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Mini-Tutorial: Making a Mask
Maclimes
Posts: 513 Member
(This tutorial assumes that you already know the basics of using the Cloner, ColorMagic, and S4PE to alter textures on clothing)
With a mask, we want it to fit over the face, lay flat against the skin like a tattoo, be changeable with outfits, and layer ABOVE the eyebrows (since a mask should hide the eyebrows). As an added bonus, we would like to also be able to override the eye color (In case our mask includes glowing eyes or some such).
Clothes built on a nude mesh (like underwear) do that all of that, but I didn't want to replace any clothes.
Makeup, Tattoos, and Accessories seem logical, but eyebrows are drawn OVER them. Also, we can't change tattoos with different outfits.
The answer: HATS!
But it's got that big clunky mesh! AND it causes the hair under it to deform all weird!
Simple enough fix. HERE is the steps to make your own mask.
* First, use the Cloner to clone a hat (any gender-appropriate hat) as a new item. IMPORTANT.
* In S4PE, open the item and DELETE all the GEOM resources (the meshes).
* This next step is difficult to explain, because I'm not super familiar with the details of the .package files. But I hope it's sufficient. In the list of resources in S4PE, there should be an "UNKN" that, in the preview pane, has a bunch of text (similar to a "CASP" resource). It will be the only one like that. (The other UNKN items have no preview at all, or have pictures). THAT is the section of code that causes the hair to tuck under the (now non-existent) hat. Simply delete that resource as well.
* Now, there are TWO DDS resources to edit: One is the texture for the hat itself. The other is the shadow on the Sim's face.
* For the "shadow" one, export it, clear the alpha, and import it back. Don't do anything else, or it may behave weirdly.
* For the other DDS, edit it just like any other DDS file, including the alpha channel. You're going to need a reference texture here, so you can see where on the face/eyes you are drawing, and where to edit the alpha for visibility. (I personally like Sintiklia's exported skin textures).
* Then import, and BOOM! Wearable masks that can override eyebrows (and even eye color!) WITHOUT sacrificing flexibility.
As you can see, the mask is drawn OVER the eyebrows, hiding them. (With sufficiently bushy eyebrows, you can see them peeking out over the top!). In addition, mine also replaces the eye color WITHOUT altering the Sim's genetic eye color.
And that's that! If you have any questions, or just want to show off your success with this technique, let me know! Thanks, and happy creating!
With a mask, we want it to fit over the face, lay flat against the skin like a tattoo, be changeable with outfits, and layer ABOVE the eyebrows (since a mask should hide the eyebrows). As an added bonus, we would like to also be able to override the eye color (In case our mask includes glowing eyes or some such).
Clothes built on a nude mesh (like underwear) do that all of that, but I didn't want to replace any clothes.
Makeup, Tattoos, and Accessories seem logical, but eyebrows are drawn OVER them. Also, we can't change tattoos with different outfits.
The answer: HATS!
But it's got that big clunky mesh! AND it causes the hair under it to deform all weird!
Simple enough fix. HERE is the steps to make your own mask.
* First, use the Cloner to clone a hat (any gender-appropriate hat) as a new item. IMPORTANT.
* In S4PE, open the item and DELETE all the GEOM resources (the meshes).
* This next step is difficult to explain, because I'm not super familiar with the details of the .package files. But I hope it's sufficient. In the list of resources in S4PE, there should be an "UNKN" that, in the preview pane, has a bunch of text (similar to a "CASP" resource). It will be the only one like that. (The other UNKN items have no preview at all, or have pictures). THAT is the section of code that causes the hair to tuck under the (now non-existent) hat. Simply delete that resource as well.
* Now, there are TWO DDS resources to edit: One is the texture for the hat itself. The other is the shadow on the Sim's face.
* For the "shadow" one, export it, clear the alpha, and import it back. Don't do anything else, or it may behave weirdly.
* For the other DDS, edit it just like any other DDS file, including the alpha channel. You're going to need a reference texture here, so you can see where on the face/eyes you are drawing, and where to edit the alpha for visibility. (I personally like Sintiklia's exported skin textures).
* Then import, and BOOM! Wearable masks that can override eyebrows (and even eye color!) WITHOUT sacrificing flexibility.
As you can see, the mask is drawn OVER the eyebrows, hiding them. (With sufficiently bushy eyebrows, you can see them peeking out over the top!). In addition, mine also replaces the eye color WITHOUT altering the Sim's genetic eye color.
And that's that! If you have any questions, or just want to show off your success with this technique, let me know! Thanks, and happy creating!
4
Comments
Neat, I was wondering how you made this.
And actually, the first version of the Green Lantern included the mask & eyes as part of the costume. It was all one big sucker, cloned from Underwear. Since clothing overrides eyebrows and eyes, it worked. But I realized I wanted the option to take off the mask, or wear just the mask, or whatever. So I needed to find a solution to keep it a separate piece. After testing all sorts of things, I discovered this method. Then I figured, "You know, maybe someone else would like to try this."
Now I need to add that mask to my own Phantom sim xD
Sweet
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