatively limited and localized context.
Average earnings for influencer's posts on
selected social media platform
Social media celebrities have emerged a
powerful tool to take advantage of their star
power and earn money by making a sponsorshop
with brands and marketing company. As a
reference, someone with 3m to 7m followers
can charge, on average, $187,500 for a post on
YouTube, $93,750 for a post on Facebook and
$75,000 for a post on Instagram or Snapchat.
77

There is huge money potential in virtual celebrity.
Success of virtual celebrity often accompany
with brands endorsement partnership. For
example, Alex Hunter, virtual professional
football player, signs an endorsement deal as a
brand ambassador for the new Coca-Cola Zero
Sugar commercial designed for FIFA 18. Instead
of pumping out as a message or product to
millions of people, virtual celebrity can activate
on target audience because that audience is
already their audience. Their existence is virtual
but their influence on society is not virtual
anymore.
Virtual football player, Alex Hunter on
Coca-Cola advertisement
79

Advance in technology and its easy accessibility
let us to visualize our fantasy and experience
the imagination in the real world. What we
are seeing in the future is the arrival of digital
personas and avatars whose personality and
physicality represents that of a real, everyday
person with a collection of human interests .
Virtual avatars can be as perfect as that is
appealing for publics to admire and fascinate
about them. Virtual celebrities are the reflection
of human desire and have crucial influence
on the real world. If we are influenced by the
virtual avartars with virtual persona, then what
is real? And what make us real?

81

New media
and the
transition of
celebrity

#iconic
#career
#traditional
APPEAR OF
TV STAR
83

FAMOUS
FOR BEING
FAMOUS
#issue maker
#reality show
#lifestyle
84

SOCIAL MEDIA
CELEBRITY
#DIY celebrity
#self branding
#micro-cerebrity
85

#digital self
#face-tuning
#sponsorship
VIRTUAL
INFLUENCER
86

" Who will
gain fame
in the
future?”

89

4

Bibliography

COVER IMAGE
1. 'Lil Miiquela' from her instagram account https://
www.instagram.com/lilmiquela/
TEXT
1. 'A brief introduction to Virtual YouTuber' (2018)
https://motherboard.vice.com/fr/article/qvewqv/
une-breve-introduction-aux-youtubeurs-virtuels
2. 'World’s First Virtual YouTuber Kizuna
AI Inaugurated as Japanese Tourism
Ambassador' (2018) https://otakumode.
com/news/5a56b876dc551d2768de38f7/
World%E2%80%99s-First-Virtual-YouTuber-Kizuna-
AI-Inaugurated-as-Japanese-Tourism-Ambassador!
3. 'Virtual YouTuber Ranking' (2018) https://virtualyoutuber.userlocal.jp/
4. 'The annual income and monthly income of Virtual
YouTuber are amazing' (2018) https://he-news.
com/?p=12283
5. 'Deepfakes porn has serious consequences' (2018)
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-42912529
6. 'Cameron James Wilson interview at Harpers
Bazaar' (2018) https://www.harpersbazaar.com/
beauty/makeup/a16810663/shudu-gram-fentymodel-fake/
7. 'The fascinating world of Instagram's virtual
celebrities' (2018) http://www.bbc.com/capital/
story/20180402-the-fascinating-world-ofinstagrams-virtual-celebrities
8. 'Celebrity' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Celebrity
9. 'Celebrities’ endorsement earnings on social
media' (2016) https://www.economist.com/
graphic-detail/2016/10/17/celebritiesendorsement-earnings-on-social-media
10. 'The Rise of Virtual Influencers' (2018) https://
medium.com/@theprojects/the-rise-of-virtualinfluencers-de9a51dc5057
92
92

93
93

© Mongeun Kim
Design Academy Eindhoven
Man and Communication (2018)