Modding Tools

[dsnow]

Hiya!

I'm looking for some tutorials on UV mapping and 3D mesh tools. I would be grateful if anyone had any idea if there are tutorials or some guides on how to use these modding tools, especially UV mapping- I'd like to learn how it works. Even if it's not a concrete resource, I'd still appreciate it if someone with more knowledge could at least point me in the right direction. It would be a huge help. Cheers for your time!

Edit: forgot to mention, I looked through Turbodriver's pages and the thread here, but it seems it's rather for people who are already experienced modders.

N.b: I really couldn't figure out where to post this, it seemed to me like this board is probably better suited for topics like these.

 

[Oops19]

Do you want to recolor things or modify existing / create new meshes in blender?

Creating a mesh with seams and edge loops for proper UV mapping and rendering is usually the challenging part.

 

Youtube has a lot of videos regarding UV mapping.

[dsnow]

I would say creating new meshes in general, but I feel like S4S is a huge closed circle where I wish there were some good guides that explain all of its functions or how you're supposed to go about the essentials of creating a mod. I only found some recoloring guides there, and nothing is really comprehensive. So I guess I would really appreciate at least knowing which direction to go/what I should be looking for firstly.

I see a lot of mods have this weird or no UV mapping around them so that's why I was hoping I would find a guide on how to refine it to avoid it looking badly done.

[Vthena]

I have seen a lot of requests regarding modding/clothing tutorials lately. I'll probably write something on the subject once I find the time.
There is plenty of tutorials on S4S, but they're not the best. And most of them are outdated. I will always recommend to start with the basics, such as recolors. It's a good way to familiarise yourself with the tools.

 

 

Regarding UV mapping for The Sims 4,

 

Each mesh must have at least 2 UVs. Commonly named "uv_0" and "uv_1".

uv_0 : This is your standard UV map. You need to unwarp your mesh, and place the UV. This is where the texture will be applied.
uv_1 : This is information for the game. (I think it's used for deformation.) It should be extracted from a reference.

 

[Kritical]

1 hour ago, LittleDoxy said:

I will always recommend to start with the basics, such as recolors. It's a good way to familiarise yourself with the tools.

I am curious what you think that actually teaches you, because I dont see much value in that as far as learning goes.

 

5 hours ago, dsnow said:

I would say creating new meshes in general,

S4S is actually pretty awesome tool and you will get into it pretty fast.

 

https://teanmoon.blogspot.com/

is a pretty good resource, but you will still have to learn a lot by doing. I always recommend making a simple T-Shirt from the ground up- dont copy the body mesh, but make it from scratch. That should teach you 90% of what you need to know for every other clothing project.

 

As far as UV´s, Sims 4 uses a pretty annoying method of putting everything into a single texture file for clothing, so use these guides to avoid texture conflicts.

 

[Vthena]

3 hours ago, Kritical said:

I am curious what you think that actually teaches you, because I dont see much value in that as far as learning goes.

- Texturing
- First interaction with UV maps
- Getting familiar with S4S
- Custom swatches/thumbnails

It's pretty basic of course, but it's a start. And more importantly, it's quick. You will have something working in game after a few minutes/an hour. I personally think it's a nice way to get motivated for beginners.

[Kritical]

4 hours ago, LittleDoxy said:

- Texturing
- First interaction with UV maps
- Getting familiar with S4S
- Custom swatches/thumbnails

It's pretty basic of course, but it's a start. And more importantly, it's quick. You will have something working in game after a few minutes/an hour. I personally think it's a nice way to get motivated for beginners.

Well I mean I get that, sorry I wasnt clear, I meant for someone asking in particular about meshing. I can see the motivation part though. I was just curious

 

Anyway, the most important thing is - not giving up when shit aint working. Cause shit aint gonna work.

[dsnow]

On 3/28/2020 at 10:08 PM, LittleDoxy said:

I have seen a lot of requests regarding modding/clothing tutorials lately. I'll probably write something on the subject once I find the time.
There is plenty of tutorials on S4S, but they're not the best. And most of them are outdated. I will always recommend to start with the basics, such as recolors. It's a good way to familiarise yourself with the tools.

 

 

Regarding UV mapping for The Sims 4,

 

Each mesh must have at least 2 UVs. Commonly named "uv_0" and "uv_1".

uv_0 : This is your standard UV map. You need to unwarp your mesh, and place the UV. This is where the texture will be applied.
uv_1 : This is information for the game. (I think it's used for deformation.) It should be extracted from a reference.

 

 

On 3/28/2020 at 11:53 PM, Kritical said:

https://teanmoon.blogspot.com/

is a pretty good resource, but you will still have to learn a lot by doing. I always recommend making a simple T-Shirt from the ground up- dont copy the body mesh, but make it from scratch. That should teach you 90% of what you need to know for every other clothing project.

 

As far as UV´s, Sims 4 uses a pretty annoying method of putting everything into a single texture file for clothing, so use these guides to avoid texture conflicts.

 

 

First of all sorry for the late reply, week's been such a chaos. Kudos for the resource, Kritical! I'm looking into blender (found a few small communities that gave me a couple of vids) and once I get familiarized with the tools I'll have a look there.

Well, I'll be looking forward to your guide, should you decide to make one, Doxy. Your textures always look nice and clean.
Thanks to both of you for the tips!