Mini-Tutorial: How to adapt Skintones/Clothing to Custom Meshes

[Warlokk]

Hi everyone! I get a lot of questions from people asking how to convert outfits and skintones to use the meshes from my BodyShape Variety Project. I thought I would post some of the instructions I've given to folks here, to make them easier to find and reference.

It's actually really easy, and all you need is BodyShop and Windows Explorer (or whatever Macs have).

Clothing:

Open BodyShop, Create Clothing, start a new Clothing project, and export the outfit you want to use the textures from. Name it something you can find later (PurpleShirt, for example). Once it exports the textures, cancel that project.

Now do another Clothing project, using the outfit of mine you want to use, and give it the name you want to use for this outfit, preferably with the size you're using (Nat36DTankTop for this example). You're limited to a certain number of characters so you may have to be creative. It helps if the mesh is based off the same one you're transferring to, but not always necessary if you can make it work.

Once the files export, open an Explorer window (keep Bodyshop open), and browse to your My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\ folder, and find the Projects folder. Inside you should see a folder named for each project you made. Copy the .bmp files from the first project folder (PurpleShirt) into the 2nd (Nat36DTankTop), overwriting the ones there, there should be 2 or 3 of them depending on if there's a normal map (bump map) or not. Make sure you don't overwrite the .package file, or you'll have to start over.

Now go to BodyShop again, and click the little circle-arrow Refresh button, and you should see the new texture over my mesh. If everything looks OK, you can put some notes in the Comments field and import it to your game, and select which categories you want the outfit to show up under, and you're done! If you need to make some tweaks, you can use your favorite graphics program and edit the .bmp files in the new project folder, and use the Refresh button to check your progress after each save.

Now here's a cool trick... if you want to use the same mesh to do a number of different outfits, you don't have to re-export mine, you can just use the same project you already created. You just have to export the outfits you want to use the textures from, and copy them into that project folder and re-import, it will create unique outfit files each time and put it in your SavedSims folder.

Skintones:

Again in BodyShop, go to Create Parts, Genetics, and export the skin you want to convert, which will dump the textures into the project for you. Like before, give it a name that's descriptive, 'cause you may want to use it again later (We'll call ours LightReal).

Next, cancel the project (the files will stay where you dumped them), and start a new one to export the custom mesh skintone with the shape you want, and name the project something with the size in it (Nat36D36) so you can find the files later. Then, in Explorer copy the texture files (.bmp's) over from the first folder you exported (LightReal) to the new project folder (Nat36D36)--don't MOVE them, unless you feel like going through the whole first part again, and make sure you don't copy the .project file, just the textures.

In Bodyshop, click the little refresh icon to make sure it worked(you'll see the updated texture, but still no shape, that's normal since the mesh isn't a true nude), and re-import my skin to your game. If you want, you can edit the swatch.bmp file so the icon looks better, but it's not necessary. That's it! You can redo it with other sizes too now that you have the textures exported you want from your favorite skin (you did copy them, and not move, right?). To do more sizes with the same skintone, repeat the process starting at the 2nd paragraph. I'd advise putting something in the Notes field telling which skintone and mesh it is using.

I hope this helps some people tailor all these new custom meshes coming out to suit their needs. Remember, don't upload or distribute anything you make using someone else's work without permission! My meshes are free to pass around, but many textures/outfits/skintones are not.

Enjoy! :D

[wiserube1]

thanks for the tutorial on customized skin tones .... Even I..cyberclod that i am, was able to make it work! these look great on...Sussi's donation skins! If you explain the fundamentals of posting a screen shot..how to get the shot out of the game..to post..I'd be glad to share some pics!

[Warlokk]

When you use the "C" camera command to take the pics, they are saved in your My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods\N###\Storytelling folder, with the N### being the number of the neighborhood you're using (Pleasantville is N001, Strangetown is N002 by default). You may have to put them someplace to host them and link from here though, some forums don't allow attachments.

[mattleerocks]

Any idea on how to transfer the undies mesh's over to swimwear? I can combine the swimwear textures in bodyshop with your mesh's but they're classified as underwear instead of swimwear. Anyway to convert them to swimwear?

[Warlokk]

When you're doing the Import step, where you add the notes etc and check the preview to make sure it looks OK, there's a bunch of icons off to the right. Those are your clothing categories, just turn on the ones you want it included in, and vice-verse. I added this detail to the tutorial also, thanks for pointing it out.

[nghtowl87]

I created a Sime with one of the large tops and when she takes a shower she does is not the same proportion. Do I need to do something to get it to match?

[Warlokk]

Yes, you have to create the sim with a BodyShape Skintone that uses the same size. If you use a normal skintone they will revert back to the default size.

[tairourou]

That was unbelievably easy! Thanks for the great tutorial and the even better meshes. =)

[Warlokk]

Cool, glad to hear that... more meshes and skintones coming veeeerrrrrry soon... :D

[Jenna91577]

Hi, thank you so much for your tutorial. I have a request. I don't know how to convert some of my favorite clothing meshes to your bodyshapes. Can you please help me with that? I would really love to see my favorite casual clothes, dresses, flared jeans, pencil cut skirts, mini skirts and formal dresses to the body shapes you made but I don't know how to convert them. Can you please make a tutorial for that one? Please?....

[Warlokk]

Wow, basically to do that I'd have to explain my entire mesh-making process... eventually I will probably release the Poser magnets I use to create the shapes, but not until I at least get the full set released.

Basically, I extract the original mesh from SimPE to an OBJ, and import that OBJ into Poser using Zenman and Xenos' methods detailed in the tutorials section. Then I apply the magnets I've created for each size I want to make the outfit in, save it as a morph, apply the morph, and export the new OBJ. Then I pull that into Milkshape, do any cleanup or adjustments to the mesh, and re-export the OBJ again. THEN... I use the Mesh Tool found here to create the .simpe package using the original mesh as a reference. Then I create a new MESH package in SimPE using the original, import the new mesh into the package, and save it. Then I create an outfit in BodyShop, which I use SimPE to associate with the new mesh, and voila, I have an outfit in one size.

That's it in a nutshell... and I don't expect anyone to be able to actually follow that, it's just an example of how involved the process is... most of those steps have about 15 sub-steps that must be done exactly, or it won't work. I may do an actual tutorial eventually, but for now I'm concentrating on getting meshes done. Can't give all my secrets away... :D

I do fully intend to convert most of the base Maxis meshes to fit my Bodyshapes, so if your outfits are based on one of those it will get done. If it's a custom mesh by someone else, I would need permission from the creator before I could do anything with it.

[Jenna91577]

That sounds like a lot of hard work and I have no patience for that. I was hoping that maybe it would just be as easy as this tutorial, but if it isn't, then I'd rather wait for all your new meshes for your beautiful body shapes. If it's okay, I know that you're very busy and making meshes is hard but if you could make dresses that are just up to the knees and mini skirts and flair pants with heels, that would be great. I also love the clothes from SimChic and SimplyStyling, if you could make clothes similar to those for your body shapes projects, that would be great. I know that this is too much to ask from you, but I really love your body shapes project and I know that you are the only one who can make those complicated stuff. Thank's a lot for the quick response. Can't wait for the new meshes and thank's for sharing your work with us.

[gemeaux]

Thank you! I love your meshes and now I can make all my Sims super sexy no matter where they shop!

;)

[gmpbuilder]

Your hard work is making this game a whole lot more interesting for a lot of people, I'll bet. Having every character in the game basically the same size and shape gets a bit tedious after a while. Your files along with a little tweaking of heights make for a lot of variety. Excellent work.

[Annegrace25]

i create a sim and works well i made clothes and the skintone but when she take a shower the body desapear why is that happens?

[Warlokk]

You don't have the meshes required for the skintone installed. You need the first item in the Hi-Res Nude Bottoms Set and the Hi-Res Nude Tops Set, which can be found in the Dungeon section of my Tower over at InSIM, or at SexySims2, due to their adult nature. Link to InSIM is in my sig.

[Jwilson5]

Hi Warlokk,

I love your meshes and really appreciate the work it took to do them.

I have converted your 34Benh and 34Cenh nude meshes to my modified (anatomically correct) version of Louis' wonderful skintones. I altered the skins to line up the nipples to your meshes. They came out pretty good.
I used Angelyne's tutorial on this site for creating default skintones to convert these skins to defaults. It was so easy cause her tutorial was great. Plus I already had the benefit of having some defaults that were made from Louis' original skins so I only had to convert the adult, teen, and elder skins that I changed.
Now all I want to do is have my new default 34B skins use the 34BEnh full body mesh when naked (shower, etc.) Could you or someone else tell me how to do this?
I appreciate it, thank you in advance.

[Warlokk]

Well, if you get the Complete Nude Set I released recently over at SS2, that includes the Hi-Res default replacement for the 34Bdef size (Maxis base), which would automatically apply to ALL of your standard-size skintones, even the NPCs, which should work perfectly since you already made them line up properly. That set contains all the latest versions of all the nude meshes in every size.

[Jwilson5]

Well, if you get the Complete Nude Set I released recently over at SS2, that includes the Hi-Res default replacement for the 34Bdef size (Maxis base), which would automatically apply to ALL of your standard-size skintones, even the NPCs, which should work perfectly since you already made them line up properly. That set contains all the latest versions of all the nude meshes in every size.

I had the Hi-res newly released files you referenced so I went through and reextracted all the files I thought were 34b defaults and reloaded them to my download (mesh) folder.
Just to double check, if I want the 34B enhanced (def) body mesh to show when my default skins are naked I should have these files loaded?
mesh_afbody34Bd-34_naked_hi
Mesh_aftopnaked_hi_default
mesh_afbodynaked_hitopless
mesh_afbottomnaked_hidetail_default

So for every body mesh you should have 4 mesh files loaded?

Also, I have reskinned your 34Cenh body mesh and was trying to figure out a way to have females with 34C and males with Slimbody builder bodies all in one skintone. I know BBBoy mixed his slimbody builder with the athletic girl body mesh. Any ideas how this was done?
Thanks

[carl0001]

This is a big help for me.
Thanks a lot !

[supergoku]

oh that is all you have to do to convert clothes? I do that all the time when linking skintones to the bodybuilder mesh. thanks. You've been a great help.

[Warlokk]

Yup, it's exactly the same technique... in fact Marvine taught me how to make the mesh-linked skintones in the first place, so my stuff is made the same way.

[babie_pat]

On reading this tutorial it gave me the idea to try using this technique to adapt adult clothing to teen... and it works! Of course the shape of the clothing of the teen and adult have to similar before the transfer for it to look decent but considering I'm a complete novice when it comes to meshes and bodyshop I think it came out pretty okay. So thanks!

[Warlokk]

Cool! That makes sense, since the textures for the adult and teen have the same size and layout, they're just applied to different size meshes, so as long as the outfit mesh is similar, it will work fine, and even if it's a bit different a little tweaking should do the trick. Never even really thought about it, nice find! :D

[sims2roxs4793]

Wow Thanks For That Tutorial. I Really Like Your Skins, But My Favorite Outfit's Weren't Ever In The Downloads. Now If I Download Them I'll Make Sure To Make Some Cool Stuff For Them To Wear. Thanks For The Awsome Meshes. I Love That The Sims Can Be All Different Sizes. It Must Have Taken You Ages!

[Starfish of Terror]

Ooh, thanks so much for this! I've managed to convert many of my favorite oufits with this method, which makes me very happy. <3 I just have one little thing that bugs me...When using your nude meshes to convert clothes, the nipples poke through the clothing. Similar to these (http://www.sexysims2.com/showthread.php?t=167263) oufits. It irks me. D: Is there any way to prevent this?

[Warlokk]

If you're using the nude mesh, no... the nipples are part of the mesh. If you're trying to make a smoother outfit, start with something like the Underwear mesh instead, and it should do the trick. The mesh you start with determines the shape of the outfit, the 2nd outfit then supplies the texture over that mesh.

[princelighteyez76]

Floating Head in shower How can I fix It?????

[Warlokk]

You're missing the meshes... download them from the adult site for whichever sizes you're using.

[bubbles29625]

ok I'm a total boob... I can't get it.... I an trying to switch a hbb out fit into a teen slim bb out fit but it did not work. can u plz help me wit this.

[MistaEff]

I just wanted to thank you, Warlokk, for writing this tutorial. For years, I had no idea how to use Bodyshop, or even why it would be useful. Now, however, I think I spend more time in Bodyshop than the game itself! I love putting stuff that I like on your meshes - my wardrobe has increased exponentially since I read this page. Anyway, just wanted to thank you again for all of the help and advice that you give. It is very much appreciated!

[eletrodj]

Really awesome ;)

bubbles29625. what's messed up?

[robinzhan]

your tutorial is very useful. But if I add some other clothes' .bmp files (not yours) to your mesh such as 34den, the body top is good but bottom is always turn to shorts(although it is short skirt before). Could you tell me what I need to do with that?

[Warlokk]

If you put a skirt texture on a non-skirt mesh, it will look like shorts. You have to use a mesh that is at least similar to the one the texture came from, i.e. another skirt.

[robinzhan]

Thanks! Top you.

[rockstar50018]

how u download theses stuff

[malachi0420]

I'm having a hard time converting a light skin tone, to a dark skin tone! I keep getting a dark skin with a light face. Can someone help?

[CatOfEvilGenius]

malachi0420 please post your question in the bodyshop recoloring forum.

[martintallon]

Love your work, made my game worth playing. Any plans for Sims 3?

[blaquerayne]

Can anyone tell me which bodyshop he's referring to? And is there a simpler way to figuring out all of this? cause i don't understand any of it. I understand he's no longer around but maybe someone else knows how to make it work.

[simmerin]

Blaquerayne, I believe he is referring to the Sims Bodyshop which comes with the game. If you open up your programs, you should find it under the latest expansion pack you have installed.

[blaquerayne]

Okay I did exactly what was posted, and nothing happen. How do you know if it works? And do you have to use the same skin tone?

When he says copy, does that mean make a copy of the file and move it to the other folder? Or am I missing somthing.


*edit* Okay I figured out the body but where are the clothes I need to do outfits?

[Kyubi-Nemu]

I know this thread hasn't been replied to in forever...but I think this is probably the best place to ask this.

I've just started using the bodyshapes, and I love it! I've been able to convert the skins and a few clothes that I use into different sizes, but I've had problems with two particular outfits.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o362/Kyubi-Nemu/BodyShopScreenshot3.jpg

Both these outfits come from later expansion packs. The red dress comes from FreeTime and the tanktop and shorts as a one-piece from H&M fashion stuff. I want to convert both to 34DEnh with 34 size hips. When I try this with meshes I've downloaded, it turns out quite bad:
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o362/Kyubi-Nemu/Bodyshapeproblems.jpg

How can I fix this to make it look decent? And is there available meshes that would be best for these outfits?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

[fakepeeps7]

How can I fix this to make it look decent? And is there available meshes that would be best for these outfits?

The outfits look weird because of the UV maps. Not every UV map for every outfit is the same. Sometimes certain parts of the mesh are mapped to odd places (like the top of the dress is mapped to where you'd expect the legs to be). This happened more in the later expansion packs, and you'll see it a lot in custom meshes (sometimes there's just no other place to put that piece!).

You won't be able to use a custom mesh that you downloaded unless you break it apart and redo the UV map. Even then, it would be tricky. If you want more buxom ladies wearing these clothes, I would suggest learning to make a basic mesh. Then you can use the appropriate meshes and increase their bust and hip sizes accordingly. You shouldn't have to do much (if anything) to the UV map in that case... so it'll be a lot simpler.

[Kyubi-Nemu]

Ok, thanks for the help :)

[BloomsBase]

If you like i can convert them into the 34Denhx34 bodyshape but to save some time i prefer you sent me the meshes.
i did tons for the 34dex36 but just one outfit for the 34 hipsize:
http://www.insimenator.org/index.php/board,679.0.html

[Kyubi-Nemu]

Oh wow, would you really do that? That's so kind of you to offer! What do you mean by send you the meshes? How would I do that?

[BloomsBase]

i just reinstalled sims 2 so i dont need the meshes but you could help me out by cloning both the outfits with bodyshop.
When cloned both are located in the savedsimsfolder, those i would like to have.

I can then make a meshfile and attached it to the outfit files.
Both meshes i can run through Poser to give them the 34dex34 shape, its not that much work.
Is the fatstate important to have?

[Kyubi-Nemu]

Clone? In bodyshop I cloned the sims with the outfits and found them in SavedSims, so hopefully that's what you mean. How can I send you these files?

No. The fatstate isn't neccessary. I wouldn't use it for the sims that would wear these clothes - only normal and the thin state.

And once again, thanks so much for this!

[BloomsBase]

nevermind, got them

Edit,
Here you go:
Its been a few years since i made a few of these and have not checked them ingame.
Let me know ;)

[Kyubi-Nemu]

They work perfectly!! Thank you so much, you and this is amazing!! :D :D :D :D I can't thank you enough!!

[BloomsBase]

Your welcome :)