Creating a Virtual YouTuber (VTuber) character involves several steps, from initial concept design to rigging it in Live2D and testing out in programs like Vtube Studio. 

Progress from mid-September to mid-October:

1. Conceptualization and Design:

- Idea Generation: Brainstorm and gather ideas for my VTuber character's appearance, personality, and backstory.

- Character Traits: Defined the character's traits, such as gender, age, and species.

- Visual Design: Created digital concept art of your character's appearance, including clothing, accessories, hairstyle, and facial expressions.

- Color Palette: I chose a color palette that represents the character's personality and is visually appealing.

2. Detailed Character Design and Model Creation:

- Refinement: Refine the concept art based on personal improvements and added more details.

- Front View: Created detailed illustrations of the character's front view. These will be used as the basis for the Live2D model's deformation.

- Layer Separation: Each aspect of the character (hair, face, body, clothing, accessories) were organised into separate layers. This is crucial for Live2D rigging.

Progress from mid-October to mid-November:

1. Before I started rigging the model, I had roughly learned on how to rig a model step by step through Youtube and Google. 

2. Rigging in Live2D:

- Deformation Mesh: Deformation mesh points were defined on both views. These points will be manipulated to create the illusion of movement.

- Layer Binding: Each part of the character to its corresponding mesh points were binded. This allows me to manipulate individual parts independently.

- Parameter Setup: Parameters for various facial expressions, eye movements, blinking, mouth movement, and head rotations were set up and assigned to appropriate mesh points.

- Test Deformation: Deformations and movements were tested to ensure that the character looks natural. Adjustments were then made as needed.

3. Animation and Rigging:

- Eye and Lip Sync Animation: Animations for blinking, eye movement, and lip syncing were then created. Keyframes were used to control transitions between expressions smoothly.

- Head Movement: Head movement animations were added like tilting and nodding to make the character's interactions more dynamic.

- Facial Expressions: A range of facial expressions were created to capture different emotions the VTuber will use during streams.

4. Live2D Viewer Setup:

- Camera and Tracking Setup: Camera was configured and tracking was setup to follow the character's movements during live streams or recordings.

5. Rig Testing and Iteration:

- Thorough Testing: Rigs were tested in various scenarios to ensure that all movements and expressions work seamlessly.

- Feedback and Iteration: Feedbacks were gathered from some of my friends and necessary adjustments were made to improve the character's appearance and behavior.

Personal feedback:

It was undoubtedly quite difficult to create Haruo. The process of drawing is extremely different from what I often do, which is to isolate every layer of the character—even the smallest component—possibly.  Being that it was my first experience rigging and animating a character, the rigging step was unquestionably the most challenging. Rigging is something I had to learn from scratch because I had no prior experience. I learned and rigged Haruo at the same time, therefore I don't have any model characters prior to Haruo. Learning new skills and softwares such as rigging, Live2d and Vtube Studio in a month time was definitely an experience and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

His name is Haruo, or just Haru. He is a noble young vampire that has the power to influence or control others with his charisma. Haruo is pretty rebellious and does not want to succeed his father’s clothing company. He wants to entertain people, live in the world of music which is not in his parents best interests. He aspires to establish a joyous and upright civilization on his world, Planet Hestia with his talent and love for music. However, he was clueless since he believed himself to be extremely ambitious until one day when he stumbled onto the world of VTubers. He understands that using VTubing enables him to do exactly what he desired and realise his goal. Haruo decided to become a VTuber in the hopes that it would help him escape reality, find happiness for himself, and prepare him for taking over his father's business after realising his dreams and goals.