Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Administrator of Loverat's Tea and Underpants
Original Poster
#1 Old 19th Jan 2005 at 9:07 AM Last edited by RGiles : 19th Jan 2005 at 9:09 AM.
Default Faylen's Clothing Recolor Tutorial Part 1: Basic Recoloring
This tutorial and the included screenshots were created by Faylen. My only contribution was to reformat it as a forum thread, with Faylen's permission. The original tutorial, which you can download in MS Word format, is linked at the end of this post, and the original thread an be found here: http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=38465

You can click on the images for a full-sized version


1) Here’s your opening screen after you select “Create Parts.” “Start New Project” gests you going on your clothes.



2) This is the next thing you will see – your mannequin, which can be changed to any of the sexes, ages, or body types in the game by clicking on the buttons circled in blue.

Across the top you will see the clothing categories. Clicking on one of these will bring up thumbnails of all the available clothes in that category for that age and sex of sim. I’m picking “Everyday” here.



3) This is the screen you will see in Bodyshop after you click on “Start New Project.” Click on “Create Clothing.”



4) Find the outfit you want to recolor in the thumbnails and click on it. It will appear on the mannequin. Click on “Export Selected Textures” to get it into Photoshop.



5) Before you can do anything with it in Photoshop, though, it needs to have a name! Pick something that will remind you of what it is, no spaces or punctuation marks. I usually use something similar to the existing texture filenames, like “af” for adult female or “tm” for teen male, then the clothing type – dress, jeans, etc. It’s up to you what works best for you.



6) I’ve decided to call this one “recolordress.” Brilliant. Once the project has been named, you click on “Accept Project Name” and you’re ready to start making changes. You’ll see the following screen in Bodyshop next:



7) Leave this open, but don’t do anything yet. You’ll come back to this screen to see how your clothing is looking, and nothing is set in stone until you import the saved file into your game – and even then, you can still go back and tweak it if you need to. On to Photoshop. Start it up...



8) Here’s your first Photoshop Screen. Select “Open” from the File menu.



9) You’ll have to go through a few screens to get to where you want, so at the risk of dumbing this down too much, we’ll go step by step. You’re going to open “My Documents.”



10) Next Open “EA Games.”



11) Now... open “The Sims 2.”



12) In “The Sims 2” you’ll see “Projects”. Open this next...



13) And here’s our “recolordress” folder. Open it up and you’ll see...



14) These are the files in our “recolordress” folder. Select the texture, not the alpha. You’ll see the thumbnail below with what it looks like.



15) Your texture image will show up like this. You’ll see I’ve selected Image, then gone down to Adjustments, then right and down to Hue/Saturation and that’s where you’ll want to click.



16) Here’s your Hue/Saturation window. Check Colorize. I didn’t do anything to get this color. Don’t panic. This hasn’t even been applied, much less saved. You can move the sliders around until you get something you like.



17) See? This is kind of a fun color. Keep in mind that this will affect the entire file. A simple recolor like this will alter the color of the entire outfit, because nothing has been deselected. That’s for another tutorial.



18) Now that we’ve got the color we want, we need to “Save As.” Important because...



19) We’re going to overwrite the existing texture file. Make sure whenever you play around with this that the file type is BMP, and the filename doesn’t say “copy” in it, or you won’t get it to stick. Not a problem with a recolor, but something to keep in mind for later.



20) Here’s what you see next. Click OK.



21) Again, click OK.



22) No when we go back to Bodyshop and click on “Refresh preview Sim”, you’ll see the recolored version of the outfit. If you don’t like it, go back to Photoshop and tweak it some more, the same way you recolored it in the first place. Each time you “save as” and replace the texture file, you’ll be able to refresh and see how it looks in Bodyshop.



23) This is your final step. Name your creation (the name will appear when you mouse over it in Create-A-Sim) and Import to the game. It will show up as an Everyday outfit in CAS. It’s also still in projects in Bodyshop unless you choose to deleted it. (“Load Saved Project”, select “recolordress” or whatever you’ve named the file, click on the trashcan icon in the lower right.) It’s also still in Project in My Documents/EA Game/The Sims 2 unless you choose to delete it. Deleting it from either of these will not delete it from the game.

Attached files:
File Type: zip  Faylen's Recolor Tutorial.zip (3.59 MB, 4507 downloads) - View custom content
Advertisement
Feeder of Cheesecake to Llamas
retired moderator
#2 Old 19th Jan 2005 at 7:33 PM
RGiles, you are the best. Thankyouthankyouthankyou.
Test Subject
#3 Old 20th Jan 2005 at 7:01 PM
i downloaded the zip, but it wouldnt open. just thought to let you know in case anyone else has that problem
Lab Assistant
#4 Old 20th Jan 2005 at 7:47 PM
Just downloaded fine here, maybe try again?
Test Subject
#5 Old 21st Jan 2005 at 7:16 PM
it downloaded okay, the problem was it wouldn't open. something about conversion
Test Subject
#6 Old 23rd Jan 2005 at 10:34 PM
I got it and it opened fine. For those who don't use MSWord much, you might wanna make sure you have 200 or higher or it won't load right. There's alot of images on it and i will use it as a reference

It I might add in something as well: You can get (Adobe) Photoshop Pro for free by downloading it from Download.com (151MB, includes Image Writer). DSL/Broadband is reccommended as it takes about 2 hours with narrowband and only 20 mins with a high bandwith connection.
Lab Assistant
#7 Old 2nd Feb 2005 at 8:27 PM
YAY now i know how to make it. Thanks so much.
Test Subject
#8 Old 3rd Feb 2005 at 11:02 AM
This sounds brilliant. I would love to know if Photoshop is the only programme that you can recolour with.
Administrator of Loverat's Tea and Underpants
Original Poster
#9 Old 3rd Feb 2005 at 11:39 AM
Adobe Photoshop Elements ($99 US) and Jasc PaintShop Pro ($95 US) are both good alternatives. Both have free trials you can download to see if you're interested in buying.

GIMP has a free windows version (http://gimp.org). I've never tried it, but it's got a good reputation.

RG
Guest
#10 Old 3rd Feb 2005 at 3:19 PM
Thnx much ive been wondering how to create stuff.
Test Subject
#11 Old 7th Feb 2005 at 1:37 AM
THANK YOU I HAVE BEEN FOOLIN WITH PHOTO SHOP FOR WEEKS AND DID NOT KNOW THE EASIEST WAY TO DO A RECOLOR WITHOUT BLENDING LAYERS AND :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah:
SIMPLE IS GREAT I HOPE YOU POST MORE TUTORIALS FOR DUMMIES
Feeder of Cheesecake to Llamas
retired moderator
#12 Old 7th Feb 2005 at 3:32 PM
I will. Every time I play with something new, I'm thinking "tutorial." Be patient, it's coming.

"Living well is the best revenge. . ." George Bernard Shaw
Test Subject
#13 Old 7th Feb 2005 at 7:15 PM
thank you all! now i can have a go!
Field Researcher
#14 Old 5th Mar 2005 at 5:49 PM
Just what I'd been waiting for, skinning for dummies (just like me :D)!!!!!
Now I can finally give a try at making my own skins!
Thank you soooo much Faylen and RGiles, the tutorial couldn't be any cleaer.
Lab Assistant
#15 Old 8th Mar 2005 at 11:59 PM
I have a question...is there a way to change the background color in Photoshop (make it lighter) so it's easier to see darker colored outfits you want to recolor? I tried recoloring a dark sweater dress and it was fine until I viewed it in Bodyshop and I discovered I forgot to recolor the sleeves only because I couldn't SEE them! Thanx for any help you can offer. You've inspired me to try skinning cuz your tutorials are so easy to follow=)
Test Subject
#16 Old 10th Mar 2005 at 1:00 AM
Help! I've done everything you said and when I click on the refresh Sim in Body Shop it's not working. Am I saving it in the wrong spot? Please help. Thank you!
PS I'm using Photo Impact. (An older version)
Test Subject
#17 Old 12th Mar 2005 at 11:12 PM
Worked like a charm for me. BTW -- same instructions work wonders in Paint Shop Pro 8. *smiles* For those of us who aren't Photoshop people. :P
Feeder of Cheesecake to Llamas
retired moderator
#18 Old 14th Mar 2005 at 12:05 AM
OK, regarding the background in Photoshop, you can change the color without affecting the outfit, because that part of the image isn't exposed on the outfit. Make it any color you want.

As far as the Photo Impact question, it's not a program I'm familiar with. One of the things that can happen with photoshop, though, is that it will attempt to "save as" a texturecopy.bmp, which you need to avoid - no "copy" in the file name. Sometimes it'll also try to save it as a .psd file, and you need to change it to .bmp or it won't work. Check those things in Photo Impact - if it's not doing either, tell me in a little more detail, and I'll see if I can help.

"Living well is the best revenge. . ." George Bernard Shaw
Test Subject
#19 Old 16th Mar 2005 at 3:01 AM
This is so cool! The tutorial worked great, Took me a minute, but I found the Hue/Satuation under "adjust" and not "image". At first I used "color balance" then red/blue/green" which also worked good. Point being you're tutorial really helped me and now I can play all night making recolors! Thanks soooo much!
Test Subject
#20 Old 30th Mar 2005 at 8:57 AM
this tutorial is so helpful! thank you so much!
Lab Assistant
#21 Old 15th Apr 2005 at 1:07 AM
Thanks! :D
Test Subject
#22 Old 15th Apr 2005 at 10:38 PM
Default Photodraw
I have Photodraw and I am learning how to recolor.

Everything goes OK until I try to save as my recolor under a Windows Bitmap extension.

When I go to refresh, nothing changes.

What am I doing wrong?

thanks for any help!

jan
Field Researcher
#23 Old 16th Apr 2005 at 2:10 AM
Hi Faylen

Great tutorial.....

I am trying to learn to recolor.....however I have run into a problem and need a little push......

In step #18, where you click on File/Save As/.......I do not have this option...I can click on File but none of the options under the drop down including "Save As" is available.......the only way I can save is on the Hue/Saturation Box and then it will only allow me to save it as a Hue/Sat. Settings (*.AHU) file........

I am using Photoshop V8.0 CS.........Is this a different version than you are using?

Many thanks
tug

If you can read this, thank a Teacher.......if you are reading it in English, thank a Veteran
Download the InSIMenator at http://www.insimenator.net
Feeder of Cheesecake to Llamas
retired moderator
#24 Old 16th Apr 2005 at 2:32 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Ruffian
I have Photodraw and I am learning how to recolor.

Everything goes OK until I try to save as my recolor under a Windows Bitmap extension.

When I go to refresh, nothing changes.

What am I doing wrong?

thanks for any help!

jan


Check the entire filename - you may be getting "copy" inserted at the end of the filename before .BMP. I don't get that unless I've used layers, but Photodraw might - not familiar with that program, but you should check.

"Living well is the best revenge. . ." George Bernard Shaw
Feeder of Cheesecake to Llamas
retired moderator
#25 Old 16th Apr 2005 at 2:37 PM
Quote: Originally posted by tugbug
Hi Faylen

Great tutorial.....

I am trying to learn to recolor.....however I have run into a problem and need a little push......

In step #18, where you click on File/Save As/.......I do not have this option...I can click on File but none of the options under the drop down including "Save As" is available.......the only way I can save is on the Hue/Saturation Box and then it will only allow me to save it as a Hue/Sat. Settings (*.AHU) file........

I am using Photoshop V8.0 CS.........Is this a different version than you are using?

Many thanks
tug


This is exactly the version I'm using _ I'm not getting why you don't have it in your dropdown. If you're recoloring this way, you should be able to save, since you haven't added a layer, though. Otherwise, try Shift-Ctrl-S, which is the manual Save As. The problem, as I said on the post before, is that when you add a layer (on purpose or by selecting areas to include/exclude) Photo Shop adds that "copy" to the end of your filename, which makes it do nothing to your skin.

"Living well is the best revenge. . ." George Bernard Shaw
Page 1 of 12
Back to top