Guide to scale bones and mesh in blender for mods

[Oops19]

If you are just interested in using TS4 mods this document is not for you.

 

Scaling various bones (e.g. fingers) with modifiers and applying them to the mesh is quite easy in Blender. Anyhow a tutorial will help a lot as Blender may be a little bit complicated to use. It will help a lot to have used S4S (S4Studio) and Blender before. I added some screenshots to make things easier to follow while reading the text is recommended.

(The 2nd S4S part is currently text-only - let me know if screenshots are really needed. TIA)

 

I used the current TS4 version, T4S 3.1.2.7 with Blender 2.70 for mesh import and export and Blender 2.79b to edit the mesh as 2.80+ is not compatible as far as I can tell.

 

Start S4S.
Select a random 'Creator Name' unless you did this already. I used 'Oops19'.
Select 'Create 3D mesh' > 'CAS' (click the CAS button)

 

Select there a random body part, for example an nude upper body.

Click on 'Next' to save it as 'Oops19_BreastSurgery.package'.

 

Export the LOD-0 mesh as 'Oops19_BreastSurgery-0.blender'.

 

Start Blender
[Ctrl+O] Open the mesh 'Oops19_BreastSurgery-0.blender'.
In the '(User) View' window the 'Object Mode' should be selected.

In the 'Outliner' window expand the 'rig' to show the bones.

Click on the 'eye' to show the hidden bones 'b_CAS_L/R_Breast_'.

In the 'Outliner' window select 's4studio_mesh_1'.

 

In the 'Properties' window select 'Modifiers'.

 

Delete existing modifiers.

 

Add two 'Deform > Armature' modifiers.

 

Now select 'rig' as the 'Object' and 'b_CAS_R_Breast_' as the 'Vertex Group'.  Later we will 'Apply' the modifier.

You may use other modifiers here, but this is not covered here.

In the 'Outliner' window select 'b_CAS_L_Breast_' The 'View' will switch from 'Object Mode' to 'Pose Mode'.
In the 'Transform' window modify the X,Y and Z scale to '4'. Set Z-Location to 0.05 and X-Rotation to -0.2.

Do this also for the 'b_CAS_R_Breast_' (Scale: 4 but Z-Location -0.05 and X-Rotation: 0.2).

You may want to use other random values to get a unique upper body.

Write down the modified values as you may want to apply them to other meshes later (LOD-3 or clothes).

 

Some useful mouse / keyboard shortcuts (not needed if you add the values manually):
    Click into the white circle to move the bone.
    Click on the red (or green or blue) arrow to move the bone in this direction.
    's' .. Scale (Move the mouse to scale.)
    'r' .. Rotate
    's', 'x' .. scale only X axis
    'r', 'x' .. rotate around X axis

 

In the 'Outliner' window select 's4studio_mesh_1'.
(Not needed: In the '(User) View' window select the 'Edit Mode' to verify that the mesh is still unchanged. Switch back to 'Object Mode'.)
In the 'Properties' window 'Modifiers' should still be selected.
Click 2x "Apply" to apply the modifier. Now 'Pose', 'Edit' and 'Object' mode should display the scaled mesh.

Now save the mesh as 'Oops19_BreastSurgery-0.scaled.blender' (not really needed unless you want to start again from here).

In the '(User) View' window select the 'Edit Mode'.
Click on 'Face' - Supported selection modes are 'Vertex' (point), Edge' (line) or 'Face' (triangle).

In the 'View' window press 'a', 'c' to deselect everything and use the circle select tool. Use the mouse wheel to adjust the selection size. Select all relevant faces for further smoothing. You may need to 'finish' the selection and rotate the mesh to select the faces.

 

Some useful shortcuts:
    'a' .. select / deselect everything
    'c' .. circle select (mouse wheel modifies the circle size)
        Left-Click: Select Vertex/Edge/Face (as specified in )
        Shift+Left-Click: Deselect Vertex/Edge/Face
        Right-Click: Finished

It should look like this:

 
Now click on "Tools" and then on "Subdivide" followed by three times "Smooth Vertex" for rounded curves.
...

If you want to work on the mesh before subdivide and/or the 1st smooth operation some of these commands may be helpful. If you re-do this tutorial you may use them.
    'Alt+j' .. Merge 2 adjacent (selected) triangles into one quad
    'Ctrl+t' .. Split a quad into two triangles - Modify 'Triangulate Faces' > 'Quad Method' to change the split direction into the desired direction or use 'Shift'

    'Ctrl+Shift+t' .. Split a quad in the other direction'
    'Alt+m' .. Merge vertices at center

 

Save the mesh as 'Oops19_BreastSurgery-0.smooth.blend'.
Time to relax, get yourself some water or grab something else to drink and have a short break.

One could do the same for LOD-1, 2, and 3 (without subdivision) for low-res players and import later also these 3 meshes. As a simple solution the mesh may be imported in S4S for all four LODs.

 

Switch back to S4S and import the mesh:

Studio > Meshes > Import Mesh > 'Oops19_BreastSurgery-0.smooth.blend'

Warehouse > Type: 'CAS Part' (select it)

In 'Data' tab scroll down to 'Key' > 'Instance' and copy the hex ID (in my case: A76BD46F00BAF38C)
In S4S open menu 'Tools' > Hash Generator". Paste the hex ID in 'Hexadecimal' to get the 'Decimal' (in my case 12063969600060715916) value. Write both values down below (3.) for 'Oops19_BreastSurgery_CAS'

We need to create two additional values:
As  text enter your 'Creator Name' + '_' + a description, eg: 'Oops19_BreastSurgery_WW'

1. 'Oops19_BreastSurgery_WW' >>> FNV64(hex / dec): '6DF83FE1AD5813EC' / '7924153782866809836' (use the 'Mode' selection to display both values).
2. 'Oops19_BreastSurgery_Tuning' >>> FNV64(hex / dec): '35631D55BCEBC911' / '3846950760783530257'
3. 'Oops19_BreastSurgery_CAS' >>> FNV64(hex / dec): 'A76BD46F00BAF38C' / '12063969600060715916' (from above)

 

Now add a few resources in S4S:
Studio > (Female selected) Catalog Thumbnail > Import >  'BreastSurgeryCAS.png' - Use a 104x148 PNG image for CAS
Warehouse > Add > 'DSTImageRessource' (Type: '00B2D882'), set the group to '00000000' and the instance to: '6DF83FE1AD5813EC' (hex(Oops19_BreastSurgery_WW).
    This leads to the Data > Key: '00B2D882:00000000:6DF83FE1AD5813EC'
Warehouse > (DST Image selected) Import > 'BreastSurgery.png' ... 56x56 PNG image used in WW for 'Upper Body Selector'
Warehouse > Add > 'SnippetTuningRessource' (Type: '7DF2169C'), set the group to '00000000' and the instance to: '35631D55BCEBC911' (hex(Oops19_BreastSurgery_Tuning)

 

Now Open https://wickedwhims.tumblr.com/post/179548231676/support-for-custom-cas-parts and download the "Body CAS Parts Template" 'S4_7DF2169C_00000000_0000000000000004.xml' as 'Oops19_BreastSurgery.xml'.
Replace the following values in 'Oops19_BreastSurgery.xml' with your favorite text or XML editor.

• 'n="YOURNAME:Body_CAS_Parts"' >>> 'n="Oops19:BreastSurgery"'
• 's="000000000000000004"' >>> 's="3846950760783530257"' ... dec(Oops19_BreastSurgery_Tuning)
• 'name">Fancy Name Of The Body Part<' >>> 'name">Oops19 Breast Surgery<'
• 'author">YourName<' >>> 'author">Oops19<'
• 'icon">2F7D0004:00000000:D19DE7E9C0FA296B<' >>> 'icon">00B2D882:00000000:6DF83FE1AD5813EC<' ... key(DSTImageRessource/Oops19_BreastSurgery_WW)
• 'type">BODY_TOP_MALE<' >>> 'type">BODY_TOP_FEMALE<'
• 'id">111111111111111111<' >>> 'id">12063969600060715916<' ... dec64(Oops19_BreastSurgery_CAS)

Save the edited XML File before importing.
Warehouse > (Tuning selected) Import > 'Oops19_BreastSurgery.xml'
If the naked body was used then make sure to edit: Studio > Categories and select there (not everything is needed):

• Age & Gender: Teen, Young, Adult, Elder
• Age restrictions: Teen, Young, Adult, Elder
• Occult: all (at least one)
• Outfit: Bath, Nude, Sleep, Hot, ... (as you like)
• Part Flags: only 'Restrict Opposite Gender'

 

'Save' the package again and test it in TS4. The upper body should show up in CAS and the WW body selector should have a new icon.

 

It should look like this (from left to right: default clothes; scaled and smoothed body, scaled and smoothed cloth):

 

 

 

 

[Elsalovescocaine]

cool, lovely, some bones works really bad if you dont mod them specially with different sculpted bodies

[Oops19]

Sculpt Puffy Areola and Nipple

 

This is a follow-up to the previous tutorial. We need a random upper body part or any other body part, depending on the desired nipple location. Also the default nude mesh may be used.
After opening the mesh in blender we may need to mark the areola size and nipple position to be compatible with TS4 skins. Depending on the skin the nipple location may vary.
You may extract the skin with S4S or use the attached file.

 

Blender

Outliner: Select the s4studio_mesh_1
Properties: Select (Material and then - seems to be needed to update Texture tab) the Texture tab.
Select the empty slot between "DiffuseMap_..." and click on New.

Load the image (the one attached to post or extracted).

Scene window

Now you ahould have a good idea where to sculpt and which size to use.

 

Model
3D View
Switch to edit mode and select 'Mesh > Vertices > Remove Doubles' to avoid issues while smoothing.
Rotate the view a little bit to be able to cut out (temporarily) the breast. Press 'Alt+b' and select the area (rectangle) with the mouse.

 

Choose Face Select

Move the mouse in the view window and press 'a' (to deselect everything) and then 'c' to select the meshes. It should look like this.

 

Use Tools and click:
Subdivide, Smooth Vertex, 3x Select > Select more or less > Less (Ctrl+Numpad-)
Subdivide, Smooth Vertex, 3x Select > Select more or less > Less (Ctrl+Numpad-)
Subdivide, Smooth Vertex, Select the areola area
Subdivide, Smooth Vertex. It should look like this:

The Blender sculpt tool could subdivide for us but this would break the UV map. So we did it manually.

Now switch to the sculpt mode.

 

Select the 'F Brush', set the radius to 50 and the strength to 1

Edit the 'Curve' to match the desired puffy shape. Using the default 'ROUND' (2nd) or 'LINE' (5th) may be a good start if you don't want to adjust the shape manually.

Setting symmetry to X helps to reduce work. You can work on the right side facing to you and see the results on the left side.

With 'f' the radius can be changed. Don't add too much details as they will be removed later.
With 'Subtract' instead of 'Add' we can push the mesh in again if needed.
After a few minutes it should look like this:

To reduce the polygon count we go back to edit mode.
Select the subdivided mesh and use 'x'  > Limited Dissolve (Mesh > Delete > Limited Dissolve) to remove faces.
Set the angle to 2d to keep the detailed look. Use 5d to reduce the polygons or set it to 20d for an ugly look.

 

The mesh may be once again imported into S4S and prepared for CAS and WW as described in the previous tutorial.

 

Areola locations by Dumbaby:

Dumbaby Breast mesh 4.zip

 

[thecoon101]

I was really looking for a guide about adding nipples to a custom default top mesh or to create a compatible nipple acessory. This was really helpful.

[Elsalovescocaine]

thanks for nipples tutorial one, hope you can add one tutorial  for pussy. I want a mermaid tail with pussy but not separated mesh on z brush. wish a  single mesh with blender

[Oops19]

With the sculpt tool and some skill one can design everything.

I'm working on cloning OBJ files to TS4 (static only, no bones/sliders). Anyhow I expect it to be not compatible with mermaid tails because of its location.

[crymes75]

Can you help me? I am trying to create a visor cap  in my sims game and I had to use blender for it. Not sure what I am doing wrong now. Some of the hair is showing up and some are not

[yveltalkyogre]

very good stuff