Guide to Finding Free Character Models Online

Tons of different formats

Including but not limited to:

MMD, SFM, XNA, FBX, Blender, Max, Maya, etc.

After receiving multiple request for links to specific models, I thought it would be useful to put together this resource of some of my favorite model download locations.

MMD [Japanese Sites]

BowlRoll

• Largest collection of downloadable models; many of the other sites link back to this one
• download pages usually link back to the creator profile where you can find their twitter handle if you want to follow them for a heads up on their next release
• also includes animations, props, stages, skyboxes, etc.
• directly searching on the site can be difficult as it's optimized for searching in japanese

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Nico Images

Nico Video

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Navigating Japanese Sites

Login

Some of these sites / downloads will require an account to download models. Some people might have regional restrictions that could be bypassed with a VPN.

Passwords

Some models will require a password to download the model and/or extract the model from the zip/rar.

Extracting Files

This mostly applies to Japanese Files. If you have (or want to prevent) issues with opening files that have Japanese names then I'd recommend using Bandizip. On the toolbar there is a region button that you can use to change the region to Japanese, Chinese, etc. This will preserve the file name instead of ending up with an unreadable mess.

Translating

It's much easier to organize and work with MMD files when they're in a language you can understand. Google Translate isn't perfect, but it'll get you close enough. It's great for renaming folders, file names, and internal parts of the model pmx like materials and expanding morph names. (If you'd like a tutorial on doing that let me know)

MMD [English Sites]

Iwara

Booru

Deviant Art [Multiple Model Formats]

Great resource for multiple model formats, the largest group being MMD and XNA/XPS. While you can find other formats like SFM, Blender, FBX, etc. MMD and XNA/XPS will be far easier to find.

SFM

SFM Labs

• If you’ve seen an SFM video (typically featuring more realistic video game characters) then chances are pretty good it came from this or at least started here. Some creators head swap these characters, others do mix and matches and others tweak the base model until it’s optimized to their needs.
• Some are super stylized, some have DAZ Studio bodies added in and others are straight up game rips (plain and leweded)
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Blender

Smutbase

BlendSwap

General

What’s the Difference?

There are benefits and drawbacks to each program. This is a mini break down but by no means all you need to know. Hopefully just enough to either confirm what you’ve heard or to help you decide which to look into more.

Blender

Miku Miku Dance

Source FilmMaker

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Feedback

What do you guys think of the guide?

Helpful?

Useful?

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Would you like a more fleshed out and visual guide? PDF Format? Video Format?

Any comments, feedback, additional sites and whatnot feel free to reach out. I’ll continually update this guide as new information becomes available or no longer relevant.

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