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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 4th Jan 2010 at 7:28 AM
Default Newb Question: Fig Leaf Adam and Eve Style
Hey everyone, what's going on? I wish I could think of a better title for this thread, but alas, my mind slips.

What I am trying to do is make a fig leaf covering so that I can use it in the same way that Adam and Eve are always depicted. If you, for some reason, don't know what I'm talking about, simply visit Wikipedia's entry on the subject:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fig_leaf

I have never created a single thing for the Sims, the Sims 2, nor the Sims 3. I don't know if what I am trying to do would involve making a mesh, a pattern, or whatever. I want to make it so that it acts like a piece of clothing -- that is, you can take it off or put it on, it's not part of the skin like nipples, body hair, or the male/female special parts. I want it to act like pants, or a shirt, etc.

I have already created a detailed png image of the fig leaf I want to use, so hopefully I can put that to use in my endeavor.

By the way, this is NOT a request. I'm not asking anyone to make this for me. I'm just asking how exactly I should proceed in making it for myself.

Thank you all very much, and I LOVE this site!

-Geoff
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Banned
#2 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 2:08 PM
This, IS NOT -- I repeat -- IS NOT -- a good project for someone who has never created a single thing for the Sims.

First, you need to learn how to make and modify textures. After you have learned how to make textures, you can then learn how to modify meshes. And then, you can start figuring out how to make your own mesh.

In short, your simple little request is really a huge project. While people here can help you with making textures and modifying meshes, you largely are going to be on your own when it comes to creating your own meshes.
Me? Sarcastic? Never.
staff: administrator
#3 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 3:26 PM
Wow tjstreak, can you be any more encouraging? With help like that no one will ever even start meshing. Next time you decide to be helpful please post some links to useful tutorials.

Geoff, clothing meshing is a bit harder than objects since there are joints. I don't believe there are any specific tutorials for clothing in TS3, but the meshing aspect is similar to objects. There are a lot of sims2 bodyshop meshing tutorials that still apply to TS3.

TS2 has a fig leaf clothing item for males and females, which could be extracted and converted. It was one of those hidden ones, and I don't remember which EP. Otherwise if TS3 has an underwear mesh that is skin tight you could recolor/clone that to have the fig leaf. Else you would need to create a new mesh.

Some light reading to get you on your way:

CAS parts forum for TS3
Tutorials:TS3_CAS_Tutorialswiki - Hair one by HP and body one by Wes Howe to start with
Tutorials:TS3_Meshing_Tutorialswiki - the one be Ellacharm3d is very in depth, plus the ones by Wes Howe
Tutorials:Main_Pagewiki - TS2 tutorials
Banned
#4 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 3:56 PM
HugeLunatic,

I think you are doing Geoff a major disservice by encouraging him to START on this type of project. Without taking it step by step and starting with easier projects first, he will become frustrated and discouraged. It's better to tell someone what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear.

Creating a new mesh is something I would not encourage a rank beginner to do. Similarly, converting a mesh from TS2 to TS3 is no small project because one not only has to know the TS3 tools, but the TS2 tools as well.

I was pretty straight with Geoff. I told him to learn texturing first. I am by no means and expert, but I can whip out textures pretty fast. But it took me a long time to get to that point -- after much frustration. I am starting to get the hang of meshing, but my creations are far from perfect.

Linking to tutorials is far from helpful, and is likely to lead to more frustration. However, if he wants to proceed, I would suggest the basic texturing tutorial at The Sims Resource:

http://www.thesimsresource.com/tuto...0TSR%20Workshop

For a beginner, a fig leaf should be nothing more than a re-texturing of the bottom brief -- or better yet, the nude bottom. Just paint a fig leaf on an existing texture and leave it at that. Once texturing is mastered (after much frustration and hair pulling), one can start getting fancy with new meshes.

This will not yield the result he really wants, but it is doable. And for a first project, he probably will be able to complete in in a week or two, after many efforts and much frustration. (Been there, done that!)

By the way, someone should be told upfront that this entails some expense. For example, he will need a program which can save an alpha layer in a DDS file. The paint program which came with Windows won't cut it, and GIMP is not particularly easy to use. That means, looking for some version of Photoshop, which is a pricey program -- even if one gets it from e-bay. (And they need to beware that there are a lot of programs on e-bay which do not have valid licenses and cannot be used.)
Sockpuppet
#5 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 4:28 PM
I also wrote a tutorial that might help to understand how the files are put together:
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=392850
I agree with HL, you just start and see wat comes on your path.
You will always learn from it.
Pettifogging Legalist!
retired moderator
#6 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 4:34 PM
If a new mesh were something that no beginner should do, nobody would make any meshes at all .. there's always a first, right? And I don't think a fig leaf would be a terribly complex mesh *per se* .. it's just a plane with an alpha.

From what he says he already has the texture done ("I have already created a detailed png image of the fig leaf"), which to me would mean he can work a graphics editor.

I dunno about Windows, but for OS X there are at least two extremely simple-to-use DDS converters available (both of them free) – I'd be very surprised if Windows users would have to resort to licensing Photoshop to get that part done.

Stuff for TS2 · TS3 · TS4 | Please do not PM me with technical questions – we have Create forums for that.

In the kingdom of the blind, do as the Romans do.
Mad Poster
#7 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 4:35 PM
I don't know if the OP is still around, as his post is dated January 4, but just in case: Yes, you can just make the fig leaves as textures on a nude mesh, if you make the textures look convincing enough with shading so that they look sort of 3D rather than painted on. An old version of Photoshop is fine for working with .dds files - I use version 6 which I got cheap second-hand a long time ago and it's absolutely fine for everything Sims related and for pretty much everything else I do, too.

I highly recommend the two meshing tutorials HugeLunatic recommended above: HP's hair meshing tutorial and Wes Howe's tutorial on making a simple modification to a sunglasses mesh - they were the two and only tutorials I learned to mesh from, as there were no other TS3 CAS meshing tutorials available when I learned to mesh a few months ago (and I still don't know of any others, aside from the new tutorial written by base1980 which he mentions in his above post, but is for more advanced meshers). You can figure out body meshing by applying the principles of those two tutorials and then the rest is trial and error, and asking questions in the CAS Parts section of the Sims 3 Creation Forum. Good luck!
Sockpuppet
#8 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 4:45 PM
And if you take the one from sims 2 you dont need a alpha layer, its leaf shaped mesh.
And you can use its textures!
But still alot of work, tempting haha
Banned
#9 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 5:02 PM
In fact, let's do this as a community tutorial. I have made a simple retexture of a fig leaf for a male, and attached a rar file with this basic retexture.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is:

1. Figure out what I have done. (Hint, look at the tutorial I linked to earlier).

2. Fix any problems with it.

3. Improve it.

4. Do a female version
Screenshots
Attached files:
File Type: rar  fig leaf.rar (642.5 KB, 165 downloads) - View custom content
Description: Basic fig leaf retexture
Sockpuppet
#10 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 5:35 PM
So, your not the only one who couldn't resist lol
I quickly took the mesh and textures from sims2 and placed them on a sims 3 female bottom.
Screenshots
Banned
#11 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 6:19 PM
But, you see, you are miles ahead. (You are also more modest; my version leaves the ass uncovered!)

My point would be, don't mess with a mesh, if a texture will do.

Also, my point is to teach. Someone who wants to make clothes needs to learn how to make textures first -- if for no other reason than it is easier to do.

It would actually be easier to make a female version of my retexture first.

Improvements would include cleaning up the parts of the leaf which are painted on the inner thigh, making the string recolorable (by working on both the multiplier and mask) and giving the figure a nice bubble butt as opposed the flat ass one gets when using the brief mesh. (by using the naked mesh instead of the briefs mesh).
Banned
#12 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 8:18 PM
I quickly took the mesh and textures from sims2 and placed them on a sims 3 female bottom.

Now show us how it looks in game.

I can guarantee you it won't be the right size and will be the complete wrong shape, probably wont line up with the torso or feet, and may not even move properly. You can't just take sims 2 clothing meshes and paste them in.
Sockpuppet
#13 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 10:21 PM Last edited by HugeLunatic : 26th Feb 2010 at 11:01 PM. Reason: remove response to off topic post
Quote: Originally posted by Claeric
I can guarantee you it won't be the right size and will be the complete wrong shape, probably wont line up with the torso or feet, and may not even move properly. You can't just take sims 2 clothing meshes and paste them in.


Its not wat i did...only took the leafs
Besides that, i dont have any problems converting sims 2 stuff.
Maybe you should read a tutorial before giving comments like that?
Mad Poster
#14 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 10:48 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Claeric
I can guarantee you it won't be the right size and will be the complete wrong shape, probably wont line up with the torso or feet, and may not even move properly. You can't just take sims 2 clothing meshes and paste them in.


Yes, this should actually be pretty easy. It's not a full-scale clothing mesh, just a small piece, so I would guess it's just a matter of opening it in Milkshape along with a TS3 sample body to position it correctly, then deleting the body when finished positioning, pasting the comments from a TS3 bottom such as the briefs, assigning it to the pelvis joint, saving it and packaging it up with some textures. I'd *guess* that it's not much different from converting accessories, which is easy to do.
Sockpuppet
#15 Old 26th Feb 2010 at 10:51 PM
Thats wat i did , it just needs a few morphs to create the Bgeo files so the leaf moves along with the body when the sliders are used.
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