Simply Eyes-With Layerable Spotlights-UPDATE!

*UPDATE* 8.17.14 - I'm so happy, I figured out how to enable makeup for babies! I'm sure someone else has done it before, but now it means that I can enable the spotlights for babies. This means I've updated the folder containing the Spotlights, so please redownload. These files have the same names as the old ones, so they will overwrite them, if you haven't renamed them yourself.

To use these on babies, you will need a modded object that allows you to make changes to a baby's appearance. I use the Sim Blender by twojeffs.

Custom baby hair and clothes by Theraven at moonlightdragons. Registration required.

Original Blurb

Hello, all! I'm finally decently satisfied with a set of 25 eyes that I've been tweaking since October 2013, when I attempted to create my first pieces of custom content for The Sims 2. These aren't perfect (I drew them, after all :P), but they've come a long way and I thought I'd share.

My goal was to make some semi-realistic eyes that would have fairly natural colors and details, yet animate well. I like zooming in on my Sims while playing. In fact, I tend to zoom in on them more than intended, since I am horrible at controlling the camera. So, I like it when their eyes look nicely rounded yet don't look weirder than normal when they bulge while Sims make...unique expressions.

See what I mean?



Since that's probably not the best way to advertise these, here's a closeup of the textures when a Sim is making a neutral expression.



Multi-wearable Spotlights

But wait, there's more! You'll notice they have different spotlights. That's because the actual eyes do not have any spotlights on the center of the iris and pupil. I couldn't settle on what sort of lighting effect to give these, and I didn't want to make a million versions of the eyes just so one could be sparklier than the other. Then, it finally hit me. I'm obsessed with layers, it's true. So why not incorporate that obsession into my eye set? Thus, I made six multi-wearable spotlights. They even look good on other eyes, including Maxis's.



You can mix and match these spotlights, or forego them completely--I think the eyes still look good without them, just a bit more flat, which suits phlegmatic Sims. These spotlights are available for all ages and genders, except baby, since I don't know how to create makeup for them. They'll be found in Full Face makeup with custom thumbnails.

UPDATE 7.28.14: I made some more spotlights, available in my DIY Eye Kit. Those spotlights are a bit more detailed and blend better with dark eye colors.

About Defaults

I decided to steal Phaenoh's idea of mix-and-match defaults. I loved how you could choose which eyes would be your defaults from her Keen Eyes set. So, I enabled many of my eyes for multiple colors. That's what those little boxes next to the eyes on the swatch are for. They show which default colors that particular eye is enabled for. For example, Crystal is enabled for three default colors. You can choose to use it as your Default Dark Blue, Default Green, or Default Light Blue. You can even use it for all three, if you're obsessed with it. So don't be too excited when you find 53 files inside the Simply Eyes Defaults folder. There's still only 25 colors. Just make sure to pick ONLY ONE of each color. I.e., only one Default Brown, one Default Blue, etc. Likewise, remember to REMOVE any other defaults you've downloaded from other creators, as they will conflict with mine.

Custom Versions

The custom versions of these eyes are townified and geneticized. For those interested, I wrote their genetic value in red on the swatch attached to this post. (In case you don't know what those numbers mean, 1 means dominant, 2 means recessive, 3 means very recessive.) Once again, there are 25 colors in all. The Simply Eyes Custom folder contains all these files, each one clearly labeled so you can grab what you want and trash the rest.

UPDATE 7.28.14: I decided to make another version of the Custom Eyes available. This time, these are NOT enabled for townies. Sims in CAS will NOT spawn with these, nor will townies spawn with these eyes. They are still geneticized, so they can be passed onto the children of any Sims you create with these eyes. Otherwise, there is nothing different about this set. Just pick the option that appeals more to you; one enabled for townies or one not enabled for townies. That is thy option.

That should be all there is to it; after all, these are simply eyes. *drum roll*

CC On Models: GENETICS: Skins are by me, unreleased. Eyes are kind of obviously done by me, since I'm sharing them right now. All the guys are using hair by Maxis. The girls are using Lidiqnata's shortened version of Nouk's Long Wavy Hair, and this hair by Trapping and Nymphy.

MAKEUP: Some of their eyeliner is from Kimsie's Realistic Eyeliner set. Their eyeshadow is Nysha's Peahen Eyeshadow. Besides that, they're using makeup special effects by me, found here.

Additional Credits:
Eaxis, for the awesome Sims 2 and BodyShop. Live long and prosper, The Sims 2.
The Joneses, for SimPE.
DJFade, for The Compressorizer.
Corel Paintshop Pro X6.
Phaenoh, for her awesome idea of pick-and-choose default eyes. You can find her Keen Eyes here, here, and here. (She released three sets of 15 eyes.)
Hysterical Paroxysm, for her tutorial on layers and bins that got me started on this obsession of layerable special effects. Although, I question how grateful I should be for that, considering how nearly everything I make is multi-wearable. :P
Fraps. for making it easier to take screenshots.
Lastgale, for playtesting all four previous versions of these eyes since I started them last October.