#object tutorials

[drawingden]

I've found this nifty reference website for artists called www.dimensions.com that has a database of exact measurements for various objects, plants, and animals

They have a premium version with 3D models that I haven't tried yet, but it's definitely very informative if you're trying to get the anatomy and proportions for different species of animals right!

[warmfuzzyanimal]

how do you turn your black line art into coloured line art? trying to get a feel for it but i'm struggling in determining what's the most effective method

i USED to do it by hand but then i discovered this lovely little thang, an auto-action for clip studio paint that just. does it for me. i've been really enjoying the black outer-lines and colored inner-lines lately, so how i've been doing it is like this: 1.) use the auto action on my flat colors layer to create a dark + saturated clipping layer 2.) move the newly created colored clipping layer above my lines....coloring them. i usually spend time tweaking these colors w/ hue + saturation adjustments and manual touchups, but for the sake of a visual tutorial in gif form i didn't here outside of re-adding the white to the eyeshines.

3.) select the line layer and expand the selection by two or three pixels. 4.) reselect the colored lines clipping layer. 5.) use ctrl+x to cut the now selected out edges of the colored lines, showing the black lines underneath

and then from there i'll sometimes add more outlines/drop shadows/ect or change the black to just a very dark saturated color, based on the Vibe. i hiiiiighly recommend clip studio paint + it's awesome auto actions forever because of how much time it saves (also also how fun they are to use)

[cellclothism]

i dont think theyd get along very well .

[goatskickin]

hi goat! do you have any tips/ideas on making 4t2 items look less plasticky? would new textures work or is it maybe something with the shading? or maybe it's the rounded edges on everything....

hi anon! I know you sent this a while ago. Thanks for waiting. I do indeed sometimes retexture TS4 converted objects.

I am no expert! But! Here's what I usually do:

For this tutorial, I will be using @janika31's 4t2 conversion of the Siten-Ze Reclaimed Wood Sofa.

It has the rounded edges you speak of (typical of TS4 objects) and a texture that could be considered 'plasticky' too.

What you will need to do first is open SimPE. We need to be able to look at this mesh nice and close!

When the mesh is opened in SimPE, go to the 1. Geometric Data Container and click on it 2. find the main object in the Models list (sofa) and make sure it's checked 3. Export the object.

You'll need to load said object into a 3D Modeling program in order to look at it.

I like UVMapper, because it's free (well the free version is anyway lol) and it's very easy to use.

While you're in SimPE, extract a texture or two from the original object. You will need them. Light or white recolors will be useful.

With the object loaded into UVMapper, this is what it looks like!

UV map of the object on the left, object (with no texture) on the right.

Add the texture in.

UVMapper is going to be our main working area. Other than an image editing program like Photoshop or Gimp. You'll need that too.

Let's get a good look at this base texture - we can see it has the wood parts of the couch, the main couch texture and some pillows.

If you find UV maps helpful (I do!) you can extract one from your 3D program.

With UVMapper, I needed to make sure that I've specified the size of the image so the UV map will match. This texture is 512 x 1024.

Now for the fun part! You should be able to copy in the base texture as a new layer, and then delete everything that is not the wood part on the UV map.

I've actually missed the foot of the couch here, but I will fix it.

If you're not already working with a white texture, make one. I like to use @pooklet's Primer and Time Bomb for this.

This white texture is very important as it will serve as the shadow and highlight that the new wood texture will be sandwiched in between.

With the new white texture created, when loaded into UVMapper and displayed on our couch, it looks like this. ^

This rounded edge here, this is a problem area!

With retexturing clay hairs, we want a rounded or 'bumped out' part of the mesh to be highlighted, to give the illusion of shine on hair.

But in objects, especially wood ones that we'd prefer to not look like plastic, we want the opposite effect; this shine should be reduced.

This is pretty easy to remedy in your image editor! But first:

Remember how I talked about how the white base texture was going to sandwich the wood texture? Here's what that means (layers):

1 The white base texture, Normal, 100% opacity

2 Our wood texture. This is something lifted from a Maxis endtable?

3 The white base texture, Multiply, 100% opacity

4 The white base texture, Overlay, 22% opacity

5 The white base texture, Soft Light, 22% opacity*

Optional layers: 1) another white base texture, Multiply, 100% opacity if this is a dark recolor, as it will add more depth 2) the base texture, but in an orange or yellowy color Multiply, 100% opacity (when this is added, it will help when a warm recolor looks too ashy)

*these percentages of how opaque the layer is are arbitrary. They work for me, do what works for you.

Okay! Back to the 'problem area'

This highlight here ^ on the rounded arm of the couch; if you don't want it, here is what I would do:

Locate where that highlight is in the texture. Found it!

Here's how to REDUCE that shine:

1 Locate your base white wood texture layer, Normal opacity.

Notice how the whiter part of this texture, when layered as I've described (Multiply 100%, Overlay 22%, Soft Light 22%) translates as shiny when it's laid on an object.

The way to make that appear less shiny is to make it less white. Less white means less of that shine that can read as artificial aka plasticky. When you make that more grey than white, more of the background wood can show through the semi-transparent layers.

2 Take that noticeably white part of the base texture and make it grey! Copy a chunk of the greyer texture, paste it on, blend in or erase the edges to make it look smooth. Merge the layer.

3 Change your Normal white base layer (now edited to be greyer in that one specific spot) and copy that as 3 new layers: Multiply 100%, Overlay 22%, Soft Light 22%. With the wood texture underneath all of them. Base, wood, Multiply, Overlay, Soft Light, in that order.

Before...

...after! it's subtle okay

The same kind of sandwiching method with image layers can apply to the cushions too.

There! A method for retexturing TS4 conversions that helps them not be as plastic looking. 😊

One last tip before you go off and try retexturing conversions yourself: @pforestsims's Easy Shine Removal kit for SimPe. A must if you're looking maintain that matte look.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[vanisbakery]

flower keychain!!

[sims2tutorials]

Quick Tips for GIMP

"These tips are for GIMP, but I have been learning from tutorials for PS as well, and have been applying them in GIMP. I found these two programs to be quite interchangeable, which makes sense, because GIMP was made as a free alternative for PS."

[osc-userboxes]

i got some asks about how i make my userboxes and im gonna answer that as a separate post!!

i use ibispaintx, but any software that can recolor layers & import images is ok!!

then you grab your template (i made and use this one, and you can too!!!)

then get your selected image and crop it into the smaller square! (for this example we’re using a soap userbox posted on my main!)

now color the outline your selected color! usually one that’s similar to the main color of the image works best!

color the larger box any color you wish now! again, i like to use a color from the main image for this

and finally, text!

[rad-roche]

blender experiment from some weeks back. tried to set up a painterly node situation with a low poly pear i modelled. couldn't figure it out. got frustrated and just texture painted the thing myself

the forbidden angle of the pear. you can see the plane changes in the model

there IS a way to do it and i'll get there eventually. still, this is pretty relaxing. part of what makes painting so hard is navigating plane changes. with 3D you've already made them. the planes they are a-changin. it's more like a colouring-in book

[opal6561]

How To Make Your Object Show Stand Out

In this video I talk about common clichés I've found in object shows and provide tips on how to avoid playing them straight.

[daylikescookies]

DARLING I LOVE YOU TO BITS

i finally finished a tutorial for making your very own edgar plush! its 14 pages long with 30 process images lol its a doozy...

i also have it up on my kofi for a dollar cheaper rn!

[luvo27]

just saw a pinterest comment that suggested learning how to crochet instead of learning how to knit because it's easier and i can't keep silent anymore i have to confess that i wrote my cass learns how to knit fic because i need people to love knitting in the same way that i need people to love cass. the crochet vs knitting metaphor argument exists because i've had that conversation (minus the metaphor and also it was jokingly silly with my friends) with me arguing the side of knitting and as much as i love projecting onto characters stephanie brown would never in her life be against crochet. she would adore crochet. i don't actually dislike crochet its good for things that knitting will never be able to do like baskets and is so much better for stuffed animals and i think it's better for things like bralettes and bags but knitting is so good for clothing it's stretchy and more flowy. crochet is so good for items that need to hold a little more structure but in my opinion knitting makes more comfortable clothing and crochet got so popular in the last couple of years but knitting did not and knitting is not more difficult!! knitting is fun and good and i love her!!!

[novy2sirius]

ADDITIONAL OBJECT AND ASTEROID TUT

additional objects: additional objects in your chart include points such as lilith/vertex and fixed stars, comets, the galactic center, etc. they can tell you about more specific topics than your planets can

example - the vertex in your chart is a point that can tell you about your fate, but there isn’t a planet that can tell you directly about fated events

asteroids: these are not as important as planets, but can be very telling if you want to find out more specific things outside of what the planets tell you or learn more about specific topics planets don’t tell you

example - asteroid caspar represents things you should treasure deeply and not take advantage of in life otherwise you’ll be filled with regret. there’s not a planet that can directly show this

my opinion: asteroids are still important because they’re part of our universe and everything is connected to us spiritually including the asteroids. i would say planets and houses are most important though

follow these steps ↓

one: once you’ve made an account on astro.com click on the saved data and then click extended chart selection to view the chart options

two: scroll down click on the additional objects section to view the additional objects box then type in the name of the object you want to view or asteroid number. you can view multiple additional objects at once if you want, but you must put a comma after each name/number

example - sirius, vertex, mirach, 3, 390

three: scroll back up and click “show the chart >>” and you can then view the asteroid in your chart

note: to find asteroid codes you can view my posts or others on tumblr about specific asteroids you’re interested in. there are over 20k of them on astro.com, but you can find some on astro-seek.com as well

[datsu-rock2763]

some kandi i made today!! :3

^ doubles!! [panpronominal and nonbinary]

^ two [tpot] single!!

^ araki, nqrse, and meychan singles!!

[elysiansugar]

🍳⌒*⠀⇉⠀LET HIM COOK 🔥⠀☆⠀credit if use

[discoholicmusic]

question mr disco. Do you like the way we even draw you? Is there any extra details we should add? Cheese?

this is all you need!