We’re excited to share an exclusive interview with the creative mind whose artwork captivated more than 400K viewers on CLO's Instagram. 
Discover Lhenvil's story and the inspiration behind his stunning pieces.

Please introduce yourself to CLO users.

I am Lhenvil Paneda, a Filipino 3D fashion designer. I started out as a costume and fashion designer, designing and producing physical fashion. Due to the pandemic, I had to close my shop and find other avenues to earn a living. By watching YouTube tutorials and reading blogs, I was able to develop skills in digital fashion and improve on my work as the years went by. As of the moment, I am working with brands in creating 3D prototypes for their products, making their production pipeline more efficient and sustainable.

Could you please elaborate on how you learned CLO through YouTube tutorials and blog posts?

Although I had zero knowledge of 3D prior to CLO, my experience in physical fashion production made it easier for me to understand the digital sewing process. To learn about CLO, I first started looking for tutorials on YouTube. I looked for the most complex ones first to further grasp what CLO can do. I then looked for the beginner tutorials mostly on the CLO YouTube channel. To further improve my skill set, I also looked for tutorials integrating CLO to various third party software. It is also important to always practice what you learn consistently.

Please share the story or inspiration behind the artwork.

The idea over this piece is upcycling old and unused jeans, and making them into a contemporary piece. Diving into the idea of sustainability, this piece consists of different pattern pieces salvaged from different pairs of pants. Denim fabric had this interesting structure so I made sure to highlight it by utilizing it on the pants overskirt and the sleeves.

Describe how and when you used CLO during the creation of this artwork.

CLO was used in digitally creating this piece. With CLO's advanced features, I was able to draft patterns and sew the outfit on a digital avatar. Simulating and seeing how the patterns would drape in real life were also made easy. The outfit was also textured in CLO. The graphics tool was used in adding the denim wash while the puckering tool was used for the worn out and washed effect on the seams.

What was your favorite part of creating this piece?

My favorite part in creating this piece was the texturing part. It wasn't an easy task because getting the right settings for a realistic denim look was tricky, especially the wash and worn out parts. But trial and error is where the fun in creating is.

What are your upcoming plans?

As of now, the plan is to improve my skill set to be able to offer more to my audience and to my clients. I believe that as technology progresses, so should one's skills.

What advice would you give to users who are just beginning to use CLO?

My advice to users who are just beginning in CLO is to never get tired of learning something new. It may be a long and difficult process to reach the level you want to be, but everybody started at zero. I had no educational background in 3D but I was able to create with CLO with my willingness to learn.

* If you want to learn how to create awesome denim textures like Lhenvil, check out this realistic denim jeans tutorial on our CLO YouTube channel.