#The Sims 4 Guide

[h-emera]

Guide on making custom coat presets. (Allows for better quality custom coats)

31/08/2023: The guide has been updated to reflect a step I missed - when exporting your custom textures, make sure to select "generate mipmaps", the step is reflected in more detail under the appropriate part. Ctrl+f and enter "mipmaps" to skip to it.

16/10/2023: Updated to add more info re: generating hash ID's.

Okay, I decided to throw this together. There's some things I can't figure out still, but oh well, we're just getting through this as we go.

To clarify what I mean - this is not a stencil or a brush.

This will appear here:

To preface this guide though, I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to make it appear as an individual option in-game, so, these are considered SWATCHES of the original coats.

Okay, with that out of the way.

Things you'll need:

Sims 4 Studio

GIMP

Probably Notepad, but it's optional on how easy it is for you to track things.

Guide:

These are the tools we'll be using in S4S.

Start by creating your empty package, once you're done, open up Game File Cruiser:

before you do ANYTHING, make absolutely sure that the search bar below the file list has "EP14" in it, otherwise you will 100% end up editing a cat or a dog coat pattern and that's now what we want, at all.

Add the first horse file to your package

In our case, it's the Lusitano Dapple coat, don't worry, if you're making a breed-specific coat, you can change this later.

Now that it's been added to our package file, it should look like this:

We now have two options, I'll explain this to those who don't care about creating a game-generated thumbnail and want to find it easier.

To make your "test" thumbnail, you'll want to copy the instance ID of the file we just added to our package:

It should look like this, the instance ID should be in 2nd from the top search bar, then, select all and click filter (it just makes life easier than finding the specific file type).

These are the current, in-game CAS thumbnails. We'll add both of them to the package, they're for ponies and adult horses.

Now you can export these two pictures (They need to be saved as .png's), edit them as you'd like and then import them back into the package.

Now, you CAN add up to 5 different pelt layers that can be easily recoloured in-game, however, we'll only be working with two pelt layers in this tutorial, because it's a tutorial and you'll learn how to make more of them anyway.

Click on "Pet Coat Pattern" and then look over the data:

From there, Click on "PetPeltLayers":

The first pelt layer is ALWAYS a solid colour, we'll begin by copying the LayerID (Instance ID) and going back to game file cruiser.

Just like previously, you should keep EP14 in the search bar and just use the instance ID bar to find things, as that's all we'll be doing.

Add the Pet Pelt Layer to your package file, then, copy the "texture key" from the Pet Pelt Layer:

Then find the Texture Key:

This is the solid colour layer, it HAS to be there as this is what will help you edit your base colour. Add this to your package file.

Now, our package file will look like this:

Unfortunately, we're not done, just yet, we'll want to grab at least the second PetPeltLayer:

Just like before, we're going to copy the ID and find the Pet Pelt Layer + the Texture for this layer:

Now, our package file will look like this:

You can now go ahead and close the Game File Cruiser, we won't be using it anymore.

Right now, this is our package file and we need to do some cleanup first.

We'll be opening up the PetPeltLayers once more and we'll remove the last 3 entries:

You should be left with only two entries, as that is what we'll be editing (leaving the other 3 will break the preset).

Now, we'll start generating new hash codes for everything:

Edited 16/10/2023: When generating your hash ID's, please use your creator name ie.: "[YourCreatorName/Blogname]TutorialPetBreedCoatPattern11", this will give you a more unique hash code than hoping to be as descriptive as possible when generating the hashes (in this case instance ID's).

Thanks to Mizore Yukii for this advice, from Creator's Musings discord.

As in my previous guides, be descriptive with what you're typing there and then just change the last number.

The process is annoying and slow, so bear with the images, and follow along.

The TextureKey coloured in red is the 3rd ID you'll generate, it's what links the texture to the Pet Pelt Layer, which links it to the Pattern we're creating. (Sorry for the squished thumbnail, open it in your browser, I was running out of picture space for the rest of the tutorial lol).

And now we repeat this for the second Pet Pelt Layer.

Now, if you want the game to just generate the thumbnail for you, you can skip this step, if you want to make a custom thumbnail, then copy the Pet Coat Pattern Instance ID into the two Thumbnails we've added to our package file:

This is what the package file has to look like at this point.

Now is the relatively easy part, editing the second RLE 2 Image. We won't touch the base, because it's not necessary.

I recommend using the Horse Diffuse Map as a base when you're drawing your pattern. It'll be easier to see what you're doing. You can download it here: Horse Diffuse Map.

Remember, that your pattern HAS to be white, black space is IGNORED by the game and considered a "transparent" layer, so that you can see the layer beneath the you're working on.

This is my quick, and lazy test one I've made, I use a PNG of the Diffuse Map as a base and on a separate layer I draw with white coloured brushes:

You may notice the very straight lines on the diffuse map - make sure to colour OVER them as if you do not, it will appear in-game because those are the seams where the mesh "meets"

Once you're satisfied with your pattern, you can go to export, just make sure that the white pattern is on a separate layer to the diffuse map. At this point you can add a black background underneath the white and export.

All you have to do is export the RLE2 Image you've edited as a DDS image in the L8 format and (edited 31/08/2023) select "Generate mipmaps" otherwise you will experience a glitch in-game where the coat disappears. You can leave the mipmap options as default, it should work correctly.

Then, we're going to import it into our package and save our package:

Remember to not touch the completely white base coat!

Now that this is over, we'll go back to Pet Coat Pattern and edit some settings.

The first three settings is what I recommend changing around. The first setting changes the breed, the second setting changes how the coat pattern is labeled and the third setting changes the colour it's tagged under.

Only change "TagValue" - it will give you a dropdown menu, don't change anything else. The TagValueNumber changes automatically, so don't worry about it.

EDITED TO ADD:

Additionally, don't forget to go into "PetPeltLayer" and change the colours, this is what will show up as "base" colour that you can change in-game. You can change them for every PeltLayerData file you have.

Now, save and go test it out in game:

Bada bing, bada boom we've got our "custom" coat preset.

If I've forgotten anything, let me know. This took me 2 hours to write, so forgive my typos. If anything is unclear, let me know. I ran into a struggle with the picture limit on Tumblr (found out that it's 30, I should move my guides somewhere else, but where?)

[vickieuncommon-simblr]

Off Lot Object Bug Fix

Hello everyone! In reference to this post, I have created a guide for deleting objects outside the lot using Sims 4 Studio. The guide was created in Google Docs so that you all can download it for whenever you need it.

This is my first tutorial, so I hope it is comprehensive enough to help you. If anyone has any additional information or advice to provide, please let us know. We are all here to learn!

Off Lot Object Bug Fix Guide

[rebouks]

Previous // Next

[waves lapping] Alex: [gasps] Hey, buddy! Awh.. I haven’t caught anything yet. Alex: And you brought your friends! Alex: No wonder you’re the stinky one-.. wait! I KNOW YOU!! Alex: Is that your girlfriend? Alex: Yeah, I do that too. Alex: Well, cleanliness is important… Alex: Ah, more birds. Alex: Take me to your house. Alex: Are we done digging yet? That’s a pretty big hole. Alex: Now you go fast-.. on SAND? Toulouse! Alex: LOU!

[simplyanjuta]

Transferring animations between rigs (e.g. adult to child)

The steps below describe how to transfer an animation from an adult rig to a child rig but the method should be applicable for any transfer between human rigs.

However, I haven't tested other constellations. Let me know if you have any other tips, suggestions, corrections or run into any issues.

Many thanks to thepancake1 for helping figuring out the details that are not obvious at all 💛

I posted this little guide in Creator Musings for someone wondering about it but sharing it here as well.

Step 1)

Export the adult sim animation you want to transfer (=your source) to Blender.

Open a blend file with a child rig (=your target).

Append the adult rig with the animation to the child rig in Blender (File > Append > Select the blend file > folder "Object" > select rig and mesh there)

Select the animation from the adult rig for the child rig (select the child rig in the Outliner menu > select the scene tab in the properties panel below > in "S4S AnimationTools" select the adult animation as the "active animation")

This will get the job mostly done, but the animation will be offset and jumping around, as you see below. To correct for that you will need to set up several constraints as described in step 2.

Step 2)

As you see below the height of the ROOT_bind of the adult sim and child sim differ by about a factor of 0,7:

You can check the exact location in edit mode:

The ROOT_bind of the child rig is located at 0.6920, the ROOT_bind of the adult rig at 1.0112 on the Z axis, which gives a factor of 0.6920/1.0112=0.6843354430379747

With that information you now need to do the following (see image below for comparison, I also uploaded my blend file with the set up here):

In the Dope Sheet menu, select "Action Editor" and press "New Action" there to make a copy of the selected animation.

In the Dope Sheet Summary uncheck ROOT_bind (thus disabling the animation on the root bind for the child rig). Update/Correction: However, the rotation channels need to stay enabled (this only matters if the ROOT_bind is rotated in an animation). The setting should look like this:

In the Transform menu type in -0,6920 on the X axis for ROOT_bind (thus resetting its position to 0 in the animation; can't properly explain why X axis is chosen here instead of Y but it has sth to do with how local rotations of a bone are determined according to pancake)

Create a "Copy Location" constraint for ROOT_bind of the child rig targetting it to the ROOT_bind of the adult rig (this is done in the Properties panel > Bone Constraints), set Influence to 0.6843354430379747 (factor calculated above), deselect "Z"

Create a second "Copy Location" constraint for ROOT_bind in the same way but this time deselect "X" and "Y" and instead select "Z" and check "Offset".

The animation will now play as expected:

Step 3)

All you need to do now is bake the animation (thus applying all the constraints you set up). Select Pose > Animation > "Bake Action...", then check "Visual Keying" and "Clear Constraints" in the pop up. The animation will now work stand alone and you can delete the adult rig.

Alternatively, if you use Pancakes animation tools, you just need to export the clips, the constraints will be applied automatically.

[trentonsimblr]

Screenshot tip!

So idk if I'm late to the game in figuring this out and ya'll knew this already BUT I wanted to share in case someone else can benefit from this tip!

Historically when I'm working on a scene and a character is overexposed, I mess around with light placement and decreasing the intensity of the lights. Sometimes I'd get it just right and other times I'd get it close enough and say "screw it"

While working on a scene for chapter 6 I tried something different. I changed the color of the light from white to grey. NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE! It fixed the issue and didn't impact the overall brightness of the room. It makes total sense when you think about it and I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner. I'm sure there's instances that it won't work but it's a great tool to have in your back pocket!

Here's the difference:

Here's the exact settings I have all of the lights on:

[unbear-ably]

Barbara's Guide to Friendship: Quality Time

* The beautiful build in the back is by @ophernelia

[simsplymaddy]

holiday gift guide: luxury edition

♡ black stilettos

♡ simlish orcaella speaker

♡ chanel sunglasses

♡ prada handbag

♡ cosmetics

♡ house slippers

part three of my holiday gift guide. as always, thank you so much to all of the amazing and talented cc creators! @xplatinumxluxexsimsx @wondymoondesign @syboubou @pinkbox-anye @sundays-sims

[alltimefail-sims]

I've been meaning to make this post for a while because there are always arguments and frustrations regarding WCIFs here on simblr. With new users and simblrs popping up every day, I thought it wise to take a few minutes to inform people on this topic as some people really might not even know what WCIF means or what the universally acceptable way to approach WCIF asks is.

WCIF is shorthand for "where can I find..."

If you are a simblr, it is a good idea to clarify in your blog's bio if you are open to messages asking about cc, that way people visiting your blog don't have to guess. You can indicate this by saying you are either WCIF Friendly or WCIF Unfriendly/No WCIFs. If someone is WCIF friendly, it means that they welcome messages in their ask box regarding where to find a certain mod, piece of cc, etc. If someone is WCIF unfriendly, this means they do not welcome messages in their ask box of this nature.

When someone is WCIF unfriendly, you should respect their terms and boundaries by not sending them a message asking where to find something for the sims. Yes, this means even "well-intended" asks that are ultra polite are not welcome to them (which is perfectly okay). Instead, first check if the user has a "CC Finds" sideblog where they reblog the cc they use.

If they don't have a "CC Finds" blog where they essentially archive the cc they use, you can make a post on your own blog with a screenshot (with a link to the original post) and/or a description of the cc you're looking for and tag it as public wcif, this way people can respond if they know what the mod or cc is. There are also reddit threads for sims 4 wcifs you can post on. If you don't want to do any of that, try googling it by description! You'd be surprised how intuitive the results can be.

On the other hand, if someone is WCIF friendly they are open to helping you find a specific piece of cc for the sims, but you should always send them a WCIF in their ask box, not through a private message or a comment on their post. This is so they can make one public post and avoid inquiries about the same cc over and over again. They will likely tag these posts on their page as "WCIF," so be sure to check their tags before you ask them about a piece of cc because they might have already linked to it in a different ask!

It should go without saying, but even though someone is WCIF friendly this doesn't mean you can disregard kindness when it comes to asking someone a favor. Say hi, ask politely (please and thank you go a long way ya know!), and be patient. People who are wcif friendly choose to take their time to link cc for others, so they're doing you a favor...be nice!

I think I covered the basics as simply as I could; the most important thing is to remember that there are real people on the other side of simblr blogs, and whether they have 13,000 followers or 3 they deserve to be respected. Just be kind and respect people's boundaries. I hope this helps someone, and if you didn't know about any of this... now you know! 👍

[yoruqueenofnightsims]

Tutorial: Converting all types of CAS CC to work with color sliders (+ how to disable it)

This enables CAS CC to work with Color Sliders for Hair, Clothes, & Accessories by thepancake1 and @mizoreyukii.

Since S4 Studio only let's you batch convert hairs and update makeup for compatibility, I present to you: TS4AlphaConverter_2_2_0_0 by CmarNYC.

Keep in mind that enabling CAS CC for color sliders will increase the file sizes of your .package files!

Sliders will also always affect all the texture, i.e. you can't exclude accessories like buttons or zippers, so some textures might not work well.

Also check out this tutorial: Fixing slider compatible CAS CC with broken textures

💜 Requirements:

Color Slider mod

TS4AlphaConverter_2_2_0_0

CAS CC you want to enable

Featured CC by @trillyke @daylifesims @jius-sims @magic-bot

💜How to enable CC for color sliders

1. Download the required program, mod and CC you want. This is my outfit before sliders:

2. Open up Alpha Converter

3. For enabling sliders, you can only use the folder option and not single files: Select your input folder which contains the .packages you want to enable. Then select your output folder where you want to save the new files. "Include subfolders" is handy if your CC goes into more folders inside your input folder. It will reproduce the same file structure.

4. I would recommend enabling "Don't change package names" so you can just replace your input files directly, otherwise it adds "_Fixed" at the end of the filename. I will also leave "Don't copy unchanged packages" checked.

5. Next we will select "Convert RLE2 to LRLE" to enable color sliders. I will explain the others later. It then enables "Convert only textures linked from CASPs" which is good, e.g. it will only target actual CAS CC textures then and no Build & Buy for example. Leave "Convert all diffuse textures linked from CASP" checked if you want to convert all types of CAS CC.

6. These are my finished settings:

7. Press "Go". It will then take a while depending on file amount and swatches, as it will have to go through textures one by one.

8. Check your finished files. The file size should be bigger, in this case it went up by 30 MB for only 5 files.

This is how the outfit looks after applying sliders to all pieces:

💜 How to disable CAS CC for color sliders

This time select "Convert LRLE to RLE2". You can leave "Convert only textures linked from CASPs".

2. Press "Go" and let it do it's thing.

3. As you can see, the file size went down again (middle), but it is not the same size as from the original file (right).

You will no longer be able to use sliders on the CAS CC piece, except transparency, which always works.

💜 Fixing slider compatible CAS CC with broken textures

If some of your CAS CC displays huge areas of missing, pixelated textures there is an issue with compression.

I don't know how and why this happens, but check out * this tutorial * on how to fix it.

@thefoxburyinstitute @maxismatchccworld @emilyccfinds @sssvitlanz

[h-emera]

5th try at writing the guide on custom pet paint mode brushes, if tumblr manages to mess this one up i will have a fit

16/10/2023 Edited: Updated to add better hash ID generating practices.

Things you'll need:

Sims 4 Studio

GIMP

Notepad

Guide:

Tools that we will be using:

We'll begin by creating a new, empty package.

Save it somewhere convenient and easy to access.

Once you've saved the package, you'll be met with this screen:

From here, we'll go to Tools > Game File Cruiser

We'll be working with Pet Coat Brush files and DST Image, but for now we'll only select Pet Coat Brush file, so that it's easier for us.

I've selected the first brush file and I've highlighted the piece of data we'll need to use.

We'll have to use the Game File Cruiser search function, but first, press "Add to current package". When you've gotten the hang of this, you can explore the pre-existing brush files and decide which one you'd prefer to use as your base, all are different and correspond to different brushes/stamps in-game.

Once you've clicked on "add to current package" your package editor should look like this:

Now we'll copy the Image1 ID and go back to Game File Cruiser, select DST Image from the file type list and enter the ID into the search bar:

Now, click "Add to current package" and now the package file you're working on will look like this:

Before we move further, we need to generate new instance ID's, we'll need 3 of them.

Go to Tools > Hash Generator

Edited 16/10/2023: When generating your hash ID's, please use your creator name ie.: "[YourCreatorName/Blogname]TutorialCustomFurCoat1", this will give you a more unique hash code than hoping to be as descriptive as possible when generating the hashes (in this case instance ID's).

Thanks to Mizore Yukii for this advice, from Creator's Musings.

In the "text" field, enter whatever text you want, I just go with the item name/description + a number, to indicate which ID it is.

We'll need 3 of FNV64 hash codes.

These are the 3 ID's that I've generated:

514EF7FCFA080185

514EF7FCFA080186

514EF7FCFA080187

We'll use the first code for the Pet Coat Brush file, the second code for Image1 (Brush file) and the third for Image2 (Brush icon file).

Your Pet Coat Brush file should look like this now, with the updated ID's.

Moving forward, we'll be changing the ID for the DST Image1 (Brush in-game) -

Now that you've done this, you need to right click on DST Images > Duplicate, you'll be prompted with this window:

In this window, you'll use the last hash code you generated for the Image2 new ID (in-game icon).

Now! It'll all look like this:

To edit the brush we'll be seeing in-game, we'll now have to edit the image, begin by exporting the image available in DST Image.

Once that's done, open it up in whatever editing software you want to use, I'll be using GIMP, because it has built in DDS exporter, I recommend you do the same, however if not interested in doing so, make sure your program can export DDS images in L8 format, if not, edit in preferred software and use GIMP to export as DDS.

Once you've made your brush, you'll want to do as follows:

IMPORTANT

It MUST be exported in the format L8, it will appear broken in-game otherwise.

Then, import your custom made brush into S4S package editor:

Do the same for the icon:

You've got the easiest part down, now, comes the part with testing how well the brush works and behaves in-game.

The responsibility of this falls onto the values you may have seen in Pet Coat Brush file -

These are the values responsible for how the brush works in-game.

I'll be upfront right now, I can't get the rotation value to work, I'm not sure if I'm doing something incorrectly, but if I figure it out, I'll add to the guide eventually. I haven't had time to test this further, but as far as I've been able to test it, it works like a charm.

These are the value meanings -

Sorry for how lazy this is presented, as once I figured out the basic meaning, I moved forward.

B1 is responsible for sorting on whether your brush is considered a Brush or a Stamp. 0 & 2 - Brush, 1 & 3 Stamp EDITED 24/10/2023: 0 is non-rotating brush, 2 is a rotating brush!

For F1, I do NOT recommend using 0 or 5, when I tested these values in-game, they were extremely laggy when attempting to paint. 1 - Smooth Painting, 2 - Spaced Apart Slightly, Overlap, 3 - Spaced One After Another, Some Overlap, 4 - Spaced One After Another, No Overlap

F2 changes the size of the brush in-game, meaning how small it can be, I believe. 0 - 1px smallest size brush, scaling up changes how small the brush can get.

F3 I suspect is brush rotation, but I could not make it work on any of the brushes I tried making, so I'm not 100 sure. This is one of the brushes you'll have to look at values for in the existing in-game brush files, as I could not get this to work for myself.

F4 is the maximum the size of the brush will become. Maximum size the brush can get, I've tested it from 0 to 5, 5 is quite large, so I recommend that, but go for smaller as well.

F5 I'm not entirely sure, however during my testing, I found that this changes where exactly the brush appears in both stamps and brush tabs in-game. There may be more to it, however, I could not figure it out. The values I tested for this were 0, 1 and 2, this affected where the item appeared - 0 - First Row, First Item, 1, First Row, 2nd Item, 2 - 2nd Row, First Item, I've seen that these can go quite high, ie the base file I used being 44, so keep that in mind while changing this setting. For my personal brushes I use 0.

I recommend comparing existing brush files to the one you're looking to edit.

I believe this is it. If there are any questions, I'll try to answer as best as I can. If anyone wants to add anything to this, please do so, I'll be elated to update and credit you for the information shared.

This all came to be because I could not find a guide, but fortunately for me, I'm too good at figuring things out and even though I didn't quite understand how the Game File Cruiser worked a few days ago, I've consumed so much information it hurts my brain.

Forgot to add: Finished product

Because I didn't edit the Pet Coat Brush file I was working on, I've made a stamp, I recommend messing around for a while though and finding what you prefer. The values themselves are pretty easy and forgiving to edit.

So account for that, you'll definitely want to edit the values responsible for the brush working correctly. If you have any questions, please let me know, I tried to make this as clear as possible, and I know this is probably over the top for a guide, but I'm the kind of person who needs every small direction, to even know what I'm doing, when I'm following a guide.

UPDATED AGAIN, I FORGOT TO ADD THE ACTUAL VALUES I FOUND.

[tianaberrie]

detectar mods conflictivos sims 4 | tips, escanea y elimina virus

esta es una guía definitiva de como detectar mods conflictivos, además les compartiré algunos tips para evitar errores en los sims 4 y podrás eliminar los mods dañados de tu juego.

· ver tutorial

*thanks to @twistedmexi for creating the mods*

[ck-sims]

Above: before-and-after pictures of this process. Thank you to @cloudywithachanceofsims, @silverthornestudfarm, and @blueridgeequines for giving me permission to use their coats as examples!

CK's Guide to Fixing Pixelated Horse Coats

As we all know, every time you paint a horse (or any pet or werewolf, really) in Create-a-Pet, it inevitably gets pixelated. This is due to the TS4 engine's compression of Sims textures, which it does to theoretically save on file space and load time. The more you paint on your horse (and the more you save it over and over again), the greater the artifact damage becomes, until you're left with a pixelated mess.

Luckily, I've figured out a way to fix it. Yay!

This method uses a program called chaiNNER, which is an incredibly versatile node-based graphics UI that (among many other things) uses AI models to upscale and process images. After a month and a half of experimenting on multiple different types of coats with about a dozen different models, I've identified two AI models that work best at repairing the artifacting damage done by TS4: RealESRGAN_x2plus and 2xAniscale.  I extract the painted coats from the tray files using Cmar's Coat Converter, process them using chaiNNER, use Photoshop to make any touch ups (softening hard edges, fixing seams, adding in the appropriate hoof texture), and then create a new hoof swatch to put the newly fixed coat back into the game.

Fair warning: chaiNNER is a bit of a hefty program that requires significant RAM and VRAM to run. If you have a beefy gaming computer, you should have no issues running this (as long as no other major programs - games, graphics programs, etc. - are running as well). If you've got a lower end computer, though, your computer might not be able to handle it and this method might not be for you. Make sure to read all the documentation on chaiNNer's github before proceeding.

Before we begin, we're going to need to gather some resources. We will need:

A graphics program. I use Photoshop, but GIMP or any other program that can work in layers will work too.

chaiNNER

AI Models; these are the ones I use are RealESRGAN_x2plus and 2xAniscale

Cmar's Coat Converter to extract the coat textures from your tray files

Tray Importer (Optionally) to isolate your household tray files and save you the trouble of searching the Tray Folder

The TS4 Horse UV as a helpful guide to make sure all our textures are lined up properly

Sims 4 Studio to create your new package.

I recommend using S4S to export hoof swatch textures from the game or from existing hoof swatch cc. Some popular hoof swatch CC include @walnuthillfarm's Striped Hooves and @pure-winter-cc's Glorious Striped Hooves

This tutorial assumes you are familiar with the basics in how to use Sims 4 Studio, such as how to clone a base-game item & how to import and export textures, and the basic functions of your graphics program, such as adding multiple different image files together as layers. I'll try to keep my explanations as straight-forward as possible.

STEP ONE: Extract the Coats

Install Cmar's Coat Converter and run it. Cmar's Coat Converter works by looking through your tray files for specific texture files (ie. The coats of cats, dogs, horses, and werewolves) and converting them to png files. You can go through the households of your Tray folder one by one, but I typically just use Tray Importer to separate the household containing the horses I want to fix.

Save the extracted coats in a project folder. These are your OG coats.

STEP TWO: Extract the hoof textures

Open up S4S. To extract the hoof swatches from the base game, create a new package by clicking CAS -> New Package, filter everything by species (ie. Horse) and then part type (Hoof color). Highlight all the basegame swatches and then save your new package.

Open up that package and then extract the texture for each swatch. Save them in your project folder (In a 'basegame hooves' folder to keep things organized).

To extract the textures from Hoof Swatch CC files, simply open them up in S4S and repeat the above.

STEP THREE: Download the AI Models

Right as it says on the tin. These are the models I use currently & some notes about them:

RealESRGAN_x2plus - this model is THE workhorse. It repairs artifact damaging with minimal loss to texture quality and results in a very smooth coat. It may sometimes darken the texture a little bit, but it's not noticeable in-game. That being said, it has a harder time with finer details such as spots, individual ticking for roans, dapples etc. I run this one first on all the coats because it usually does the job.

These models are trained to find and repair any incidence of artifacting/jpeg damage and approximate what the image is supposed to look like. The reason RealESRGAN_x2plus has an especially hard time with spots/dapples/tiny repetitive details etc. because it registers those areas as particularly damaged and works extra hard to smooth it out… which can sometimes result in a bit of an iffy coat repair. When things don't turn out the way I want, I turn to...

2xAniscale - I use this model for any appaloosas, roans, sabinos etc. that have very fine detail and came out mangled by RealESRGAN_2xPlus. It's also good for light-duty repairing (in cases where people have only 'saved' the coat once, as opposed to working on it on and off). While not strong enough on its own to tackle the more heavily damaged coats, it still does a decent job while keeping the fine details intact.

Go make a folder somewhere and name it 'AI Models' or something similar, and drop these guys in there.

STEP FOUR: Setting up chaiNNER

Obviously, go ahead and download chaiNNER, and then (through chaiNNER itself) download & install the dependencies. You really only need PyTorch for this, so if you'd like, you can skip NCNN, ONNX, and Stable Diffusion.

At first glance, chaiNNER is a bit overwhelming. It is unlike any other graphics ui I've seen before, but the basic premise is pretty straightforward: you 'chain' together specific functions ('nodes') in order to get your result.

We're going to start by setting up a chain for single coat conversions.

Drag & drop these nodes into your workspace:

Load Image

Save Image

Upscale Image

Load Model (From the PyTorch tab only!)

Text append

Next, connect the nodes just as I have connected them in the image.

Load Image, obviously, loads your image. We then tell the program we want to upscale that image by linking to the Upscale Image node. Upscaling can't happen without a model, so we then want to link Upscale Image with Load Model.

Text Append takes the original name of the image and combines it with the model name. This is super helpful, because if you're playing with many models at a time, you need to tell your result images apart. Link the output text to the Save Image Model.

Finally, Save Image obviously saves the image. We link the directory from Load Image to save it in the same place as the OG image, or, optionally, add in a file path link to another folder (in my case, I load images from a folder called 'Unprocessed' and save them into a folder called 'Processed'. Link the image from Upscale Image to Save Image to complete this chain.

Go in and select your image, model, and save locations.

Ta dah! You made your first chain.

To create an Iterator to batch process coats, we follow the same general idea, only we use 'Load Images'.

STEP FIVE: Run chaiNNER

Go ahead and run chaiNNER. Repeat using 2xAniscale if your spotty/dappled coat comes out funky.

Optionally, you can also add 'Resize' between 'Upscale' and 'Save Image' so the output texture is the same size as the OG. I like keeping mine big, as it makes it easier to fix any fine details in Photoshop.

STEP SIX: Combine in Photoshop

Go ahead and open up the horse UV, your coat texture & hoof swatches in Photoshop. This is a fairly straightforward process: layer the hooves overtop the texture, and then hide all hoof layers except the one you want. Make sure everything is lined up properly using the horse UV.

This is also where you would go in and fix any sharp, jagged edges you might spot. I often notice jagged edges on white face markings. Since the head is often one of the worst areas for artifacting, the AI models don't really have much to work with, resulting in jagged edges as they try to extrapolate what had been there 'before'. Either paint over it or use blur to smooth it out.

I personally would also remove any stray color that isn't the horse texture (body + ears). It won't hurt to leave it there, but I personally like things neat and tidy. Use the horse UV as a guide.

I also add in any little details using extracted stencils & layer masks.

Save your new coat as a png. Optionally, downsize it by 50% back to the original size. I don't do this because I'm very forgetful, but this would definitely help in keeping your package size smaller.

STEP SEVEN (Optional): Make a thumbnail

I make thumbnails for all the coats I do because it makes it much easier to identify them under the Hoof Swatch category. TS4 thumbnails are 144 x 148. You can label it with your horse's name, or stick a headshot in there etc. whatever works for you that will help it stand out from the other hoof swatches.

STEP EIGHT: Put it all Together

Finally, we've come to the end.

Using S4S, create a new package cloned from a hoof swatch. Import your new coat into 'Texture', and your thumbnail into 'Thumbnail'. Make sure you import the thumbnail for both Male and Female!

Check to make sure there aren't major seams, and that your texture is properly projected onto the S4S horse model. If there are seams, go back to check that your texture is lined up properly with the Horse UV. If there are minor seams (legs, chest, underbelly etc.) you can carefully paint (using the same color as on either side of the seam) just beyond the UV mesh boundaries to close the seam.

Then, go into Categories, scroll down, and uncheck Random. This will prevent random townie horses from wearing the coat.

Save your package.

Congratulations! You're done!

[arcadewonder]

getting ready for winterfest. ❄️

[dejasenti99]

well hi :3 welcome to deja’s skinblending guide. this is my first full written tutorial so excuse me if its not very good LAWL before we get started, here's the tools i'll be using

sims4studio

tray importer

photoshop 2022 (theres cracked version everywhere on tumblr)

blender 4.1

sims 4 ripper

blender + the ripper aren't required to make skins, plenty of people don't go that extra step, but i love using it for placement help

okay lets fuckin go gamers heres my very in depth process for making my ocs skins

miss dolly is gonna be our model today. she already has a skin but im gonna add some little details for the sake of example + some tats cause ive been meaning to anyway.

so when i first get started on making someone a skin, ill find a good base to use and then add details from other categories like nosemasks, eyebags, contours, etc.

my fav skin creators are @sims3melancholic and @thisisthem. my bases are usually thisisthem, and then i'll pick through a couple s3m skins and make notes on my phone about what parts i wanna take off of them (like, say, i like how a certain s3m skin's nose looks. i'll use that instead of a nosemask)

my goal when im gathering things i wanna add is to free up as many slots as i can. id rather add cheshire's freckles onto her skin than use up the freckle slot in skin details that i could use for something else, yknow?

ill repeat this process for makeup next. obviously im not giving my ocs permanent full glam, but some lipsticks can add better texture, you can get highlights/blush from........the blush section LOL and i love using this obscurus eyeliner at a low-ish opacity

just adds an extra level of detail i love. i think what keeps my sims looking consistent next to each other is that i tend to use some of the same details all across the board

make sure for all makeup/skin detail/tattoo category swatches you use, you make note of what swatch it exactly is. when you go into s4s to export the file, you're gonna have to manually select it and if u cant remember what skintone u chose out it can be annoying :/

note that she is completely nakey aside from her piercings while i pick what im gonna use for her skin! no clothing but u can keep on their hair. this is so we have a clear view of everything (and i mean EVERYTHING) for blender.

after you make sure u save the sim/household to ur gallery, you can close out of cas and save ur game! i forgot to do this bc im a fucking idiot but its okay bc you will not. its not REALLY necessary to do this as long as you know exactly what packages you need to locate for texture exporting

step one is done!!!! close out ur game

i have a million fucking characters so i made a deja senti skinblending folder to keep it all organized :-)

this is what it looks like inside. gives u a pretty good overview of what ur gonna be doing tbh. the 't' folder is all the textures we're about to export

thankfully i do have a version of dahlia saved in my gallery so even tho i didnt go it before i closed my game i can still show u what to do in tray importer lol. i have multiple sims in one household, so i narrowed it down by going up top and selecting dahlia / human / and her everyday outfit.

since im gonna give her this blush, i right click and hit open w package viewer so itll find it and open s4s for me

anime wow sound. im gonna change the color manually in photoshop so it doesnt matter to me what swatch i export. hit that green export button under the list of diffuse/shadow/etc (u dont need to worry about all those options, just diffuse) and save it to ur folder!

once ur done gathering ur textures ur good to close out of tray importer and s4s(we'll come back to s4s later tho)

thats step two! the quickest step lawl

this is where i start being a little extra. u dont have to rip ur sim and use blender if u dont want to, but i think it can rly help bc the default sim in s4s doesn't have ur sims facial features and can make ur skins look wonky/wont give an accurate representation of how itll look in game. this cuts out having to go in game/out of game over and over to check

so in simripper once u load up ur sim, the important part is to make sure u have it set to export the dae with separate meshes. once thats done u can import it into blender and there's plenty of other tutorials out there how to use simripper n all that.

so once u get the dae loaded into blender im gonna send u on a little side quest over to this ask i answered where i explain how i separate eyes from the head mesh. next thing ur gonna open is photoshop! or whatever u have thats similar

say hi to flat dahlia. u should have ur own guy but flat open now too :-) along with everything else ur gonna combine. in my case its blush and a titty mask. im gonna start w the blush so i zoomed into her face in blender. i went into the blush file and copied, then back into my base skin file and pasted into place with crtl+shift+v

please do not be like me. make sure u rename ur layers as you copy and paste them into the main skin file. do this because it DOES matter what order ur layers are in. u dont want to put ur highlight under ur nose mask cause the nose mask will just cover the highlight etc etc. i already lost what layer the new blush i added is. what is wrong w me

so when u have ur first detail pasted on and in place, ur gonna save the base skin file as a psd. then go into blender, and in the little textures window ur gonna replace the diffuse file ur dae came loaded with with ur new psd file

u should see the change u made but mine was super subtle so im gonna show it to u when i put on the cleavage overlay

when it comes to stuff like this, ur obviously gonna want to pick the closest to ur skintone swatch as u can. i did not do this, because again, im an idiot

mine is way too pale LAWL whoops. we can fix this tho

i add a hue/saturation adjustment and make it a clipping mask using that square w the arrow so the adjustment will ONLY affect the mask

from there i just make little adjustments until the color match up is as perfect as i can make it. for example for this, ik that it needs to be a little warmer and a little more saturated, so im gonna bump the hue and saturation sliders to the right and it was pretty much perfect

tiddies with no mask > with mask no adjustments > with mask and adjustments

and ur gonna go ahead and repeat that process with every single thing u wanna add to ur skin.

so as for tattoos! this is another thing ur gonna wanna rename the layers for because depending on how heavily ur sims can be tatted it can get A LOT

here's psyche's neat little tattoo folder. its separated into where the tattoo is and then

what it is

i find all my tattoo inspo on pinterest using flash sheets/keywords in the search. my ocs usually have sub-boards that i hoard inspo in for them specifically. dahlia doesnt have one bc ive never seen her as the most tattooed person, but i think she'd have some at least

this process is pretty much the same as putting on skin details! its all about adjusting to what u like. for example, i like when my sims tattoos are a little faded and a bit blurred at the edges cause it looks a little more real

when it comes to images i find on pinterest, ill save the image and first try to make it as clean as i can

for example, this lil guy

a curve mask made the whites brighter and the blacks darker as u can see. then ill go into filter > reduce noise to soften the harsh edges

then i flatten it, copy and paste to the skin file, n place it wherever i want it to go :-)

louder anime wow!!!

okay so now ur gonna want to make sure u .psd file is saved (it should be bc we've been checking our progress w blender) and then merge the visible layers (NOT flatten, merge visible. we need the transparency around the skin to be in tact)

ur done in photoshop and blender!!! good job :-)

step whatever number we're on. back into s4s!

ur focus is over here. make sure the option filled is the top one, and then hit the cas button

this menu will open, ur gonna go up to part type and find the option skin details, forehead. pick the first forehead wrinkle option that appears and hit 'next.' itll prompt you to save ur new file n give it a name, i usually just make it my sim's name cause i have a folder in my mods folder for specifically my cc

remember wayyyy back when we were exporting the skin details? ur gonna go back to that same section and hit 'import' instead of export. select ur skin's .png file, and poof !

ur skin :DD it looks great man good job

this part is EXTREMELY important. go up to the warehouse tab

in the 'data' section ur gonna see a box at the top labeled 'filter.' thats where i typed in 'compos' just so it would show me JUST the compositionmethod section since theres a lot of shit in there lawl. yours is initially gonna say '3,' but we're gonna change it to '0' mind you, this is because MY skins are all alpha. maxis match overlays do not show up on my skins because my comp method is set to 0, meaning it has top priority essentially.

after you do that, you can hit save and place that .package file you created into your mods folder!!! and GUESS WHAT BESTIE UR DONE!!!!! U DID IT :DDDD

of course, as always, you can always dm me if youre stuck on anything or need any more clarification. i am always open to help as much as i can. i rly hope this helped :-)