Virtual Visions

Author/Artist Name

Emma Nelson, Murray State UniversityFollow

Files

Academic Level at Time of Creation

Senior

Date of Creation

Spring 4-21-2025

Artist Statement

Virtual Visions

I have always believed art should be enjoyable for all audiences. Often when we watch a show or movie, the art and design that goes into producing them goes underlooked. Creativity doesn’t just live in a gallery, it exists in everyday life.

When I first became interested in creating art, I immediately focused on character design and conceptual work. Watching TV shows and movies as a child inspired me to start creating my own characters with backgrounds and personalities. This in turn helped me to create their visual elements through illustration. I studied Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie’s designs, and looked at everything from environmental design to weapon and prop blueprints. Whenever I played a video game, I couldn’t look away from the menu animations and opening screens. I want to express this same creativity by illustrating character designs and animating them through my fictional company, Virtual Visions, which creates and promotes digital avatars called Vtubers.

A Vtuber, or a virtual youtuber, is a 2D or 3D face tracked avatar that content creators use as a fictional online personality to represent themselves. Virtual Visions strives to recruit talents while providing them with high-quality character models, promote collaboration, and manage their online presence. I decided to draw and animate a fully rigged fox model, Huli, that visitors can try out themselves. Inspired by Japanese illustrator LAM’s vivid illustrations and unique Vtuber designs, I embraced a striking purple color palette with elements like ancient armor and a calm demeanor that visually represent his character.

Lastly, I included illustrations of two other character designs who are his companions. These two, a ghost and an alien, represent the other models that vtubers can use. Each character has their own splash and promotional art including a couple illustrations of them together. They also have their own merchandise including keychains, stickers, and trading cards.

In creating Virtual Visions, I hope to bridge the gap between illustration and innovation. Art and design is not stagnant; it is constantly evolving. This show is a testament to how art can embrace the new while maintaining tradition in a unique and fun way.

Advisor/Mentor

Jim Bryant, Scott Cook, Katie Knoeringer, T. Michael Martin

Description

Virtual Visions is a mockup Vtuber (virtual YouTuber) company that hires content creators to live stream and entertain as a computer generated fictional character. They use motion capture to track the user's facial movements and expressions to better represent their persona. I designed this show to give audiences a taste of what the future of entertainment looks like and how art is always around us, not just in an art gallery.

For the show, I digitally illustrated and rigged/animated a live, 2D, full body model named Huli. He is designed as a fox warrior and is made to be interactive and track the audience's facial movements through an app. A phone with the app was wired to a vertical TV so that the user could see his model close up.

I also designed two more character designs who were not rigged, one is an alien, Astro, and other is a ghost, Clara. I included two large 24 x 48 inch illustrations of all three characters interacting together; one is a car ride vacation, and the other is a sleepover. There are three 24 x 24 inch illustrations of each of the characters that describe facts about them and three more 24 x 24 inch illustrations of their splash art or promotional art.

To promote the company, I made a 2 minute trailer to showcase the characters and Huli's model, plus a slideshow of all of the illustrations. Lastly, there is merch of each of the characters including acrylic keychains, trading cards, and two types of sticker sheets.

Photo Credit

Photos #1-2 taken by Digi Goheen, 2025

Photos #3-6 taken by T. Michael Martin, 2025

Photo #7 taken by Chris Nelson, 2025

All other photos taken by Emma Nelson, 2025

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Nelson, Emma, "Virtual Visions" (2025). B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498). 151.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art498/151