Post by Laura on Dec 15, 2013 19:28:51 GMT -5
[smear:76003D]Making Object Recolours with SimPE[/smear:002A76]
This tutorial:
- Will introduce you to SimPE/the Object Workshop.
- Will aid you in making one Maxis and one custom object recolour/retexture.
- Will give some basic advice on making texture recolours and re-texturing using photo-editing software.
Level:
Advanced Beginners to Intermediate.
Requires:
Good knowledge of how custom content works in The Sims 2, as well as working knowledge of graphic editing/using photo-editing software.
References:
This tutorial is near identical to Numenor's on ModTheSims; the main difference is, his is better put together.
Mine however demonstrates how to open a custom mesh in Object Workshop, and dips into recolouring/retexturing.
Requirements:
- The Sims 2 - obviously!
- SimPE - the right version for your game, depending on your owned EPs. Download it here.
- The CEP - Color Enable Packages. This makes most Maxis objects recolourable. An essential download for anyone who plays TS2, let alone anyone who wants to make object recolours. Get it here.
- Nvidia DDS Utilities - these are required in SimPE, when it comes to importing new recolours/retextures (without significant loss of quality). They can be found on this page (the first link down).
- Photo editing software - such as GIMP or Photoshop. GIMP is available to download for free here.
Making SimPE recognise the DDS Utilities (via Numenor)
Download the Nvidia DDS Utilities. Once fully downloaded, allow the application to run.
Open SimPE. Go to Extra... Preferences.
^ If you're using Windows 7, chances are, the installation path will be the same as in the picture. Double check, however.
Recommendations:
- Have one place on your computer to keep all your files while you're working on your recolour(s). They stack up, and you'll save yourself some hassle if you keep everything in the one place.
- I also recommend having handy access to your TS2 Downloads folder.
- The internet is a great resource for textures and images, when it comes to doing the actual recolouring.
Alrighty then! Let's begin by opening SimPE.
Keep an eye out for a pop-up window asking you if you're sure you want to run the program. Just click 'Yes'.
This is the SimPE interface. It's a little scary, as is the program's reputation, but just stick the instructions and you're not going to do anything game shattering.
See those tabs along the bottom of the screen? The two we'll be using exclusively are Object Workshop and Plug-In View. Yours might not be in the same order as mine are, but they should be named the same.
Right now, click Object Workshop.
This is what'll pop up. You have two options, Start or Open.
We'll be doing a Maxis recolour first. Click Start - and prepare to wait. It takes a while for the program to load the object files.
Once it's all loaded and done, you'll be face with a menu of options.
Click Decorative... and within the list that appears, click Wall...
There'll be a list of different names, some of which you'll recognise as in game objects. I'm going to do a recolour of the Nightlife 'C Stroke' object.
Click the item you want to recolour, so it is highlighted as in the picture, then click Next above.
Here's what will appear - a summary of the object, with its name and description. SimPE will automatically be configured to do a recolour of the object - so there's no need to go fiddling with the settings.
Just find the Start button located to the right of the interface and click it.
You'll get a pop-up window asking you to name and save your recolour file. I suggest making a folder to put it in, in a location that's easily accessed.
Name your file, and click save! This is the .package file you'll eventually be putting in your game.
It'll take a while for the .package file to be made. Once you're seeing this in SimPE, it's been created.
Time to swap back to Plugin View. Like before, click the tab at the bottom of the interface.
This is what you'll see - strings of text and the texture of the object you're looking to recolour. Now, to export the texture as an image file.
To the right of the interface, there are three buttons - Import..., Export... and Commit.
Hit Export to bring up a pop-up window.
The image automatically has a long, complicated name. For sake of ease, it's best to rename it to something simpler. Note that it's in the .png format - that's the image type we'll be working with exclusively, when it comes to making recolours. Save it to the same location as your .package file.
You can now minimise SimPE.
Now you can boot up your photo-editing software. Open the exported texture image.
This is what the texture looks like in GIMP.
Presumably, you'll have an idea in mind for an object recolour. For this tutorial, I'm going to stick a pretty space picture on the C Stroke mesh (because I can't get enough of them in my game
).
This image is sized at 256 x 256 pixels, which just so happens to be the same as the red and yellow motif of the original texture. If you're attempting to recolour a different wall hanging, you'll need to figure out yourself the dimensions of the original texture, then adjust your intended recolour image accordingly.
Once you've prepared your recolour image, copy it and paste it over the original mesh texture. Position it so it covers the old texture.
Looking good! That red stripe down the middle of the image looks out of place now though, with the new image...
I'm going to change it so it fits in a little better. Using the Colour Picker tool, I select a suitable colour from the space picture.
Then using the Colour Threshold tool, I select the strip of red...
...and fiddling around with layers and the paintbrush, I make it blue. It's not the cleanest job, but for the sake of the tutorial, it'll do.
Optional section on realistic texturing:
However there's another thing that's bothering me. Images on canvases don't tend to look like glossy photographs! I'm going to make the space picture look more like a painting on canvas.
Google Images is your friend when it comes to finding textures. Simple search terms often bring up exactly what you need in the first page of image results.
This looks like it'll do the trick. I download it to the same folder I've been saving my files in all along and open it with GIMP.
I paste the canvas texture onto its own layer in the edited object texture. It certainly fits in, but I want to see my space picture through it!
Here's where layer modes come into play: in GIMP, you use the drop down window in the Layers dialogue to change a selected layer's mode. I'm going to select Grain Merge.
Much better. It's a little bright, though.
Lowering the Grain Merge layer's opacity down to around 40% retains the canvas texture effect, without over-exposing the space picture. I think we're good to go here!
That's a small but fairly effective way to make photo-skinning look a little more realistic.
Once you're done creating your recolour image, flatten the image and click File, followed by Save As...
If you're only planning on making one recolour, it's ok to overwrite the original exported texture. I still think it's better practice to save it as a new image however.
Make sure it's saved as a .png file.
Time to go back into SimPE!
When you right-click, you'll get a short menu. Click Build DXT... (this becomes available as an option after installing Nvidia DDS Builder).
In the pop-up window that appears, click Open.
Select your newly made recolour and open it.
This window is almost set to go. However, you'll need to change the Sharpen option from Smooth to None, from a drop-down list.
Once that's done, click Build.
There's your recolour. Head over to the right of the interface.
Hit Commit.
Then Save.
Always Commit AND Save. If you don't Commit, none of your changes in SimPE will be saved to the .package file. If you don't Save, the same applies.
However, if you've clicked Commit, SimPE will generally prompt you to save if you attempt to exit without doing so. Remembering to click Commit is more important.
That's it! Your recolour is now complete. You can add this to your Downloads folder. Next time you load your game, it should appear in Buy Mode.
Here's my handiwork in game. I'm pretty happy with it, though that darn blue stripe is a bit dark in comparison to the space image.
It's good practice to see how your recoloured texture appears on the mesh, either by loading up the game or using an external program. Some Maxis (not to mention, custom) meshes have screwy textures that sometimes are flipped, stretched and/or compressed when they appear on the actual object in-game. Don't just assume it's perfect because you're done making it!
Now that I've mentioned custom meshes...
Making a recolour of a custom object isn't that different from recolouring a Maxis mesh.
Open SimPE, then click on the Object Workshop tab at the bottom of the interface.
If you already have Object Workshop running from making a recolour, you can click the Startover button to start afresh (as show above).
Since we're recolouring a custom object, instead of something from the Maxis object catalogue, select Open at the Object Workshop tab.
Now it's time to find the mesh you wish to make a recolour of. Never fun, if you're looking for a vaguely-named mesh amongst several gigabytes of custom content.
Once you've tracked your chosen mesh down, click Open.
I promised Pokémon memorabilia...
I'm going to make a recolour of Adele's Happy Potter mesh. You can get it yourself here.
From here on out, the steps don't differ much from recolouring a Maxis object. Consider this a rushed recap?
Click Start at the side of the interface.
You'll get the Save As pop-up. Name it something memorable to distinguish it from other recolours and save it somewhere you'll be able to find it again.
Once the .package file has been created, go to Plugin View.
Here's the mesh texture. Export it so you can make a recolour out of it.
Here's Adele's exported texture in GIMP...
...and here's my recolour. I kept the original leaf and soil textures, recoloured her 'leg' textures, but changed the pot texture completely and swapped out the face for a Torchic's eyes and beak.
I'm no great shakes with texturing. A lot of the time, I just fiddle around until I make something that looks decent. My advice would be to keep messing around with textures, layer modes, filters and colouring methods. Eventually you'll get a feel for what works and what doesn't.
Save your recoloured texture.
Reopen SimPE.
Right-click the old texture.
Select Build DXT.
In the pop-up, click Open.
Open your recoloured texture image.
Change Sharpen from Smooth to None.
Click Build.
See your new recolour appear in SimPE.
Commit.
Save.
...and that's it! If you've been following along, you've just made two recolours you can call your own. Quite an achievement!
Any questions? Anything that needs further elaboration? Just let me know.
I'll certainly share what I've made today. Although two measly recolours would be a miserly gift - so I'll likely bulk it out with a few more.
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