VRChat avatars are a big part of the social platform’s charm, with VRChat users taking on all kinds of virtual personas. If you’ve ever wondered how to make a VRChat avatar, but weren’t sure whether you had the necessary tools or expertise, you’re in luck—this beginner’s guide from HTC VIVE will show you everything you need to know.

Whether you love anime characters, memes, or furries, you can enjoy having the look you want in VRChat. Read on to find out how to make your own VRChat avatar today. 

Our video tutorial also covers all the steps in this guide!

How do I make a VRChat avatar?

There are many ways to create your own avatar model for VRChat, including building one from scratch with advanced 3D modeling software like Maya or Blender. In this guide, however, we’ll design a VR avatar using a more beginner-friendly program called VRoid Studio and then prepare the model for VRChat with the tools Unity, VRChat Creator Companion, and VRM Converter for VRChat.

Here’s the 6-step process at a glance:

1. Design your avatar in VRoid Studio.
2. Set up VRChat Creator Companion and Unity.
3. Add VRM Converter for VRChat to your project.
4. Convert your VRM file to a VRChat avatar model.
5. Upload your avatar to VRChat.
6. Select your avatar in VRChat.

Before getting started, there are a few important things to note:

• A compatible PC is required. This guide assumes you’re using VRChat with a computer that meets its system requirements. You may also want to have a VR headset handy to enjoy your newly made avatar in virtual reality. (But if you don’t, you can still use VRChat in Desktop Mode.)
• Visitor accounts must wait. For safety reasons, VRChat only lets you upload an avatar once your account’s been active for a certain amount of time. If you've just created a VRChat account, you'll start out as a Visitor and need to wait until you've earned the New User status. Try exploring VRChat's public worlds and maybe adding a friend or two to get experience. Confirm your account status by checking your profile at VRChat.com.

Ready to make your own VRChat avatar? Let’s dive right in.

1. Design your avatar in VRoid Studio.

The first step to creating a new VRChat avatar is designing a 3D model with the look you want. VRoid Studio is a free, beginner-friendly avatar maker that lets you quickly build a humanoid model and customize virtually every last detail, from its hairstyle and facial features to its outfits and accessories.

Download and install VRoid Studio to see what it’s capable of. You have a few options here:

• Jump right in and experiment. This is great if you’d rather not spend too much time thinking about the avatar’s design and want to play around with the software until you find something that works for you.
• Build a mood board for reference. You can draw inspiration for your avatar by finding images you like on platforms like Pinterest or ArtStation and organizing them in one place with a tool like PureRef.
• Create a character concept sheet. This means drawing the avatar you have in mind from different angles, in various costumes or colors, or with a range of emotions to get a better feel for its style and personality.

How your VRChat avatar looks is entirely up to you.

Once you’re happy with the avatar you’ve designed in VRoid Studio, save it as a VRM file to a convenient location on your computer. You will need to access this file in step 4.

Want to use a premade avatar model instead? Find out where you can download VRChat avatars.

Note: VRM, short for virtual reality modeling, is a file type used for 3D avatars across a variety of virtual platforms, including VIVERSE. But to make the model you’ve created compatible with VRChat, a bit more setup is needed. We’ll get to that next.

2. Set up VRChat Creator Companion and Unity.

VRChat Creator Companion, sometimes abbreviated VCC, is the official tool for creating VRChat worlds and avatars. It includes VRChat’s software development kit (SDK), user-created assets, learning resources, and more.

Download and install VRChat Creator Companion here. You will need to log in with your VRChat account if you haven’t already. Once installed, launch the application.

VRChat Creator Companion will automatically check whether or not your PC also has Unity installed. Unity is the game engine that VRChat runs on, and you’ll need it to continue setting up your VRChat avatar. There are actually two components involved here:

• Unity Hub: Used to manage your Unity versions and projects.
• Unity Editor: Used to build your 3D object or scene.

If for some reason you’re not prompted to get these, check the version of the Unity Editor required in VRChat Creator Companion (e.g., Unity 2022.3.22f1) and install it manually from the Unity download archive. Again, be sure you’ve installed both Unity Editor and Unity Hub.

If this is your first time using Unity, you might see an error message prompting you to activate your license. You will need to create a Unity account, sign in to Unity Hub, and go to Licenses > Add.

Tip: Check Unity’s terms and conditions to see if you’re eligible for a free license.

Run into any trouble with the installation? Check the VRChat Creator Companion documentation for solutions to the most common problems.

Once that’s all done, you’ll see a message saying Unity was successfully installed. Continue in VRChat Creator Companion and hit Create New Project > Unity 2022 Avatar Project. Give your project a name and select Create Project.

Anything you work on in this program (like a 3D model) is considered a project.

At this point you will also need to log in with your VRChat account if you haven’t yet.

3. Add VRM Converter for VRChat to your project.

There’s one more thing you need to install to get your avatar ready for VRChat, and that’s a package (i.e., a collection of files) called VRM Converter for VRChat. It was created by the Japanese developer Esperecyan as a special extension for Unity.

To get the converter package, you first need to show VRChat Creator Companion where its repository is. Think of a repository as a kind of storage space for code and related files.

Go to VRChat Creator Companion > Settings > Packages > Add Repository. Enter the URL https://esperecyan.github.io/VRMConverterForVRChat/registry.json and continue.

Now you can actually download and install the package by going to Projects > Manage Packages > VRM Converter for VRChat and hitting the plus button (+) on the right.

Learn more about VRM Converter for VRChat on BOOTH.

4. Convert your VRM file to a VRChat avatar model.

With the all the right tools in place, it’s time to make the avatar you designed in step 1 compatible with VRChat.

VRChat Creator Companion should have automatically launched Unity Editor (i.e., Unity 2022.3.22f1). Go to VRChat SDK > Show Control Panel. Enter your VRChat username or email address and your password, then sign in.

See the panel in Unity called Assets? Find the VRM file you saved on your PC and drag and drop it into the Assets panel. Unity will import your avatar.

You should see your 3D model in Assets. Select it and then click VRM0 > Duplicate and Convert for VRChat > Duplicate and Convert. Enter a file name and hit Save.

Check that your avatar’s viewpoint is set correctly. The viewpoint is the position and angle from which you’ll see the virtual world when using this particular avatar in VRChat.

You generally want the viewpoint to align with your avatar’s eyes for a more natural perspective.

To change the viewpoint, click on the left arrow at the top left of the Unity window, select your 3D model in the Assets panel, and on the right of the screen, navigate to VRC Avatar Descriptor (Script) > View Position > Edit. 

Under Hierarchy on the left of the screen, select your avatar. Click and move the 3D arrows that appear to move the viewpoint to the middle of the avatar’s forehead. When you’re happy with the position, hit File > Save.

5. Upload your avatar to VRChat.

Your 3D avatar model is just about ready for VRChat. You just need to give VRChat a little information about it.

In Unity, go to VRChat SDK > Builder. Fill out your avatar’s details. These include:

• Name: This is what will appear with the avatar’s thumbnail image in your VRChat menu once you’ve uploaded the model.
• Description: A space to add anything noteworthy about your avatar. You could credit yourself as its creator or mention whether it’s configured in any special way.
• Content Warnings: If your avatar is going to be made publicly accessible, let the community know whether its appearance is potentially offensive. 
• Visibility: Control who you want to have access to this avatar. If you don’t want others to be able to use it, set this to Private.

You also need to create a thumbnail image for your avatar which will appear along with its name in VRChat menus. Under Thumbnail, use the Capture button to get a still view from the scene in Unity. You’ll see some advanced options that let you control how your avatar thumbnail looks:

• Fill Background: Fills the image’s background with a solid color.
• Use PostProcessing: If you have certain effects active in your Unity scene like special lighting, it can add these to the thumbnail image.
• Use Custom Camera: Lets you render the thumbnail using a Camera object in Unity’s scene instead of the default angle.

Feel free to ignore these boxes if you want. If you happen to have character art that you want to use for your thumbnail instead of the scene capture, you can hit Select New Thumbnail, choose the image you want on your PC, and hit Open to upload that file.

When you’re happy with your avatar’s details and thumbnail, scroll all the way down and check the box under Online Publishing. Then hit Build & Publish to send your avatar into VRChat.

Once that’s done, Unity will show “Upload Succeeded!”

6. Select your avatar in VRChat.

The fun begins. Log in to VRChat using your VR headset and, in your Launch Pad, go to Avatars > Uploaded.

Upload a few different avatars to VRChat and change your appearance at will.

You should see the thumbnail of the avatar you just uploaded. Select it to switch into that 3D model. You now have your own custom VRChat avatar! 

Try pulling out your avatar mirror and looking around to make sure that you set the viewpoint correctly. You can also observe your body language by moving your VR controllers.

Get the most out of your VRChat avatar.

Want your new avatar to mirror your real-life facial expressions? You may want to add eye and face tracking to your VR setup with an accessory like the VIVE Full Face Tracker for VIVE XR Elite.

Or maybe you’d like to have control over your avatar’s leg movements—consider getting full-body tracking (FBT) for VRChat. VIVE Tracker (3.0) is our top pick if you’re using an HTC VIVE PC VR headset, while VIVE Ultimate Tracker supports any headset compatible with SteamVR.

Wearing VR trackers lets you do even more with your avatar.

And for the best VRChat avatar experience, we recommend VIVE Focus Vision. The headset comes with built-in eye tracking plus support for facial and full-body tracking, which means you can maximize your avatar’s range of movements and make your time in VRChat more immersive.

Whichever device you’re using, be sure to have fun exploring VRChat with your custom avatar!

Learn more about avatar movement and tracking in virtual reality.