IMVU Studio Walk-through

Welcome to IMVU Studio!

Our new Creator tool will serve as the foundation for new features and optimization for IMVU Desktop and Mobile, allowing Creators to take their products to a whole new level.

This article will give you an overview of IMVU Studio, its features, and where to find helpful resources within Studio.

Home Mode

After logging in to IMVU Studio, you will be taken to your “Home” in which you can find Your Products, Your Profile Details, Links to Important Resources, the latest IMVU Studio News, and Help.

•  Your Products

They are sorted into four main categories representing their published state:

IMVU Studio allows you to edit your Draft/Submitted/Published Products as well. When you hover over a Published/Submitted/Draft Product, an “Edit” button pops-up. When clicking the “Edit” button, the Edit Mode opens.

•  Tools for searching through your own Catalog of products

Search Bar

It is located at the top of the screen in the middle and it enables you to perform two different types of search: By Product: typing keywords such as the product title or any word that describes the product you are looking for. By PID: typing the Product Identification Number.

Sorting

From the left side navigation, you can sort your projects by: The last project you opened by selecting “Last Opened”. The last project you saved by clicking on “Last Saved”. Alphabetically by choosing “Product Name”.

Filtering

From the left side navigation, you can filter your products by: Category: Clothing, Rooms, or Furniture. Gender: Female or Male. Rating: Access Pass (AP) or General Access (GA). Publish Status: Draft, Submitted, Peer Review, or Published.

•  Your Profile Details

Your Profile Details Panel is located at the top on the right hand side of the screen and it includes the following information:

•  Links to Important Resources

There are many helpful resources for Creators at IMVU. In this panel, which is below “Your Profile Details Panel”,  you will find some of the most relevant ones such as the Creator Education Center (CEC), the Creator Newsletter, or an easy to follow tutorial to start creating products by customizing a T-shirt among others.

•  The latest IMVU Studio News

In this panel, which is placed at the bottom of the screen on the right side, you can see from ongoing Creator Events to the latest News related to IMVU Studio and/or VCOIN.

•  Help

Helpful Resources are provided to guide you and resolve your concerns.

Help Assets

Practical and supportive resources can be find: In the bottom right corner of the screen when clicking on   In the top left corner of the screen by selecting the following menu options:  ➞ Help

Preferences

This menu option allows you to update information such as which room you want to display by default or your submission preferences among others. You can access to “Preferences” in the top left corner of the screen when clicking on   ➞ Preferences.

When you are ready to start a new project, you need to open the Derive Mode. 

There are different paths to access the Derive Mode:

Derive Mode

The Derive Mode displays all derivable products in the IMVU Catalog. Here, you can browse for the perfect base product to derive from and start creating.

•  Find a Base Product

You can use the different resources to find the product you want to derive from in the IMVU Catalog:

Search Bar

You can type the product’s name or keywords that describe it, and click on the “PRODUCT” button. If you know the PID of the product you are searching for, you can type it and select the “PID” button.

Sorting

From the left side navigation, you can sort products by Best Match, Latest Products, Oldest Products, and Prices (from the highest to the lowest prices and the other way around).

Filtering

You can also filter your search according to the different products categories: Women: Clothing, Body, Accessories, and Miscellaneous. Men: Clothing, Body, Accessories, and Miscellaneous. Avatars Rooms & Furniture: Rooms, Furniture, and Poses & Actions.

Rating

You can narrow down your search depending on the rating of the product you want to derive from:  General Audience (GA): products available to users aged 13 years old or older. Access Pass Only (AP): products available to users aged 18 years old or older who have purchased the Access Pass.

Creator

If you know the Creator that made the product you are looking for, you can type its name in this field, select it, and all the derivable products of the chosen Creator will be displayed on the screen.

•  Product Selection

Once a product is selected, a 3D Preview will load in the upper right corner of the screen.

When in the Full Screen Preview Window you can perform different actions in order to have a better view of the product you have chosen:

Rotate

Mouse: click + drag to rotate. Trackpad: one-finger click + drag to rotate.

Zoom

Mouse: scroll to zoom in and out. Trackpad: pinch to zoom in and out.

Pan

Mouse: right-click + drag to pan. Trackpad: two-finger click + drag to pan.

•  Derivation Chain

Once a product has been selected, the full Derivation Chain of the chosen product is displayed below the 3D Preview.

Each product of the Derivation Chain includes its cost, name, and creator’s name. 

Any product in the Derivation Chain can be selected if you find a simpler or less expensive product to derive from.

•  Derive a Product

Once you find the product you want to derive from, you just need to:

A draft project will be created and it will open in Edit Mode.

Edit Mode

Besides editing published, submitted, and draft products, the Edit Mode allows you to edit products you chose to derive from in order to create your own items. The Edit Mode is where the product creation occurs.

IMVU Studio provides many tools to help you make your products unique and outstanding. Let’s dive in to learn more about them!

•  Persistent Pop-Up Panels

Throughout the Edit Mode are several pop-up panels that hold various parameters and selections. These panels can stay open as long as you need to reference them. Moreover, multiple panels may be open at once.

•  Tools and Features

Home Tab

Get back to the Home Mode at any moment.

Derive Tab

The Derive Mode opens in a new tab allowing you to derive from another product. You can have several projects open at the same time.

Main Menu

From this menu you have access to several resources and features such as undo and redo edits, view MCG (Minimum Coverage Guidelines) for poses and skins,  help assets, import FBX files, import new Materials, and many more.

Import Tool

From here, you can import any asset you need for your product (from textures maps to FBX files).

Visual Aids Tool

You can enable/disable different visual tools such as the Minimum Coverage Guidelines, lights, or particles among others.

Snapshot Tool

You can take pictures with or without background.

Decoration Mode

Entering the Decoration Mode allows you to add products into your scene to test with your product.

Preview, Save, and submit Buttons

PREVIEW Button: preview the changes you have made to your project. SAVE Button: save your project as it currently stands. SUBMIT Button: submit your project to the Shop.

Component Panel

The Component Panel contains the different types of Components that make a product. New Components can be added to your products by clicking on

Assets Panel

From the Assets Panel, you can view details and import any asset into your project for later use. Supported Assets: Textures – JPG and PNG FBX – all types (preferred import method) Meshes – XMF (legacy CAL3D format) Animations – XAF (legacy CAL3D format) Morph Animations – XPF (legacy CAL3D format) Skeleton – XSF (legacy CAL3D format)

Inspector Panel

The Inspector Panel is unique for each Component. You can import CAL3D files from here directly and set up the different properties. That is to say, by selecting a Component, the Inspector Panel shows its parameters and it lets you configure them as you wish.

Inventory Panel

Use the Inventory Panel to try on clothing, accessories, furniture, or rooms that you can find in your Inventory. You can search products in your Inventory by: Search Bar Type keywords that describe the product you are looking for. Filtering By clicking on , the Filter Panel pops-up allowing you to filter your search according to the different categories among all the products in your Inventory.

Info Panel

The Info Panel is where you will fill out all the necessary information in order to submit your product to the Shop such as product’s name, thumbnail, derivability, or price among others.

Errors and Warnings Panel

Errors and/or warnings are displayed on the screen giving you an opportunity to review them. The panel is placed in the bottom left corner on the screen.

Test Trigger Actions

You can test different actions on your product to make sure that it works correctly.

Help Button

It gives you access to Help and Resources.

Camera Controls
To have a better view of the product you can manipulate the camera in different ways.
Rotate Mouse: click + drag to rotate. Trackpad: one-finger click + drag to rotate. Controls: Press the keys A or D on your keyboard, or click A or D, and hold it to rotate your avatar. Click on closer arrows to rotate and pan your avatar simultaneously.
Zoom Mouse: scroll to zoom in and out. Trackpad: pinch to zoom in and out. Controls: Press the + key on your keyboard or click on the button, and hold it to zoom in. Press the – key on your keyboard or click on the button, and hold it to zoom out.
Pan Mouse: click + drag to pan. Trackpad: one-finger click + drag to pan. Controls: Press the keys W or S on your keyboard, or click on W or S, and hold it to pan. Click on closer arrows to pan and rotate your avatar at the same time.
Center your avatar Controls: Click on  to center your avatar.

Undo and Redo Buttons

Reverse  or restore  changes carried out.

Let’s start!

Whether you base your product designs off of a product that already exists in the IMVU Catalog or create your own 2D/3D assets from scratch, IMVU Studio will help you to assemble them and submit your products to the Shop.

So, what are you waiting for to get started? If you are new to the Creator Community, do not panic. We encourage you to follow the Making a Shirt tutorial in which you will customize your own T-shirt by deriving it from an existing product.