I'll just post what I'm currently using as a starting point. I've removed all the parts from the bump map that I know should be yellow. I also keep a copy of the yellow mesh to help me trace.



That's only going to make things even more complicated for me. Because I can't guarantee that the mesh will match the default versions. It's not going to match anyway because I'm using the block tool. But I don't want to use the brush tool. Because I don't know how Maxis achieved the look of the default versions. So it's better for me to just stick to what I've used in the past. Which is the block tool in order to prevent unwanted smudges.

What I really want is something that I can use to easily check how it looks in-game and then proceed from there. I was told that Milkshape could be used to help with that.

Maybe once I've gotten the mesh how I want it, then I can consider seeing how it turns out with the brush tool. But for now, I just want to successfully trace around the outlines with the block tool.

Are you trying to get the hemlines/collar/sleeves from the yellow version of the shirt over to the red version?

(This would be a perfect place to use a layer mask - transfer the entire yellow outfit over to the red one, and paint out the parts you don't want via the mask - use whichever brush/tip you want (or do as I did below, and use the Polygon selection tool - takes much less time than drawing, and is often just as accurate). All the original texture would be kept, and you can fix things as much as you want, until it looks as good as you want it).

(gif-file demonstration below. The gif file took me considerably longer to do than the actual shirt, I have to say... And I didn't clean up the yellow edges, just to make it apparent it was a new edit)

That's exactly what I'm trying to do. I've already managed to get the sleeves how I want them without difficulty. Since there's no outline blurriness.

I would try and see whether applying a mask would help. But I've just never known how to apply or use them.

Which program are you using for the picture editing? Photoshop, Gimp, or some other program? I can see if I can find some tutorials.

Photoshop. I've been wanting to see if Milkshape will make things easier. But I haven't been able to successfully extract the meshes from SimPE.

It would not let me upload it directly, kept giving me an error that it couldn't tell what game type it was, but I extracted the base mesh from SimPE.

http://www.simfileshare.net/download/5016238/

I've opened it in Milkshape and had no problems; let me know if it works for you.

Quick guide to layer masks (2 minutes) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55P6Q1a8_4c (you can find a lot of longer tutorials, but this is the absolute basics, and really what you need to know as a first-time user).

Lasso tools (you can skip to the part you need, the parts are named): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgYKKcx4Bhk (I used the polygonal one - it only does straight lines, but if you do short straight lines it can easily do a controlled curve. If you need to make small adjustments, is easy to fix the selection, or you can fix the layer mask afterward).

Milkshape - depends on whether you've got a GMDC or OBJ file (you'll need the plugins for the GMDC one, should be linked in most tutorials that involve Milkshape, I think?).
- Import the mesh via the "Sims 2 Unimesh" import OR "Wavefront OBJ" importer (depending on the mesh)
- Select mesh (easiest is Edit-> select all, OR Groups -->mark mesh group -> select). You don't need the morphs for this, so those can be hidden or deleted.
- Materials tab -> New -> click top button that says "<none>" -> select texture you want to apply (Photoshop files and PNG files work fine). Click "Assign".
- If the mesh is still showing grey, right-click the 3D window, make sure "Textured" is ticked. "Wireframe overlay" further down is optional, but for loking at the texture I prefer it to be off.
- Use the mouse to navigate in the blue 3D window. left-hold is rotate around axis. Left + Ctrl is move camera (middle-click too, but it doesn't work well with smaller meshes). Left + Shift is zoom (scrolling, too - but it's a bit more choppy). Right-click and choose "reset view" or "frame all" if the camera gets a bit messy.

Any non video tutorials? I learn much better when I can read something and I'm curious about masks (I'm guessing that they're more than just pasting one image over another and making it 50% transparent so you can see where it matches up).

You can look up tutorials by searching - layers and marking/selecting are very basic tools, so there are a ton of tutorials on how to do it, probably some good written ones as well (I do recommend the 2-minute YT one above, though - it gives you a quick round-up of the basics).

Layer masks is one of the tools you really just have to know how works on a basic level (applying, and what happens with white/black/grey), and then you can use it in all sorts of ways. The best way is really to experiment wiith it.

A few written ones (not sure if they're the best, I just skimmed through)
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/u...add-layer-masks
https://digital-photography-school....nners-tutorial/ (shows it with adjustment layers, but same principle)
https://www.photoshopessentials.com...op-layer-masks/

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/moo...ng-a-t1216.html (one of mine, for TS2 clothing projects - seem to be having some issues with the preview pictures at the moment, but the full tutorial is downloadable as pictures with text. Didn't show hemlines, but If I find the time I can see if I can make an addon).



That's opacity, not layer masking.
You can however use opacity with a layer you've applied a layer mask to, and you can change the opacity in several different ways via a layer mask (by using greytones in the mask instead of just black and white), and it's possible to do both at the same time.