Charakuru Turns a Single 2D Drawing Into a Rigged 3D Avatar
A free local kit turns a single character illustration into a rigged VRM avatar by splitting the work between you, Tripo, and a Codex agent.
PRO- Charakuru is a free local kit that converts a single illustration into a rigged VRM avatar.
- Officially sponsored by Tripo, built by Japanese developer Nano, source-available under a revenue-gated license.
- A Codex agent drives Tripo in the browser and Blender via MCP, while you make visual judgement calls.
- Workflow is five human review checkpoints: images, candidates, proportions, motion, final export.
- Requires Node.js 22+, Blender 5.2, VRM Add-on, Tripo account, and a Codex agent with browser control.
- Still early: no expressions or eye movement, Japanese-only agent prompts, bugs and missing features.
Charakuru turns one character illustration into a reviewable VRM workflow
Charakuru is a source-available toolkit that converts a full-body 2D character illustration into a rigged VRM 1.0 avatar. Developer Nano built the project with sponsorship from Tripo, combining a local review app with a coding agent that operates Tripo and Blender.
The review interface and project state run on the user’s machine, while image generation, agent execution, and Tripo processing depend on external services. The kit is available through the project repository, and Nano announced it as a free download.
Human review anchors the pipeline
Single-image 3D generation often produces distorted faces, warped joints, inconsistent textures, or geometry that fails during animation. Repairing those defects usually requires Blender experience and repeated work across several tools.
Charakuru packages Nano’s workflow into five review checkpoints. The agent handles browser operations, Blender commands, file management, rigging, and export. The user makes the visual decisions that are difficult to automate reliably.
Five checkpoints, one project file
Each stage ends in the local app. After approving the current result, the user presses Continue, copies the generated request, and sends it to the Codex agent. The agent completes the next operation, updates the project, and returns the app to another review checkpoint.
- Import the source:
This story is for Pro members
You've reached the end of the free preview. Upgrade to AlphaSignal Pro to read the full article - and everything else behind the paywall.