Hey Runey, obviously would be a pain for this game, but when you consider your next game (after this one, please dont make multiple games at once like some devs try :/ ), have you considered an engine change to unity? Could make the game realtime 3d (but keep static camera angles! ), making animations easier and keeping the file size down as you wouldnt need so many pics. Could make development easier for you in the long run?
Unity requires a fair amount of knowledge in C#, which I don't have. But, for a simple VN unity may be just fine, but it would still take a lot of setup to make Unity into a VN, Renpy just comes with everything.
Also, these character models are made from Honey Select, they're not my own modeled characters I made in blender or anything. I made them with the character editor in Honey Select. Honey Select was actually made in Unity, fun fact.
So, if I wanted to make a game in Unity with true 3d models, I would need to hire a 3d artist, as blender is not my forte, and it costs a lots of money. But you're right, it would decrease the file size a bit. But 2 gigs for a game isn't really much to consider, it's pretty small. Animations would also be much harder, as I would also need to hire an animator AND a 3d model artist.
My next game will probably be in Unity, but not 3d.
That said, I am in the talks of joining a team to make another game pretty soon. It won't take up much of my time at all, I would mainly be in it for creative decisions, story opinions, stuff like that. And will absolutely not take up any time I devote to HH. I won't be juggling anything, they know HH is my main focus. But just to clarify further, this game is not my second game, or my other game, nothing like that. Just a game I have a small role in.