A Very Basic Tutorial for the Sims 4
Part I: Clothing Recolors/Basic shaping
Programs Needed:
1. An image editor that can handle layers and channels( I use Photoshop CS6)
2. Either native support for .DDS files or a conversion program to go back and forth. (I have NVidia’s DDS plug-in for Photoshop)
3. Color Magic(extracts .package files from the Sims 4 database files)(Link below)
4. Sim4PE (Allows you to edit .package files and extract the Images, also allows you to import them back in.)(Link below)
Links:
Color Magic- http://sims4.the-prof.net/?p=188
Sim4PE - https://github.com/Sims4Group/Sims4Tools/releases
NVidia DDS plug in for Photoshop - https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-tex ... -photoshop
Step 1: Color Magic
• Open up color magic and have it aim for your Sims 4 folder.
• Put in your creator name below.
• Click Next.
• Find the item of clothing that is closest to what you desire.
• Click next ( You can click the default replacement box if you want it to replace what is in game instead of adding to it).
• Change the unique item name to whatever you wish though I would recommend keeping at least the YF/YM standard.
• You can also change the item’s flags here like what style/material/category it is used for, also ages. Swatches will allow you to replace the in game thumbnail with a base color.(well at least as far as making your own edit is concerned)
• Then click finish and save into a work folder. Make a back up of the file you just made.
Step 2: Sim4PE
• Load Sim4PE and open the package you made from color magic
• You will see 4+ files. And at least 2 image files. One will be a black and white pressure image. (This helps modify the mesh and closes gaps. Also clothing thickness). The other images will be full color of the item.
• Right click on both image files and Export to DDS.
• Now you may import the DDS files to your image program
Step 3: Image manipulation
• DDS Images have 4 layers- RGB and alpha.
• Alpha determines the transparency of an object. The brighter white an object is in an area. The more solid it will be.
• Make sure at least the outline of the alpha always matches the outline of the other channels exactly or the game makes it look horrible.
• Before you start messing with the pressure image, I would suggest doing base modifications to only the color DDS and totally blank out the pressure one. After some practice you can easily make the pressure image match your new design my copying and pasting just the alpha layer of your color image and then changing it internally.
• I have included a full body map of what body parts are where in a Sims 4 skin at the end of this. And yes you can make pants that cover the upper body, etc. (experiment, you will get some funny results sometimes)
• Make your design using the pattern you chose as a guideline. I often use warping with all 4 layers available for edit at once to get my shape before I do any actual changes or drawing.
• When you are done save those images back into DDS format(I generally use a different name, just in case)
Step 4: Back to Sim4PE
• Open your duplicate .package up and right click the image files again this time importing the edited DDS files over the ones in package.
• Save as whatever new name you want(make sure you close sim4pe after or Sims 4 won’t open)
• Copy the file over to the Sims 4 mod directory
• Load game and test your item in CAS. IF you don’t like it drop back down and re-edit your files starting back at step 2
There you go. Basic CC making in the Sims 4.
Body Images: Attached as DDS files in zips for actual sizing and framework