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!
Inventor
Original Poster
#1 Old 28th Mar 2010 at 12:07 AM Last edited by Cocomama : 25th Jul 2011 at 9:02 AM. Reason: adding info
Default CTU Tutorial: Body meshing with Milkshape: Toddler Frankenstein.
CTU Tutorial: Body meshing with Milkshape : Toddler Frankenstein.
==========================================================
What This Tutorial Will Do:
-Show you how to make a new mesh, combining parts from different meshes
-Show you some Milkshape basics
-Show you how to use some of the MilkShape tools
-Show you how to use some of the MilkShape plug-ins
-Show you some basics about the UVmap and Texture Coordinate Editor
-Show you how to work with morphs: scroll down to post 13

What This Tutorial Will Not Do:
-Show you how to install a program
-Show you how to use your graphicsprogram, TSRW or Blender
-Show you how to mesh objects
-Show you how it works on a Mac

Introduction
==========================================================

Looking for an easy project to get you started at body meshing for The Sims 3, I thought about cutting parts from different gamemeshes and put them together again (a la Frankenstein).
In this tutorial I will explain step-by-step, how to contruct a new toddler top mesh, by adding a different pair of sleeves to a basegame top mesh.

With carefull reading the instructions, and some perseverence from your side, I hope this tutorial can be a start for you in creating your own new body meshes for The Sims3. Please, do not be intimidated by the size. It only looks so much because I wanted to include all information, that I thought could be important for your first project.

Step 1 Preparation

The Tools.

Download everything from the linked threads or sites, follow the installation requirements and read all provided information. You need to already have your tools installed and working, I will only explain what is used in this tutorial.

-CTU http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=364926
-Milkshape 1.8.5 http://chumbalum.swissquake.ch/ms3d/download.html
Milkshape plug-ins from Weshowe:
-GEOM importer and exporter: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=357403
-Unimesh plugins http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=122399
-UV templates from Tiggerypum: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=135136
-A graphicsprogram that can handle DDS files
-Framework to put packages in the game

Workfolder

Make a workfolder for this project, and collect everything you extract/export in a separate labeled sub-folder or you will end up with a mess, and not with a mesh.

Put the 2 downloaded UVtemplates from Tiggerypum, and the Black UVtemplate that you can download at the bottom of this tutorial, in a subfolder Materials in your workfolder.

In this tutorial we will work with
puTopShirtLongSleeveLayered-basegame

picture1


puBodySleeper-basegame

picture2


Start CTU-find the meshes-make for each mesh a subfolder with its name in the workfolder, and extract the meshes and textures each in a separate subfolder CTUmesh, CTUtextures or something like that.

No need for morphmeshes here, Sims3 toddlers do not change bodyshape.
Both meshes are also from the same agegroup and unisex (both genders), so no need to extract Bonefiles (.skcon), the Geom importer will provide a default toddler skeleton at import.

Milkshape preparating

1-Start Milkshape, change to the following settings:
-in the menu bar in the top left
Window->Viewport->4 windows,
Window->Show Viewport Caption checked,
Window->Show Keyframer unchecked

picture 3


-under the Tools tabs on the top right
Groups->Autosmooth unticked,
Joints->Show Skeleton unticked.

picture4


If you make a mistake use Edit->Undo ...(shortcut CTRL+Z) to go 1 or more steps back. (max about 50 steps!)

Do not forget to make regular saves in Milkshape format with File->Save As, so you do not have to start all over again, or have to stop to do something else, like sleeping.
Include in the name the number of the LOD and the step number or something like that, otherwise you will have no clue which save to Open if you had to start over or closed Milkshape.
If you have stopped and closed Milkshape, or you want to start from one of your Milkshape saves, you have to use File->Open from the menu bar.

============================================================

Step 2 Milkshape Meshing


In this step we will remove the sleeves of the puTopShirtLongSleeveLayered.simgeom, and delete everything but the sleeves from the puBodySleeper.simgeom.

2-Use File->Import->Q-mesh Sims 3 GEOM Importer V0.16 - by Wesley Howe
Navigate to subfolder CTUmesh- in your puTopShirtLongSleeveLayered subfolder- in the workfolder and import the first mesh: puTopShirtLongSleeveLayered_lod1_0x00000000C4AB29FC.simgeom.

picture5


You can click OK this time when the Import Progress pop-up reports: "Unable to locate bone file Default skeleton used."

3-The mesh will appear in the Groups window under the tab Groups with the name Geom00<No Material>.
Make a duplicate from it to work with:

In the menu bar click Edit->Select All (shortcut=CTRL+A) and Edit->Duplicate All (shortcut=CTRL+D)
This will create an exact duplicate meshgroup from the GEOM00 mesh with the name Duplicate01<No Material>.

Under the tab Groups is a button Rename, in the little box to the right of that is the name of the group that is now active 'duplicate01'.
Overwrite that name in the box with 'Lod1-Top' and click the Rename button in front of it.
In the Groupswindow you can see that the 'duplicate01' name of the group was changed to 'Lod1-Top'
In the Groupswindow click on the group Geom00<No Material> to make it the active (=hightlighted) group, and click the Hide button under the Groupswindow.
If the colour of your mesh in the views (Milkshape windows) changes to white now, you have hidden the wrong mesh group.
Go to the menu and click Edit->Undo Hide Group or use the shortcut CTRL+Z to go one step back and try again.

picture 6


Only the group Lod1-Top should be visible now. Check this please; make group Lod1-Top<No Material> the active group in the Groupswindow by clicking on it and click the Hide button.
All views empty? OK, now click the Hide button again untill your Lod1-Top group is back.
Its all in white now, but thats OK. If you click the Select button under the Groupswindow while your Lod1-Top group is the active group, it will turn all red again.

4-From this Lod1-Top group we will delete the sleeves, but first we will zoom in a bit to have a better view on what we are doing.
As long as your whole meshgroup is selected (all dots and lines red) a real quick way is:
Rightclick somewhere in one of the views - and from the pop-up menu choose Frame Selection. You can do that in each of the views, even the 3D view.
You could use Edit->Select None to deselect everything, but that is not nessecairy now.

Another way of zooming in even closer is using the scroll wheel on your mouse, and because you will need to know how to do a selection anyway:
From the Tool tabs on the right, click the Model tab and the button Select under it.
In the front, left and top Milkshape views:
(left)click with your mousepointer a bit left and above the mesh, hold the mousebutton down and with your mousepointer draw/drag a box over the complete mesh to the bottom right of the mesh and release the mousebutton.
Rightclick somewhere in the window- and from the pop-up menu choose Frame Selection.
Your mesh is now changed into a white wireframe covered with little red dots.
The little dots are the vertices (single=Vertex) the white lines that connect them outline the faces (single=Face) or polygons.
If you want to select 1 vertex only, draw/drag a little box over that 1 vertex. To add 1 or more vertices to that selection, hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard while drawing a box over the vertices you want to add, use the SHIFT key, rightclick and dragging to remove from the selection.

Zooming and Model->Select works different in the 3D window:
To move and turn the mesh: (left)click in the 3D view, hold the mousebutton down and move your mousepointer in the 3D view.
To zoom in and out: hold down the Shift key on your keyboard, click+hold and move your mousepointer in the 3D view.
To move up and down: hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard, click+hold and move your mousepointer in the 3D view.
To make a very precise selection in the 3D view:
Change to Wireframe if it is not already: Righclick somewhere in the 3D view and choose Wireframe from the pop-up menu.
Hold down the ALT key on your keyboard, (left)click in the 3D view with your mousepointer a bit left and above the part of the mesh or single vertex you want to select, hold the mousebutton down and with your mousepointer draw/drag a little box to the bottom right of what you want to select.
Use ALT+SHIFT to add to this selection, use ALT+SHIFT+rightclick and dragging to remove from the selection.

Now back to deleting the sleeves after this rather long explanation.

Look in the Front view up on the left side of the screen.
Select the main part of one of the sleeves+hand by click and hold down your mousepointer and draw/drag a box over that part of the mesh. Click the Delete button on your keyboard and the part that was selected is gone.
Do the same to the other sleeve. If you have deleted to much, use Edit->Undo.

Groups->Hide group Lod1-Top. All views (windows) should be all empty again.

picture 7


5-Import the second mesh, File->Import->Q-mesh Sims 3 GEOM Importer V0.16 - by Wesley Howe
A warning will pop-up 'You are importing over another model. Do you want to continue? Click OK, because that is exactly what we want.
Navigate to subfolder CTUmesh- in your puBodySleeper subfolder- in the workfolder and import the puBodySleeper_lod1_0x00000000970C2C1D.simgeom.
You can click OK again when the Import Progress pop-up reports: "Unable to locate bone file Default skeleton used."

This mesh will appear in the Groups window under the tab Groups with the name Geom02<No Material>.
Groups->Rename this from GEOM02 to 02Sleeper or something like that, to avoid confusing it with the GEOM00.

Make a duplicate from it to work with.

In the menu bar click Edit->Select All (CTRL+A), Edit-Duplicate All (CTRL+D) and under the Tools tab Groups->Rename the resulting Duplicate02 to Sleeves or something like that.
Groups->Hide the original GEOM02 group that you've renamed to Sleeper.

Zoom in a bit in the Front and Top view: select the whole mesh and rightclick somewhere in the view, not on your mesh, choose Frame Selection from the pop-up menu.
I am not going to repeat all commands again, you can read it back in point 3 and look at the picture there.

Check if you have only the group Sleeves visible in the views, use Model->Select to select and delete about everything but the sleeves.
I first have made a selection in the Top view + Delete button on keyboard, than switched to the Front view, made another selection there + Delete.

picture 8


------------------------------------------------------------------

In the next step we will delete the leftovers, to end up with a clean sleeve and armhole to connect it to.

6-Unhide the roughly cut Lod1-Top: click on the Lod1-Top group in the Groupswindow to make it the active (hightlighted) group and click the hide button under the Groupswindow untill both the Lod1-Top and the Sleeves Group are visible in the views.
If you are not sure, wether you have the right groups in view,(if you got legs, something is wrong!), just hide them both untill your views are empty and try again. Make the groups active in turn and click the Hide button.

With both groups in view, click Edit->SelectAll, both groups are now selected.
Look on the right with the Tools tabs, there is a tab called Material, click it, and the options for the Material will appear.
Assign the templatecheckpattern from Tiggerypum that you have downloaded and put in a subfolder called Materials material to the selection.
Click the button New-> click the top button with <none> on it->navigate to the subfolder Materials in the workfolder and select templatecheckpattern from Tiggerypum-> click the Assign button.

picture 9


Right click in the 3D view and from the pop-up menu choose Textured. Now there is a blue checkered texture applied over the mesh.
I love to work with this material, Tiggerypum provided it to us when she wrote the bodymeshing + UVmapping for TS2 tutorials.
We do not have to do it with this mesh, but this texture can be a great help,
in adjusting the UVmap, and make the base texture and the patterns in the game to be applied correct to your mesh.

picture 10


7-With your groups still selected-Use shortcut CTRL+T or Window->Texture Coordinate Editor to open the TCE window. You probably see a big blue-checkered window.
The TCE has its own menu with tools for selecting etc.
Use the dropdown menu on the little box where it says 'GEOM00' to scroll through the groups, and pick the Lod1-Top group first.
To see the whole mesh in the TCE window we need to scale the window view.
Please notice that I say scale the window view, NOT scale the mesh itself. Change/overwrite the numbers in the little box in front of the little Scale button to 0.5 or .5

picture 11


Now the whole mesh is in view. Hold down your CTRL button on your keyboard, and with your mousepointer, move the texture including the mesh to the middle of the window.
If only the mesh parts move, use CTRL+Z to undo this step, make sure that none of the tool buttons in the TCE menu are active (not active is blue rim, active is no blue rim) and try again.

Click the Select button IN THE Texture Coordinate Editor menu and draw/drag with your mousepointer a box around the loose pieces, use the SHIFT key to add to the selection and the SHIFT key+rightclick to remove
from the selection, selecting in the TCE works the same as in the main Milkshape views.
With all little loose ends selected in TCE, switch/look/go to the main Milkshape views.
In the Tools tabs from the main Milkshape windows, click the Model tab and click the Move button.
Look in the Milkshape view named 'Left' and use your mousepointer to move the (in the TCE) selected loose parts away from the body.
In the main Milkshape view named 'Left': with Model-> Select make a selection of the parts you previously have moved away from the bodymesh, and hit the Delete button on your keyboard.

picture 12


Now do the same with the loose parts on the Sleeves group:
Edit->Select All and open the TCE:
shortcut CTRL+T or Window->Texture Coordinate Editor
Scroll to change from the Lod1-Top group to the Sleeves group, select the loose pieces in the TCE.
Switch/look/go to the main Milkshape views
In the Tools tabs from the main Milkshape windows, click the Model tab and click the Move button.
Look in the Milkshape view named 'Left' and use your mousepointer to move the (in the TCE) selected loose parts away from the body.
With Model-> Select make a selection of the parts you just have moved away from the bodymesh, in the main Milkshape view named 'Left', and hit the Delete button on your keyboard.

picture 13


Time to save your progress again in Milkshape format with File->Save As. Include in the name the number of the LOD and the step number or something like that, or you will have no clue which file to Open if you had to start over or closed Milkshape.

=============================================================
8 users say thanks for this. (Who?)
Advertisement
Inventor
Original Poster
#2 Old 28th Mar 2010 at 12:18 AM Last edited by Cocomama : 31st Dec 2010 at 10:27 AM.
Step 3 Connecting the sleeves.
================================================================================================================

Zoom in to have a good view on your workspot:
In the Tool tabs use Model->Select and in the Front, Left and Top view, select the shoulder part on the left side, where the sleeve is touching the armhole.
Rightclick somewhere in the view->choose Frame Selection from the pop-up menu.
In the 3d window use rightclick in the window->click(=checked) Wireframe again from the pop-up menu.
Use the Shift key on your keyboard +mousepointer to zoom in and out and CTRL key+mousepointer to move up and down, and get real close on the left shoulder.

We will go around along the two edges and sew them together so to speak, each time selecting one vertex from the Top and one vertex from the Sleeve.
Look in all the views where selecting the next vertex is the most convenient.
I often use the 3D view, to select or add a single vertex on difficult spots like under the arms. You can turn the mesh anyway you want and toggle full screen, with rightclick in it and choose Maximize from the Menu.
Each time check in all your views, to make sure you have only 2 vertices selected.

picture 14


If you wonder if you might have chosen 2 vertices from the same meshpart/group, you can Hide one of the two groups, there should be only one selected little red dot left in the views.
If your selection was right after all, use Edit->Undo Hide Group to undo hiding the other group, and you are back with the right selection.

The two selected vertices must share the exact same spot in the X=sideways, Y=up and down, and the Z=to the front and the back/forewards and backwards directions.
And have the same bone-assignments, they control how much a vertex will move, if the bone-or bones move that this vertex is assigned to.
If one of the pair of vertices is told to move 25% with the upperarm, and the other only 15%, the result would be a missalignment causing all kind of undesired graphical behaviours.

We will use the wonderfull Milkshape plug-ins that WesHowe originally made for the Sims2, but that are still extremely usefull in meshing for TS3.
Changes will only be applied on the selection.

-The Sims2 UniMesh Vertex Data Merge will copy the value of the (X-Y and Z position) vertex data, from the vertex in the group on top, to the vertex in the group under it.

-With the Sims2 UniMesh Bone Tool plug-in we can change the values/weights of the bone-assignments. To copy all the values from the vertex in the group on top, unto the vertex in the group under it Vertex->Sims2 UniMesh Bone Tool version 4.09->Apply to All->Commit All
-The Sims2 UniMesh Normal Data Merge will copy the normal data, from the vertex in the group on top, to the vertex in the group under it.

1-Make sure the group Lod1-Top is on top/above the group Sleeves in the Groupswindow. It should be, but if its not, use the little Up and Down buttons under the Groups window.

2-With your first 2 vertices selected use on every pair of vertices in turn from the menu bar Vertex->Sims2 UniMesh Vertex Data Merge.

picture 15


When you're done with all the vertice pairs on one side, rightclick in the 3D view and this time choose 'Smooth shaded' from the pop-up menu.
Move the mesh to all sides in the 3d view while taking a close look at the connection you've just made.
If all is well, you should not see any openings between sleeve and shoulder anymore. If there is, you can rightclick in the 3D view and this time choose 'Wireframe overlay' from the pop-up menu, and find the offending spot.

Change back to Wireframe in the 3D view and connect the other shoulder and sleeve.
Save your progress again with File->Save As.

3-Time to make one group from the group Lod1-Top and the group Sleeves:
Edit->Select All or click the groups in the Groupswindow and click Select under it.
Re-apply Tig's UVtemplate if nessecairy: click Material01 in the Materials window and click the Apply button or Material01-><none>->navigate to subfolder Materials in workfolder->Apply.

4-Change to Textured in the 3D window.
Click the Tools tab Groups->click the Regroup button under the Groups window.
In the Groups window the group Lod1-Top and group Sleeves are gone and a new group with the name Regroup00 has appeared.
We no longer need the original Sleeper mesh, click it in the Groups window to highlight it and click the Delete button under the Groups window.

picture 16


Open the TCE (CTRL+T) and check if there are no overlapping UV parts. This should not be the case with this mesh, we only replaced one pairs of sleeves/arms with another pair.
If in another project there are overlapping UV parts, use Edit->Undo or CTRL+Z to undo the Regroup.
In TCE select the overlapping parts on the UVmap, scale and/or rotate if nessecairy and move them to an unused spot of the map. Do not move any nude skin parts like arms, neck and legs, they have fixed positions.

5-Back to the tab Material and use->New-><none>->navigate to Materials in workfolder, this time apply the Black UVmap Material to the body, make a printscreen from the TCE and paste it in your graphicsprogram. Cut out the TCE screen, adjust the size to 1024x1024, sharpen, and save with .Jpeg extension.
You have to do this step for Lod1 only.
Put this UVmap from your new mesh in your workfolder, it will be a great guide making the skintexture files.
----------------------------------------------

6-In the Groups window there now should be only two groups. The Original Geom00 puTopShirtLongSleeveLayered, that you've made a copy from to use for the top, and your new group Regroup00.
Click the group 'Geom00' to make it active->click the Comment button under the Groupswindow to open the comment from Geom00-> select the whole comment and with rightclick-copy the complete comment to the clipboard-click OK or cancel to close the comment box.
Click the group 'Regroup00' to make it active->click the Comment button under the Groupswindow to open the comment from the group Regroup00, select the whole comment and with rightclick-paste the complete comment from the group 'Geom00' from the clipboard, replacing the comment in your 'Regroup00' group-click OK to close the comment box.

picture 17


Changing the comment is different when doing other meshing projects like age conversions.

7-Hide the Regroup00 group. Rightclick in the Top view, choose Frame All from the menu.
With only Geom00 visible use Model->Select (NOT Select All) and select the whole mesh, now hit the Delete button on your keyboard.

8-Save your mesh with File->Q-Mesh Sims 3 GEOM Exporter V0.16 -by Wesley Howe, give it a name that includes the Lod number.

picture 18


After you did all the steps for all the 3 Level Of Detail meshes, you can close Milkshape, your new Toddler top mesh is ready to be textured and packaged.

========================================================================================================================
Screenshots
Attached files:
File Type: zip  Coc3-Black UVmap1024x1024.zip (759 Bytes, 175 downloads) - View custom content
Inventor
Original Poster
#3 Old 28th Mar 2010 at 11:43 AM Last edited by Cocomama : 6th Sep 2011 at 6:52 PM. Reason: Added information about CTU package
4.Package and textures.
==========================================================

Making the new clothing .package with CTU step by step.

-Pick the mesh from the list (e.g. toddler-female-body) that you used to build your new mesh with in Milkshape.

-Change what you want in the 'Part Category' e.g. Everyday or Formal by adding or removing a checkmark.

-Under the Tab 'Designs' click Add New Design-Add New Blank
-Under the sub tab Textures make the textures active one by one and click the Find button to export all textures with their name e.g. base or specular
If you want to use a custom Bumpmap/Normalmap, adjust it now before you go any further, you need it for the next step.

-Under the Tab 'Meshes' change the mesh name to something unique and attach the new Lod 1-2-3 and a blank bumpMap if you do not have made a custom one.

Commit

-Save As with a new package name that includes age,gender and sort of mesh top body etc.and your name
Don't worry if you forget something, you can change the name of the finished package later by rightclicking it.

-Close CTU and adjust the exported textures to fit your new mesh, save with DTX5 ARGB 8 bpp | interpolated alpha when alpha channel present, DXT1 RGB 4 bpp | no alpha when no alpha channel present.

-Start CTU-File-Open the new package you've just made
-Under Designs Textures replace the Base, Mask etc textures by making them active by clicking them one by one and click the replace button. Commit every new texture.
-Under Designs Patterns use Browse Patterns to change the used patterns to something you like. e.g. in channel A solid coloured Pattern to the butterflies/Flowers pattern.
You can activate the 4th channel under the Tab 'Other', uncheck the 3 channel, check the 4 channel and Commit.

-Save not Save as

-File New and File-Open your package again, to check if it is working allright.
You cannot change anything now, or your package will be borked.
If you have to change anything, do it with S3PE or start a new package in CTU, and attach your new meshes and textures again.
You can open CTU 2x to copy the used patterns and tiling if you want.
If some textures in CTU look strange now, don't worry, especially those HSV pattern can look weird, but will show allright in game.

-Close CTU -Start the game and test your new package in CAS and the game.

If you've made a new mesh other than toddler, you have to make new Bgeo files with MorphMaker from CmarNYC to add the morphs to the package.

You can use the attached Blank Bumpmap from Daluved1 when importing your new Lod meshes in CTU.

You can use the texture tutorials from Daluved1 on the Wiki for making the new textures.
http://www.sims2wiki.info/wiki.php?...3_CAS_Tutorials

If you cover the outlined mesh parts without the skin/naked parts like hands and neck with pure white in a copy of the Black UVmap you've made in step 3 point 5, you already have an almost perfekt alpha for your base texture.
--------------------------------------------------------

Now go and have fun. Look at the available toddler meshes with a different view, and try attaching another pair of sleeves or arms on this or another mesh. If you would like to change the sleeves/arms on a fullbody mesh, start with importing a fullbody mesh as Geom00.

When you have succesfully finished this tutorial, you are ready to move on to the next step and create a mesh for a child.
In this tutorial from Base1980 you will find step by step how to create a child mesh from an adult mesh.
Tutorial: Creating a custom bodymeshpackage
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=392850

This tutorial would not have been possible without the lovely tools from Delphy and WesHowe, the excellent help and tutorial from Bloomsbase in the CASpart forum, the texture tutorials from Daluved1 and the Bodymeshing tutorials for The Sims2 from Tiggerypum and Hysterical Paroxism.

Comments and suggestions how to improve this tutorial are welcome. Never be afraid to ask your questions.
If you have questions about this tutorial, post them here.
If you have trouble with the installation of the used tools, look for answers and post where you downloaded them from.
If you have questions about some other mesh you are working on, please make a new thread for that in the Create:Cas Parts or Meshing forum.

Please do not PM me with meshing questions, others may benefit from the answers that are giving to you too.
You have permission to translate this tutorial for foreign fansites.
Attached files:
File Type: zip  Coc3-Black UVmap1024x1024.zip (759 Bytes, 167 downloads) - View custom content
Inventor
Original Poster
#4 Old 28th Mar 2010 at 11:49 AM Last edited by Cocomama : 1st Jun 2010 at 1:00 PM. Reason: add information
Default What needs more explanation.
What needs more explanation.

Default Select Options: Select by Vertex, Untick Ignore Backfaces



Change the joint size preferences if your screen is covered with blue spaghetti.



How to assign shortcuts, you need to restart Milkshape afterwards.
Also explained in this Tutorial: Wes H his Merge tools explained and how to use them to create a pregnant morph http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=398865

Uncheck Show Skeleton under the Joints tab to hide all joints/skeleton to avoid accidental moving or deleting.

Screenshots
Inventor
Original Poster
#5 Old 28th Mar 2010 at 12:11 PM Last edited by Cocomama : 29th Mar 2010 at 12:21 PM.
Here is a picture of my new top in the game.
Screenshots
Scholar
#6 Old 10th Apr 2010 at 1:30 AM
Simply Fantastic Tuto! You are amazing! Thank you very, very much for spend your time teaching us how make the "Frankenstein"! Love you for it! :lovestruc :lovestruc
Sockpuppet
#7 Old 10th Apr 2010 at 10:09 AM Last edited by Base1980 : 10th Apr 2010 at 10:22 AM.
hey
great tut!
I just have a small tip you might like

If you want to remove the sleeves(or keep the sleeves and remove the body) then do the following:
*Set the select vertice option to faces instead of vertices and tick auto tool
*Select a big part of the sleeve and move it away(move button) from the body
*hit your keyboard delete key
*select the remaining faces(verts) that are still pulled out and move them again away from the body
*hit delete again
Keep continuing this till you completly removed the sleeve
Since the sleeves are not connected to the body you will be able to remove them completly without ending up with duplicate vertices on the seam.(its wat happens if you only select the verts and delete them)
Left a few pictures out....

Also the other way arround works as you can pull the whole body down and leave the sleeves untouched.
Screenshots
Inventor
Original Poster
#8 Old 10th Apr 2010 at 2:38 PM Last edited by Cocomama : 30th May 2010 at 11:48 PM.
Thanks for adding that tip Base1980.
There are so many different ways to make a selection in Milkshape, it would take a complete seperate tutorial to explain them all.
So I decided to only explain some basic ways of selecting. That alone with all the buttons to press and pictures of it, already made it quite large.

This tutorial is written for beginners, and I have choosen to show this way of deleting the parts using the TCE, because it is quick and clean and can be used for any part that is not connected on the UVmap. It is a neat little trick from Orangemittens in the object meshing forum, and is very usefull for body meshing too.
By deleting part of the arms in the main Milkshape views and than let them look in the TCE, it is easy to see where those deleted pieces used to be on the UVmap because of the jagged left over pieces.
More advanced meshers could select both the whole sleeves at once in the TCE and delete them this way.
In case of an ageconversion it is much easier to seperate the right age nude parts you may want to keep, like hands and legs.

In the past I used to sew clothing, and the way the UVmap works has many simularities with the parts of a sewing pattern, and how they are wrapped/fit on a 3d (sims) body.
The UVmap is used to make the new meshtextures, and I think that it is important to understand from the beginning how to translate the changes you make on the mesh unto the UVmap and thus unto the new textures.
This tutorial explaines a simple exchange of sleeves, which are in the same place on the UVmap, and the new meshtextures can be made very easy by replacing the texture parts from one sleeve with the other.
Test Subject
#9 Old 22nd Apr 2010 at 3:47 AM
Thank you!
Cocomama I would like to give you a big thanks for making such a clearly written tutorial. It really made getting my feet wet with meshing fun and easy. Sewing is exactly what went though my mind when I was breaking part the pieces and stitching them back together. The first LOD file was a little slow, the second much faster and the third I just whipped though because you took the time explain the details. :lovestruc

Now I need to hunt up a good tutorial to learn the next step.
Lab Assistant
#10 Old 29th Dec 2010 at 9:39 AM
I'm having some issues with milkshape and I'm hoping you can help me.

Whenever I go to select the entire mesh I'm working on I get this:



Do you know what the problem could be, and how I could fix it?

Sorry I couldn't be more specific about the problem, but thats all it tells me
Inventor
Original Poster
#11 Old 31st Dec 2010 at 8:34 AM Last edited by Cocomama : 31st Dec 2010 at 9:51 AM.
Jnas2006, are you using Windows7? Do you have a NVidia graphics card?
I have those and have troubles like yours with parts/tools not working properly, and which tools varies after an Windows or driver update.
Maybe it just does not like open source programs like Milkshape.

You can try to run Milkshape with Windows XP in Compatibility Mode. Update your videodriver. Re-install Milkshape?


Edit: You do have Visual Studio 2008 Runtime installed, do you?
If not, check out the GEOM importer/exporter Thread for the version you need.
Test Subject
#12 Old 26th Apr 2011 at 6:44 AM
Great tutorial, I will try something as soon as I get my Sims 3 up and running again.
Inventor
Original Poster
#13 Old 20th Jul 2011 at 7:03 PM Last edited by Cocomama : 6th Dec 2013 at 11:01 AM.
Default Combining meshes that do have morphs.
There has been so many changes to the tools used, I will have to rewrite this part.
As it looks like there isn't much interest for this tutorial, I'll do it later when needed.
Test Subject
#14 Old 26th Dec 2011 at 5:40 PM
Default Hey
Have you ever considerd making a mesh for posers since you really good at it because at the moment there is no mesh for toddlers.
Test Subject
#15 Old 3rd Jan 2012 at 7:37 AM
sorry, may I ask?
is this a tutorial to import body sims 3 to milkshape?
I want to make simple hair but i don't know how to import body like this http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7586/77862697.jpg
does I need CTU or what?
thankyou before :D
Test Subject
#16 Old 27th May 2012 at 11:19 PM
Thanks!!
Thanks cocomama, finally I have a fixed mesh

Sockpuppet
#17 Old 28th May 2012 at 12:36 AM
Nice!
Back to top