What are you going wear tonight? Suit and Tie? Boring! T-Shirt and Shorts? Lame! If you want to really stick out, try a Suit of Armor! This anime-inspired metal outfit is sure to make the other guys jell-e and the ladies swoon. After all, who doesn't like a man in shining armor? Dragons, that's who!

PLEASE NOTE: This items is for Males ONLY. It won't fit or work with Female avies. There is a Women's version sold separately. This item replaces all avie body parts below the head, so it's NOT compatible with most shirts, pants, gloves, or shoes. Even if you could use them, they would undoubtedly look weird, so it's recommended to use only with accessories, like swords, shields, and helmets. Please use TRY IT before you BUY IT to ensure it works with your chosen outfit! There will be NO REFUNDS if it doesn't work with your existing outfit or body type.

Prefer golden armor? More metal working detail? Blue glowing lights? No lights at all?! Well then, buddy, start Deriving! Make your own version, and even sell it the catalog for a small markup over my original, and keep the extra profits for yourself! You can express yourself AND earn credits at the same time. How's that for a sweet deal? You'll need a full account on IMVU, as well as a copy of Previewer. You can find out more about Deriving on the IMVU's Education Center. Below is the template you'll need to get started (Right Click and Save As to your computer):

The Suit of Armor is actually two suits, one Surface Body and Under Body. The Under Body is used mostly for animated effects, with the Surface being used the actual skin. Holes are cut in the Surface Body via Opacity, allowing the animated effects on the Subsurface Body to be seen. It's a very flexible setup, once you understand how to use it. There is no Under Body section for the armor just below the loins, due to stretching issues, so full body effects like Fire and Electricity might not be possible.

This is the actual Texture map used on the Surface Body. Use this for simple changes, like color:

This is the Opacity layer for the Surface Body. An Opacity image is like a Black and White silhouette, which tells the computer which parts of the image should be visible, and which should not. Basically, the darker the image becomes, the less of the model is visible. You can use gray to make things glass-like, but due to errors in IMVU's handing of transparency, you might see other strange graphic glitches. It's best to stick to solid white and black. As you can see, I've cut holes in my design sparingly. I'd suggest you do the same, as having too many holes can cheapen the effect. You can also feel free to leave this all white, and treat the armor as one simple, solid piece:

This is the Wireframe Template of Surface Body. This shows you exactly how the Texture map adheres to the structure of the model. You'll need this if you want to create a completely new Texture map. It's been highlighted with color to help you distinguish each section of the model:

Here is a reference image to help you understand how those color locations work:

This is the Texture used on the Under Body. You'll notice that it's very simple. It's designed to scroll downwards, making the holes appear to pulse between Red and Black. You can use this image to change the color of the lights that pulse, or use it in some entirely new and dramatic fashion. It uses the same mapping as the Surface Body:

There is an Opacity image for the Under Body, but I haven't included here as it's completely white. This could be important for certain advanced effects, but for the most part you'll probably never need to change this texture.

This item shouldn't need sound, but to add sound, I highly recommend you download and use Audacity. It's a free sound editing tool that can export out OGG sound files. OGG sound files compress down to less then 1/10th the file size of WAV files. SO USE OGG FILES!!! You can download it here:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Also avoid looping sounds, as they tend to get annoying to listen to very quickly. Try to keep your volume levels low as well, as IMVU tends to over-amplify all audio playback to near ear-bleeding levels.