Today I am starting the journey to designing my first digital fashion garment. The very first step on this journey is – of course – installing the right 3D program. In a previous blog post, I discussed the two current industry standard programs – Marvelous Designer and CLO3D – and compared some of their advantages and disadvantages, their main applications and who primarily uses them for which areas of design. Based on that research and my own background in physical pattern drafting, sewing and traditional analog fashion design, I decided to work with CLO3D.
The provider offers a student subscription plan as well as a 30 Day free trial which I am starting today (March 6th 2024).
CLO3D has a very useful pool of learning resources, among them an expansive collection of video tutorials on their own YouTube channel. Their “Beginner’s Guide to CLO” playlist will be the first point of entry for me. I will follow the tutorials in order to get familiar with the basic steps of the program.
The main interface is a little busy but well arranged and for users with previous experience of 3D programs, it can be quite intuitive. The user has the possibility to rearrange the setup and change the positions of tools and features.
The Program also comes with some preset avatars, base garments, materials, accessories and patterns. They are a good way to get familiar with the basic functions. In my next blogpost, I will attempt to get started with the sewing functions of the program.