In this tutorial, you will learn how to search and derive from Products in the IMVU Catalog using IMVU Studio. But before doing so, let’s learn more about what exactly is deriving.
What is Deriving?
There are two kinds of products in the IMVU Catalog: Primary products and Derived products.
- Primary products (also called Base products) are usually the first product of a given geometry to have been built. You should think of Primary products as the parent products from which all others ought to be derived from.
- Derived products literally inherit all of the attributes of the Primary products but override a few features. Usually, these overrides are mainly in the form of texture overrides.
Every time you want to create a new product you need to derive it from an existing one first. Deriving means to create a copy of a product and base your new product starting with this copy.
Many products in the IMVU Catalog can be derived. If a product is set as derivable, other Creators can make a newly edited version of the item and sell it as their own. When a Creator sells a derived product, both the previous people who created the product you derived from and you, make money.
• Empty Base Derivable Products
Empty base derivable products are Primary products that contain no meshes. These types of products are the ones you use to derive from when you want to create products from scratch.
How do I Derive from a Product?
• Create a new project
Once you are ready to start a new project, you need to access the Derive Mode on IMVU Studio. There are various ways to do so:
- By clicking on the CREATE button in the top right corner of the screen.
- By selecting the
Tab in the top left corner of the screen.
- By accessing through the menu
➞ File ➞ New in the top left corner of the screen.
The Derive Mode displays all derivable products in the IMVU Catalog. Here, you will be able to choose a base product to derive from.
• Select a product to derive from
There are different resources available to find the item you want to derive from. In this tutorial, you will use the Search Bar.
To learn more about other ways to find the perfect base product to derive from, check out the article “IMVU Studio Walk-through” which will give you an overview of IMVU Studio and its features.
| Search Bar |
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Let’s see an example of how to derive from a particular product using its PID and the Search Bar. To do so, let’s find the PID of the item to derive from.
PIDs can be found at the bottom of product pages if you access from the IMVU Classic Website or at the end of a product page’s URL if you access from the IMVU Classic Website or IMVU Website.
Once the PID of the product has been entered, the PID button has been selected, and the 
button has been clicked, the item will be displayed on the screen.
A 3D Preview is loaded in the upper right corner of the screen and the product’s full Derivation History (also known as Derivation Chain) is displayed below the 3D Preview.
- When clicking on the
icon, the item will be displayed in Full Screen in order to have a better view of it. - The Derivation History gives the option of choosing and deriving from a product that is farther up the Derivation Chain.
Some products are set as “non-derivable” meaning other Creators cannot derive from them. However, if you set your own products to non-derivable, you will always be able to derive from your own products.
When clicking the DERIVE button in the bottom right corner on the screen, a draft project is created and the Edit Mode opens. The Edit Mode lets you edit the item you derived from.
IMVU Studio puts at your disposal many tools to help you make your products stand out from the rest.
To get to know more about IMVU Studio, check out the Creator Educational Center in which you will find helpful resources such as our Live Learning Lessons and many more.