This is the character design documentation for maruma’s “VTuber appearance.” Pay close attention to how each part of the design has been meticulously crafted. According to maruma, “I packed a lot of things I love into the design.” Better to give up. ――What do you mean by “I wasn’t planning on it”? “I’ve always wanted to be an illustrator, and I even considered going to a specialized art school, but my teacher told me, ‘Only a handful of people can make a living from something they love. It’s better to give up.’ When I think about it now, I realize that those words were meant to help me think about my future. But at the time, it really affected me. I didn’t have any teachers who supported my dream of becoming an illustrator, so I thought, ‘I’ll give up on becoming an illustrator.’ Then I decided to become a pet groomer, so I could work with my favorite animals. By the way, I really respect that teacher, and as a postscript, when I became an illustrator, I reported it to them, and they praised me a lot and even gave me some work.” ――What made you shift from wanting to be a groomer to pursuing illustration again? “One day, I fell and cut the tendons in both my hands. When I showed it to the doctor, they told me, ‘It won’t heal, surgery is necessary, and after that, you won’t be able to lift heavy things.’ Since being a pet groomer requires a lot of arm strength to lift various dogs, I had to give up on that career as well. After that, I had nothing left.So I thought, ‘At least I’ll heal my dominant hand and start drawing again, the thing I love.'” ――It must have been really tough until you could start drawing again after the surgery. “Even while my right hand was bandaged and I couldn’t use it, I didn’t want to forget the sensation of drawing, so I kept drawing with my left hand. After the bandage came off, even though it was my dominant hand, I couldn’t hold the pen as I wanted, and I couldn’t draw. But little by little, I continued drawing while doing rehabilitation, and eventually, I was able to draw again.” ――That’s a lot of passion. So, why did you decide to start VTuber activities? “A long time ago, I saw a wonderful work created using Live2D by a creator I respect, and I was really impressed by it. From the knowledge I gained at that time, I thought, ‘I want to try it too.’ As the VTuber world became more fun, and I saw an illustrator I respected debut as a VTuber, I thought, ‘If I could draw, design a character with all the elements I love, and make it move, that would be amazing,’ so I wanted to try it. But I couldn’t quite muster the courage at first (laughs).” ――What made you finally take the leap despite not having the courage at first? “The VTuber design I created was finally up to my satisfaction, so I wanted to share it. I wanted to increase the opportunities for people to see my artwork. It felt like starting VTubing was one way to get my art known. Another reason was that I wanted to express myself not just through illustrations but also through other things (like games). As for the courage part, I was self-conscious about my voice, but after a lot of hesitation, I decided to take the plunge. And once I started, I realized it was so much more fun than worrying about it.” ――Did you make any strategies when starting VTuber activities? “Even now, I just think about doing fun things as an illustrator, and that’s all I focus on!” ――What kind of activities are you doing as a VTuber now? “I mainly do game streams. Sometimes I also do illustration streams. I’m also thinking of using an ASMR microphone that picks up sounds like the sound of drawing or typing during live streams, so I’m thinking about trying that in the future.” ――You must really like games too. “Yes, I love them! Monster Hunter, Pokémon, all types of horror games, and of course, I love the Legend of Zelda series.”