live2danimator,hakumei Details
Hi, I’m Hakumei, a digital artist and animator specializing in Live2D animation, rigging, and motion design. I bring static illustrations to life by creating smooth, expressive animations ranging from idle loops and acting animations to animated emotes and edits.
I work as a motion designer and in my spare time I focus on delivering high-quality, polished animations with attention to detail—whether it’s bringing characters to life for streaming, enhancing artwork with motion, or producing eye-catching emotes.
What draws me most to Live2D is the way it transforms still art into something that feels alive. I enjoy the challenge of breaking down artwork into layers, then carefully rigging and animating each part to create natural, fluid motion. For me, animation is more than just movement—it’s about capturing personality, emotion, and storytelling in subtle ways that connect with viewers
[Notable Projects] Animations for: - Rosemilk Studio [Game Animation] - miji_black [Genshin Splash Animations] - Mello Mutinus [Vtuber Animations]
[Notable Projects] Animations for: - Rosemilk Studio [Game Animation] - miji_black [Genshin Splash Animations] - Mello Mutinus [Vtuber Animations]
What makes your class different from other classes?
This course stands out by covering the entire Live2D pipeline, from preparing and cutting artwork to rigging, animation, physics, and polishing, while also teaching real animation principles, troubleshooting, and professional workflows. It goes further with After Effects integration, optimization, portfolio building, and freelancing guidance, giving students both the creative and practical skills to bring characters to life and apply them in real projects or careers.
Could you please share how you started your journey in the industry?
I started my journey by combining my interest in animation with curiosity about interactive character work. Live2D caught my attention as a unique way to bring 2D art to life, so I began experimenting with cutting artwork, rigging, and creating small idle animations. At first, I was self-taught through trial and error using community resources, but over time I built a workflow, refined my techniques, and started sharing my work online. This led to freelance opportunities, collaborations, and eventually professional projects, turning a personal passion into a career path.
Please share your thoughts on the industry's job market and what you see in the industry's future.
The Live2D industry is steadily growing, especially with the rising demand for VTubers, interactive avatars, and stylized animation in games and media. While the market is competitive, skilled riggers and animators who can combine technical knowledge with strong artistic fundamentals are in high demand. Looking ahead, the industry is likely to expand into more mainstream entertainment, advertising, and virtual experiences, creating broader opportunities for versatile creators who adapt.
Pre-production & Artwork Prep
Plan your animation, organize files, and prepare your artwork in Photoshop for smooth rigging.
Live2D Basics & Rigging Fundamentals
Import your PSD, create meshes, set up deformers and parameters, and learn how to work with blend shapes.
Facial & Body Rigging
Rig eyes, mouth, head, and body parts while integrating physics for hair, clothes, and accessories.
Animation Techniques
Bring characters to life with idle loops, acting animations, keyframe control, and professional animation principles.
Final Touches & Visual Effects
Polish your animations, add VFX in After Effects, and render high-quality, ready-to-share files.
Portfolio & Industry Skills
Build a standout portfolio, compress and deliver files, and learn networking, commissions, and career strategies.
**Class release dates and content are subject to change without prior notice.
- Section 01
Introduction
01. Orientation- Meet your instructor and learn about the overview of this class - The software we need and what we'll be using
- Section 02
Preproduction
02. Preproduction: Importance, Workflow, and File Organization- Types of animation and their complexity - Identifying priorities and adapting to project context - Workflow essentials and avoiding pitfalls through preparation - Setting up files for efficiency
- Section 03
Preparing Artwork for Live2D
03. Art Cutting & Redrawing: Essential Photoshop Tools- What is art cutting? - What is redrawing? - When and why to redraw elements - Overview on the tools we need - Quick tips for efficiency - Demonstration of art cutting a basic layer - General rules - Demonstration of redrawing a basic layer
- Section 04
Cutting Art
04. Visualizing Separations & Bones- How to visualize bones and separations for cutting and rigging - Do we need to make any VFX in AE - Designing your acting animation
05. Eyes & Mouth- Demonstration on how to cut the eye and mouth layers
06. Hair & Shadows- Demonstration on how to cut hair and shadow layers
07. Body & Complex Layers- Demonstration on how to cut complex layers to help create a 3D effect
- Section 05
Introduction to Rigging
08. Meshes & Deformers- Importing your PSD into Live2D + replacing PSDs - What is rigging? - Mesh creation, templates, fixing broken meshes - Clipping and reverse clipping - Rotation deformers and warp deformers - Parent and child relationships (grouping) - Bezier division and conversion
09. Parameters, Keyforms, and Blendshapes- Parameters and keyforms explained - Baisc blendshape uses - Root layer - Differences between illustration animation vs VTuber model rigs
- Section 06
Character Rigging
10. Facial Rigging- Straight parameter - Eyes rigging (XY + Blink) - Advanced blendshape uses - Eyebrows rigging - Mouth rigging
11. Head Rigging- Head XY rigging - Extended interpolation - Head accessories rigging - Head Z rigging and tips
12. Body Rigging- Body XY rigging - Arms Z rigging - Legs Z rigging - Body Z rigging
- Section 07
Character Physics
13. Physics Overview- Physics tab overview - Breathing parameter - Wave animation method
14. Head Physics- Eye physics physics - Mouth physics - Earings and head accessories physics - Animal ear physics
15. Body Physics- Clothes physics - Accessories physics - Chest physics
16. Hair Physics & Skinning- Different ways to create hair physics - Skinning explanation and demonstration - Hair physics
- Section 08
Animating in Live2D
17. Animation Tab Overview + Workplace Setup- Explaination of tools and widgets in the animation tab - Choosing loop duration - Setting up your workplace
18. Breathing Animation- Pose-to-pose animation vs. Straight ahead - Animating body Y - Seamless looping techiniques - Basic graph editor explanation - Animating head Y - Applying animation principles: Follow through and overlapping action - Offsetting keyframes - Applying animation principles: Easing, arc, and timing
19. Animating an Idle Loop- Animating body Z and head Z - Animating body X and head X - Breaking rules and experimenting with reversing movements - Arms and fingers - Legs
20. Advanced Idle Details- Animating fluffy clothes - Animating accessories - Different ways of animating blinks - Objectively good animation vs. Subjectively good animation - Animating hair
21. Animating Acting Movement- Designing expressive acting movement - Inserting relevant animation principles whilst animating your design - Anticipation and exaggeration - Secondary action - Reactive motion - Adjusting keyframe values - Smoothing and polishing loops - Animation principles review
22. Final Touches- Baking physics - Fixing errors - Final touches and clean up - Integrating VFX from After Effects - Rendering
- Section 09
Post Production: Afrer Effects & Handbrake
23. Importing Live2D Animations Into AE- Importing - High resolutions - Setting up the scene (staging)
24. Animating Fire- Animating the fire that is provided with the artwork using a range of effects - Proxies explanation
25. Animating Water & Electrical Effects- Demonstration on animating water and electrical effects
26. Animating Petals and Leaf Particles- Demonstration on animating dynamic falling petals and leaves
27. Compositing- Compositing techniques - Color correction - Rendering
28. File Compression- Compressing your animation with Handbrake - Compressing your animation with Media Encoder
- Section 10
Planning Your Career
29. Presenting Your Work & Preparing for Commissions- Twitter, DeviantArt, ArtStation, Showreels - The importance of networking - Helpful community resources - How to start getting commissions - Tips
This course will use Live2D 5.2, Photoshop 2021, After Effects 2025, Media Encoder 2025, and Handbrake(Any).
Please purchase and install these program(s) for an optimized chapter experience.
*These programs and/or materials will not be provided with the chapter.