FeliciaDivine: I am here with one of IMVU best designers and meshers, known for her fantastic lineup of YouTube players as well as post-apocalyptic sets and Dungeons & Dragons…Kabby…what brought you to IMVU and sparked your creative flare?
oOKabbyOo: That’s sort of a funny story, how I was introduced to IMVU.
oOKabbyOo: One day my friend was saying, Hey you should check this out. And I looked over his shoulder, and I was like….Um nah, that looks gay.
FeliciaDivine: lol
oOKabbyOo: So he bugged me about it and explained some things, how it’s all real people, and it’s not a game, and it’s basically a chat world. So I tried it out.
oOKabbyOo: The chatting with other people was really what I liked at the beginning.
FeliciaDivine: Does the designs in your catalog reflect your real world interests? I noticed you do a lot of wreckage and I was really thrilled being part of your Dungeons and Dragons group, even though I died a lot 😉
oOKabbyOo: Lol that game was a lot of fun 🙂
FeliciaDivine: I hear you’re heavily into Magic: The Gathering these days
oOKabbyOo: Yeah I play MtG almost every day on Steam with Chrissy
oOKabbyOo: I have been a huge fan of Half Life 2 and grunge stuff like that. And when I became a developer, I realized I could try to create that same kind of atmosphere for myself here.
FeliciaDivine: that’s cool 🙂
FeliciaDivine: I guess when you can’t find what you need then you create…but in your case did you want to create from the beginning?
oOKabbyOo: It was a while after I came to IMVU before I began to create things. I enjoyed just socializing at first. I didn’t even know people could sign up to create things.
oOKabbyOo: Actually, my first IMVU account…I abandoned that one after like a month.
oOKabbyOo: Then I came back with a new account (this one).
FeliciaDivine: was it hard to start meshing?
FeliciaDivine: meshing is a lot more complicated that texturing.
oOKabbyOo: It was hard finding someone to show me how to mesh for IMVU. But it wasn’t hard learning to mesh. I completed my classes earlier than expected because I sailed through them.
oOKabbyOo: I used to be an engineer and a reverse engineer in real, doing 2d and 3d for steel shops, even working on some DoD (U.S. Department of Defense) stuff, like battleship hardware, hummer turrets, stuff like that.
FeliciaDivine: if you don’t mind my asking, who was your instructor and what program do you prefer? I was taught by LordDarcwill and JakMesh 🙂
oOKabbyOo: TEENEE is her avi name. And she had some classes that showed how to use 3ds Max specifically for IMVU. That’s the part I needed to know. How to export meshes so that IMVU could import them into create mode.
FeliciaDivine: wow Teenee and I were at a KJR party last weekend, small world.
FeliciaDivine: KickinJamzRadio
oOKabbyOo: cool 🙂
FeliciaDivine: oh? you went to college/university?
oOKabbyOo: Yes, I have had college and vocational school for board drafting and computer drafting and 3d modeling. College was for ISO 9001 Internal Auditing from OSU (Oklahoma State University)
oOKabbyOo: ISO 9001 is required for government contracts, so that’s why I had to take those classes.
oOKabbyOo: I actually began board drafting when I was in high school
FeliciaDivine: seems you were prepping yourself for design for a long time and your skill shines through in your designs
oOKabbyOo: ty 🙂 I really enjoy 3d modeling (meshing) and computer drafting.
FeliciaDivine: now you are well known for your YouTube players what do you think will be your next challenge?
oOKabbyOo: Oh I’m not sure actually. I was actually going to search for my newest project this morning.
FeliciaDivine: lol, guess I have good timing…maybe we will have a MtG world on IMVU shortly 😉
oOKabbyOo: that would be pretty cool 🙂
oOKabbyOo: I have thought about doing a table with cards on the table, and seats for 2 people, and the texturer could put whatever card images they wanted on the cards.
FeliciaDivine: I can imagine the fortress world of the planeswalker KABBY (rawr)
oOKabbyOo: hehe 🙂
oOKabbyOo: You mentioned how the real world influenced my meshes. This newest YouTube player I did (the [Drv] UN85S9 YouTube: http://www.imvu.com/shop/product.php?products_id=22289592) is based on the Samsung smart Ultra-HD TV by the same name. It sells for almost $40,000 on Amazon and Bestbuy. So I thought, Why not just make one for myself for IMVU.
FeliciaDivine: if I can get a little personal…you have made many great friends on IMVU and many think highly of you…but there is someone special in your life, how did you meet oOChrissyOo and is she like your favorite person?
FeliciaDivine: favorite person besides me that is 😉
oOKabbyOo: More than my favorite person, we’re very serious and she and I have been involved for about 3 years now. We talk every day on the phone and we have talked about the prospects of moving in together.
oOKabbyOo: When we met, neither of us were looking for a relationship. And we actually told each other that very thing. But we just grew on each other. I tell her all the time, it’s like we started a conversation 3 years ago and it’s been going on ever since.
FeliciaDivine: wow, congratz, it’s fantastic when you can find that bond with someone…did you meet on IMVU?
oOKabbyOo: Yes we met on IMVU, through a mutual friend. I wasn’t a mesher back then, I wasn’t even a pro developer yet. She has always supported me 100%.
oOKabbyOo: Chrissy is one of my best inspirations for my meshes. She gives me great ideas and suggests tweaks that otherwise don’t cross my mind. I consider her a valuable part of my meshing/developing.
FeliciaDivine: I am still close to the first 2 people I met on IMVU, I meet many great people…do you find your still strong friends with some of the earliest people you met?
oOKabbyOo: There are a few, yes. In fact, 2 of the people that knew me on my original account are still good friends with me.
FeliciaDivine: I think my question is…do you feel the people on IMVU to be as important as real friends and family?
oOKabbyOo: Sadly, it seems like perhaps I am spending more time meshing offline (off IMVU) and not as much time chatting lately (perhaps since I began meshing). And it’s hard to keep in contact with everyone.
oOKabbyOo: But I do value all of the friends that I have made on here.
oOKabbyOo: I would like to give a shoutout to some of the people who have given me a lot of support for developing. RagnarokRags is perhaps one of the biggest ones. I could give you a list of names a mile long. But just a few, Geo, Tidy, you Fel 🙂 4U, BelladonnaOfDeath, KabbyVYBZ, just to name a few…I have a big list
it’s on the Developer Showcase tab on my homepage.
oOKabbyOo: I know I will leave out someone, but like I said, I have a list on my home page of the people who influence my developing. And I can’t forget LaDeCyn as well.
FeliciaDivine: Wow, thank you for that Kabby, seems we have a lot of the same friends too.
oOKabbyOo: 🙂 awesome
FeliciaDivine: Is there any words of wisdom you would like to share with any new Kabby Fans? 🙂
oOKabbyOo: Words of wisdom? lol I don’t know if I know any good words of wisdom lol. Maybe just my old tag line on my avi card: Patience is a virtue.
FeliciaDivine: lol
FeliciaDivine: i guess working with computers that is especially true…one of IMVU’s worst problems is GlitchGremlins, TypoDemons and LAGMONSTERS!
oOKabbyOo: I would like to add that I develop on three accounts: oOKabbyOo is my main account, then I also have o2Kabby2o, and Kabby. And while KabbyVYBZ is a good friend with a similar name, she is not me and she isn’t a Kabby clone either. She and I just happen to be using the same avi names.
FeliciaDivine: good to know, do you divide up your designing between the accounts, that is common
oOKabbyOo: well I did consider that at one time.
oOKabbyOo: I think I just do some things that are more “experimental” on the other accounts lol, but I also add some of my YouTube players on there as well with alternate textures.
FeliciaDivine: cool
FeliciaDivine: well I am sure we can expect a lot of great things in the future from you, I am looking forward to seeing what you do next
oOKabbyOo: ty 🙂
FeliciaDivine: We have not hit upon this important point in past interviews, we mainly do DJ interviews, having a great designer/mesher here I cannot pass on the opportunity to find out and stress that to get to that elusive Tier 7 there are things you need to know.
FeliciaDivine: I suspect there is a good story here, how did you reach Tier 7? I imagine it is a long, difficult thing to accomplish.
oOKabbyOo: That took a few years to accomplish, but once I started meshing it started heading in that direction. I think the YouTube players are what pushed me over the top. I have sold well over 20,000 of just a single mesh of YouTube for example.
FeliciaDivine: so to hit tier 7 you’re saying it is very much worthwhile to learn to mesh?
oOKabbyOo: Yes. It’s possible to get there without meshing, but it’s really hard to do. If you really want to get tier 7, you really need to learn to mesh. But you need two other things as well, 1) good quality meshes with good mapping, and 2) a lot of luck
oOKabbyOo: Yeah. 3d modeling (meshing) is the most basic thing you need to grasp.
FeliciaDivine: what do you recommend Kabby? Finding a mesher willing to teach, join Groups, learn 3dsmax?
FeliciaDivine: its daunting to think about when you’re not a pro
oOKabbyOo: Once you feel comfortable meshing, you need to make sure you do intelligent and well-thought-out texture mapping. Since I got to pro as a texturer before I began meshing, I have a good idea of what works for texture mapping.
oOKabbyOo: If someone wants to learn to do meshing for IMVU, I would recommend getting 3ds Max 2012 (or 2011, or 2010) and finding a mesher that has been pro and seeing if they can mentor you.
oOKabbyOo: I used AutoCAD for my real world jobs, which is published by AutoDesk, the same people who make 3ds Max, so that was really a streamlined transition for me.
FeliciaDivine: I do know a few that take time for people and they are pro’s such as DarkAngel5, JakMesh and MissVix…IMVU has the IMVU Creator Room, sometimes you can find these meshers there 🙂
oOKabbyOo: DarkAngel5 and MissVix are friends of mine, incredible meshers, I really enjoy their meshes and sort of look up to them as role models for my own meshing.
FeliciaDivine: DA5 was the one who got me active in the community and Vix has been an inspiration, I totally agree with you 🙂
oOKabbyOo: I have been a worker in the IMVU Creator Room from time to time, to answer questions about particles. I guess someone thought since I wrote the “Particles for Dummies (Create Mode edition)” I should also answer questions about particles.
FeliciaDivine: lol, cool, I also worked the room for a long time, now I can pester you about particles and give JakMesh and vinINNOcent a break 😉
oOKabbyOo: hehe 🙂
oOKabbyOo: The tutorial I wrote is posted on the forums with over 130,000 views last time I looked (if I recall correctly). And I was invited by IMVU mods to post the tutorial on the Creator Center as well. You can find it at this link in the IMVU forums: http://www.imvu.com/catalog/modules.php?op=modload&name=phpbb2&file=viewtopic.php&t=381581
FeliciaDivine: That is so awesome 🙂
oOKabbyOo: That particles tutorial is sort of a living community as well, with several particle developers contributing to helping people debug and error-check their particle codes.
FeliciaDivine: you have come a long way from skeptic noob to socialite to designer to mesher to instructor, I look forward to what you do next, you have also been a great friend, it is great knowing you….huggles Kabby 🙂
FeliciaDivine: it’s great to see if you do what you love and persist you are rewarded, you are an inspiration 🙂
oOKabbyOo: awww 🙂 tysm Fel
oOKabbyOo: You know, even with these experiences…I still feel like the New Mesher on the Block, or Newb Mesher. lol
FeliciaDivine: lol, well compared to DarkAngel5, Tidy, Gaf210, Keef, Jamo…you and Geo are the new kids on the block but showing the most talent…you are very much respected
oOKabbyOo: aww ty Fel 🙂 you know I have an interesting story about Geo
oOKabbyOo: Before I was even a developer I saw her stuff and I was super impressed, blown away really.
oOKabbyOo: So when I began to do texturing (first starting out creating) I set her up (among a small handful of others) as my role-model for developing.
oOKabbyOo: After a while, I was privileged to actually meet Geo and we became good friends, even though I still sorta get star-struck when she greets me in a chat room lol
FeliciaDivine: Geo and AmiCat were the first designers who impressed me, I sought out Geo, she friended me and she is still one of my fav people…I call her the new kid on the block only because she did not start meshing until about 2 years ago, but she has been here a long time as a designer and yes, I still consider her a superstar
oOKabbyOo: 🙂
oOKabbyOo: Also another thing that a mesher needs, this is really a requirement, is a good reseller to sell credits to. For me this is Tidy and DevCredits. Without DevCredits, I couldn’t be the developer I am today.
FeliciaDivine: I also recommend Tidy 🙂
oOKabbyOo: I am actually a DevCredits partner.
oOKabbyOo: Although that is a huge list of developers, it really means a lot to me, so I put their sticker on my avi pic.
FeliciaDivine: cool, I have DevCredits.com on the website already under the title Need Credits?
oOKabbyOo: hehe 🙂 yeah
FeliciaDivine: but it’s great to have one of IMVU’s Elite endorse it, thank you Kabby
oOKabbyOo: oh, you know what? I need to mention one of the most influential people for me
FeliciaDivine: besides Geo, Chrissy and myself there is another?????
FeliciaDivine: *pokes* I’m teasing, who is it?
oOKabbyOo: I have been doing cooperative projects with speedstar84, he does flash programs for IMVU that powers a good deal of the YouTube players I make meshes for.
oOKabbyOo: Basically he does flash players and I wrap meshes around them
oOKabbyOo: and we have done cooperative projects together with both of our names on the flash players as well
FeliciaDivine: now that is a name we don’t hear enough, thank you for sharing, it’s easy to overlook someone who works hard behind the scenes
oOKabbyOo: I think maybe flash developers are behind the scenes like you said, and the non-developer people on IMVU may not hear their names enough. But they are the foundation for YouTube players, radio players, and other flash products. Speed is probably the most influential developer for me.
FeliciaDivine: another such person is Gaf210 for his special codes
oOKabbyOo: yes, I have Gaf’s website bookmarked, for those special codes he does, and ….mostly because I like to look up avi name histories without going to home pages…hehe, and I can do that with Gaf’s website.
FeliciaDivine: cool 🙂
oOKabbyOo: Keef was also key for me early on, with his tutorials for texturing.
FeliciaDivine: maybe you and I can set up Speed for an interview in the new year, I don’t know him (yet), yes I am plotting already 😉
oOKabbyOo: I’m sure he would love that. He is a great guy.
oOKabbyOo: He is the best flash developer that I know of on IMVU, and I feel honored and privileged to work with him.
FeliciaDivine: I find all great people surround themselves with other great people, few make it all on their own, and I have to say…You are a great role model.
oOKabbyOo: aww felicia 🙂 I’m always humbled when someone tells me something like that, ty hun
FeliciaDivine: There are other chat sites, but IMVU is my home, it has problems but ALL sites and MMORPG’s have their fair share, I am so glad to be your friend, thank you for taking all this time out for me, the magazine, and your legion of fans 🙂
oOKabbyOo: hehe “legion of fans” you said. 🙂 Yes without the fans I wouldn’t be where I am today either. And I am always available (through IMVU messages) answer any developing questions or just conversations.
oOKabbyOo: You know, there are a lot of names on my Developer Showcase (on my home page) and I could sit and tell you stories how each of them have influenced my developing. I really value every one of them, and I’m certain there are people I have forgotten and missed on the list.
oOKabbyOo: tysm for the interview.
Editors Note: There was so much more we could have talked about but real life calls, grrrrr, Kabby and Chrissy are two reasons why IMVU is THE best site to be on!!!! I hope you all enjoyed this. IMVU is full of REAL people. You may see just pretty pictures but on the other side of the screen and electronics is another person just like you 🙂