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How to Make Custom Tattoos for TS3
mvande
Posts: 8,587 Member
Are you tired of the same boring tattoos for your sims? Well then join me to learn how to make your own custom tattoos from scratch for Sims 3!
You need to be able to install .package files in to your game for them to work! Just so you know.
Table Of Contents
Click the links or scroll down....
Items Needed to Make Custom Tattoos
FAQ
Steps 1-4
Steps 5-9
Uploading Tattoos
Notes From the Creator
You need to be able to install .package files in to your game for them to work! Just so you know.
Table Of Contents
Click the links or scroll down....
Items Needed to Make Custom Tattoos
FAQ
Steps 1-4
Steps 5-9
Uploading Tattoos
Notes From the Creator
0
Comments
All of these things are free and safe to download.
First you need that tattoinator so you can put the tattoos in game. I provided two ways to download it.
Tattooinator
Make sure to get the 8/13/2011 version if you want them compatible with the base game and Ambitions.
If you don't have a Mod The Sims account you can download the two files below.
MAKE SURE to put both of them together in a file name "Tattooinator". I would suggest putting it on your desktop.
File One
File Two
Note: I DID NOT make the tattoinator. CmarNYC from MTS did. Here is a link to the page to where the tattoinator is from. If you think I can't re-distribute it please go to her about me that I linked with her name.
You won't be able to open them, so you will have to go to your downloads folder after you download them and move them into the folder I mentioned above.
You will also need gimp and the gimp plugin so you can make the tattoos.
Gimp
Gimp Plugin
I will help you install all of these things if you need it.
Check if your question has already been asked and answered, if not then ASK AWAY!
Q: What if I miss the tinychat?
A: I will try to hold these at least once a month, but PLEASE show interest on this thread so I know if I should hold it or not. Also feel free to leave a post on here whenever, I will make sure to check it.
Q: I give up, can you just make the tattoo for me?
A: It never hurts in asking, right? I am a busy person and I might not always have time to make you a tattoo. I will try, but if I can't its nothing personal, I just have a lot on my plate.
Q: I have never used gimp before, can I still do this? I'm afraid it will be to hard.
A: Don't be worried, I made this as easy as possible. If you have never used gimp before in your life you could do this.
Q: What version of the terminator do I download?
A: Version 1.1
After you have read EVERYTHING ELSE you can actually start making tattoos!
Open up gimp and make a new 512 X 512 image. Make sure the background is set on white.
Step 2: Picking out the tattoo image
Pick out the image you want. For now use a black and white drawing. I will make a tutorial for colored tattoos later.
Paste the image you want onto the 512 X 512 thing.
When you paste the image, it will be shown as a floating section. In the layers menu right click on it and choose "New Layer..."
Re-size it to your liking.
Right click it again and choose "Merge Down"
Go under edit and choose "Copy Visible"
Open up a new gimp window by choosing "File>Create>From Clipboard"
Step 3: Filling in the colors
Now fill in the "sections" of the picture. You only need to fill in the sections you want to show up.
You HAVE to use pure colors. Here are the HTML notations for those colors.
Green: 00ff00
Red: ff0000
Blue:0000ff
Those will not be the final colors however, don't worry. Everything thats green will be the same color when you change the colors, same with blue and red. Use the colors wisely.
Its easiest to use "Bucket Fill" to fill in the sections.
I would suggest changing the threshold to something higher than 15, maybe 20. It all depends on the picture though...
If you color over the black lines, don't worry!
This is what it should look like
Step 4: Filling in the background
Switch your color back to black
Choose a threshold to 150 or something high like that. It is different depending on the photos.
Click on the white background to fill it in. If you get a white line around your image you will need to turn up your threshold.
If you get a dark film over your whole image click undo and turn down the threshold.
When its done right it should look like this:
Go to layers up at the top>transparency>Add alpha channel.
In your layers tab right click your image Click "add layer mask". Something will pop up, select "Transfer Layer's Alpha Channel".
Right click your picture again and select "Show Layer Mask". The image should be white.
Make sure that "edit layer mask" is also checked.
Step 6: Using your original image
Go to the original image, remember when I had you copy it?
Copy that image and paste it on top of your image you were working on.
Go to the colors bar at the top and click "invert".
In your layers tab right click the image and select "Anchor Floating Section".
Step 7: Layer Mask
Right click your image in the layers tab and select "Apply Layer Mask".
It should look like this:
Step 8: Saving the image
File>Save as
Type in whatever name you want
At the bottom of the box that pops up click "Select File Type(by extension).
Scroll down unitl you see "dds" in the right column.
Make sure to save it in your my photos section. You can move it later, but my tattoinator messed up if I saved it within a folder.
Click Save
In the pop-up that appears Save it with the decompression of DXT5. Make sure "Generate Mipmaps is checked".
Step 9: Using the tattoinator
Open up the tattooinator and...
Name the tattoo whatever you want.
Open up the dds image you just saved.
Click the preview tattoo button. Thats what the tattoo will look like in game. This is when you will know for sure if you messed anything up.
Now you can change the colors to your liking. Click on reload to see what your changes did to the image.
Make sure to enable all of the colors. The one time I didn't it wouldn't let me go in to the "Advanced Tattoo Editor" so I could layer it with other tattoos.
When you are happy with your tattoo click "Save as Package". See, I told you you would have to be able to install .package files.
and you are done! Unless you want to upload them to the exchange.
So I think everyone knows how to upload things to the exchange, right, wrong. If you make a custom tattoo there is a VERY SPECIAL way you have to upload them. Its not hard, the hard part you only have to do once.
The hard part is making a "blank" tattoo. See, to be able to upload tattoos they need to be layered with another tattoo, my way around that was making a "blank" tattoo. In all reality it has a teeny-tiny dot in the bottom right hand corner, but no one can see it so its "blank".
You can use the same route as me or you can make a "brand marker" that has your initials or a logo and have that on all of your tattoos if you wish. If you want help making one of these, even the dot one, ask me!
Ok, ok. I get that, but now I actually want to upload one, how do I do it?
Note: These pictures DO NOT show me using my "blank" tattoo.
What if I don't want to upload it as a .package file?
Then upload it to mediafire. You should know where your mods folder is and everything so just upload it to mediafire and share links..to the world!
You can use your own procedures for creating images as long as you follow these general principles:
The background, where the skin should show, must be pure black.
The alpha channel must be transparent/checkerboard where the colors of the tattoo should show, and black where you want black. It can be shaded for a contouring effect. It can also be used as a fourth color if you wish, in which case the black areas can be made recolorable. In some cases you can invert an image and paste it into the alpha to create shading.
You MUST have an alpha channel or your tattoo will be invisible or all black.
Use areas of pure colors when creating your tattoo. Pasting a photo into a tattoo will not give you the results you expect. (When I tried I got the Mona Lisa with white hair and blue-green skin.)
The Enable buttons in Tattooinator control whether or not a channel is recolorable. This has no other effect on appearance.
For single-color tattoos, it's best to use the Red channel alone - create your tattoo in pure red and erase the entire alpha channel to transparency. Your tattoo will look like a blank checkerboard in GIMP but the Tattooinator previewer will show you your image.
** Edit: *************
WolfoftheNyght has done a great tutorial on making tattoos using Paintshop Pro. Its here
And an additional tip: Applying a blur to your tattoo, especially in the alpha, will reduce staircasing/pixellation at the edges and give you a smoother effect.
** Later edit: ********
Making large areas of your tattoo close to the edges of your image (especially the top) may result in strange lines appearing on the opposite side of the tattoo. You may need to make the tattoo a little smaller to stay away from the edges.
All of that was her wording, it was from here.
(Oh, and I had a random question for you, but don't know where to ask it!)
Also what was the question?
That would be really awesome and oh so nice of you if you could figure out another thing to upload it on!!
(Oh, the question...uhm, you know when sometimes you have an image that has a word across it, like the imprint of the company that took the image? Is it possible to remove the word???)
So yes, the answer is yes you can remove the word.
Also are there any other downloading websites you can't download from it is it just whatever?
This is the picture
And no, it's just MediaFire
Thanks!
Oh, and by the way, if you can remove the word, can you use that pic in the sig you're making me??? Unless you've already started it, then never mind.
This word seems to be harder to take off than anticipated. LOL. I can do it, there are just some parts on his face that I have to keep re-doing because I keep messing them up.
lol. Well, if it's too much trouble, don't bother, it's all right. I was just curious.
Acts 20:35- it IS more blessed to give than to receive
Awww sorry to hear that you've been down
No worries though, I'm not in any rush to have it done
Ok, well everyday is different, like today I feel fineish. Haha.
I will have to make it on a day like today, maybe even later today.
Thanks, but don't worry about me, these feelings were long time coming. 3 years of living with divorced parents and keeping it inside, one day you will pop and then just be sad. Its gets better...hopefully.