Advanced Meshing (Changed from "Getting Starting With Blender")

[Guest]

I've finally decided to to take the next step and graduate from accessories to clothing. I've found some great patterns I'd like to apply to clothing I've found in game, but I've been hesitant to do it. To make it easy, I've decided to work on something I hope will be simple, so @LadySmoks, I'm going to work some recolors of your Chemise since it has the open bottom I want to use.

 

I hope this will be a bit easier that I think it will be.

 

Anyway, there are several Blender tutorials out there, can you recommend one?

[Guest]

47 minutes ago, ErinC7214 said:

I've finally decided to to take the next step and graduate from accessories to clothing. I've found some great patterns I'd like to apply to clothing I've found in game, but I've been hesitant to do it. To make it easy, I've decided to work on something I hope will be simple, so @LadySmoks, I'm going to work some recolors of your Chemise since it has the open bottom I want to use.

 

I hope this will be a bit easier that I think it will be.

 

Anyway, there are several Blender tutorials out there, can you recommend one?

Hey! Actually, the tag didn't work to get my attention. I was just seeing if anything new was happening in forums and saw this. You must type @, then a box appears. Continue typing the name until it appears in the box and click it. Simply typing the name does not work.

 

There is a lot to learn with open bottom garments. Most is not easy and you need "Practice and patience"____ @JoshQ. 

 

I made the chemise a while ago, but it is probably a shrunken UV mapping. This is one of the things about the work space EA gives for this type of garment. When the UV map is shrunk down to fit, the patterns remain full size, and so appear disproportionately larger in TSRW and in game. This tutorial by @Nonsequitur here is also how to resize the textures, not only center them. A texture tile that is 4, 4 can be changed to 8, 8 or 12, 12 or whatever looks good. BUT, images do become distorted.

 

The level of transparency can be adjusted, or the shader can be changed back to SimSkin and transparency removed completely, as patterns may look washed out on the transparency. You wrote Blender? If you plan to alter the mesh, let me know, as there are other considerations for the bones and morphs with the 2 piece garment, which is THE elephant in the room. )))

[Guest]

@LadySmoksI'm trying to keep it simple by reusing your open bottom mesh. I ended up with a jumper instead of an open bottom chemise. Will continue to work on it. Out of curiosity, are there dress meshes that are open bottomed? 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, ErinC7214 said:

I'm trying to keep it simple by reusing your open bottom mesh. I ended up with a jumper instead of an open bottom chemise. Will continue to work on it. Out of curiosity, are there dress meshes that are open bottomed? 

Are there what? Click my signature. It will take you to my boutique. Every dress I made is open bottom. Again, UV mapping being what it is, I can't promise any is useable for what you want to do. I don't have time right now, but will post a UV map of an open bottom dress when I get a chance, so you can see what I mean.

[Nonsequitur]

3 hours ago, ErinC7214 said:

dress meshes that are open bottomed? 

Not many on other sites... lol  -  all of mine are open bottom.

As is all of LadySmoks... lol 

What site is this...

 

When making - it's easier to leave out the bottom... but, requires getting good with making thing 2-sided so a pattern can be applied.

If you look up that skirt... you know.... something should frame the view or it's completely transparent because it doesn't have a backside to put a pattern on.  Many garments have closed bottom to avoid making 2-sided and transparencies.  It's a way to make it quick with minimal edge problems - production level for general under 18 market. 

 

You can remove the bottom from an EA standard dress by identifying the bottom UV component in BLENDER and deleting the object (if a group) or vertices (if part of a group). It will vanish from the UV. This will leave you with a problem. Looking up under the skirt there is no back side to that "fabric" so no pattern - nothing - totally invisible.  This is where your skills at duplicating a section, moving it, and inverting the UV for that new part comes in.  Or, using one of BLENDERS tools "Solidify" in the Edit section. 

 

Practice and a whole lot of Patients!

 

4 hours ago, ErinC7214 said:

I ended up with a jumper instead of an open bottom chemise

What probably happens is when you were selecting vertices' you accidentally grabbed one from another component or it was welded to another component. This will cause weird things to happen. If you delete those vertices - the "extra ones" are also deleted.. since the "connection" is gone - it connects to whatever when it collapses. Nasty distortions.  You must be maticulas - methodical...  check and recheck before an action. Make sure only the vertices you want are highlighted.  Make the "Undo Button" you best friend... lol

 

8 hours ago, ErinC7214 said:

I'm going to work some recolors of your Chemise

Not specific to LS Chemise... 

You don't need to do anything to the mesh for a recolor.

You only need to recognize what the component is on the UV Map - so it can be recolored.

 

The UV Map tells the system where the "component" surface is in relation to a 2-D plain.

The Multiplier tells the system where to apply a surface. - if not on the "MAP" you don't have a surface...

The COLOR Mask is what color channel to use on what part of the "MAP". Again, if the multiplier is not painted over that part of the "UV MAP" - no surface so, no pattern and no color.

 

One way to tell perhaps - in the game when you look up that skirt - is there a pattern or the sky...?

If you see a pattern - you have a winner... use that as your recolor doner. If Sky... it's not 2-sided and can't hold a pattern... so, don't look up that skirt - lol.

 

The only thing you may need BLENDER for is to rearrange and/or save the UV Map image to use as a Recolor Guide.  Also useful in making changes to the Multiplier which is the shading and contours of the "fabric". 

 

[Nonsequitur]

As it is... If you have little experience and really want to start getting involved in making thing...

Recolor is the starting point.

 

It familiarizes you with TSRW and BLENDERS UV Mapping.

To accurately recolor you need a UV Map. 

You can get that Map using BLENDER or MilkShape.

 

You need TSRW to save the Mesh (WSO format)... and to save the Multiplier and Color Mask images 

You need CMars Mesh ToolKit to convert the WSO to an OBJ format.

Load the OBJ file into BLENDER.

Select the GROUP

Grab the upper right-hand corner of the window and drag left to create a duplicate window.

Select EDIT MODE - bottom left.

In the right-hand window select UV Map at bottom left of that new window.

Image button at bottom of new window - select "new image" to make a 1024x1024 BLACK background.

UV Button at bottom of new window - select EXPORT UV Image.

 

You can throw the OBJ file away - you now have the MAP image.

Import that new MAP image into GIMP 

Load the original Multiplier and Color Mask into GIMP and combine so all images are separate layers in GIMP - save this file.

 

Now, switch between the layers to see how they overlap.

Put the UV Map on top and fade it if needed

Select the part or specific area of that part you want to recolor and paint it red, green, or blue according to the color channel you want to use for it.

If you fade one color into another - it will blend whatever patterns are used for those color channels in TSRW.

 

If the Original garment is set for 4-color channels - you need to talk with LadySmoks... 

Or, you can change it to a 3-color channel and use the above method. 

 

Bare in mind the pattern you intend to have display.

If the UV shows something less than a 1/2 inch in surface - detail is lost the smaller a part is on the UV.  Colors that are very thin or small may not show correctly and tend to pixelate.

 

Practice & Patients...

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

@ErinC7214, not sure what you mean that you ended up with a jumper? You made your multiplier on the body, not the garment? My multiplier would show you where the chemise UV is... more or less. If you have Blender, you can export the UV map. This is it...

So, you see the problem with patterns on this type of garment is that depending on the style, for a full transparent garment, you must move the entire garment UV off of the body UV and EA does not give much room. Any open bottom, at least the skirt portion must be moved, which creates the waist seam problem that I often fight. ((( So, things get shrunk, and when shrunk, patterns will be distorted. As my plan was never to use patterns for this garment, I believe I shrank the UV to 80% on x and 50% on y axis. Using a 2048 x 2048 map can help in some cases. I will use it when I start losing too much texture from shrinking a multiplier, and artifacts develop.

[Guest]

@LadySmoks AHA! I just had my UREKA! moment. I had no idea why objects kept being shoved over to the side on the multiplier, and I have a habit of deleting those. Now I get it! Will play with it a bit later and let you know the result

[Guest]

1 hour ago, ErinC7214 said:

 AHA! I just had my UREKA! moment. I had no idea why objects kept being shoved over to the side on the multiplier, and I have a habit of deleting those. Now I get it! Will play with it a bit later and let you know the result

The texture image is a projection. It is projected in layers of strength. Skin is 0 or 1, everything else has a higher "overlay priority", which means that coat of paint is seen over the one with a lower number value. If 2 mesh UV's are aligned, they will share the same texture. If the dress UV remained over the body, the dress texture would show on the body also. 

[Guest]

.......and my EUREKA! moment fizzled. Tried what I thought would work and of course, it didn't. This is a bit harder than I thought. Will revisit this. The mesh tab in TSRW is screwing me up. Haven't put together that relationship between the multiplier and the mesh yet (sometimes it takes a while for it to click for me)

[Guest]

5 hours ago, ErinC7214 said:

.......and my EUREKA! moment fizzled. Tried what I thought would work and of course, it didn't. This is a bit harder than I thought. Will revisit this. The mesh tab in TSRW is screwing me up. Haven't put together that relationship between the multiplier and the mesh yet (sometimes it takes a while for it to click for me)

Things JoshQ told me, I did face slap a year later when I finally figured it out! Hmmm... Can't tell where you went wrong or make suggestions if you don't say what you tried to do. ))) And yes, it can be a bit difficult, and thus the @JoshQ words of wisdom... Practice and Patience! And a lot of both!!!!!!!!! )))))))

 

The mesh tab in TSRW is for importing and exporting .wsos, or .objs, as well as the materials sub-menu tab for each mesh group, which is where you replace the alpha/ diffuse maps and normals map... AND the specular for the mesh. The alpha/ diffuse and specular are replaced by edit> browse, then simply use the same texture image that was used for the multiplier. The normal map, is edit> import your new normal map. This is only the first import, after that, you use browse, as you did for the other maps.

 

Hint: You only need to replace the alpha map. The diffuse map is the same map, and is automatically replaced.

 

Unfortunately, I do not know of an "ALL" button, so you will have to go through this for each mesh in each LOD... 1, 2 and 3

 

Use search engine and type in TSRW tutorials. See which will help you.

 

Understanding UV mapping is different. I posted the map of the chemise above. To see this, you will need Blender. In Blender, you can highlight the entire mesh, and then export the UV map in whichever size you need... usually 1024 x 1024, but you can change to 2048 x 2048, or 512 x 512 for some accessories. You can also resize the map in GIMP.

 

Some links: https://murfeelee.tumblr.com/post/126358821306/murfs-crap-advice-clothes

 

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS841US841&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=UV+mapping+Sims+3&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi7z_uE9fzyAhVrGVkFHVVdACkQjJkEegQINRAC

[Guest]

@ErinC7214, a semi-complicated mesh, but you may better understand the relation of necessity to keep certain parts on the map where EA put them, and when you can do as you please...

Spoiler

This is a LOD 1, 2 group mesh. I may or may not decide to use a transparency on the parts highlighted in orange, but have that option. Because of viewing at the distance when LOD 2 and LOD 3 are seen, I honestly don't care, so they will be 1 mesh group. My TSRW clone donor is the formal cocktail dress. I change categories from full body to upper body, or lower body for a skirt, and then set the CAS categories.

Everything that is highlighted are the skin parts that will be seen. They remain in original EA position ALWAYS! This is because bare skin will have a skin texture applied, and all skin textures are in the EA standard position. You see the left upper arm has been mirrored, and placed directly over the same position as the right upper arm. I learned this from JoshQ, as a way to make extra space. The draw back is that tattoos do not work well, but as this is a character specific top, and Harley Quinn does not have tattoos on her upper arms, I am safe to do this. If I need the space, I can also move her hand.

 

On this mesh, the gloves are 2 different lengths and 2 different colors, so separate mapping is required. If they were the same color, it is possible to resize the gloves to match, and also overlay those. BUT, different colors require separate map positions.

 

Also in this, I tell that it is generally when 2 or more part UV's are overlayed that you will see the triangles in CAS.

 

Last note: Although I do not show a map position stencil, this shows about where EA allows you to place parts for a top. The remaining area is for the bottom and shoes.

This pic shows how I separate the UV to create a sharper separation. Again, the skin is highlighted. Next to it is the blouse, which is off white. Instead of relying on drawing the multiplier line and color map perfectly, I separate the materials and have fudge room.

 

In this pic, you see that the bottom parts of the skin are squeezed. They will be behind the corset, but somewhat visible. I really only need the skin tones to be seen, as you can not really see details. You have to see during testing to make that call!

 

Also to note is the circle bottom right. That is the bottom of the mesh. It's only purpose is so you can not look up and see through the mesh from some angles, so it only needs to be there and have color. Detail is not important, and I can make it even smaller if I wish.

 

 

So basically, you need to understand that in Blender, when looking at the UV map, skin must go where EA says it goes! Everything else can be moved within the map area that EA allows for a project, top, bottom, whole outfit, shoes.

[Nonsequitur]

Maybe this may provide a little help to see the image relationships between each other and the UV Map.

 

·         The UV Map is a 2 dimensional (flat) representation of the 3D mesh parts surface layout (area). It is exactly that – a MAP.  Where do I paint an image so it is on the part.

The Multiplier is the base of all images. It is made from the UV Map.   If you don’t have anything on the multiplier over an area where the UV Map indicates a part or surface - then nothing else will show – not Pattern, color, or specular  (shininess) – it’s invisible.  Only when something painted on the Multiplier is over an area on the UV Map that has a part or surface shown will anything show.  The Multiplier tells the system where there is solidity and will only paint a color channel to where there is some solidity.

 

The Multiplier is also where the detail of the fabric (mesh) comes to life. The shading and visual contouring you do on the multiplier give the garment depth and details. The multiplier is monochromatic (shades of Grey). The lighter the color (from a mid-grey 128,128,128 or 50% grey) the brighter the color channel will display on the fabric – the darker, a more muted and darker pattern.

 

You make the rope, piping, buttons, shadows, and various textures in shades of grey to make it look like it has depth. Whatever image you place over an area on the UV Map should be desiderated and that image with all its detail will be painter as whatever you select as a pattern for that color channel. Note: you do not need a textured image. Textured images will also take any pattern so textures you apply to the Multiplier are permanent. Any textured pattern you assign may interfere with the texture you made on the multiplier.

 

·         The Specular Map is basically a “Sparkle & Shine” map.  A simple Specular image is a copy of the Multiplier with the entire images Lightness is changed to -60 to 80% and the Contrast changed to +60 to 80%.  The ideal of a Specular Map is to tell the system where there should be more shine. The lighter the area – the shinier or more flare from lighting in that spot.  Too much and the pattern/color will wash out leaving only the shine – white.

 

·         The Color Mask is exactly that – a mask to tell the system where a color channel is used. Generally, a garment will have 3 color channels, but can have 4. This Article only discusses the 3-channel.

 

As with the multiplier needing to be painted over areas of the UV Map that show a surface – the Color Mask works the same way with the Multiplier. Only areas painted with a color channels “color” will use whatever color or pattern you select for that channel.  If nothing is painted on the multiplier – there will be no color channel used there. It must show on the multiplier for a color channel to work. FYI: you do NOT paint the color on the multiplier – you paint the color on the Color Mask – a separate image.

 

The colors are in an RGB format. In TSRW the order is Red, Green, and Blue from the top color channel box down. If a 4^th box is there – it’s a 4-color channel garment.  You can change this at the top of the tab area to 3-channel but may lose some coloring flexibility.  If you need to know about 4-color masks there is a lot of info on the net and LadySmoks is very good at it.

 

This assumes you have some knowledge of using TSRW which is not covered here.

 

·         I have not talked about making a Normal Map and will not explain how to make one here.  The Normal map is found when you look at the Mesh Tab and edit the image properties.  The Normal map is the little extra Bump to make flat image areas like painted on ropes or buttons and such, have a little depth.

It depends on the garment you are making as to if the original Normal Map will give you “Shadows” across your garment – if no – great – if yes – go to the Normal Map section and edit to MAKE EMPTY.

 

That’s basically it – the anatomy of the TSRW Images and the UV Map.

 

Although I show the UV Map image in all my images below – they are NOT to be included with the image you intend to use.  Only color on the color image – only shades of grey on the multiplier, etc. Remember – if there is no grey image on the multiplier that is over an area of the UV Map that has a surface – nothing shows. If no color is painted for a color channel over an area on the Multiplier that has grey – it is left grey. If color for a color channel is painted on an area of the multiplier that has no image – yet, is on the UV Map – nothing happens… no color or image – it’s invisible the color is ignored.  In order for a color to show it must be painted as layer above the multiplier and the multiplier must have some grey for the color to show.  Overstated perhaps, But many get confused about that.

 

I should also note here that if no image is on the multiplier – OVERLAYS will not show where no grey image is on the multiplier. Make a copy of your Overlay, desaturate (average), and merge with the multiplier to correct for this.

 

  

 

     

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

[Guest]

I must add that you can not sell the value of a good normals map short, and that it is important to replace it if you have altered the multiplier or overlay, as the old one will create a ghost image on your work.

 

A carefully made "hard cut" normal map can actual "cut" lines into the piece to create a deeper 3d effect. I find this useful on a few things, and used it in combination with some multiplier texturing on the latex bodysuit, as well as a few other items.

 

For some things, testing and pieces that will remain smooth, I keep a stock 32 x 32 normal map in my workshop templates folder. I have seen as small as 8 x 8.

[Nonsequitur]

46 minutes ago, LadySmoks said:

the old one will create a ghost image on your work.

EXACTLY! - the shadow image I was referring to. Making it blank will clear those ghosts away. However, a proper NORMAL Map adds to the realism and detail of the garment.  For now, to get to this point in the process to see what you have is the goal. Adding a Normal Map based on your Multiplier will only add to the detail. There is a lot of info out there for making the Normal "Bump Maps". There are also several schools of thought on what exactly is a Normal Map.  Basically, it doesn't look at BLUE's for the Normal.

 

GIMP: The quick way...

 

To prevent any  negative feedback about this - This is A WAY... not THEE WAY to make a Normal. 

• Make a copy of your FINISHED Multiplier layer.
• Make sure it is desaturated.
• Reduce lightness 10% and increase contrast 10% (play around with what gives a good contrast between the high and low points of the surface.)
• With lawyer selected - go to Filters>Maps>NormalMap (you need the GIMP NormalMap Plug-in.)

 

Select these settings:

 

• Then go to the COLORS>Lightness and Contrast... Max out the contrast so image goes very "Blue".

 

 

• In the COLORS menu select Color to Alpha.
• In the color box select pure blue.

 

 

 You get this result:

 

 

You can play with the level of blue to soften the edges by not adding as much contrast before using color to alpha function. It will be more transparent and have less noticeable color shifts. This type of normal will work.  The stronger the color shift - the more pronounced the "Bump" will be.  Too much and it doesn't look natural. 

 

As LadySmoks mentioned - you don't need a copy of your multiplier. Any place you want some extra definition you can manually create only the areas you want.  Just be aware of where you place your image to make your Normal - remember the mysterious Ghost and shadows on the garment...?

 

It's also a way to add texture to a surface making areas seem to have high and low areas on the "Fabric", like fuzz or ribbed knits. 

 

[Guest]

As usual, you guys are awesome. @Nonsequitur, I haven't had a chance to thank you as well for your help as well. Thank you! My goal will be to convert the in-game sleepwear (the short stuff at least) to open bottom. 

 

I'm also going to look at Gimp again, even though I use Paint.net (the main reason is the Alpha Channel is not selectable in Paint). 

 

 

[Guest]

Good luck. I've had issues in the past with the EA sleepwear. I think I know the problem, but have moved to other things at the moment. Normal maps for the sleepwear do not need to cut hard.

 

And yes, I learned a very different method for creating normals maps in GIMP 2.10. I think I uploaded a basic tutorial to you a while ago? That has an RGBA setting that does the channels, and you just click and drop in that screen. I have never used Paint.net for this. In Nonsequitur's pics, where you see "scale"... THAT is what you play with for cut depth. I have gone as high as 3.0.

 

Another issue I ran into a long time ago was ghosts in my multipliers that showed when making the normals maps. If I used a dxt5 multiplier, that I had cut, the part that had been cut left a ghost! What I do now is to always save an uncompressed (raw) multiplier. There are zero artifacts developed, and always good to have an original if you make changes. Making a copy from a copy from a copy, and it degrades!!! 

 

Another trick is to use a "pre" specular. I will make a layer and move it behind my raw multiplier, and fill black. Now, I increase contrast a bit, but also use sharpen tool and sometimes noise reduction to get the details just right. Merge down and save as normal or I just put "n". Now the image on my screen, I will darken and/ or increase contrast as necessary to make my specular, according to how much shine I want. Items that need to have extra shine, I will either cut and paste those in, or use an outline tool and adjust brightness and contrast in just those areas. As a package size saver, I have been reducing my speculars to 512 x 512 and dxt5.

 

Now, open that saved "n" and use that to make the normal. It does the same basic stuff as a multiplier, but since I'm making the specular anyway... and this just works out for me. As Nonsequitur said, not wrong, just the way I learned to do it that works for me! ))) Your actual mileage may vary!!!!!!!! ?

 

There are 1,000 roads that lead to the same place. Some easier than others, some you may simply not understand. We each figure it out... eventually!

[Nonsequitur]

Remember Erin... Nearly all EA stuff is closed bottom for a reason. It's not 2-sided  that's in-part, to save on the Vertices/Face poly-count. It's usually an easy and quick way to finish a garment using the least amount of resources. They had Quota's and deadlines... lol  Sims 3 was designed for the under-18 market and since "no one" is going to be looking up Skirts... Close it off and save the work effort and game processing.

 

What we do is a little different... lol

Exposing any inner layer requires it to have a Face to put the pattern or image on. 

Without that face - it doesn't exist, so looking at that face  is like looking through glass. 

 

There are several methods to create that 2nd face. I think LadySmoks mentioned one earlier in this discussion. 

Selecting the group - like the skirts main fabric panels, duplicate, reversing the Normal, and scaling (shirk/flatten) in a hair.  Or, using Solidify in Blender to thicken a group 0.00001... Both methods will double the vertices and Faces of the original so make sure you don't "Blow up" the count where the Game or TSRW cant handle it.  It will fail in Game before it will in TSRW. An obvious give-away is when you finally get to CAS and what looked good in TSRW is now looking like a dozen rabid Porcupines are in a fight.  Like going to a high-fashion Catwalk show and seeing nothing but clown suits... you get my drift? lol

 

With using Blender as your primary method - Perhaps LadySmoks would be so kind as to make a small tutorial  - for the set-up, tools used, and in what order to make that second - inner layer of fabric? Since this is about BLENDER and I only use an older version to fill in the gaps in my assembly process.  Yep, I'm old-school... very old... lol

Once familiar with her process you will find it is useful for finding and correcting many other assembly and display problems. 

 

 

 

[Nonsequitur]

Ah, yes... there can be artifacts, ghosts, cause by the Multiplier as well. Each image used can have their own Artifacts.

It's the little things - like doing a Cut & Paste where a fragment of the image is over another part and so faint you don't notice it. 

Maybe you colored over another color changing the Color Mask and used the "Similar Color" fill setting so you don't notice a slight color shift.

You could have merged two layers by mistake and so the "extra" layer bleeds through or overlaps and you cant see it - the system will though and "Multiply" it... lol  

 

One thing that can help with this - until you become familiar with the numerous things that could go wrong, is to use a pure white layer and a pure black layer as a background.

This makes a High-Contrast background in either white or black to see if any GHOSTS are on the image you are about to place. Switch between the Black and White as your background with only the layer you're working on displayed with the background. Erase all areas you don't want on the foreground layer before pasting.  Something so light or nearly the exact color of something in the background image it is to be placed over - it disappears to the human eye but will show then a color or pattern is applied through the color channel.  Make sure anything you use, any image pasted to an area you want - is cut only into that area.  Again, overstated... but, sometimes overlooked. 

 

This is also useful to verify your completed Multiplier - even works for your Color Mask to show pin-holes or gaps.

Any "leftover" image from the Donor could cause a problem.  Make sure your images are clean (the one's you create) with no barely-visible artifacts in places they shouldn't be.