“As expected, people should live with a sense of ease.”
Once I made up my mind to slow down the tempo, I found myself feeling more relaxed, and with that peace of mind, I was able to fully enjoy Lily’s stream today.
It felt like I was finally living the true “Vtuber fan life” again after a long time.
“…But something feels a little empty.”
How should I put it?
I’m definitely living the ideal Vtuber fan life, but it still feels somewhat unsatisfying.
Like having a full meal but skipping dessert.
Maybe I should listen to the song Lily sang during her debut stream again.
With that thought, I entered Lily’s NewTube channel.
Naturally, my eyes were drawn to the thumbnails of her streams.
Big, bold thumbnails featuring Lily’s avatar front and center.
“…I got it!!!”
I finally realized what was missing from my Vtuber fan life!
“Currently, there is no fan art of Lily.”
“Fan art?”
“It’s basically artwork drawn by people who really love Lily and watch her streams.”
And fan art is an absolutely essential part of being a Vtuber fan.
Even if you say you have zero interest in it.
Because if you’ve watched Vtubers for a while, you’d know—fan art is often used in thumbnails, and you can’t help but click on them.
For the artist, having their fan art featured as a thumbnail is an incredibly exciting experience.
Why is that?
“Using fan art as a thumbnail is considered a reward… Is it because it allows the artist to showcase their skills to a wider audience by leveraging the Vtuber’s popularity?”
The third princess shook her head.
“It’s about being recognized. That’s the important point.”
Live streaming might seem like two-way communication, but in reality, it’s not.
It’s one-way communication disguised as two-way.
It’s a “one-to-many” form of interaction.
So when a Vtuber, among all their countless fans, acknowledges you specifically, it feels incredibly special.
To the point where other fans might even feel jealous.
Some Vtuber fans prefer watching “small” Vtubers—those with very few viewers.
And there’s usually a reason why these Vtubers remain small.
So why do people choose to watch them when there are plenty of more entertaining Vtubers out there?
Because it’s easier to be noticed.
Getting recognized by your favorite Vtuber is a huge deal in the world of Vtuber fandom.
“So, what you’re saying is, if I start using fan art as thumbnails, it’ll help foster that sense of recognition?”
“And if we go further, mentioning it in the NewTube community would be even better… but as I just said, there’s no fan art of Lily right now.”
If there’s no fan art, then I can’t encourage people by saying that drawing fan art gets you noticed.
If I can’t spread that message, then no one will start drawing fan art.
It’s a vicious cycle.
This is the unfortunate reality of a fandom culture that hasn’t been properly established yet.
…But that doesn’t mean we should just sit around waiting for someone to start drawing fan art, does it?
“Which is why we need to fabricate it.”
If we can’t tell people, “If you draw fan art, you’ll get noticed” because no one is drawing fan art…
Then all we have to do is draw it ourselves and pretend it was made by a viewer.
“…Got it. Anna has some rough sketches from before, so we can just touch them up a bit.”
“Oh? You already have some drawings?”
Anna nodded in response to my question.
“They’re sketches I used as reference when designing the avatar.”
…Thank god. If no one here could draw, I was ready to do it myself.
But honestly, I wouldn’t call myself a great artist.
I’d rather avoid drawing if I can help it.
As I sighed in relief, the third princess spoke up.
“So, we’re posting this in the gallery, right? A drawing of Lily looking teary-eyed while casting a fire spell? …Not exactly my style, but whatever.”
It seemed like even the third princess was starting to understand how to stir up attention.
That was a good sign.
And the bait she came up with was actually solid.
“That works, but… I have another idea.”
This time, I wanted to take a slightly different approach.
I firmly believe that no matter what kind of stream you do, having a loyal viewer base is crucial.
Right now, Lily is monopolizing the Vtuber market here, but once more Vtubers start appearing, that market share will inevitably get divided.
That’s when having dedicated, loyal fans will make all the difference.
But there’s one issue holding us back—Lily’s avatar design isn’t in a mainstream art style for this empire.
People might like her, but they struggle to get fully attached to her look.
Right now, limitations in avatar technology prevent change, but what if, someday, a new Vtuber with a more mainstream art style appears?
That’s why we need to make people fall in love with Lily’s art style now.
If they grow attached to her look, fan art will naturally increase.
And once fan art becomes common, we’ll have solved the problem of “There’s no fan art of Lily.”
“It’s killing two birds with one stone.”
Now then, how can we make people feel drawn to Lily’s art style?
I pondered over various ideas.
At first, I considered blending mainstream and non-mainstream styles to make Lily’s design feel less alienating.
But that seemed likely to result in an uncanny valley effect, so I scrapped the idea immediately.
The real value would shine when we had a strong base of loyal viewers.
However, one issue was still holding us back—Lily’s avatar design wasn’t a mainstream style in the empire.
Even if people liked her, it wasn’t easy for them to form an emotional attachment to her look.
Right now, avatar customization is limited, but what if a Vtuber with a more mainstream art style appears in the future?
That’s why we needed to make people appreciate Lily’s art style now.
If people started liking her design, more fan art would naturally follow, and we’d solve the issue of “no fan art for Lily” at the same time.
“It’s killing two birds with one stone.”
So, how do we make Lily’s art style appealing?
I thought about various approaches.
Mixing mainstream and non-mainstream styles to ease people into it seemed like a good idea at first, but it felt like it would only create an uncanny valley effect.
So, I scrapped that idea.
(Repeated section)
“…Is that how it is?”
“Even the mods found Lily hot?”
“Guess it wasn’t just me being weird.”
[41 Comments]
“Damn, that’s unnecessarily well-drawn lol.”
“Why is this being reuploaded?”
OP: “I originally blacked out the swimsuit part, so it looked like she was wearing nothing, and it got taken down.”
Comment: “LMAO”
Comment: “They removed it just for that?”
Comment: “Yeah, probably because people keep trying to bypass the rules with borderline NSFW art on NewTube.”
“The more I look at it, the more it’s turning me on…”
Comment: “Oh no, this guy’s losing it.”
Comment: “You’ve fallen into depravity…”
“Thank you for the artwork! Would it be okay to use it as a thumbnail?”
Comment: “You really think anyone’s gonna believe you’re Lily just because you’re posting as an anon? LMAO.”
Comment: “What do we say when there’s no proof?”
OP: “If I were her, I’d be honored.”
Comment: “Yeah, sure. LMAO.”
Title: What is this?
(Lily’s livestream link attached)
“Isn’t this thumbnail drawn by someone from the gallery?”
[4 Comments]
Comment: “Yeah, it is.”
Comment: “Is she even allowed to use it without permission?”
Comment: “The original artist said they were fine with it.”
Comment: “Wait, that anon was actually Lily?”
Title: The fact is, fan art posted in the gallery counts as derivative work under NewTube’s policy.
(Screenshot of NewTube’s avatar-related policies attached)
“And derivative work means that whether or not Lily wants to use it, if she asks for it to be taken down, it has to be removed.”
[4 Comments]
Comment: “Even if it was posted in the gallery?”
Comment: “Yeah, the gallery now has a policy saying it cooperates fully with NewTube’s regulations.”
Comment: “Easy fix—just don’t post it on NewTube or the gallery!”
Comment: “Then what’s the point of drawing it? LMAO.”
Title: Is NewTube’s avatar policy too much?
(Screenshot of avatar pricing attached)
“With how much people are paying for this, shouldn’t they be getting better treatment?”
[2 Comments]
“I’ve been completely convinced.”
“Guess there’s a reason it’s so expensive. LOL.”
Title: Lily posted gallery art on her NewTube community too. LOL.
“She gave a proper credit shoutout and even linked it.”
[4 Comments]
“Why is this actually real?”
“I thought it was fake since there was no proof pic.”
“Why only them? Why only them? Why only them? WHY ONLY THEM?”
“If you’re jealous, draw something yourself.”
Title: Lily’s stream is live!!!
“No way I’m missing an instrument performance stream. LOL.”
[1 Comment]
“Hell yeah, finally!”
[Instrument Performance Stream] Summer is over, but I still want to sing summer songs! [Lily]
67K viewers watching live – started 11 minutes ago
[Ah, by the way, did everyone see the artwork I posted in the community? You must’ve noticed it since I used it as today’s thumbnail!]
“Of course we saw it.”
“So… Do you really wear that swimsuit?”
“Cow print swimsuit? Cow print swimsuit? Cow print swimsuit?”
[Lily: No, but isn’t it seriously well-drawn?]
“Gotta admit, it was drawn really well.”
“But isn’t it a little embarrassing that a swimsuit version of you is out there for the whole internet to see?”
[Lily: Embarrassing? Hmm… Actually, I really like those kinds of drawings.]
“Wait, what?”
“Gasp.”
“Lily was secretly into NSFW art all along??”
[Lily: I’ll be honest! Of course, I love well-drawn, normal fan art… but I also enjoy slightly lewd artwork like the one used for the thumbnail!]
“Did she really just confess that here?”
“W-w-w-w-what?!”
“Damn, she’s being direct. LOL.”
[Lily: To the artist who made it, thank you for the eye candy!]