SPOTLIGHT FEATURE- Interview with Ivy Maverick of Maverick Designs- Ramon Federal Reporting...

Staff Reporter • Monday, July 05, 2010

Ivy Maverick Sets the Trend for Avatar Looks
Maverick Avatar Design’s Ivy Maverick talks about her new line of Luxeskins for the good-looking avatar


Ivy Maverick’s SL career making and selling avatar shapes and skins through Maverick Avatar Designs (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Maverick%20Design/120/78/22) evolved naturally from her RL profession doing makeovers with hair and make up. 

“When I came to SL it was just natural for me to help people to look better….I was helping people and one of my friends, Guardian Holden, built me a store and encouraged me to make it a business.” 

Now, at last count, that business is in 563 people’s Picks and can boast a group membership of 5600. 

Ivy sat down on Friday, July 2nd, with SL Enquirer to talk about avatar design and trends and about the up-coming launch of Maverick Avatar Design’s new “Luxeskins” line of skins. Priced at 1995 lindens, these new skins will be offered in tone versions such as “Copper,” “Pale,” “Tan,” and a couple of others. Each tone will be featured in a pack of 12 new skins with different make-up and facial configurations, with each new type coming in “cleavage” and “no cleavage” options, for a total of 24 varieties in each pack.

Also included in each pack will be a classic Maverick Design shape. Hair will not be included, although Ivy hopes to offer that eventually. 

These new Luxeskins will first be offered for sale at the Maverick Avatar Designs Main Store at a party to be held on Sunday, July 11th, at 4 pm SLT. Available now at the Main Store is a new line of Sense Appeal sunglasses by Torix Jameson, which come in 10 different frames and four different textures.

During the interview, during which she was wearing her own very attractive new “Copper” skin, Ivy spoke about how she has created around 150 shapes so far and talked about the process of creating textures for skins in PhotoShop. She also discussed the inspiration for the shapes she creates, which she said was mostly “someone really good looking” in RL. While she has done custom work helping a minority of residents look a lot like their RL selves, she was adamant that “people want to look amazing, stunning.” in Second Life. “People want the fantasy If you’re in business in Second Life, you need to look good. As sad and shallow as it may sound,” she went on, “you’re going to be judged [in SL] by your avatar.”

“Just like in real life,” she said, “it makes you feel good to look good. Your avatar represents you; it’s who you are here. If you’re happy with it, you’ll feel better.” She mentioned that some of her friends, despite her efforts to help them, are perfectly happy with their newbie avatars, and “don’t care” how they look. “It’s not a money issue,” she says, but such people, are, according to her, in the minority.

As for coming trends in avatar looks, Ivy says “We’re still going to bring into SL what we see in RL.”

Asked about her main satisfaction from her design and sales work with Maverick Avatar Designs, Ivy had a simple and direct answer: “Making people feel good.” She said she likes helping people “pick out a look” and guiding them towards the other items they need to complete it. Her goal, she said, is to “make people happy.” 


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