Introduction to Create Mode
Create mode can be found on your computer in the downloadable Client. It is what allows you to put together your own creations which you can publish to the catalog to sell.
The create mode button is located on the homepage. Once you sign the Creator Agreement the button will be unlocked and you can click it to access the create mode main panel.
Create Mode Landing
Create Mode’s landing page contains your creator related information as well as the launch pad to create new products and to edit existing ones. It includes:
- Creator News
- Main calls to action: Derive, Open, and Edit
- Tier level, Credits, Predits and DTs
- Links to useful tools
- Local projects in list sorted by most recent (you won’t see any projects until you start working in the Editor.)
Collapsible Panels
Before we get too deep into the explanation of how Create Mode works, you should know that if you’re an experienced Creator and have no need for the explanatory text attached to the three main buttons, you can always minimize the panel that houses them.
You can also collapse the News panel if you have already read the bulletin and wish to hide it.
If you ever need to remind yourself, you can always open the panels again.
Progress
In the upper right corner of Create Mode, you will see a panel entitled ‘My Creator Progress’. This panel contains your Tier level as well as your Currency break downs.
Resources
Underneath the progress panel, there is a list of resources
- My Catalog launches the IMVU Classic shop with a focus on your catalog.
- The Virtual Goods Policy is where you can learn how to make an appropriate product on IMVU. It is important that every Creator reads this.
- The Education Center (you’re here!) contains many helpful tutorials.
- 3D Studio Max Plugin (Universal Installer) lets you download the files needed to create using 3Ds Max.
- Importing FBX Files is where you learn how to import your FBX creations into the Editor. Useful for using other 3D Programs such as Blender.
- The Creator Forums links to the Community Center where you can navigate to the Creator Discussions. You can get advice or help from other Creators there.
- Peer Review is where products are voted on by IMVU users in order to be allowed to enter the catalog.
- My Photo Album links to the webpage that hosts your imvu albums. You can use your albums to host images for your product pages to showcase your creations.
- Product – A creation that was published to the IMVU catalog.
- Project – A creation that is saves to your local computer.
- .CHKN – The file type saved from Create Mode.
Creator News:
Check this panel often for contests, tutorials and other community related events for Creators!
Derive
If you want to make a new product, the place to start is by clicking the “Derive a new product” button. This will open the Derive dialog.
If you’d like to learn more about Deriving, please check out the help article here.
Derive Panel
The Derive Panel enables you to click on a product to Derive from it. If you happen to know the product ID of what you’d like to Derive from, you can just type it into the Specify Product ID field.
This field is active whenever you open the Derive panel so you can just start typing. You can also type in product IDs so you can find out what is Derivable.
When you click a product in the default list or type in a PID, the product details will present themselves below the Specify Product ID field. You can see a picture of the product as well as who made it, whether it is Derivable and, if so, how much it will cost you to Derive.
If its what you want to Derive from, click “Go“
If a product is not Derivable, it will read “No” instead of “Yes“.
You can name a project up front to make it easier to recognize. Otherwise, it gets a named automatically. The only reason you might want to utilize this feature is so that you can track which project is which. However, whatever you name your projects, that name doesn’t matter at all. When you Upload your new product, it will be given a product number and its original name will be discarded.
Open a Local Project
You can browse your local computer for projects you have already in progress. The default browsing location is “C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\My Documents\IMVU Projects” as this is where Create Mode places all projects that are in progress.
You can save projects to new locations but a copy of the active project will always reside in that ‘IMVU Projects’ folder.
Both CHKN and CFL files can be opened. CHKN is the default Create Mode file type. However, if you have old products that you made using IMVU’s old creation tools, you can switch the file type you’re looking for to CFL. Create Mode will open CFLs for edit.
Edit a Product
If you have already created a product and want to edit it, click on the Edit a Product button. This will launch the Edit dialog. Just like the Specify Product ID field in the Derive dialog, all you have to do is type in one of your own Product IDs, verify that it’s the product you intended to edit and click the ‘Edit’ button. You can locate your product’s PID at the bottom of the product’s page.
If you did not create the product ID you type in, you will not be allowed to edit it.
Local Projects
As you work on more and more projects, they accumulate in a new panel in Create Mode called ‘Local projects that I recently worked on’. The projects are sorted by most recent and include the local name, the type and what they were Derived from for easy reference.
To open a local project from this panel, just click on its entry.
You can also use hot keys to open the main calls to action:
- Shift+ctrl+d = Opens the Derive dialog
- Shift+ctrl+o = Opens the Local project dialog
- Shift+ctrl+e = Opens the Edit a Product dialog
Editor
Regardless of whether you’re Deriving, Opening or Editing, you’ll end up opening the Editor.
Learn about the editor check the article here.