Meet Whitney Pollett, a widely recognized illustrator from some of the most famous companies in the world, Nickelodeon and Disney (to name a few!), and who is now also an IMVU Creator. Recently, we partnered with her in turning her 2D illustrations into 3D art and products that you can now buy from her IMVU shop, thanks mostly to the help of another Creator you all know very well, AngelsKiss2007. If you’ve seen Whitney’s Instagram, you are very likely swept away into her world of art, whimsy, fantasy, fictional characters, and her lighthearted muse, Lumen her talking cat, which now graces the covers of our desktop app, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

As we prepare for her Live Event hosted from Whitney’s own room – Artlantis X Whitney Pollett, we wanted to introduce you to the fun loving and very colorful woman behind the avatar.

Q: What’s your Avatar Name?

Whitney Pollett. Follow me here!!! I definitely want to meet more friends on IMVU!

Q: How did you get started on IMVU?

A good friend of mine from IMVU reached out and asked if I’d like to collab with one of their phenomenal creators (AngelsKiss2007 – Hey. girl. what. is. UP!) It sounded like a completely new experience so I figured I’d give it a try and see what it was all about!

Q: How long have you been a Creator – and how was that transition from user to Creator?

I’ve been playing around on IMVU for a few weeks now just to get acquainted with the platform and it’s been really interesting! Checking out the chat rooms and playing around with the fashions and accessories for my (super cute) avatar have been really fun and enlightening. I hadn’t visited a chat room iiiiin forever, but it’s cool seeing how people connect on a hyper-fantasy level. (Is this the future?? ((Am I old??)) Lol!

The transition has really been me collecting inspo and learning how everything works so the whole process has been pretty quick! I went from, “where am I”? To “okay this feels like 3d texturing, I know this”, to “ok I think I love this and now I’m lost in the sauce texturing everything”!

Q: How do you describe your shop – what do you specifically create?

I started with two fashion concepts! One inspired by cosplay and ComicCon pulling my two fav characters together (can you tell who they are?) and the other, a look inspired by my own personal style, exaggerated of course. 😉

We all liked the creative, hot-summer-festival style so we explored that one a little more. Kendra has a whole library of amazing meshes so she found some things that we could use as a base or “derivation”! I thought about EDC, Coachella, Comic-Con and the Mermaid Parade in NYC and this is what we came up with! Please note that the body paint glows in the daaaaaark! Whuuuuut!!!! Spare no expense, yahwelcome!! (We were excited about that feature, haha!)

Q: What are some of your favorite pieces in your shop and why?

The body paint for sure. This is where I really figured out painting in IMVU. Not only that, I imagined being at a show in this look and it kinda took me out of where I was. I imagined people wearing this in IMVU and I hoped they’d think it was crazy fun too!

Q: How has IMVU helped you in a personal way – if any?

It’s been really relaxing. I’m usually always on the go, working on new projects in toys and animation but I’ve been really interested in learning more about the tech side of things as well as how to merge fantasy and reality in a safe environment.

Q: Do you feel like there’s any overlap at all with regards to your personal life as opposed to your IMVU life? Why or why not?

It turns out, YES! I’ve been in San Diego ComicCon prep mode for a few months now so my whole theme has been very pop-culture and cosplay inspired! I also just got back from Vegas so the card motif felt like a nice addition to the body paint. In truth, everything I do creatively reflects my life at that moment so it’d be hard to create something that I’m not living in real life in some way!

Q: Have you ever met with your IMVU friends IRL? Or do you prefer to keep things separate?

I got lucky with Kendra and I have to thank IMVU for linking us up. (THANK YOU!!!) We haven’t met in person, but we video chat on Discord almost every day and so I feel like we’re hanging out. There’s been a heat wave so we’ve both seen each other at our sweatiest, LOL!

Q: What other creators/users do you admire and why?

I don’t really know anyone else cus I’m “new in town” but if there’s someone who’d like to collab, hit me up! You can find me here.

Q: What do you like about IMVU? Why?

The user interface is super easy to figure out so that was nice but more importantly, I love the creativity! The process for creating on IMVU is naturally designed for collaboration. Some creators are 3D modelers or “meshers” while others are “painters”. I’d be considered a painter. So for example, say I find an amazing umbrella, I can then download the umbrella model + texture map and paint whatever I want on top, then publish it in my IMVU shop and the 3D mesher is credited and linked for others to customize and add to their own shops. Each user-download shares the credits/currency with the painter as well as the mesher, so everybody wins! *High fives all around!*

Q: Any secret tips/tricks from being a user? Something maybe your average user wouldn’t know?

I’m still so new to this platform, but from my experience as an artist, I’d say, create what you want to see. If it doesn’t exist, make it! If it does, do it your own way! If you’re really passionate about something, that passion is contagious. Don’t be afraid to share your unique view with the world. You’ll be happy that you did. 🙂

Q: Any suggestions/words of advice for someone who’s just starting out as a creator?

Link up with other creators! Kendra has been amazing and has walked me through this whole process with the patience of a saint (lol!! Sorry for the learning curve bb!!) I couldn’t have done it without her so thanks for “teaching me how to fish”.

Q: What is/are your social media handle(s)?

Instagram: @whitneypollett

I work a lot in doll design and character development for toys and animation so if you’re into that, check me out! I’ll be at Comiccon soon too so follow along on this crazy journey with me! MWAH! xxoo – Whit

OH! And we can’t forget about Lumen aka @SpecialBoyDelivery aaka your gift from me and IMVU to YOU! Follow him and everyone he follows to fill your feed with weird cats and stress free feels! xxxxoooooxoxoxo Thanks everybody!