How to become a PNGTuberFour images, one app, ten minutes of setup.

What a PNGTuber is

A PNGTuber is a streamer represented by a still drawing that reacts to their voice: the mouth opens when they talk, the eyes blink now and then, the image bounces a little. It’s the low-cost cousin of a VTuber, which uses a rigged 2D or 3D model with face tracking. PNGTubers need no webcam and run on any PC, which is why so many small streamers start (and happily stay) there.

Step 1: the images you need

• Idle — mouth closed, eyes open. The image people see most.
• Talking — mouth open, eyes open. Shown while your mic is above the threshold.
• Blink idle — mouth closed, eyes closed. Shown for a moment every few seconds.
• Blink talking — mouth open, eyes closed. So blinking doesn’t freeze your mouth.

Two images (idle and talking) is the minimum. Four looks alive. Expression sets — happy, angry, sad, surprised — can be added later and switched with hotkeys.

The single most important rule: every image must be on the same canvas size with the character in exactly the same position. If the talking image is one pixel higher, your head bobs every syllable.

Step 2: make the images

Drawing them yourself: draw the idle image, duplicate the file, and change only the mouth and eyes on separate layers. Export each combination at the same size. Commissioning them: ask for “PNGTuber states, same canvas”. Generating them: draw all four in one image so they line up, then slice — that’s how the PNGTuber module on this site works, exporting 1024×1024 transparent PNGs named idle.png, talking.png, blink-idle.png and blink-talking.png.

Use a transparent background. Leave some empty space around the character so bounces don’t clip at the edges.

Step 3: pick an app

• veadotube mini — free, simple, popular. Drag images onto states, set the mic threshold, done.
• PNGTuber Plus — free and open source, with more control over bounces, layers and expressions.
• Others — several paid and free apps exist; any that swaps images by talking state will work with the same four files.

Step 4: set it up in veadotube mini

1. 1
   Install and open

   Download veadotube mini from its official site and open it.

2. 2
   Add your images

   Drag idle.png onto the closed-mouth state and talking.png onto the open-mouth state; add blink images to the blink states.

3. 3
   Pick your mic

   Choose your microphone in the settings.

4. 4
   Set the threshold

   Raise it until the mouth stays shut while you type and opens when you speak.

5. 5
   Tune motion

   Turn on a small bounce while talking; it sells the effect.

The app’s own documentation (veado.tube/docs) covers the details for your version.

Step 5: add it to OBS

Add a Window Capture (or Game Capture) source pointed at the PNGTuber app window. Set the app’s background to a solid color and add a Chroma Key filter in OBS, or use the app’s transparent output option if it has one. Position the avatar in a corner, consistently every stream.

If you don’t want an app at all, an Image source with idle.png gives you a still avatar — not a PNGTuber, but a start.

Step 6: tune the microphone

Most “my PNGTuber doesn’t work” problems are threshold problems. Too low and keyboard clicks open the mouth; too high and quiet sentences don’t. Use noise suppression in your mic chain, speak at your normal stream volume, and set the threshold just above the room’s noise. The talk test on this site has a level meter and a threshold line so you can find the right setting before going live.

Common mistakes

• Images on different canvases — the head jumps when you talk.
• A white background instead of transparency — a box around your avatar.
• Blink images missing — the avatar never blinks and looks frozen.
• Huge files — 4K PNGs slow the app; 1024 px is plenty.
• An avatar that doesn’t match your emotes — viewers notice. Make them from the same character.

Adding expressions

Once the basic four states work, expression sets are the next step: happy, angry, sad and surprised versions of the same four states. Most PNGTuber apps let you switch sets with a hotkey, so you can react to a jump scare or a lost game with a different face. Keep each set on the same canvas as the base set, or switching will make your avatar jump.

Start with one extra set — surprised or happy are the most useful — and add others when you notice yourself wishing you had them.

Choosing a style

PNGTuber art ranges from simple doodles to polished illustrations. Simple tends to work better: a clear face, readable at a small corner of the stream, with a mouth shape that obviously opens and closes. Chibi proportions (big head, small body) are popular because the face carries more of the image.

If you already have emotes or a mascot, use the same character. Viewers recognize your avatar from chat, your offline screen and your Discord stickers, and it ties the channel together.

Placing the avatar on stream

• Pick a corner that doesn’t cover game UI — bottom-left or bottom-right is common.
• Size it so the face is clearly visible at 720p; viewers on phones see a small stream.
• Use a consistent position every stream so viewers know where to look.
• On “just chatting” scenes, make it bigger and more central; it is the main visual.

From PNGTuber to VTuber

Many streamers move from PNGTuber to a rigged Live2D or 3D model later. The move is easier if your PNGTuber character is well defined: a character sheet with front, side and back views, an expression set, and a color palette with hex codes. That’s exactly what a model artist asks for. If you make your PNGTuber here, the character card PDF has those, ready to send.

Troubleshooting

• Mouth flickers open and shut mid-sentence: lower the threshold slightly or add a short hold (most apps call it “release”), so the mouth stays open between syllables.
• Mouth opens when you type: raise the threshold, enable noise suppression, or move the mic away from the keyboard.
• Avatar has a black or white box: the image lost its transparency on export — re-export as PNG with alpha.
• Avatar looks pixelated in OBS: the source image is too small, or OBS is scaling a window capture. Use larger PNGs and scale the source, not the window.
• Blink looks like a flash: the blink images are slightly different in color or position. Re-export them from the same file.

The free PNGTuber tester on this site reproduces most of these issues in the browser, so you can fix them before streaming.

What it costs

The apps are free. The art is the variable: drawing it yourself costs time; commissions for PNGTuber states vary widely by artist; generating a four-state set here costs 1 credit once you have a locked character (2 credits for the sheet). Mood sets are 1 credit each. Whatever route you take, budget for one extra iteration — the first set often reveals that the mouth shape or eye size needs adjusting once you see it move.