<h2 style="text-align: center"><em>Kay John Yim, London-based CGI artist, explores diverse realms with Marvelous Designer, praising its efficiency and integration in character animation project</em></h2><hr><div data-youtube-video="" style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0; position:relative;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9zGa1olQmWo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" width="800" height="480" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" style="position:absolute; top:0; left:0; width:100%; height:100%;"></iframe></div><h1 style="text-align: center"><strong>Interview with&nbsp;Kay John Yim | SYMPHONY&nbsp;| CGI Artist</strong></h1><hr><h1 style="text-align: left"><strong>Artist Introduction</strong>&nbsp;</h1><p style="text-align: left">I am a Chartered Architect and CGI Artist based in London, specializing in architectural visualization.</p><p>My journey into the realm of 3D began during my time studying architecture at university. In those formative years, CAD software such as Rhino and Revit became indispensable tools of the trade. While I occasionally explored other Digital Content Creation (DCC) software like Modo and Cinema 4D, primarily for rendering purposes, it wasn't until the COVID lockdown in 2020 that I found time to fully immerse myself in the vast world of CG software beyond the realm of CAD. It was during this time that I delved into Houdini, Unreal Engine, ZBrush, and, of course, Marvelous Designer.</p><p>Driven by an obsession for creating beautiful imagery, I embarked on a journey to expand my skill set and artistic horizons. I challenged myself to learn and create CG art beyond the scope of my professional work in architecture. This journey led me to explore diverse disciplines such as fashion design, character design, landscape design, and animation, among others. By venturing beyond the boundaries of architecture, I discovered new avenues for artistic expression and uncovered the endless possibilities that CG software has to offer.</p><p>This ongoing exploration of various design domains has not only enriched my artistic repertoire but has also broadened my perspective as an architect and CGI artist. It has allowed me to approach architectural visualization with fresh eyes, infusing my work with a diverse range of influences and inspirations.</p><p></p><p><strong>BALLERINA</strong></p><div data-youtube-video="" style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0; position:relative;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HG4yMnx6Tc4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" width="800" height="480" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" style="position:absolute; top:0; left:0; width:100%; height:100%;"></iframe></div><p></p><h1 style="text-align: left"><strong>Tell us about the project</strong></h1><p style="text-align: left">"Symphony" celebrates the beauty of ballet. It portrays a ballerina adorned in a pristine white tutu, gracefully dancing within the breathtaking Palace of Venaria. At the culmination of her dance, a synchronized ensemble of ballerinas - each identical in appearance - emerges from behind the window, revealing themselves and captivatingly swaying in perfect symphony.</p><p>It unravels a transcendent narrative that explores the interplay between reality and illusion, the nature of identity and collective consciousness.</p><p>Although I have previously explored ballet in my personal projects "Ballerina" and "Garnier," "Symphony" stands as my most technically demanding endeavor to date. It showcases an extended character animation and cloth simulation, encompassing the most dynamic movements. Furthermore, "Symphony" represents my inaugural foray into Houdini after transitioning from Cinema4D, presenting an additional layer of challenge in itself.</p><p></p><h1 style="text-align: left"><strong>We’d like to hear more about the art direction in costume. What was the visual style you were aiming for?</strong></h1><p style="text-align: left">While the inception of the costume originated from my previous ballet-themed project, "Ballerina," where I carefully selected a dark fabric adorned with glitters to harmonize with the opulence of baroque architecture, in "Symphony" the intention was to transcend reality into fantasy.</p><p>The costume was conceived to seamlessly merge with the pristine backdrop. The choice of a white fabric was deliberate, allowing the costume to elegantly blend into the ethereal ambiance, while simultaneously commanding attention as the focal point within the space. As the animation unfolds, I employed a touch of enchantment, causing her dress to manifest out of the ether, while delicate petals gracefully cascaded from her tutu, evoking an otherworldly sense of magic and wonder.</p><p></p><img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202501/e82eaea9deda4a3eb88a584dcc9a7e69/images/f1e0b250cd3f4831a4650c1bd2a8d109230706_4_MD_Screenshot.png" class="custom-image original-size" data-id="f1e0b250cd3f4831a4650c1bd2a8d109" data-width="3558" data-height="1941"><p></p><h1><strong>Why did you decide to use Marvelous Designer? How did it help you serve art direction?</strong></h1><p>Marvelous Designer is very robust in transforming 2D patterns into 3D garments, which stands out among many DCCs I have used for cloth modeling.</p><p>It is also one of the fastest for garment simulation I have encountered. While it may not be flawless in certain scenarios, it provides me with a comprehensive overview of the simulation/animation, allowing me to discern areas that require adjustments to produce a better simulation, or design changes in the environment that will better suit the animation, and vice versa.</p><p></p><h1><strong>Can you give us a quick overview of the different tools used in your pipeline including Marvelous Designer?</strong></h1><p>My workflow encompasses several essential stages:</p><p>For architectural modeling, I use Rhino for its precision and flexibility.</p><p>To bring my CG characters to life, I utilize a combination of Character Creator and iClone. They enable me to create and animate life like characters, capturing their movements and expressions either with built-in tools or additional motion capture equipment. Once I have the animated characters, I then export them into Marvelous Designer for accurate garment fitting and realistic simulation.</p><p>In the subsequent stage, I imported all elements into Houdini, where I create the rest of the environment and finishing touches to the imported elements, which includes camera animation, volume interaction (fog), materials, lighting, hair simulation, vellum/FEM muscle/fat simulation and garment simulation cleanup.</p><p>Ultimately I used Redshift as my primary render engine for rendering the final animation. I use Neat Video for denoising the final frames, and Magic Bullet Looks for a touch of chromatic aberration and film grain.</p><p></p><img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202501/e82eaea9deda4a3eb88a584dcc9a7e69/images/893af80ad44d4c9888d75de5290d9977230706_7_kay-john-yim-thumb-alt0.jpeg" class="custom-image original-size" data-id="893af80ad44d4c9888d75de5290d9977" data-width="2560" data-height="1600"><p></p><h1><strong>Are there any tips and tricks with Marvelous Designer that you can share with the community?</strong></h1><p>In my initial foray into Marvelous Designer, I primarily relied on the GPU mode for draping and simulation. However, it was through a Marvelous Designer YouTube stream that I discovered the inherent limitations of GPU mode in terms of production readiness. It became apparent that relying solely on GPU acceleration often yielded unrealistic outcomes, marked by bulging garments and peculiar collision behavior. I would therefore recommend fellow Marvelous Designer users to leverage GPU mode solely for garment fitting and draping, reserving CPU mode for the final simulation. By employing this approach, one can strike a balance between efficiency and accuracy.</p><p>Through extensive trial and error, I would also recommend one always to set the "Internal" Damping" parameter under "Fabric" &gt; "Property Editor" to 100 when doing cloth simulation, which I find offers the most stable results, significantly reducing glitches and jittering that may arise with the default settings.</p><p></p><h1><strong>How can you describe your overall experience of the use of the Marvelous Designer?</strong></h1><p>Marvelous Designer is unquestionably one of the most intuitive and user-friendly applications I have used. It has seamlessly integrated into my workflow, serving as an indispensable tool for both personal and professional projects, particularly in bringing CG characters to life.</p><p>While Marvelous Designer excels in numerous aspects, there are instances where I yearn for more granular control, collision masking being a prime example. Nevertheless, the exceptional speed and efficiency of the software compensate for a lot of the limitations. Its ability to quickly generate realistic cloth simulations has undoubtedly enhanced the efficiency and quality of my work.</p><p></p><div data-youtube-video="" style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0; position:relative;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4mOVNr55MvU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" width="800" height="480" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" style="position:absolute; top:0; left:0; width:100%; height:100%;"></iframe></div><p></p><p>by <strong>KAY JOHN YIM</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.artstation.com/johnyim">Artstation</a></p>

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<h2 style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times new roman&quot;"><em>Hilary Martin, a talented patternmaker, is exploring the world of 3D design with CLO.</em></span></h2><h2 style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times new roman&quot;"><em>Using CLO, Hilary quickly transformed her design ideas, showcasing the power of digital fashion. Discover her process behind recreating this unforgettable gown.</em></span></h2><p style="text-align: center"></p><hr><p></p><p></p><img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202503/ec79cb82573d499ab9c46e4184a635ba/images/1f2393fdf7e14a01b9a7239f9d5fc184Userspotlight_1080w.png" alt="1f2393fdf7e14a01b9a7239f9d5fc184" class="custom-image large-size" data-id="1f2393fdf7e14a01b9a7239f9d5fc184" data-width="1080" data-height="1080"><p></p><h3><strong>Can you introduce yourself and share a bit about your background?</strong></h3><p>I’ve been sewing my own clothes since childhood and studied fashion design in New Zealand. I gravitated toward patternmaking at university because it blends logic and creativity. I took every patternmaking class I could during my degree. Eleven years ago, I moved to Melbourne, Australia, to pursue a career in design and have since worked across accessories, apparel, and denim.<br>Currently, I design bags and accessories for an Australian label. For me, great design is all about function and practicality so designing bags is a great place to flex those skills. While I don’t use CLO at work yet, I felt it was important to upskill as 3D is slowly working its way into the Australian fashion industry. I’ve been teaching myself for about a year.</p><p></p><h3><strong>Your background in patternmaking is really interesting! How has that experience shaped the way you approach 3D design?</strong></h3><h3>I’m more excited about using CLO for pattern making than for creating hyper-realistic renders of finished garments. I spent the weekend experimenting with a dress design—changing the pattern again and again and seeing the results in real time. It allowed me to come up with something unique and innovative incredibly quickly. The same process with manual pattern making and physical sampling would have taken me weeks.</h3><p></p><p></p><img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202503/ec79cb82573d499ab9c46e4184a635ba/images/5a7def4441c84d6f81bfc78c906687a2Screenshot%202025-03-04%20210738.png" alt="5a7def4441c84d6f81bfc78c906687a2" class="custom-image large-size" data-id="5a7def4441c84d6f81bfc78c906687a2" data-width="1919" data-height="1031"><img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202503/ec79cb82573d499ab9c46e4184a635ba/images/fabb6c5b31cd4bf2b4633f64dbc88c36Screenshot%202025-03-04%20210828.png" alt="fabb6c5b31cd4bf2b4633f64dbc88c36" class="custom-image large-size" data-id="fabb6c5b31cd4bf2b4633f64dbc88c36" data-width="1914" data-height="1029"><p></p><h3><strong>Could you share the story or inspiration behind this recreation of Taylor Swift’s gown on the Eras Tour? Have you recreated any other pieces in the past?</strong></h3><h3>I learn best by doing, so I’ve been teaching myself CLO through a variety of projects. Each one has helped me master different tools and skills within the program. When I saw Taylor Swift wearing her incredible Vivienne Westwood gown on the Eras Tour, I thought it would be a fun challenge to recreate! This dress was only the third garment I had created in CLO, so it required a lot of trial and error—as well as plenty of YouTube tutorials. Now that I’m more confident, I’m focusing on my own original designs. I love tailoring, so I’m currently working on a winter coat.</h3><p></p><h3><strong>Can you expand on how CLO has influenced your overall approach to design beyond just patternmaking?</strong></h3><h3>CLO has definitely made me a more experimental designer. It’s completely changed the way I approach the design process because I’m no longer limited by the time, cost, or materials needed for physical sampling. I can quickly cycle through different ideas—tweaking a pattern, swapping fabrics, testing colorways—without any of the usual constraints. It’s also made me more willing to take risks. Before CLO, I might have second-guessed whether a complex design was worth the time and resources to sample. Now, I can push an idea further, knowing that I can work through construction challenges digitally first. It’s taken so much of the guesswork out of the process, and I find myself exploring ideas I wouldn’t have attempted before.</h3><p></p><img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202503/ec79cb82573d499ab9c46e4184a635ba/images/00c0e4000d874f26b1a43c9ea2bc1593combined%20%281%29.png" alt="00c0e4000d874f26b1a43c9ea2bc1593" class="custom-image large-size" data-id="00c0e4000d874f26b1a43c9ea2bc1593" data-width="2160" data-height="1920"><p></p><h3><strong>Since you have such a strong hands-on design background, what was it like transitioning to 3D with CLO? Were there any surprises along the way?</strong></h3><h3>Learning CLO felt mostly intuitive, especially since some functions—like bezier curves and curve points—are similar to Illustrator, which I'm very fluent in. The biggest learning curve was navigating the 3D window (using the gizmo, etc.) and learning where all the tools were. Initially, I was skeptical about how well the software could handle complex draping, so I digitized one of my more unconventional patterns—it has large bias-cut panels, curves sewn onto curves, seams that twist around the body in unusual ways, gathers, and a button-up placket - and CLO replicated the garment in 3D form perfectly.</h3><p></p><h3><strong>Is there a moment where CLO really saved the day for you—maybe solving a tricky design challenge that would’ve been much harder using traditional methods?</strong></h3><h3>Another thing I’ve found really useful in CLO is the ability to visualize print placement before cutting. I recently made a bias-cut dress with a strong directional stripe print and was able to move the print around within the pattern pieces, ensuring that the stripes all converged perfectly at a central seam beneath the bust. Being able to visualize many different print placements before deciding on the final design is a big advantage over traditional methods.</h3><p></p><h3><strong>When you start a new project, what’s your creative process like? Do you follow a set routine, or is it more spontaneous?</strong></h3><h3>In my professional work, everything follows a structured process. The creative director sets the color palette and mood, and we work within a strict critical path. In my personal projects, however, I tend to have multiple ideas running simultaneously. Some projects come together in a day, while others take months. I find that the most interesting ideas emerge when I allow myself to get into a creative flow state and simply follow the process.</h3><p></p><img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202503/ec79cb82573d499ab9c46e4184a635ba/images/594aab4e7bb049f1a955495f64aeec40combined%20%282%29.png" alt="594aab4e7bb049f1a955495f64aeec40" class="custom-image large-size" data-id="594aab4e7bb049f1a955495f64aeec40" data-width="2160" data-height="1920"><p></p><h3><strong>Looking back at this project, what part of the process was the most fun or rewarding for you?</strong><br>Eveningwear isn’t my specialty, so this project was a real experiment for me. Before CLO, I probably wouldn’t have attempted something like this—I would have stuck to what I knew. But 3D design allows you to make mistakes and correct them quickly without wasting materials or time. That’s an incredible advantage, and I wish I had started learning it sooner!</h3><p></p><h3><strong>Was there a specific CLO tool or feature that really stood out for you while working on this piece?<br></strong>I used the 3D Pen Avatar for the bodice, and it was surprisingly easy—the fit was perfect on the first go. Since it works a lot like the pen tool in Illustrator, I got the hang of it quickly. The skirt was a whole different challenge—getting the pleats and tucks to fold and drape properly with the Fold tool took quite a few tries!</h3><p></p><img src="https://storagefiles.clo-set.com/public/community/202503/ec79cb82573d499ab9c46e4184a635ba/images/00b413f3a16a40458197b8fc1d2595a9LINEN%20DRESS.png" alt="00b413f3a16a40458197b8fc1d2595a9" class="custom-image large-size" data-id="00b413f3a16a40458197b8fc1d2595a9" data-width="2559" data-height="1450"><p><br><strong>You mentioned focusing on original designs now—what’s your design philosophy when it comes to creating your own pieces? How do you decide which materials and styles to work with?<br></strong> I like to make sure every piece has a point of difference. Lately, I’ve been creating a lot of one-off pieces and trying to unlearn some of the rules we’re taught when designing for mass production. For example, I had a piece of wool with text along the selvedge that I thought was really beautiful, so I incorporated the selvedge into the garment. In mass production, placing a pattern piece strictly along the selvedge wouldn’t be an economical use of fabric, so it wouldn’t typically be done. Sometimes, I fall in love with a piece of fabric first and try to create something that highlights its unique drape or texture. Other times, I’m focused on achieving a particular silhouette, so the design ends up being very pattern-led. And sometimes, I’m inspired by another garment and try to replicate it with a point of difference. My favorite fabric is wool—I love how it can be sculpted with sewing, heat, and steam.</p><p></p><p><strong>What advice would you give to aspiring digital fashion designers who want to follow in your footsteps?<br></strong> Start now, but be patient with the learning process. I’m only just reaching the point where I can design fluidly in CLO without constantly stopping to search for tools or rewatch tutorials. Once everything clicks, the creative possibilities are incredible. I haven’t felt this excited about learning something new since I was first taught how to patternmake nearly 18 years ago.</p>

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hana

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