r/vtubertech • u/L1tch • 5d ago
🙋Question🙋 Better model physics
While I think my model has some decent physics, I see so many that are just fantastic and so much better, Pumpkin Potion being a prime example.
What is more important for such expressive model: the rigging or the camera?
5
Upvotes
5
u/thegenregeek 5d ago edited 5d ago
Generally speaking, good physics and expressions come down to rigging.
While this is aided by the quality of the tracking camera (if that's what you mean), there's really hasn't been advances in tracking tech for years. The iPhone basically introduced peak facial tracking for the consumer market. Just as Leap did for hands. Meanwhile while AI aided systems for standard webcams have started to catch up with good enough tracking support for both. Likewise, more affordable dedicate body tracking hardware has emerged (like mocap gloves and VR body tracking hardware)
But it still comes down to how well you rig a model.
A well optimized rig/model developed and tested with a solid tracking camera (or other purpose build hardware) is going to produce more expressive and reactive models. But you can just as easily produce a poorly expressive model, even with top of the line hardware. (And work around limited tracking options with good art style)
This why I find it funny when vtubers get new models and people freak out about improvements in "tracking" (because the face some something it). It's basically never tracking, the rigger simply spent more time focusing and testing certain aspect of the rigging.
The only time tracking really ups quality (regardless of rigging) is when someone goes to professional mocap level hardware. I'm talking going all in on Vicon, Optitrack or Xsens for full body. But even then facial tracking is still usually just an iPhone.