Avanna Design And Demo Released

We’ve posted about Zero-G‘s new VOCALOID Avanna before but now it’s time for what we’ve all been waiting, a demo of her singing and her character design. At NekoCon 15, a sneak peek of Avanna singing was demoed at the convention’s VOCALOID panel after the VocaNoIro concerts. The audio track, a cover of Enya’s “Only Time”, used an early beta version of Avanna and is intended to be a sneak peak only and not a finalized demo. AkiGlancy (Empath-P) was also revealed to be the illustrator for Avanna via the Avanna Fan-Club at deviantART. The design was commissioned in early August by Zero-G and went through several revisions based on feedback from Zero-G as well as Yamaha. A finalized draft was requested at the end of October, and Zero-G scheduled for a release of the box art today. A few images of Avanna are now available on AkiGlancy’s deviantART gallery, and a mockup of the box was posted to the official Avanna Twitter account (@vocaloidavanna) as well as the official Facebook page and official website. The relevant thread on VocaloidOtaku contains more information about the design process and trivia.

About: Arbacyk


31 thoughts on “Avanna Design And Demo Released”

  1. oye vey. That “demo” was a complete mess. Seeing that it was the beta of her voice I can give her the benefit of the doubt but they really need to fix her up if they even want her to be at english miku level engrish. (That is not saying much either)

    As for the design It may be unique but it is jumping on the anime bandwagon. A stock image would of probably been better.

    1. I wouldn’t say much about the voice yet, but I agree regarding the design.

      English Vocaloids should take advantage of digital art for their designs, like Sonika. WHy an anime design? It’s an English Vocaloid.

      1. Thankfully it’s not too anime-ish, but at the same time, I really wanted a more professional look. The box art makes this look like someone’s Utau rather than an actual product. (I’m still trying to figure out if it’s the face or the coloring that’s making me think this way.)
        I still have to give credit to the artist though for doing it. But at the same time, what would have happened if the artist didn’t contact Zero-G? Would we have gotten a more professional drawing, a 3D render, stock art manipulation, who knows, the possibilities are endless.

        1. Don’t blame them entirely on the anime style, YAMAHA had final say on the design and they said they wanted it more “anime” style and they even got rid of her elf ears. I also disagree with the stock image, VOCALOIDs that have avatars tend to be more popular than those without them in the West (SONiKA, Oliver, Big Al). And Hatsune Miku’s English isn’t very good, Avanna apparently has “the best English” out of all the VOCALOIDs, I wouldn’t her voice at all (especially since it wasn’t completed at the time that “demo” was shown) with that video quality. @facebook-100003738797073:disqus Zero-G said Avanna was getting “art” since last year, it was inevitable that she would get character art rather than a stock photo.

          1. Personally I’m fine with the art. However I would choose the artwork with the microphone instead the actual. In that one Avanna looks less anime-ish, the style is more like the usual one of Aki, it’s more detailed and you can appreciate better to the character

    2. Yamaha was responable for the anime style not Zero-G.

      See anti-engloid troll, you NEVER do your research so this is why its hard for anyone to take you seriously. Every time you speak, more errors come out.

      1. It still doesn’t mean they had for go for a complete anime style. Judging by the other comments made it seems you are in the minority. Still I’m not expecting much from her. She along with the other english vocaloids will probably just fade off once the hype dies down.

        1. And yet Oliver never lost too much after he was released…
          Again, yourt REALLY out of touch. ^_-
          Maybe you do some research, as I suggested, seriously consider it.

          1. Oh please Oliver did lose quite a bit after his release. How many original songs do you see for Oliver getting onto the vocaloid board? None. How many western Producers do you see using him? (Though I really don’t consider any of the so called western “producers” true producers seeing that most have barely even a 1000 views at best when the Eastern Producers easily hit 10,000 but that is another argument for another day) None. How many people noticed his faults in his demo of Scarborough faire? Pretty much everyone. Heck most english users could barely understand him. He literally jumped on the shota bandwagon since it is the “in” thing. His background hiss is as bad as Sonika and he has the muffle issue as well. Seriously if he hadn’t had the moe avatar he would probably would of been considered the “V3 Sonika” though he does so rightly deserve to be called so compared to VY2V3 or even Aoki Lapis who can’t even pronounce “tsu” correctly. (Which is say something) The only reason he got mildy popular was because of VocaTone interacting with the fandom in advertising while PowerFx did all the work. Also his dictionary is still just a faulty as the others which if you did some research as well you would see how many phonemes are still missing for a true english bank. So yeah you can go do some more research as well. 😛

          2. Are you joking? Whether one is a producer or not is not determined by popularity and if you think so, frankly, you’re shallow. Plenty of excellent Japanese producers get only one thousand views per video because popularity happens by connections and chance, not just talent.

          3. @Aerii:disqus Are you retarded? that is the exact definition of what a producer is in the vocaloid fandom. A Vocaloid user who makes good and interesting originals that bring a wide number of people together is a producer. Talent is what separates the good from the bad (and the East from the West) by your “anybody who makes a vocaloid video is a producer” definition that would be like putting Mitchie M-P with that of flabb3d. (However he only used vocaloid as a filler to show off his 3D skills) Why do you think we have the weekly and monthly rankings? To show off the well made songs in vocaloid that are popular.
            An before you try to do the Monty counter point or the yagami-P counter point of “them being poorly tuned” these got popular because at the time their songs were so original and unique that it got them a popular following and their producer status.

          4. Those are popular producers, those who tend to get on the Vocaloid rankings. Similarly, there are unpopular producers. There are good producers. There are bad producers. Being popular is not what makes you a producer. Being talented is not what makes you a producer. Producing is what makes you a producer. It shouldn’t be that hard to understand. I don’t know who flabb3d is but if they make songs with Vocaloid, then yes, I’m going to categorize them with Mitchie M as “producers”. Even if their songs are terrible. The word “producer” says nothing about caliber. It’s nice that you have all these warm feelings attached to the word, but that’s just you. That’s not part of the word.

            Just like how if you write a song, you’re a songwriter. Writer of songs. You don’t need to get on the Billboard Hot 100 to be a songwriter, or even to be a “good” songwriter.

            Also, it’s nice that you tried to anticipate what I was going to say but no…? I couldn’t care less about whether something is poorly tuned or poorly arranged or poorly composed. That has nothing to do with being a producer.

          5. @Aerii Do you even remember why the P system was put into place? It was to separate who was good and bad. If you obtained a P originally it was that you had obtained enough of a following that your work was know for being unique and fairly well made and it was given as an honor from the fans. Remember that?

            By your definition literally just says that anyone that just has the program automatically is a P. Do a cover of someone’s work and get no views? You’re a P! Make a song that is poorly tuned and gets major criticism for it? You’re a P! Seriously do you see how that goes against the definition of a Producer is in the vocaloid fandom?

            Seriously go back and relook up what a Producers is.

          6. Firstly, you’re thinking of the acquisition of P names, which is not the acquisition of the category “producer”.

            You don’t need a P name to be a producer.

            Deco*27. Camellia.

            Unless you’re saying that these people, who make “good and interesting originals that bring a wide number of people together” are not producers for some reason. The “P system” was not something formally “put into place”. It was something that happened and it’s hardly a system. Some Japanese producers give themselves P names. When it is given by fans, it is simply a nickname to serve as an easy method of identification. CircusP, for instance, is called CircusP because he made that song, Circus Monster. So when you see CircusP, you think, “Oh! The person who made Circus Monster, right?” ArukaP is called ArukaP because they made that song, Monk A Luka. It is not necessarily about quality, although someone who makes quality music is more likely to get popular and therefore is more likely to have someone suggest a P name.

            ボカロP = VocaloP = Vocaloid P = P = Vocaloid producer. They are all the same thing. Some Ps (that is, some producers = some VocaloPs = some Vocaloid Ps) have P names. Some, such as Kemu and Deco*27, do not. It is, quite obviously, not an indication of quality but rather an indication of memorability of their original names.

          7. @Aerii

            I’ll give you Deco*27 since I don’t know why he doesn’t have a P. Though my thought would be that it is because he is also in a live band and wants to make sure people know he does more then vocaloid. As for Camellia I’m not sure if you are talking about the picture style or the actual song by Luka which if you are refereeing to either I would say no because the song barely has hit 9,000 views and doesn’t have much of following; and the idea of a P is meant for songs made by users not for Vocaloids artist.

            But again you keep assuming that someone who makes anything is instantly a Producer when they use Vocaloid which is not the case. In order to get the title of a P you have to have a following which your own examples prove and undermine your own definition. Your not going to be able to convince anyone that every one who uses Vocaloid is Producer. A Producer is someone who is the cream of the croup can make something unique and original in vocaloid and a large following.

          8. He doesn’t have a P name because Deco*27 is already a memorable name.

            Camellia is a Vocaloid producer. http://www.nicovideo.jp/mylist/16888369

            Camellia is already a memorable name, so he doesn’t have a P name. Nem is very popular but Nem is already a memorable name, so he doesn’t have a P name. BuzzG is already a memorable name. Ryo is already a memorable name. Kemu is already a memorable name. niki is already a memorable name.

            “In order to get the title of a P you have to have a following”

            I hate to put him out there like this, but CasteP. If he has a following at all, it is a microscopic one. http://www.nicovideo.jp/mylist/33070906

            Also, no. Just like a translator isn’t any person who has translated something before, I am not saying a producer is anyone who has ever produced something before. A poet is one who writes poems (the “regularly”, is, quite obviously, implied). A songwriter is one who writes songs (regularly). A producer is someone who produces (regularly).

          9. Aerii

            > am not saying a producer is anyone who has ever produced something before

            Right here you just contradicted yourself. Because you said before in your argument above that “Producing is what makes you a producer” so what it is then? Is just producing something an automatic producer status or is it something else according to your definition? Seriously make up your mind.

            I’m still going by what the original idea was that was put into place where in order to be considered a Producer with vocaloid you had to make something was fairly good and original that got you a large enough following to be given you status. There are some exceptions to the rule I will give you that but the idea is still the standard train of thought in the vocaloid fandom. Once you can prove the entire fandom wrong then maybe your argument will make sense.

          10. Strange… I had always considered the term “VOCALOID producer” to simply mean a producer who works with VOCALOID; if you produce music and you use VOCALOID, you are a VOCALOID producer. It doesn’t really matter whether you are popular or not, and it has nothing to do with whether you’ve received a P name or not. If you want to indicate popularity, you can simply say “popular VOCALOID producer” or “well-known VOCALOID producer”.

            But let’s suppose that your definition is correct. Under which category would you classify me? I’ve made roughly a dozen VOCALOID songs, won a few small awards here and here, and I do have a properly-earned P name. However, I only have a couple songs that have broken the 1000 view mark, and none of my VOCALOID songs hit 2000 views yet. Would I be a VOCALOID producer in your eyes?

          11. hightrancesea

            At the moment no because I don’t have any evidence. However assuming that is true I would still lean towards the no Because it seems you music doesn’t have much of a following at all. If you had maybe 10,000 and got onto the vocaloid ranking board (Not the western one the actual vocaloid ranking board on niconico) then maybe it would be a different story.

      2. Um, no. Zero-G is the one who picked the artist. The art was anime before Yamaha ever saw it. They only told her to make it more anime and she pretty much just made the eyes bigger.

        Please do research yourself before telling others to.

        1. @Aerii Yes so I know. It still doesn;t mean it isn;t jumping on the anime bandwagon even if Yamaha requested it to be more moe anime like it doesn’t mean they had to go full out anime cell style shading. Something like what Sonika remake would of been a better pick.

    3. Hey, I don’t usually post on blogs or anything, but I’ve been reading your posts, you seem to have good points and research troll or not but I’m curious why you seem to hate english vocaloids so much as if you don’t want them no matter what.. don’t you want it to come over here, become big, be able to create something in your own language? Personally, I really like vocaloid and I have been wanting to make my own stuff for a while, I even tried learning japanese but it got pretty hard. a quick FYI if you really just hate english and are a obsessed with japan or something, most japanese kids think english is cool, thats why they use it so much in animes and stuff, all the kids there think it’s “hip” or something to talk english.

      As for the art, honestly I don’t like it either BUT it’s OK. I think It needs a more eastern, moe style to it. It still has too much of an “american” style to it. I think yamha did the right thing asking for the art to be changed. The only market for vocaloids in the west are otakus currently, and for an “idol” to be born has to be cute,cool,moe,awesome pick 1 or 2 but western art just doesn’t compare to asian art for vocaloids, which is why most of them havent woked out so far I belive. Mikus first VB wasnt that good but everyone still uses it, Why? Because of miku.

      A stock image would not have worked out, as this isn’t being marketed to professionals..

      Also, Whoo’s miku english demo sounded fine to me, it was hard to understand but the voice was very much “miku” to me. No matter what, even if they released her VB back then it would of still sold tons, because it’s miku. It’s a ideal, and image people can get lost it, the product here doesn’t matter to fans. just my opinions on it

      1. Well I’ve said it once but I’ll say it again. I am hyper critical of the english vocaloid because they just keep going down in quality while the Japanese once have much better quality overall. The methods of recording on the english side have stayed the same which I know Guest101 will try to say they have done new things but that is wrong because the only thesis on the vocaloid engine states that it is only CV-VV-VC recording for english. Meanwhile the Japanese side has tried CV-VV-VC and VCV and tone recording in order to get more realistic results. They have also gone back to older banks and listened to the complaints and fixed up many of the problems with either appends or updates to new engines. Meanwhile the English side when they report very large errors and glitches (Like all of Sonika’s VV errors and @ error in Tonio and plucking glitches) we do nothing to fix the problem. On top of that we don’t even have all the necessary phonemes needed to have a true english bank. ( Like the missing 3, o, A, i (yes there is a difference between i and i:), O (again there is a difference between O and O: and even o and O), u, and 3′ phonemes) Along with this the english side has pretty much half assed the dictionary with incorrect spellings of words in phoneme form and even just flat out not put words expecting the user to do it themselves. (Seriously the word “of” should not be programed as “V v” it should of been “O: v” since it is right in the programing instructions. (This word is my biggest pet peeve since it is so simple yet they still messed it up)) One could argue that the Japanese side may have this problem to but there dictionary is much better then ours even on the simplest of words. Also we have the problem of slurring which though present in all vocaloids is especially bad in English vocaloids and can’t be fixed because of again poor programing of phonemes. It basically makes them unintelligible which I know someone is going to try to argue that the Japanese ones are just as well but the simple counter to that is the updates have made them become much more intelligible and clear.

        As for me wanting it to come I personally really don’t. The western half of the fandom is just plain known for screwing things up. (This isn’t just applying to Vocaloid but any fandom that comes over to the west) Most westerns have no idea what it actually takes to use the program and will just do plug ‘n chugs of songs like they are already doing. Most western musicians and people out side of the vocaloid fandom don’t take vocaloid seriously and just consider it “that Japanese thing”. (When the 1st miku concert came here nearly every television station mocked it or made some kind of reference to 2001 a space odyssey) So giving it to the worst part of the fandom would be like giving a loaded gun to a person who will shoot you.

        Basically the tl:dr
        English vocaloids super poor quality compared to Japanese vocaloids
        English side of fandom is worst side.

        1. Thanks for the reply

          First let me tell you, I’m obsessed with Japanese, they seem to do everything better. I know all about their culture and everything how they work to the littlest details on thing to get them right etc. I have been obsessed with them since I was born and saw a hayao miyazaki film.

          About the quality issue and Japanese vs English companies and the fandom etc:

          I don’t like the english fandom either, in the fact that they reupload videos, do cover songs, make pairings of fanart, and generally just get vocaloid to play around with it rather then wanting to make stuff with it.
          The thing is, I’m sure theres so many covers because the software has been mostly japanese, and the english side hasnt been that good so far. But with the release of everyones fav vocaloids from japan into english I’m sure they’re all going to start wanting to make their own stuff realizing they can actually make lyrcs etc

          I agree the English side has been slacking all this time, and they have bad customer support and everything but English is alot harder then Japanese of course, so the Japanese banks were able to become more realistic early on. With the Japanese now targeting the west with plans and everything I’m sure they’re going to give the same support to the English banks as they have with their current Japanese banks. Updates and everything, wouldn’t you agree?

          There are alot of english indie music producers, not many in the fandom but there are alot outside of it and they only know about the english vocaloids currently, I don’t ever see them mention the Japanese ones and they don’t tend to use them cause of lack of quality currently, and probably the general lack of a cool character image and publicity of it.

          The DTM music scene of “english” language, cause people from all over the world know english so it’s a general hub almost. They buy plugins like crazy for every new thing that comes out, 100$ there like it’s nothing because it’s fun getting a new plugin to experiment with, Crypton taking a “virtual idol” approach to marketing, and the trans pacific project taking a “professional” approach to it, I can’t help but think this is going to exceed far more then people are thinking for it.

          Think of V3 as V1 of the Japanese voicebanks, since we have 5x as much recording to do compared to Japanese etc

          It can only get better from there on, I’m sure with all the funds the Japanese companies are pouring into this venture they arn’t going to just “give up” if their first English banks don’t sell well, which of course they will because the Japanese market wants good english banks too.

          The news, fuck the news man. They exaggerate everything I don’t even watch that stuff.

          Honestly, there’s no stopping the plans they’ve set out, we can only speculate what will happen until they actually release something. It will be really interesting to see what happens.

          Also, a quick thought.

          Don’t compare vocaloid to what it’s like generally in america. In japan I believe it’s still in it’s own world, where only geek,musicans,otakus know about it. That’s what their aiming at for the west also, going to these technology shows to present the software again etc.

        2. “English vocaloids super poor quality compared to Japanese vocaloidsEnglish side of fandom is worst side.” very bias indeed.

    4. Oh please. Even if the design wasn’t anime and even if the demo sounded hyper-realstic, you would still find something to complain about, coming from all the other troll comments you make about engloids.
      If you don’t like engloids why do you keep commenting on engloid posts?

  2. Avanna is supposedly Gaelic, right? Maybe she could perform “Oro Mo Bhaidin” by Mary O’Hara. Y’know, just a thought.

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