{"id":2116,"date":"2024-04-12T10:03:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T09:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/?p=2116"},"modified":"2024-04-17T15:23:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T14:23:17","slug":"imvu-getting-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/imvu-getting-started\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started With Blender For IMVU"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/imvu-getting-started\/#READ_ME_%E2%80%93_Before_Beginning\" >READ ME &#8211; Before Beginning<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/imvu-getting-started\/#Should_I_Use_245_249_264_Or_Newer\" >Should I Use 2.45, 2.49, 2.64+ Or Newer?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/imvu-getting-started\/#Download_Blender_For_IMVU\" >Download Blender For IMVU<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/imvu-getting-started\/#Blender_Says_Python_Is_Missing\" >Blender Says Python Is Missing?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/imvu-getting-started\/#I_Installed_Python_But_Still_Get_The_Error_In_Blender\" >I Installed Python But Still Get The Error In Blender<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/imvu-getting-started\/#Where_Can_I_Download_The_IMVU_Exporter\" >Where Can I Download The IMVU Exporter?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/imvu-getting-started\/#What_Do_I_Put_The_IMVU_Exporter\" >What Do I Put The IMVU Exporter?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/imvu-getting-started\/#First_Learn_To_Use_Create_Mode\" >First, Learn To Use Create Mode<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/imvu-getting-started\/#Second_Learn_To_Use_Blender_3D\" >Second, Learn To Use Blender 3D<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/imvu-getting-started\/#Third_Learn_To_Make_IMVU_Content\" >Third, Learn To Make IMVU Content<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>Before getting into &quot;meshing&quot; and product production for IMVU using Blender it&#8217;s worth taking a few moments to consider that doing so can be extremely tricky and frustrating, especially for the novice or beginner to the art of &quot;<b>User Generated Content<\/b>&quot;.<\/p>\n<p>Generally speaking being a &#8216;Creator&#8217; requires knowledge of not just &quot;<b>3D<\/b>&quot; but also <b>image manipulation<\/b> and <b>software therein<\/b> &#8211; <i>Photoshop<\/i>, <i>GIMP<\/i>, <i>Paintshop Pro<\/i>, <i>Corel Photo-Paint<\/i> and so on. It&#8217;s also essential to understand the basics of the IMVU Client, &quot;<b>Create Mode<\/b>&quot; in particular, where all content is put together before final upload to the Catalogue.<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"background-color: #fc0; color: #000;\"><p><b>Important<\/b>: to be a successful creator, a lot of reading is <b><i>required<\/i> at <i>all<\/i> times<\/b>!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"READ_ME_%E2%80%93_Before_Beginning\"><\/span><b>READ ME<\/b> &#8211; Before Beginning<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The successful Creator has of two main traits, (1) &quot;<b>patience<\/b>&quot; and (2) &quot;<b>dedication<\/b>&quot;. Why? Because it is simply not possible to press a few buttons and have a product uploaded to the catalogue in a few minutes, especially where there are many compatibility issues between Blender and IMVU. With this in mind, should the budding IMVU Creator still wish to investigate making IMVU items with Blender, read on.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Should_I_Use_245_249_264_Or_Newer\"><\/span>Should I Use 2.45, 2.49, 2.64+ Or Newer?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Blender 2.45 and 2.49 are of the same &#8216;family&#8217; so the differences between the two are less significant than between the aforementioned and Blender 2.64 and newer versions. Although the latter is newer and support for IMVU is more complete, there is much less information available on using the application specifically for IMVU as support is relatively new. However, Blender 2.45 includes a &#8216;valid&#8217; Cal3D export script whereas 2.49 and 2.64+ don&#8217;t. This means one needs to be installed (see below).<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Download_Blender_For_IMVU\"><\/span>Download Blender For IMVU<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/sitegiffs\/wmlq8wmn.png\" alt=\"Blender.org\" width=\"200\" height=\"55\" align=\"right\" \/>Export support varies depending on the version of Blender used. Although the scripts available for 2.45 and 2.49 has a long history of use they offer less complete capabilities than that available for 2.64+ or newer. Because of the way support for IMVU is provided specific versions of the application may to be required. These can be found by visiting http:\/\/download.blender.org\/release\/. Having said that, download and test the latest version of Blender from <a href=\"http:\/\/blender.org\/\" title=\"Download the latest version of Blender\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blender.org<\/a> to check compatibility.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/download.blender.org\/release\/Blender2.64\/\" title=\"Download Blender 2.64+\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Index of \/release\/Blender2.64\/<\/a> download &quot;<b>blender-2.64a-release-windows32.exe<\/b>&quot;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/download.blender.org\/release\/Blender2.64\/\" title=\"Download Blender 2.64+\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Index of \/release\/Blender2.64\/<\/a> download &quot;<b>blender-2.64a-release-windows64.exe<\/b>&quot;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Older versions of Blender are available from the following links;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/download.blender.org\/release\/Blender2.45\/\" title=\"Download Blender 2.45\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Index of \/release\/Blender2.45\/<\/a> download &quot;<b>blender-2.45-windows.exe<\/b>&quot;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/download.blender.org\/release\/Blender2.49b\/\" title=\"Download Blender 2.49b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Index of \/release\/Blender2.49b\/<\/a> download &quot;<b>blender-2.49b-windows.exe<\/b>&quot;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Blender_Says_Python_Is_Missing\"><\/span>Blender Says Python Is Missing?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/sitegiffs\/ubvjekh7.png\" alt=\"python.org\" width=\"201\" height=\"66\" align=\"right\" \/>Blender can actually be run <i>as-is,<\/i> but on starting will typically display an error saying &quot;<b><i>&#8230;no installed Python found.<\/i><\/b>&quot; (or words to that effect depending on he version used). To fix this error Python needs to be downloaded and installed (download the exact files below). <i>Note: for Blender 2.49b, Python 2.6.6 is the <b>latest Windows compatible version <\/b><\/i>available. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"red\">\n<p class=\"contentHighlight\"><b>NOTE<\/b>: Python is optional when using Blender 2.64+ as it already includes the necessary files<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>Blender <b>2.45<\/b> <i><b>requires<\/b><\/i><b> Python 2.5.4<\/b> so install &quot;<b><a href=\"http:\/\/python.org\/download\/releases\/2.5.4\/\" title=\"python-2.5.4.msi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">python-2.5.4.msi<\/a><\/b>&quot;<\/li>\n<li>Blender <b>2.49b<\/b> <i><b>requires<\/b><\/i> <b>Python 2.6.6<\/b> so install &quot;<b><a href=\"http:\/\/python.org\/download\/releases\/2.6.6\/\" title=\"Windows x86 MSI Installer (2.6.8)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Windows x86 MSI Installer (2.6.6)<\/a><\/b>&quot;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"I_Installed_Python_But_Still_Get_The_Error_In_Blender\"><\/span>I Installed Python But Still Get The Error In Blender<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If using Blender 2.45 or 2.49 it&#8217;s possible that even though Python has been installed an error message is received when starting. The fix for this is relatively technical and can be found by reading through, and doing, the following tutorial;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/pythonpath\/\" title=\"Setting up Windows Python Path variable\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">Setting up Windows Python Path Variable<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_Can_I_Download_The_IMVU_Exporter\"><\/span>Where Can I Download The IMVU Exporter?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Blender 2.49 and 2.64+ or newer require third party Cal3D IMVU export scripts.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"contentHighlight\"><b>NOTE<\/b>: the <b>AddOn<\/b> export script below is tested for compatibility with newer versions of Blender as they are published but support and functionality may vary. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1.1em;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bitbucket.org\/jacobb\/imvu_cal3d\/downloads\" title=\"Blender Cal3D Export for 2.64\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Blender Cal3D IMVU Export AddOn for Blender 2.64+ or newer<\/b><\/a> [external]<\/span><br \/>\n<i>To install &#8211; open Blender, click &quot;<b>File &raquo; User Preferences<\/b>&quot; then &quot;<b>Install from File&#8230;<\/b>&quot;, browse to downloaded ZIP file (<b>do not<\/b> unpack\/extract contents), select then click &quot;<b>Install from File&#8230;<\/b>&quot;. Once installed script then needs to be enabled &#8211; click &quot;<b>Addons<\/b>&quot;. In &quot;<b>Categories<\/b>&quot; on the left click &quot;<b>Import-Export<\/b>&quot;. In the list that appears click the &quot;<b>checkbox<\/b>&quot; to the right of &quot;<b>Import-Export: IMVU Cal3D export<\/b>&quot; entry to activate. Finally click &quot;<b>Save User Settings<\/b>&quot; to load exporter when Blender starts. Close Preferences.<\/i><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1.1em;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/files\/imvu\/blender2imvu_v1.4_sapphire-edition.zip\" title=\"Blender to IMVU exporter\"><b>Blender to IMVU v1.4 &#8211; Sapphire Edition for Blender 2.49 only<\/b><\/a> [local]<\/span><br \/>\n<i>To install, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/pythonpath\/\" title=\"Installing Python scripts\">click here for general instructions<\/a><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/pythonpath\/\" title=\"Installing Python scripts\"><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Do_I_Put_The_IMVU_Exporter\"><\/span>What Do I Put The IMVU Exporter?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Blender needs to be installed using the default settings, if not, trying to find the correct folder locations to correct problems can be tricky. For Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 the directions in the following tutorial will help locating the script folder;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/scripts-folder-location\/\" title=\"Blender scripts folder for Vista\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8216;scripts&#8217; folder in Windows 7\/Vista<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/scripts-folder-location\/\" title=\"Scripts folder in Windows XP\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8216;scripts&#8217; folder in Windows XP<\/a><\/li>\n<li><i>(to install the AddOn for Blender 2.64 see above or refer to the files included readme)<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"First_Learn_To_Use_Create_Mode\"><\/span>First, Learn To Use Create Mode<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/sitegiffs\/f084rke4.png\" alt=\"IMVU Creator Center\" width=\"150\" height=\"57\" align=\"right\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s essential for Creators to know how to use Create Mode in the IMVU Client. The best way to learn is to get stuck in and start with the basics, &#8216;<b>Stickers<\/b>&#8216; and move on to &#8216;<b>furniture<\/b>&#8216; and more complex items thereafter. For this visit the following;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>IMVU&#8217;s &quot;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.imvu.com\/creators\/education_center.php\" title=\"IMVU's Creator Center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Creator Education Center<\/a>&quot;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Second_Learn_To_Use_Blender_3D\"><\/span>Second, Learn To Use Blender 3D<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/sitegiffs\/oct_logo.png\" alt=\"KatsBits\" width=\"170\" height=\"43\" align=\"right\" \/>It does not go without saying that before products can be made for IMVU, it&#8217;s crucial the first steps on this path are the learning of Blender. This best and simplest way to do this is to follow the tutorial linked below, which provides a basic overview of Blender and using it to make meshes that can then be used in IMVU (the following is for 2.49. most actions are applicable to 2.45 except where <a href=\"#version\">noted above<\/a>).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/chair\/\" title=\"Learning Blender 2\/49\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">Learning Blender &#8211; make a simple chair<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Third_Learn_To_Make_IMVU_Content\"><\/span>Third, Learn To Make IMVU Content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Once both the basics of IMVU&#8217;s &#8216;Create Mode&#8217; and Blenders basics have been learnt, it&#8217;s time then to move onto learning how to make specific items for IMVU. As of now, and due to compatibility issues, IMVU items made with Blender are largely limited to &#8216;<b>rooms<\/b>&#8216;, &#8216;<b>furniture<\/b>&#8216; and &#8216;<b>accessories<\/b>&#8216; (hair, hat, jewellery etc.) and &#8216;<b>pets<\/b>&#8216;. Currently it&#8217;s not practical to make clothing, poses, or animated actions. The following tutorials will help;<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"background-color: #fc0; color: #000;\"><p><b>Important<\/b>: <b>IMVUs default scale<\/b>, the size objects appear to be in the 3D View, is approximately <span style=\"font-size:150%;\">100x LARGER<\/span> than Blenders. Always start a project by <a href=\"\/files\/imvu\/katsbits_imvu-room-template.zip\" title=\"Download the ROOM template\" style=\"color: #900\">opening the appropriate template<\/a> for the product type being made to ensure everything is the correct size relative to IMVU, else scene &quot;<b>Scale<\/b>&quot; and &quot;<b>Clip<\/b>&quot; values will need to be increased to properly view view content (press &quot;<b>N<\/b>&quot; to access &quot;<b>View<\/b>&quot; properties, adjust &quot;<b>Scale:<\/b>&quot; under &quot;<b>Display<\/b>&quot;, and &quot;<b>Start:<\/b>&quot; and &quot;<b>End:<\/b>&quot; under &quot;<b>Clipping<\/b>&quot;).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/make-furniture\/\" title=\"A guide to making furniture for IMVU\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">A guide to making furniture for IMVU using Blender<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/make-rooms\/\" title=\"Making rooms for IMVU with Blender\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">Making rooms for IMVU with Blender<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/make-pets\/\" title=\"Make an animated pet with Blender\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">Make an animated pet for IMVU with Blender<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div align=\"right\" style=\"background: #fff;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/imvu\/imvu-avatar-blender-reference-files.jpg\" alt=\"Making products for IMVU using Blender\" width=\"400\" height=\"304\" \/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[230,277,158,537,521,528,21,531,541,436,535,533,536],"class_list":["post-2116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tutorials","tag-blender-2-4x","tag-blender-2-6x","tag-cal3d","tag-create-mode","tag-gimp","tag-image-editing","tag-imvu","tag-imvu-creating","tag-imvu-files","tag-python","tag-xmf","tag-xrf","tag-xsf"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2116"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2121,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116\/revisions\/2121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.katsbits.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}