Fashion CloneCloth Texture Designer for iClone

Q: When did you start using iClone, and what have been some of your best experiences with the software?

After taking early retirement in 2006 I decided to look for a hobby. So started doing Video's for the family wedding and the like and burning them onto dvd and then one family member said how cool it would be to do some sort of animation in the videos. That started me doing some searching on the web and came across Crazy Talk well that was it I was hooked so on the 27th October 2006 I purchased Crazy Talk 4 and iClone 1.5 and have never looked back.

My best experience was when one day I was thinking how I could get the Daz Animals into iClone as Characters and not props. This was roughly 2 years ago before the onset of 3d exchange which now simplifies the process.So after a lot of trial and error back and forth between software Daz 3dsMax and iClone and approximately a month of pulling my hair out I finally managed to get an Elephant into iClone with his own right click persona.

Now to me that was a challange/experience and it was a fantasic feeling to see this elephant walking around the iClone Scene. This was purely a personal best experience as I would never put any of the many Daz Animal Avatars I have for Sale as I did not create the mesh only utalised it.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration and ideas from for your creations?

Inspiration and ideas come from life in general and people watching. Being a woman I tend to look at what others are wearing and think she looks good in that or OMG that makes her look fat. Only joking. There is no one route that I could say inspires me. Sometime I will wander around the web looking at clothes stores to see what is the latest fashions or maybe when out for a meal I might see someone wearing something that gives me an idea so when I have the chance I will make a note for myself to try and create something similar. Basically I think today anything goes with regards fashion.

Q: How would you describe the community of users who use iClone?

Oh gosh this is a hard one to answer as I can only really speak for myself and how I read into what the users say and do. So basically my view is that originally when I first discovered iClone it was still a baby and the users were very much a united small band of wanna be artistic creators, but as iClone has evolved so has its users. I think now it has been taken more seriously by professionals as a useful piece of software to use in their workflow. There are those that excell in making videos Small Wonder Studio Akn and Txon to name just a few then there are those that have the skills in max Warlord Wil Veekes and Apparitions then there are the Costume Creators Alley Shygirl Bernita and hopefully I fall into this section also. So all round a very good community of users bringing many varied skills to the software.

Q: What is your favorite creation so far?

Not sure that I have a favorite as such because each and every outfit accessory or prop takes a lot of work and when finished that might be the favorite until the next.

Q: What are some pointers you would give to those who want to get into developing content for iClone?

Feel happy with the photo editing software that you use be it Photoshop Paintshop Pro etc. Experiment with colours and textures and always keep a copy of the PSD files
so if Tamin who checks your work when submitted to the Main Store find a problem it is easier to go back and adjust your layers than a flat jpg picture. Also watch the
tutorial videos that Alley has done as that guides you through the cloth creation procedure.

Q: Any comments about your latest release for Reallusion newest CloneCloth?

Now because I am no longer 21 and go out in the cold without a coat hat scarf etc creating what I felt to be Anime/Manga type teenage trendy clothes quite a challenge, but when the first costume was complete and I thought to myself yes that works the flood gates open and several ideas poor out.

* Know more about CloneCloth New Look
https://www.reallusion.com/ContentStore/promo/2011G3NewLook/

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Duchess 110's personal store: http://city.reallusion.com/store/Duchess_Designs