Odd. I simply used a shoe, instead of nude feet, so I could have texture on the claws, but the skin parts have no multiplier and just pick up the skin texture of the Sim. You didn't put a multiplier on the feet, did you?

I still have not understood the way Smug Tomato explained splitting seams in 2.9x, which is why 99.99% of my work is still done in 2.80. She said, she removed auto split because sometimes vertices did not split properly and caused problems. Which it does, on very rare occasion for me, but I usually catch it and fix it quickly enough.

What I did for my demon tail was to split an edge going the length of the tail, then unwrap. I had to make some adjustments after unwrapping, but that's basically it.

No multiplier. Just a skin texture in the top slot. I'm not sure why the previous ones didn't work. Did the same thing but left the texture slots blank b4.
I did use the nudeshoes as the mesh I reshaped & for bone assignment. It's also what I started the project with. Not the efa 1s.

For my tail I was going to set the center ridge of front & back of the spearhead as sharp edges. Also the sides but I can only mark as seam or sharp edge in edit mode. Not both unless there's something I'm missing.

Does it have to do with a technique or just seam splitting in 2.9?
Seen a tutorial that showed & explained edge splitting in 2.74 I think it was & I think it would work the same in 2.9 but not sure.
Mark seam, split edges(duplicate), & then unwrap seems easy enough but think I still need a better understanding of seam splitting.
Is there a link to Smug Tomato's 2.9 info you got? I'm a bit curious.

I'm building a collection of tutorials lol.
I actually go through them regularly because I can't absorb all the info @ once.

Without seeing the file, I can't say why adding a texture there even works. It should not... as far as I know.

Again, I never quite understood the procedure that Smug Tomato outlined for seam splitting in 2.9x, and is why I use 2.80. I tried what she said, and Blender threw an error, saying I could not do that, because something was set as on, and I have no idea how to change that setting. https://modthesims.info/d/656413/bl...-2-8x-2-9x.html

Was the message:
"Cannot split selection when sync selection is enabled" ?

This message pops up if you go to select-select split in the UV edit screen while the sync option is active. There's no pop-up if you turn off sync mode but it doesn't seem to do anything anyways if done in UV screen.
You have to do it on the object itself not in the UV screen.
Cube tested.

Lame question but, is seam splitting supposed to do anything other than clone the selected edges?
I've only seen it used in a clothing tutorial (linked in thornowl's first post on this thread) that used it for shaping the skirt part of a dress.

Yes, that is the message, and to be honest, I have no idea what "sycn mode" is, what it's for or how to turn it off. And if what you say is true, that edges would need to be split on the object, I will take a hard pass on that. I have absolutely no intention of trying to hand split most of the meshes I work on, especially something like this one...



Yes, she is a Sim... well, Plumbot...



Seams must be split along UV islands, or unsplit vertices will reconnect in the exported model's UV. The pic below is extreme, but point made...

In the UV window on 2.9 look for the double arrows pointed in opposite directions. On the left just before verts, edge, & face. That's the sync option.
With sync mode on whatever part of the mesh selected in the UV will become selected on your mesh.

Note: UVs are already a part of the mesh if you start with 1 of the shapes from blender. Whatever mesh you imported as a base will likely already already have a UV as well. You can remove the UV & add a new 1 if you feel it's necessary.
CAS meshes are already separated @ what would be the seams. It actually causes visible seams in the game from what I've noticed.

Tip: if you're wanting to separate @ a seam use rip.
When I use the split option in 2.9 it basically does the same as pressing shift+D to duplicate the selected. (Not what the word split actually means right?)

Mark seams on mesh. Go to UV editing. Arrange the islands as needed & straighten bits that need it so your UV isn't a mess. A bit of space between islands recommend to avoid selecting bits of wrong parts.
With sync mode on select the seams you want. They will be selected in the UV & on the mesh. If you want to split as in separate @ the selected seam, press V-key to rip with your pointer in the view screen where the mesh is.
Selecting seams in the UV screen is for convenience. It's quicker than all the rotating & angling & searching to do on the mesh.
Moving things around on the UV doesn't move them on the mesh as you already know. The main purpose of moving things around on the UV is for getting textures to show where you want them 2 on the mesh.
Just like adding or removing verts, egdes, & faces; ripping & splitting must be done to the object in the view window.
You cannot have any faces selected. If if seam is around a face, leave 1 edge unelected & do it separate.

As a newbie this video helped me understand the basic function of UVs & seams for getting textures 2 look right. Even if you've been messing wit UVs for a while, this could be useful or just interesting.

https://youtu.be/scPSP_U858k

Thanks, next time I look at 2.93, I will look for this "sync".

Yes, I use Blender mesh options often. I also use Bezier curves, for things like laces, which require conversion and creating a UV. It's also how I made my demon tail.

But again, what you do in 2.9 to split seams is far more work than I care to be bothered with when working on many of the meshes I do these days. The bot mesh I showed is an MMD conversion. I have also done XPS, and a few other mesh types. I am quite familiar with resizing, moving and arranging a UV... from 5 or 6 different images (as most other games use) and fitting them to one map for TS3. Far easier, simpler and quicker to use 2.80, auto split and deal with an unsplit vertices that may happen in 1 of 1000 meshes I do.

Seam Splitting.
I'm going to assume the meaning (divide/separate).
My previous attempt to explain probably threw you off so I want to simplify.
You have to mark seams first before UV unwrap righ? You also already know where & what seams to separate. I'm assuming.

Simple & quick:
Step1 -Verts &/or edges to be marked & separated selected.
Step2 - Mark seam.
Step3 - press 'V' on keyboard.
Seams now split/separated.
Step4 - UV unwrap.

Want to separate dress or body-suit top from bottom? Simple.
Select the line/loop you're going to use for seam - select mark seam then press 'V' & your done.

Hopefully this is a simpler explanation. Should work in any version of blender that has the rip option. V-key is just the shortcut command like 1,3,7 are for your view.

So taking thornowl' s good advice, I've been messing around with making random things. A box shaped into a boxy tub for example. It's simple & quick. It's a random object with just enough shape for figuring out UVs.
Thornowl's recommended tutorials & example UV layout were quite helpful.
I should also thank you lady for the sync issue you mentioned, lol.
After all the tutorials I've been watching, you'd think I would've used it sooner. Nope. Hadn't messed with it so it was off until I read your post. I can finally work with mesh & UV @ same time. UV doesn't disappear anymore when I select a random point on my mesh.
My current setback with UVs is baking. I had to set the render engine from Eevee to Cycles before having any bake options. There's so many settings & options. I don't know what to check on or off or just leave alone. The details in vids are so tiny on my phone screen that I can't see them clearly. Tried pausing & taking screenshot but details blur more when I zoom in.
Do I need to make any adjustments under any of the other dropdowns or just the bake?
Bake from multires or no?
Bake type: ambient occlusion?
Selected to active?
Clear image: on or off?
Sampling, lighting paths, & color management settings could be relevant but I'm not sure of the settings if so.

A comparison of the options & settings used in 2.8 would be helpful.

Really not sure what you are trying to explain to me. I have been meshing for quite a while. Nothing really "threw me off". You have 4 steps to split seams. I have 1... use 2.80 and click "split seams". And... I'm done.

You cannot simply separate an outfit mesh into a top and bottom. Well, you can... sort of, but... No, it is NOT that simple. waist vertices of something done that way, rarely line up to the standard EA waist seam used for other tops or bottoms as separates. You would need to snap vertices to a standard mesh waist. Possibly check bone weights for spine0 and pelvis.

I also do not use Blender's rendering tools for textures, so do not know settings for Evee or Cycles. I played with them, baked one specular, and again decided it was easier for me to do my textures in GIMP. JoshQ uses some of those, and plays with various nodes, but unlikely to find him on MTS.

i'm on mobile and lazy

> My current setback with UVs is baking. I had to set the render engine from Eevee to Cycles before having any bake options.

eevee is a real time render engine (a lot of math stuff to fake lighting), while cycles uses raytracing (a simulation of how light works in real life with rays bouncing off objects until it reaches the camera). as far as i know, it's currently impossible to bake in real time engines

> Do I need to make any adjustments under any of the other dropdowns or just the bake?
Bake from multires or no?
Bake type: ambient occlusion?
Selected to active?
Clear image: on or off?
Sampling, lighting paths, & color management settings could be relevant but I'm not sure of the settings if so.

come on, that's basic blender stuff not related to the sims 3. learn to use google
https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/...les/baking.html
+ a bunch more text-based tutorials from other sources (i barely ever bake in cycles and never in 2.8+, so i can't personally recommend any)
you don't have multires, how would you bake from it (if you're curious what multires is, google it. or don't. you don't really need it)
selected to active is used to bake from a highpoly object to a lowpoly one. if you don't have a highpoly object, read the previous paragraph
do you want to clear the image when you bake? yes — check, no — uncheck
personally never used lighting path/color management. sampling.. well, more samples = cleaner bake and higher baking times. i would do 6-12 samples for testing the settings and 128-256 for the final bake

while learning to bake is a great idea, i don't get what are you even baking here if you're just making feet replacements and don't have a detailed highpoly mesh. i guess if you wanna make a multiplier to have some recolorable furry bits/claws on the feet, you could bake ambient occlusion as a base for texture painting, but it's not gonna do much anyway..

Sorry for adding another post. Should've add on previous.

No need to search object to separate seams.
*No need to do anything in the object window for this mesh or the others to split seams.
Blender 2.9 requires pointer anywhere over the object view screen to apply the action. If just a tiny bit of the object screen is visible, that's all you need.
No clicking or searching anything. You've already done what was needed in the UV screen.

Your UVs unwrapped & the islands adjusted.
Unless auto split knows what seams to split without being told,
I'm pretty sure you'll have to go back & select the seams in the UV window anyways to split them.
An option to select seams around all islands @ once would be nice but don't know of any in 2.9.

With seams selected & sync mode on all you have to do is slide mouse over object screen just enough like the edge & then tap the 'V' on keyboard & done.

If you're using the box select like I've seen so many use, then good-gosh that's tedious.
I use the nifty circle select tool.
I'd have to zoom in to see what I'm doing but easier & quicker.

I don't have 2.8 so I have to slide my mouse. You mostly use 2.8 so you might be able to just tap the 'V' key right after selecting those seams.

I was actually trying to point out something different before trying to explain my method for separating island seams.

That bit you shared from SmugTomato for seam splitting in 2.9. I followed it exactly & it seemed rather simple since 2.9 is what I use.

The overall point is that I can click split all I want in 2.9 & it clones the seam.
Split option in 2.9 does not separate seams for me.

If you've posted before this post of mine, sorry. I'm quite slow typing without an actual keyboard.

Not familiar with my work, huh?

You are too stuck on "unwrap". You figured out a basic feature of Blender. You do not have to unwrap every UV. At least, I do not have to.

Yes, auto split splits UV seams. That is what the tool is for. That is what it does. Smug Tomato changed things and removed that from 2.9x, because some people had issues. I almost never have issues, and 1 of 1000 meshes that does, is easy for me to fix.

No, I'm pretty sure that I do not have to go back and select seams in the UV window to split anything. As I said, this is not my first rodeo.



A bit more to the mesh and UV than you find in a box, maybe?

I do use my mobile & won't deny being a bit lazy. I Google lots of things. Seriously, Google usually gives me everything but what I'm actually looking for. First time I heard of multipliers I googled it & Google gave me mathematics.
Blender 2.9 manual - Google sends me to pages triying to sell me actual blenders. Lol.

Was aware that eevee is realtime. Been watching tutorials. I didn't know for sure if all the different settings affected the UV or just the rendering. It wasn't specified in the beginners tutorials I've come across.

Good to know that I don't have to bake anything though considering all the bake happy tutorials. Thanks for that bit too.

I actually had thought of making the claws recolorable. Also the tail, wings, & horns.

I'm getting old, a bit slow @ learning some things, & sometimes easily confused. I'll probably have quite a few dumb questions b4 figuring everything out. I'll probably say a lot of dumb things too because I'm actually kind of terrible at communicating what I'm trying to say.

Well that's it for now. Will post another stupid question later & maybe even the the link or screenshot next time Google gives me bad results on a search. :D

I've actually quite recently started trying to make my own mods so no I'm not familiar with anybody's methods really.
As for cc downloaded & installed - I have EA thigh-high boots, cocktail mini dress open, & LorandiaSims3 dress open. Love them btw.

So used to nearly every tutorial pushing UVs thought I should @ least try.
Feet & tail that work were just simple mesh tweaks then exported from blender. I didn't mark seams, unwrap, or anything else.
The ones showin up black in TSRW though. I did seams & unwrap while trying to follow a tutorial.

Handy. Didn't know how auto split works. Knew it was removed from 2.9 so the split option in SmugTomato's 2.9 work around, I thought was part of blender not the geom tools. I wasn't thinking of the auto split on 2.8 being part of the geom tools. My bad.

Aside from just being bad at communicating, I mention things I figure out in case a random newbie using blender 2.9 stumbles onto this thread. They can try it or not.
Definitely not trying to tutor anyone.

I don't expect to ever become very experienced in modding. Trying to learn what I can while I can though.

not you lol. i am

that means your search was too broad. you should keep adding keywords until you get the results you need or until google can't find anything at all
"multiplier" — hm, doesn't work, some weird math stuff
"multiplier blender" — some stuff about nodes and miltiply, doesn't seem right
"multiplier sims 3" — finally good results
that's because a multiplier texture is specific to the sims 3 and isn't used in general 3d art

that's weird, i just tried to google it in a private window, then searched in duckduckgo (so that i get the most neutral results unrelated to my search history). no kitchen blenders, only 3d
try something like "blender 3d 2.9 tutorial"

there shouldn't be any significant difference between 2.8 and 2.9. hell, even 2.79 and 2.8 work pretty much the same way, just with a different interface
you can split seams without any add-ons or anything: https://blender.stackexchange.com/q...cts-at-uv-seams
second reply, do the first two steps, done. no need to manually select all seams
though idk why you would do that if you're using mesh toolkit, it splits seams automatically


i'm gonna be honest, i have no idea what either of you two are talking about here lmao. i feel like you're just making each other more confused
you do need uv maps for all cc you make, i'll guess that ladysmoks means you don't have to unwrap each uv island separately, one at a time — you can just select all parts of the mesh that need unwrapping and, well, unwrap them

we all start somewhere. keep going, and sooner or later you'll get good at it. i mean, a lot of cc creators don't even know how to make meshes in blender, so you're already ahead of them on that one lol

Some of the first that I uploaded. Both dresses were updated when posted on NSFWmods. The bot and Harley Quinn outfit are better examples of my current work.



There are things that unwrap will be useful, but TS3 bodies have a set standard position on the map. You may wish to get accustomed to that, unless you plan to only make accessories. Just open an EA body in Blender and export the UV. Then do your splitting process and unwrap that mesh. Nothing will remain in EA standard position. Anything that will be skin texture is critical to always be in EA position, as ALL skins, EA and CC, use EA standard. This is also why I had mentioned your feet UV position. If ankle seams do not align to EA, both mesh and UV, you will see a seam.

Your black mesh was probably flipped normals. What you did, I cannot be sure. Use "face orientation" to see which way your mesh normals are facing, and "flip normals" to correct it. Already posted how to do that.



2.9x splitting might be part of Blender tools? I do not know. As said, I much prefer Smug's 2.8x auto split tool, and have very little trouble with it, and can easily fix a stray vertices if it does not split.



Expectations often lead to disappointments. ))) More I know, the more I tend to "expect" things to go easier... Often not the case! But, if you enjoy the challenge, and learning, it makes things easier.

Also, you may want to concentrate more on basics of TS3 modding, if that is your end game. Baking textures is not necessary to meshing and texturing TS3. Some do it, but most use Photoshop or GIMP for textures... also Paint.net.

In Blender, you can open textures, and overlay them on your model, and the UV map. Useful for small adjustments in UV position, as opposed to trying to align textures to UV mapping in an imaging edit program.