Mythology returns as Yusef@IMVU
Yusef started his successful career as an IMVU creator about 3 or 4 years ago. He began his revolutionary work as Mythology creating avatars. At the time, the IMVU craze and demand for scalers had just begun. Using this to his advantage, Yusef launched a line of avatars and pose packs that required the scalers to work, thus aiding in the popularity surrounding the then new trend. Ironically enough, Yusef started his creating journey mainly because he could never find avatars with the mouth closed, so he made his own and the rest was history.
So what keeps one of the hottest creators going?
His motivation became the joy of creating. Before the recognition and success, this was an engaging, fun pastime for Yusef. That is, of course, until the orders and requests started rolling in and creating became more of a job than a hobby. At this time, Yusef’s motivation shifted to the monetary perks of being a successful creator. He made enough every week to pay all of his bills and even have money left over. Due to a case of social anxiety, Yusef has difficulty working with people while under pressure. Thankfully, this is also a vital reason why he flourished as a creator. He first recognized his road to success after achieving pro status within a month, reaching tier 7 within 3 months, and accomplishing these goals on his own.
Self-taught creator, Yusef, explains that though the constant improvement is a huge advantage for him, there’s a downside to creating:
What is the hardest part as a creator?
“The hardest part now, would be coming up with new ideas to be honest. Now, everyone is attempting poses so you don’t want to tread on anyone’s toes because on IMVU sadly, people love to cause drama over little things. So when I feel like a pose looks similar to someone else’s, I’ll message that person and literally tell them why I made it and show them the reference so they can see I made it using that reference and not to replicate their pose.”
Has there ever been tension between you and other creators?
“Oh definitely. People assume I’m cocky because I’ll point it out. They’ll jump straight to, “Just because you’re Mythology, it doesn’t mean everyone wants to copy you. Get over yourself.” Like, really man? You’re making everything I am, just changing the hands placement or the way the head is facing. It gets frustrating.”
Do you feel as though some creators have copied you?
“Just go to the male section and type in “CLEEDZ.” If you remember my catalog from Mythology, you’ll have a good laugh looking at that catalog. Then you have the creators who won’t technically copy you, but will watch your catalog religiously and create whatever you do. Example, I made piercings from a very old derivable product. No one uses it anymore. Literally, within hours, LYRYKAL@IMVU did the exact same thing. I made a fade with curl waves, again, within hours he did the same thing. Plus, he’s stolen my custom hidden eyebrows from MrMarz before; that’s the reason I made them public.”
Everyone has to encounter drama and Yusef handles it well by focusing on keeping a humble attitude, making people laugh, and collabing with other artists. His value of quality over quantity eliminates the stress that comes with meeting a set quota. Another thing that sets Yusef apart is his Australian roots in style; he works hard not to conform to trends. Although he’s stopped teaching people how to create because of bad experiences, he does still offer guidance and advice to upcoming creators:
“The phoenix must burn to emerge. In other words, fail is okay, it’s more than okay. It’s fantastic because you learn when you fail, but when you succeeded, you don’t really learn anything. So never give up, you could fail 19 times but that 20th time? You’re gonna get it. I promise you.”
That’s pretty damn inspiring!
