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Post by suprememugwump on Jan 19, 2016 2:11:20 GMT -5
I've done a little bit (a very teeny, tiny, little bit) of Sims 3 custom content, and I thought I'd take a look at making some Sims 4 custom content. But I see everywhere talk of using Blender. I don't have Blender, I have Milkshape and UV Mapper Pro, and Photoshop CS6. Is this alright? Or do I need something different? I spent money on the three programs I own, so I'd rather use them; I don't want to have to buy anything else.
One other quick question: Is it possible to tweak EA meshes? With Sims 3, I was able to do minor things like take an EA tee-shirt and make the mesh longer. Small things like that. Is this possible with Sims 4? I'm thinking if I use an existing EA mesh, or even someone else's mesh (with permission, of course) and just make minor alterations to the mesh, that would be the quickest and easiest way to create clothing. Mostly, I'd like to do some children's clothing since there isn't much of that out there.
Thanks in advance for your help!
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Post by MisterS on Jan 19, 2016 2:16:33 GMT -5
Blender is free
And yes, its the best way to start out.
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Post by orangemittens on Jan 19, 2016 9:17:21 GMT -5
If you're interested in making objects you can use whatever 3D editor you want to do the actual mesh work but you will need Blender to act as a bridge between that 3D editor and Studio. If you're interested in CAS items I highly suggest using Blender for the mesh work. Sims 4 CAS items have two UV maps and require vertex paint. Milkshape is not able to manage either of those things and it really isn't up to the task of Sims 4 CAS meshing for that reason. As MisterS said, Blender is free. It is a much more powerful editor than Milkshape and it's well worth learning. If you decide to give it a try there are several tutorials in the tutorial section that go over the basics to get you started. If you run into questions with those tutorials please feel welcome to ask them in the tutorial section or to start a thread in Creator Help.  |
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Post by suprememugwump on Mar 6, 2016 2:50:21 GMT -5
Orangemittens. I love that you take so much time to help dummies like me, I really do. But I have a suggestion. In your tutorials, when you give a direction of what to do, could you include a why? For instance, if we are to click a certain button, could you explain a little bit about what the purpose of that button is, or what is to be achieved by clicking that certain button? It would help deepen my (and other people's ) understanding if I know why I'm doing something, otherwise, I'm just jumping when you say jump, lol.
For instance, take vertex paint. I can do a Google search and find out what vertex paint is, but I don't understand the purpose of it. I'd specifically like to know why Sims 4 CAS items require it. Could you elaborate a little?
Thank you!
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Post by suprememugwump on Mar 6, 2016 3:05:15 GMT -5
Actually, I have to take that back. I just read through your object creation tutorial and you've laid out the whys as well as the whats. And that really, really helps. It's just the earring tutorial that didn't seem to have any information other than what to do.
Again, I don't mean this as any insult at all. I very much appreciate all the time you take to help everyone. I was just suggesting something that would help me better understand all of this.
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Post by orangemittens on Mar 7, 2016 19:54:28 GMT -5
Quite honestly every single step of the earring tutorial is explained. You will need to read the notes in the tutorial. I have spent hours and hours writing tutorials. If they aren't good enough for you then perhaps you should google some other tutorial or even write your own.
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Post by suprememugwump on Mar 20, 2016 4:50:17 GMT -5
Oh dear. I didn't mean to insult you. It isn't your fault that I'm having so much trouble figuring out what Blender is doing when I click a button. Seriously, Orangemittens, Blender is making me nuts! I'm actually considering buying an expensive textbook to help me out. But I did find an online manual that spells everything out; maybe that will help. My problem, I think, is just lack of experience with meshing in general, which means I gotta just jump in and try not to drown. I do appreciate your help, and not to sound patronizing, but you spend an awful lot of time answering questions and holding hands. I realize that. I do. Here's the thing. There are four types of learners: visual, audio, kinesthetic (hands-on), and read/write. I am of the read/write variety and I need things written out thoroughly, but most tutorials favor the visual (YouTube videos) and the kinesthetic. Not being either type, watching videos or clicking on stuff to see what happens doesn't work for me. That's not your concern, though. I'm just telling you this in an effort to explain myself. Again, I do appreciate the effort you make to help us dummies. I'm a mom, I've raised four teenagers, running around helping everyone all the time, even if it's occurring over the Internet instead of in-person, is absolutely exhausting and generally you can expect little more than under-appreciation. Of which I am guilty, it seems. To rectify my lack of appreciation, here's a brand-new pair of virtual orange mittens:  |
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Post by orangemittens on Mar 20, 2016 10:54:40 GMT -5
I'm not insulted and I don't take your post as a lack of appreciation. I do have to tell you though that saying what you did really doesn't help anyone. The tutorials are written with an eye to explaining every single button punch. Not just which button to punch but why to punch it and what to do after having punched it. That was my intent in writing them and, to the best of my ability, that's what I've done. For your style of learning a static tutorial like the ones I've written for our tutorial section here should be just the ticket. I understand that no tutorial is going to be perfect and that's why the tutorials are fully supported. What that means is, if you run into a question when using the tutorial, you can ask questions about the tutorial in the tutorial thread and someone will answer. If you try the earring tutorial and you run into a step that does not seem explained well enough you should feel welcome to post in the tutorial thread...that's why the tutorials have tutorial threads and aren't just sitting in a wiki somewhere where no one can ask questions or point out trouble spots. Once you've asked the question I can read over the tutorial and add more explanation in the relevant section so that you and others don't run into confusion with that section anymore. In this way your question not only gets an answer for you it helps me to improve the tutorial for everyone who uses it after you. Attempting a tutorial, running into questions, not asking the question but just stating the tutorial left you with questions is too vague to help you or anyone. I'm more than happy to answer questions about the tutorials and I'm also happy to improve the tutorials as needed. I cannot answer a question that hasn't been put forward nor can I guess where people are running into questions if they don't point out the section(s) that are problematic. Cute mittens |
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Post by suprememugwump on Mar 21, 2016 0:08:35 GMT -5
Glad you're not mad. I really do appreciate the effort you put into everything. Like I said, I'm a mom, and mom's are generally slaves, lol. What you are doing is very similar. I think, as I said, that I just need to learn 3D modeling in general. Another problem I have is that I don't want to bother anyone so I'm reluctant to ask questions, instead, I'll either a.) get mad at my lack of progress and rage quit or b.) search Google for answers and try not to rage quit. I guess I just thought if all my questions were magically explained in just the way I need in each tutorial then I could avoid all the Googling and resultant rage quitting.
I didn't get super far in the earrings tutorial. It was frustrating. But it's Blender itself that's what's mostly frustrating. To me, Blender is like learning to fly a helicopter when I'm not even comfortable driving a car. But I'm going to attempt your tutorial again. And again. And again. I figure, hey, that's how I got comfortable using Photoshop. Thanks again for all your efforts in teaching us.
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Post by orangemittens on Mar 21, 2016 8:30:23 GMT -5
Believe me I fully understand the issues when transitioning from Milkshape to Blender. I learned to mesh using Milkshape and I transitioned to Blender in stages over a period of about a year and a half. I paid for a subscription to Blender Cookie to access well written tutorials at a time when there were basically no Blender tutorials in the Sims community. In some ways I think it's easier for people who've never used a 3D editor to start with Blender than it is for people like us who were using one that's pretty different. It wasn't easy and the difficulty was compounded by a lack of tutorials that show how to do low poly meshing using Blender. This is one reason that I felt determined the Studio project would have step by step illustrated Blender tutorials that show low poly meshing that is needed for Sims 4.
At the point in time when I was learning a lot of what I know about low poly meshing and modding for the Sims in general it was often the "style" at some modding sites to kind of belittle people who were learning or who didn't speak English as a first language, or who didn't understand every single nuance of a process immediately. It was quite off-putting and it bothered me seeing people who were already struggling to learn having to put up with that bs. This is one reason why I wanted the Studio project to be a place where people are guaranteed a patient, friendly answer to questions about Sims 4 modding.
It is not a bother when you or anyone else asks a question about a tutorial. I would love to be able to write a tutorial that magically explained things in just the right way that every person needs so questions weren't necessary but I'm not that good...I don't know if anyone is. All I can do is make a thread available where people can let me know where the questions are. If I have feedback that points out areas of confusion I can fix the tutorial so over time it will become a more comprehensive document able to fit the needs of more and more beginning creators. Several of the tutorials here have benefited from member feedback in this way. So you should not consider it a hassle if you ask a question...the tutorial isn't perfect for you but the only person who can point out why is you. If it isn't perfect for you believe me there are others who have the same question. Pointing out the issues helps those members too...members who, unlike you, may not be able to muster up a level of comfort that allows them to post here at all.
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