IMVU Studio is our next generation creator tool, currently in development. It serves as the foundation for new features and optimizations on IMVU Desktop and Mobile, allowing Creators to take their products to a whole new level.
What You’ll Learn
In this session, our experts demo an exciting new toolkit just for Meshers! This new toolset, for Blender users, is designed to streamline your workflow by providing tools to increase your efficiency. If you’re new to meshing, this tool will make it much easier to get started.
- Part 1: @MightySe7en will demonstrate our new Toolkit for Meshers (Blender)Toolkit Intro
- Installation (create.imvu.com/articles/studio/toolkit/)
- Tools for Room, Furniture, Attachment, Clothing & Animation
- Part 2: @Drosselmeyer and @MightySe7en will answer questions from Creators attending the Learning Session.
Watch Now!
Questions & Answers
(Verbal answers are recorded in the video)
Q: With IMVU Studio, do we still need to import .xaf animation files?
A: You can use FBX to import animation. We will covbe that in a bit. OR you can use .XAF but you will need need a Cal3d exporter.
Q: Is there a way to add some sort of nodes inside a room that will allow user to load another room instead going through the room list or searching for a specific room?
A: Not at this time. This is something we have taked about, but don’t have a plan for it as of yet. Great idea though, thanks!
Q: When reducing the number of polygons, how do we decemate only one shape instead of the whole project?
A: You should be able to do that on a per object basis in Blender.
Q: No more weight painting?
A: For attachments the weighting is handled automatically. The mesh gets rigid weighted to the a attachment bone.
Q: Do you have an approximate date for the 3ds Max tool release date?
A: Not yet. Hopefully within a month.
Q: I have a mesh on my Blender, then i click on the toolkit to make the avatar appear, and my mesh disappears, is it because the mesh has to be appended or something afterwards?
A: Right. The tool needs to be started first and then you can add your mesh.
Q: If we were creating a hair mesh, would we use the append clothing or append attachment part?
A: Great idea. Yes, we can do that.
Q: If we were creating a hair mesh, would we use the append clothing or append attachment part?
A: Great idea. Yes, we can do that.
Q: Does the clothing get skinned by itself?
A: It gets some default weighting, but then the tool it set up so you can easily go back and forth between weighting and testing your weighting.
Q: Can this help with scaling? I tend to run into my meshes being to big and going though the floor and I can’t see room walls in blender when I am working on wall furniture.
A: All of the tools are set up so that there should be no need to adjust the scale upon import into IMVU Studio. (Scale remain 1.0, the default).
Q: I notice the male, female buttons use the default avatars. As with clothing we all know nobody uses the default base for clothing. So are we able to use our own base and import them into those “male, female” tabs?
A: Oh. That is a great point. Right now it is just the default avatars. We will have to look into that.
Q: Why is the number of polygons on a mesh limited to 10666 and why is it still possible to import a mesh exceeding this limit?
A: We don’t block from importing large meshes anymore. Just a warning that you might get unexpected results.
Q: Does this toolkit work in IMVU Classic (Client)?
A: While we do encourage everyone to use IMVU Studio, you can actually use this tool to export FBXs to be imported into IMVU Classic (Client).
Q: If I want to make a boa that is attached to the body of the avatar but one extreme of the boa is rolled around her hands, does it have to be weighted as a normal cloth would?
A: Ooh. That is a great question. I would say you would want to make it a clothing product and have it weighted to the arms and hand possibly. Yes, we will be posting the recording of this session.
Q: How do you bring in an animation file?
A: There is a Blender file that is part of the package for the tool that contains all of the assets needed by the tool.
Q: Someday you should update the avatar files with smaller heads and hands. To make a couple cuddle is a headache especially if you want to set kiss pose.
A: Yeah. We are looking into that.
Q: Are the animation tools available for a couple animated node?
A: Not yet. That is going on the to do list. Thanks!
Q: Would this tool be useful in making scalers or not so much?
A: Not so much. Scalers are now done in Studio using the ‘Scalers’ component. Tutorial: https://create.imvu.com/articles/studio/imvu-studio-scalers
Q: Can you make the bones not move in anyway but only in natural ways? For example head shouldn’t turn all the way around.
A: Very possible. It limits functionality a bit so I am not keen on adding that, but I will keep it in mind as potentially a checkbox that locks and unlocks those limits.
Q: Is IMVU planning on enabling clothing elements to react to its surrounding? e.g. skirt moving as the avatar dances.
A: Not at this time. This would rely on having a physics simulation which our engine does not include.
*This Learning Session took place April 14, 2022, and the information shared is specific to this time period.