She admits that some people might call her a cat lady. She shares her home with four of them and she harbors a particular fondness for Black Cats, of which she has three. Happy Halloween!

Born in California, our Vendor of the Month for October, 2024, is Kaleya, also known as Stacy to friends and family. She lived there most all her life in Avila, but later moved to the Five Cities area. In 2021, Kaleya moved to Ohio.  

Her interest in computers began when she was very young and was constantly fascinated by them. After high school she took web development courses and spent time doing freelance web design.

“In 1999 I began playing an MMO called Everquest and noticed a lot of people in my guild and other guilds were making these cool 3D avatars with a software I found out was Poser. That was my gateway into 3D,” she said.

Stacy started out just making avatars for her video game character, whose name was Kaleya, which is where her username came from. From there she found an art forum where people from the game congregated and made game related art with Poser, so she joined. Later, there was a challenge on the forum that motivated her to begin texturing.

“I needed a specific type of clothes for it, and I did not have them and could not afford to buy them. I was a poor college student at the time, so I took a freebie I had downloaded, and I used textures to make it into what I needed,” she said.

She then began making texture freebies for the community.

“Then one day I decided to try my hand at vendoring and was humbled and surprised when people actually liked my work enough to pay for it,” said Stacy.  
At that point she went all in and started making textures full time and soon it became a full-time job and remains one to this day.  

Q&A with Kaleya

Describe your offerings and how would you describe your style?

I would say my style varies with my mood though most of my offerings would fall in the clubwear or casual category. I am a big fan of fantasy and occasionally do some fantasy styles when the mood strikes. I also love Halloween and Goth type items, but these are more of a side project kind of thing. I think I am mostly known for clubwear and lingerie.

What were your first tools and software you used for designing images and what did you use as you developed up to now?  

I started out with Poser and Photoshop, also Blacksmith3D and later, Filter Forge. When I first started making my own clothes I used Hexagon exclusively. Later, I added ZBrush, Silo and Marvelous Designer to my toolkit.
 

What is the typical workflow on a new project?

Well, most of the time a project starts with an idea, either something I have seen that I would like to create in 3D, or something that pops into my mind as something I would like to try. From there, I will create any clothing parts in Marvelous Designer and any non-clothing parts like shoes or jewelry in Hexagon or Silo. I often will edit my MD Mesh in ZBrush orHexagon to clean it up and make it easier to UV Map the way I like it. As a former texture maker, it is important to me to have nice clean easy to use maps.

What do you love about producing digital art?

One of my favorite things about digital art is that you really don't need a dedicated space for your art since you don't need an easel or supplies. I still do love my sketchbook though.

What are among your favorite creations to produce?

Fantasy style outfits are my favorite but they are very time consuming so I don't do them as often as I would like. I also really love Halloween, so making horror/gothic stuff is another favorite.

Are there other artists that influence your work, and do you have a mentor?

When it comes to 3D artists, people like Fabiana, DM, Rhiannon, they all inspired me to work harder and do better. Their stuff is so iconic in the 3D world. As far as traditional artists Royo, Boris Vallejo and other fantasy artists inspire me. I do not have a mentor. I am entirely self-taught. I do have a good friend who beta tests for me and helps me figure things out sometimes.

How or why did you decide to become a Renderosity vendor?

Honestly, it was kind of a, “I wonder” moment. I was making freebies, and I thought, ‘I wonder if anyone would buy my textures,’ so I made a pack and uploaded it and was surprised and very grateful that people actually bought them. I chose Renderosity because they were new vendor-friendly and the place where I was most comfortable. Everyone was so nice and helpful, also. 

How has Renderosity made a difference in your growth as an artist/vendor?

I like the freedom we have as vendors to decide what we want to make and how we want to manage our stores. It helps having that kind of control because as a vendor I know what works for me and my customers, so not being micromanaged as you are at some other stores is very nice.

What future plans do you have for your work? What career goals do you have in digital art?

I plan to keep doing what I am doing for as long as I can. Unfortunately, I believe generative AI is having an extremely negative effect on the 3D market and I don't know what the future holds, but I am hopeful we are all able to continue making a living doing the thing we love. Currently, I am focused on Autumn and Halloween themed items. It is my favorite time of the year. 

What advice do you have for someone who wants to become an artist or vendor?

Advice I wish I had been given when I first started would have been, build your brand from the very beginning. I did not do that, I just made whatever random thing came along and so it took a long time for me to find my style and embrace it. I would say know what you want to be known for and make yourself known for that. Also, don't expect to get rich doing this, you won't but if you love it then go for it.

Any other comments you have for the community?

I would just like to say a huge thank you to all the people who have supported my store over these nearly 18 years. Without you, I would not be able to continue doing the thing I love most – and that is making content. So, from the bottom of my heart thank you so much for the years of support. I hope that my content can continue to be fun and interesting.