Roblox

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How does a fashion designer dress? If you're expecting an explosion of frills, buckles, and zippers, then virtual designer CoffeeNerd's (co-founder of @simplegamesinc) simple shirt-and-jeans getup might surprise you. Just don't confuse it for a lack of interest in fashion: if anything, keeping her avatar simple at all times speaks to how deeply invested she is in her work. "I use my avatar as a base for testing my layered clothing. We have places we can switch our avatars internally...but I like to be able to just put it on and see how it works right away. I'm very utilitarian with it." CoffeeNerd's avatar might not wear any head accessories, but she herself has worn a lot of hats in her years on Roblox. More recently, she's focused on creating layered clothing items—partly because the work so closely mirrors her non-Roblox interests. "I do it in real life, and the skillset transfers. You have to know how fabric moves and folds, you have to add the wrinkles, you need players to see it and know if it's leather or if it's cotton." But of course, knowing what looks right doesn't mean you'll get there on your first try. That's where trial-and-error comes in. "The easiest form of testing is to just jump into an experience and see what you did correctly. All the technical stuff, like, is the weight painting right?" Which is why, in the way most craftspeople keep their workshops clean, she keeps her avatar neat and ready for duty. Well—most of the time, anyway. "When there's cool stuff, I'll try it on. Or if I release a UGC that week, I'll put it on, rep the merch for a week...but I always come back to the simplistic look. I'm kinda attached to it."