Fanmade UTAU Wiki:How to Create a Fanmade UTAU

This creation guide will reduce the number of low quality pages on the Wiki and to help the creator create a purposeful character.

Some pages do not exactly follow the rules in this guide. These are the original pages and have a lack of information due to the information being taken from the UTAU Wiki.

What follows is the general process of creating a fanmade character.

What Exactly is a Fanmade UTAU?
Fanmade UTAU is a term used by fans in regards to original characters or characters based on existing UTAU characters. There are some expected standards on this wiki when it comes to creating a page for one.

How to Start
If you're hoping that the character you're about the make is the going to be the next Ted Kasane, in terms of popularity and recognition, then you will be disappointed. Ted was one of the first fanmade characters to be created in the UTAU fandom and because of his relation to Teto, became quite well known. Creation of non-mascot fanmades has slowly died down over the years, but still an active interest in the UTAU community. This isn't a paragraph to bum you out or discourage you from creating a character. Just be prepared for your character to be known by readers of this wiki and not every single UTAU fan.

Don't be afraid of criticism and don't resent it either-- your attention is being called because something you created has hope for improvement. No one will waste their time expressing points of improvement over something that they think is a failure.

Quick Start
This is a summary of how to basically create a character, but you must know, that you are responsible for a characters creation! There may be people who will give you advice and help, but in the end it will take your full effort to build up the character.

Biographical information

 * A name, the surname must have a meaning, meaning for first name is optional.
 * An age, in years. If you character is, say, a chimera, two ages are appropriate.
 * Series type. If you do not specify one, your character will be considered Fanmade UTAU by default.
 * Background story. (optional)
 * Occupation, if not singer.

Physical description

 * A gender, male, female, or other.
 * Appearance, including body type, hair color, eye color, race, height, weight, and other physical features.
 * Outfit description.
 * Species, human, android, or other.

Technical Information

 * If one exists, a voice configuration and source, and if not from UTAU, name of voice provider.
 * Description of voice, such as high, mature, robotic.
 * Vocal recomendations, such as range, tempo, and genre.

Personality

 * General inforamtion about personality.
 * Relationships with other characters.

Artwork

 * A concept sketch.
 * A concept illustration; black and white, s
 * A character diagram, a break down of attire and apperance

Character policy
Some creators like their characters to have a usage clause. This is not recommended, and if one exists it should not be too strict or unreasonable, as the Internet is a very free realm, with next to no restrictions. If your character has their own website, it's best to post the usage clause there as well.

Examples

 * If the character and images of them are allowed to be of public use.
 * Types of situations, text, or visual content your character and be subjected to.
 * What types of status and relationships your character is defined under.
 * If your character is illustrated in a certain manner.
 * If images of your character is up for commercial or profitable use. Just one example; if someone were to draw your character then sell the piece at a convention or art site.

Artwork Guidelines
If you create a character that was not drawn by you, you must credit the artist. You must draw all concept artwork. The methods below should be viewed as a temporary arrangements to get your character started, with the exception of artwork done at request. '''RECOLORS ARE NOT ALLOWED ON THE FANMADE UTAU WIKI! ALL RECOLOR PAGES WILL BE DELETED. IF YOU SEE A RECOLOR PAGE, PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE ADMIN.'''

Alternatives to Drawing Your Own Artwork

 * Employ an artist to illustrate your fanmade character. You are encouraged to draw the character yourself, but if your art skills are poor, then this is an advisable option.
 * A doll base that is for fair use.

Process of Creation
Please be aware that if you do not put much thought into your work, the admin can remove the page at any point in time. While she does not want to prevent creativity, there have been so many half-hearted fanmades created that she has to be strict with the ones she allows the Wiki to host.

Avoid recycling of names (especially unique family names) which are not created by you. Conflicting names lead to misunderstandings. There are exceptions when it comes to derived names from official UTAUs, as they are usually done in spoof or intended pun.

This wikia has no issue with pseudo Japanese (or other language) names, just understand that...
 * 1) Giving Fanmade UTAUs badly-made Japanese names is a bad idea. This is true for any name in a language not native to your own, so try to understand the naming structures.
 * 2) Incorrect information in relation to the Japanese language (such as names, meanings and interpretation) may be clarified or adjusted anytime without notice. You do not always have to name your UTAU in Japanese, there are other languages out there, especially your native language.
 * 3) Do not plagiarized characters. Uniqueness can be difficult and trial and error is expected. Stick to the theme of your fanmade UTAU, but deviate if needed, and in good taste. Your fanmade UTAU must stand out and must be memorable to those who see him/her. Mary Sues are heavily frowned upon.
 * 4) In terms of a character generator, try to use the results for a basic idea instead of just copying with not attempt at revising.
 * 5) Do not add characters which inflict racism, discrimination, crime, obscenity (or hentai) and/or political outcry. Even as a joke this can be offensive towards the individuals it is aimed at and will likely attract the wrong attention towards your work and also risk breaking the end user agreement of Wikia or UTAU software.
 * 6) Do not attempt to force your character to be related to another by placing its name on a chosen page, especially without the creator's approval. This is done to establish peace between creators, if you make a fanmade that is related to say, Momone Momo, then it will not be established as official regardless since it did not come from Momo's creator.
 * 7) Please establish a history of the fanmade; this is important as it tells others the drive behind your fanmade, why it was created in the first place and/or what it represents.
 * 8) A full length picture of the fanmade must be supplied; You are encouraged to draw your own artwork. Do not upload an image of someone's character and claim it as your original character. You will be blocked.
 * 9) This wiki is not a advertising space. you should not be using it strictly as the 'only place' to advertise your fanmade. The Wiki can only supply information on fanmades that have been established through a basic process. The reason for this is Fanmade UTAU Wiki is not official and thus not solid proof of a fanmade's existence, as anyone could alter the details at any point. However, if you have a website established or an account with a website service, then there is proof of your work! Recommended places for establishing proof and promoting your fanmade; Youtube (or any other video site), a blogging space (off site) or deviantART or any other community art site.
 * 10) Your Fanmade UTAU is your creation, and in some cases, like your child. Treat them with care.

I want my Vocaloid to be Japanese!
Before creating your own Japanese Fanmade Vocaloid, you will need to be accustomed to the following: Japanese language is agglutinative and has a set of very complicated markers and inflections. Even small mistakes with inflections or particles can completely nullify your meaning. In addition, most Kanji used in Japanese have several meanings respectively unlike in original Chinese. These facts lead to the difficulty that combining words, especially Kanji, will often create a totally new, different interpretation which you do not expect even if the markers and/or inflectional forms is composed correctly. Furthermore, machine translation is not reliable currently, and should only be used as a last resort for names or text in graphics. Japanese language has nothing common with Western languages in both words and grammar and it has a stupendous amount of homophones, so a machine often makes incorrect translations. It may be a small help, but do not take it literally and check it with a dictionary without failure.
 * 1) The Japanese language
 * 2) Hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
 * 3) Actual UTAU usage. It will not make sense for you to make a fanmade UTAU without knowing how the software works.
 * 4) The donor's (your voice source; whether it be Teto Kasane, Ruko Yokune, or Uta Utane) voice and its configurations.
 * 5) An awareness of existing fanmade characters (both UTAU and Vocaloid) and their purposes.

The following sites gives a good crash course on the Japanese language. This is very important if you will be basing the name pattern of your hopeful Fanmade Vocaloid after the Japanese Vocaloids, deal with Japanese users, and/or if you plan into venturing into Nico-Nico Douga.
 * http://japanese.about.com/
 * http://www.magnifythelord.org/cma/Nihongo.html
 * http://alc.co.jp/

This site includes the Kanji/Kana, English word and Romaji for a word you search. Helpful for song lyrics and names. After creating your fanmade character, visit How to Set Up a Standard Fanmade UTAU Page for a basic page layout.
 * http://jisho.org/