Oh, Gigge, leave it up. Anything that helps with DIY is welcome here.

Thanks Faylen. I was actually concerned about bandwidth since it's remote linked from my site. I may just change it to a link so that only those inerested view the image, not everyone who glances at this thread. The traffic here is much, much greater than what I have and while bandwidth/CPU usage isn't a problem for me now there's no reason to expect that it never will be in the future. It's the type of thing I could easily forget I ever posted and not be able to remove when I need to.

~Gigge

I'm learning a lot from this thread and the posts to tutorials. Thanks for starting the thread, Faylen.

My very first creations were not textured at all - yes, I am guilty of the flat color texture file! At the time, I liked them and was proud of them because I liked the design style/shapes themselves, and did not realize at the time that you had to put texture on them! I assumed that the lighting in the game would do that for me! I think I will take down my very first download submission.

I've found using photos is a lot of help, but it only gets you part of the way there. You still have to alter the thing so that it looks right on a Sim (re-sizing, placement, changing where the highlights go etc.) and that can take days! But, it's very good for getting a feeling for the material so you can eventually create clothing of that material type yourself from scratch when you feel more familiar and confident with it. I personally like things to look fairly real, but that's just my preference. Anyway, I try. Photos I've used are substantially altered - I already have a picture in my head of what design I want, and if I find something that has the basic elements I need, then I'll nab it for a base, even though I know it will take a long time to make it look right.

Something that people new to skinning might find helpful is the F3 key on the keyboard while in bodyshop so they can look at their Sim model more closely and from different angles. I found this helped me avoid those nasty mis-alignments of straps at the tops of shoulders that can completely spoil an otherwise really nice piece.

*Sigh* I'm starting to believe that it will take ages to make a proper recolor and show here proudly. Like Po said, I'm also tired of saying *thanx* and don't contribute here properly, but hey, i'm still learning. And I agree completely with your point faylan.

I'm starting easy, just making underwear for men (mostly using Xeno's muscled mesh as base) but they doesn't look right. hahahaha...I need a LOT of practice in Photoshop. I'll try to upload an image showing my second work (still in process) later, but don't be mad at me, please.

Knightskykyte, F3 is very useful. You may want to check the body shop hints and tricks threads for more info.

Metalfenix, don't be afraid to post your stuff. Trying new things is encouraged.

~Gigge

Absolutely. And don't feel bad about deleting stuff you didn't like, or playing the with same mesh over and over, or even just opening up Photoshop and playing with filters and effects and brushes and such. Since I got my tablet, I'm still working on my favorite way to shade and highlight patterned textures! It's just a good thing to keep the final goal in mind when you start off so you know what you're aiming for.

Sorry for the late reply, but I had to prepare a bit before this. Here is an advance of my very first work,an underwear set, wich consists in two pieces. But I'm not happy with the results, though. If you see the edges, they are VERY bad. :weep: I hate these details.



I don't know if it's the moment to share these with the community, or wait until I improve the edges.

This is a problem with the draping of the flat texture over the 3D mesh. If you look at the UV maps, you'll see that the body mesh is not really all that smooth and curvy, there are bumps and angles where the polygons meet, so you need to make minor adjustments in places to create the >illusion< of a curve where there's really an angle. Several of my outfits look strange and bumpy on the texture file, because I moved lines around to create a curve when it was applied to the sim. Some things can't seem to be worked out - things that go around the collarbone will look smooth from one angle, then get a crease in them from another because they cross two angled polygons. Just keep tweaking.

I'll check it out (But first I have to get the UV map, I'll do a forum search right now).

Thanx Faylen, I'll need all the suggestions I can get.

I think what makes a skin looks good and realistic are Shadings/Highlights and clothing outlines.

If you are doing photoskins or logoed tshirts, keep in mind that the pasted on image DOES not blend in with the skin, like as if the photo doesn't belong on the texture at all. If you want to improve this, turn the layer opacity down a little bit. Do some shadings, fix the not meant to be highlighted/darkened areas i.e. the breast area, the bottom of the breast should be dark and the top and midlle part should be light. If you look at the maxis tank tops for females and compare to photos from clothing sites (ie forever21), you'll find the maxis one is more realistic. And YES, SHADINGS AND HIGHLIGHTS ARE IMPORTANT!
Moving on to the outlines on clothing, if you are making a photoskin, and a new alpha to fit the photo, you'll find that clothing will look SOO painted on to the skin of the sm and it'll look entirely horrible. To give skins nice outlines, select the black area of the alpha channel, then drag the selection over to the texture, right click on your mouse, on the menu, select " Storke (outline) " and then checkbox Inside and keep the pixel(s) width from 1 to 3. that will give you a nice clothing outline.

I hope you understand my little tutorial and keep on skinning!

That's exactly my problem! I'll give a try.

Thanx chazachiu!!

Thanks, Gigge! I am learning all kinds of new things today. I am looking forward to practicing the button technique...that is one area I have trouble with, as well as buckles. Yesterday, I spent seven hours practicing my shading technique. Now I can practice shading buttons!

Got any ideas on how to do sequins and glitter?

Glittery things are often just a matter of applying a few filters. If you have Photoshop "add noise" is useful for this.

My main skinning problem now is I have a problem I'm not very familiar with. I used to use PSP9 and was so used to how you do things in it. My trial ran out however so I downloaded Gimp. I'm so totally lost with it.

I wanted to reply just to give a big HUG, THANK YOU and AMEN to all of you, but I would like to rant a little, too in agreement and support of what you all have said.

I just finished a massive purge of skins, cosmetics, accessories and a motherload of genetics including all the custom hair and mesh files I had. I spent a great deal of time and energy searching and downloading items I trusted were quality. I had just over 5,000 files and have thinned that down to just over 1,800. There are several more that I will have to actually see in Body Shop to decide. I just got so frustrated and aggravated with the overall quality. I realize that it is only a game, but the custom content is a huge part of what makes anyone's game more enjoyable and unique to their tastes and personalities. It's also the biggest reason I continue to play this dumb game at all - I am not a gamer at heart. Yes, I could take the game less seriously, but then I would have to consider the CC less seriously as well and that is unfair to the many artists who truly care. It's also the only game I play and so I do want to get the most out of it.

People who just swipe the color or texture over and don't bother with the details should be avoided for certain. Those who do this with genetics and don't bother to incorporate the genetic code required for inheritable traits should be banned. I feel that until creators can offer a few details on how the genetics were applied, I just can't see them as anything other than a mask for fun and stories. If they would disclose that their creations should be considered for cosmetic purposes only and not for genetic traits, I would be happier. I know this must be extremely frustrating to the players that have long lines in the legacy challenge. As an example, I have seriously considered using contacts over the Maxis original eyes, just so I can be guaranteed the traits I want and I don't even play to establish legacies.

This whole experience was very disappointing to me. I have been a meticulous seamstress for nearly 40 years - I actually learned to sew in Girl Scouts when I could barely reach the machine pedal! My greatest endeavor was my eldest daughter's wedding gown. I spent hours shaping and fitting the imported silk lace ($100/yrd-yikes) over the bodice and then cutting the lace into sections to freely overlay the underlining fabric, without being sewn down to it. The final effect was a seamless and unbroken flow of the lace's pattern where nary a joined spot could be seen even close-up and none of the lace's original background netting was visible. I did all this by hand and I did not want to waste any of the precious and beautiful lace.

Why? Apart from the fact that it was my first-born being married, I take a great deal of pride in being a perfectionist with my sewing. I can honestly say that this dress was my greatest challenge and my most rewarding. I made my own gown and I did not do near the detail I did on this one and I swore I would not make another after that. I don't especially love sewing, but I hate shabby garments more.

So, when I say that I appreciate your thoughts and consideration on this topic so near and dear, I truly and sincerely mean what I say.

Again, Thank You All, for your beautiful works of art and wonderful dedication.

HeartDeco

I make lots of clothing... and I upload none of it. Because, when I come here... I see much better stuff. Mine is crap!

I am very glad others make much better stuff they I. Maybe one day I will do something I am proud of, I will share that...

Wow, after reading this, I feel bad for photo-skinning. But all photoskinners don't just slap a photo on and call it a skin. I do a lot of tweaking with my skins, and end up drawing a lot of it by hand. I won't even put a skin up for download unless it's as close as I can get it to perfect. I would try my own skins from scratch, but I can't find a easy shading tutorial. Whenever I try to do my own shading, it ends up looking like they spilled something on their clothes. I bought a tablet thinking that might help, but so far it really isn't, so I just stick to the same method I've been using since the Sims 1.

Boo,

Don't feel bad, being a perfectionist makes you most critical of your own work and at least you make an effort. Besides, you use photos only as a starting point, you already have the inspiration - Right? See, that's entirely different and one day, you won't need the photos anymore, because you'll know you can do it better and you are already a creative person.

If you have browsed lately over at TSR you would see what I saw and why folks here are concerned, if not angry. I can't blame them, I can not believe what some people are putting up on a pay site. There are people there that have bronze and silver cups and they have maybe five or so things there and they aren't that good. The ones that upset me are the ones that do it for the free subscription. There is one person, a guy I think, in particular that posts only recolors that a two year old with fat crayons could out do, like he must be on crack or something.

I feel the downloads here are better quality and this is a tough crowd. If your work isn't good you'll hear about it in short order. Unfortunately, once it is downloaded the submitters get the credit and you can't return it. There is an old saying the my hubby's grandfather always says, "No returns or exchanges, after leaving the window." This was mainly a joke about choosing marriage partners, but I have found many applications where this is true. So you have to be darn particular about what you are downloading.

Also, TSR's rating system is not easy to post on like it is here. TSR wants you to look at it in the game first and then come back and rate it. If someone downloads a lot, this can be very tedious as there is no particular order how the DLs role up on your list to rate. So you can't get right to the creations that really do deserve the ratings, without wading through the 75% or so that don't deserve a rating, but should warrant a comment. Not many people are going to go to all that hassle, they want to get back to their game. After I found out how this actually worked at TSR, I had already download a ton of stuff. So I rated what I could, tried to comment as much as possible and if all else fails, I sign their guestbook with a more personal and sincere thank you for their tireless work and effort. I received back several responses that pretty much all reflected how it was nice to hear from people about their work. So these wonderful artists aren't getting the appreciation they deserve from their grateful community. The download numbers are not comparing apples to oranges, when it comes to the trashy stuff and the really beautiful works of art - instead you have the bad apples getting the same number of hits as the worthy ones.

Don't feet bad about what you do. I know I could not do it. Even drawing clothing on a pad and giving it the proper shading to have the desired effect means going through a lot of erasers for me! I look at a lot of clothing to see how it falls and drapes and how the body and light causes movement and change in the texture and I still have trouble getting these characteristics on paper. I can conceptualize, but I can't put it into a 3D image, much like when you know what you want to say, but it doesn't come out the way you indend or you can't put into words what you really feel.

HeartDeco

Just to bring this back to life a bit. . .another of the perils of photoskinning is that the shadows and highlights of the image you select for copying will show up on your new image. I've seen the curve of breasts showing up in some of the most improbable places on photoskinned outfits. . .

I agree with HystericalParoxysm. It looks lazy and sloppy and unrealistic when people just use a solid colour. I have a friend who's new to creathing parts and she does that and it'd really crush her feelings if I told her it didn't look good. So many people do that on the exchange, that's why I don't really use it anymore. People should try abit harder to make their things look realistic. I mean, who would really use a red solid coloured T-Shirt in game?

lol, only started attempting to create items myself yesterday. Well more like recolouring, followed by playing with the outfits and altering them. Although have noticed some of the items are flat looking, was in here looking for tips on how to over come this problem. But thats going to have to wait for another day need sleep!

It would be SO great if someone could do a tutorial about, how you can make BEAUTIFUL details to your clothes. I always look at others' clothing-masterpieces, and I always think that "WOW, I wanna do like that, but... how?"

Sometimes you just can't make it good by yourself.

I do sometimes add pieces from photos to my clothes, and the trick there is to work with that image in a completely different file in PhotoShop, get it the right size, mask out the parts you're not going to use, and keep it as a separate layer in your texture file until the very last, so you can move it, transform it, and color it without affecting the rest of the texture.

I find it really helpful to use textures from other maxis garments on my creations - mixing and matching can produce some really great effects and everything looks 'in-keeping' with the style of the game.