Miniko makes creating a 2D streaming avatar accessible for creators who want to be live without showing their face. Instead of custom artwork or specialized tools, they build an avatar, customize it, and connect it to their streaming setup with face tracking and voice-reactive animation.

Finding the gap

Before Miniko, I spent three years running an Etsy store selling affordable digital assets for streamers: PNGtuber avatars, emotes, animated screens, and overlays. Creators kept DMing to ask if I could customize or modify an asset to fit their character. Many offered to pay extra.

The requests revealed a gap. My products were affordable but fixed, and personalization meant a custom commission, a far more expensive process. Creators wanted something of their own without that jump.

That made me wonder: what if creators could build and personalize their own 2D avatar instead?

Choosing the right model

The first build came together quickly, but one product decision had a bigger impact on the experience: how should creators get their assets?

The decision was not just about pricing. Each model would shape how creators explored the editor and what the experience felt like.

I launched Version 1 on Steam and watched how creators responded.

Creators pushed back on buying assets individually. Paying for each part made customization feel transactional: every change became another purchase decision, at odds with the flexibility Miniko was meant to provide.

Version 2 bundled the entire library into one purchase. That removed the storefront most of Version 1's ~20 screens existed for, so I rebuilt customization as a single editor.

Version 2 became the foundation of the product, the version more than 40 creators stream with today. It sells for $25; a typical commission starts around $80.

Separating identity from expression

The redesign also split customization from live control. Outfits represent a creator's identity and change infrequently; expressions are temporary and need to be instant while streaming.

So they became two workflows: outfit customization stays focused on building the character, and expressions stay one tap away during a stream.

Designing for live streaming

Streaming introduced another constraint: creators needed to make changes while their audience only saw the avatar. Streamers usually handle this by cropping window captures or switching scenes in OBS, which risks exposing the interface mid-stream.

I separated the creator workspace from the OBS output: creators adjust outfits, expressions, and settings live, and viewers only ever see the avatar.

Face tracking

Early testing showed mouth animation could feel inconsistent depending on the creator's webcam, lighting, and movement. The mouth is one of the most noticeable parts of a talking avatar, so it needed a more reliable signal.

I combined facial tracking with voice-driven mouth animation, with sensitivity controls so creators could tune the response to their setup.

Where it landed

Miniko evolved from a simple avatar customization tool into a complete workflow for creating and using a 2D streaming avatar. Along the way, I learned that the biggest product decisions were not always about the interface itself. Pricing, how customization was structured, and how the product fit into a live stream all shaped the experience.

40+

Creators currently using Miniko to stream

~20 → 1

Screens consolidated into a unified editor

2

Pricing models shipped and tested

What I took away