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Instructor
Original Poster
#1 Old 2nd Jun 2019 at 10:08 PM Last edited by broomhilda61 : 13th Jun 2019 at 10:10 AM.
Default How do you extract the creases and shadows from these blinds-Solved
I recolored these blinds but I have no idea how to extract the creases and shadows from it to put on my recolors..
Thank you for your help in advance..

XM Sims2 Bedroom Blinds ..scroll down





tilly from Blooming Rosy tried to either extract the shadows and creases and even tried to make some and couldn't do it..thank you tilly for your help and everyone else on MTS that tried to help
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Alchemist
#2 Old 2nd Jun 2019 at 11:34 PM
I don't think you can extract them. If your recoloring program uses layers, you can take a lighter solid recolor that has the shading, make it gray scale if it's not already, paste it in a new layer over your recolor, then play with the opacity, eraser and blend modes to get something that looks good.
Instructor
Original Poster
#3 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 1:53 AM
Thank you omglo...
But I have no idea what you said lol sorry...
Mad Poster
#4 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 2:00 AM
More of a step-by-step explanation:

- Extract one of the solid (preferably light) colors using SimPE.
- Open the file in a picture editing program that can use layers (Photoshop, Gimp, or similar)
- Make the texture grayscale (desaturate).
- Adjust with curves or levels if the texture is too dark.
- Collapse all the adjustment layers and whatnots, so you just have a grayscale picture.
- Put a layer underneath the grey layer, with a color or pattern.
- Put a blend mode on the greyscale image, to make it overlay the pattern/color. I prefer using Multiply.

You can find tons of variants on this method on Youtube, in the Bodyshop creation area, and similar. It's pretty much what everyone does when recoloring, with some variations.

A few tutorials to start you off - the photoshop parts also work for furniture:
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=182614 (color layer)
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=172166 (hue/sat)
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=180663
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=39235 (patterns)
Instructor
Original Poster
#5 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 2:06 AM
I'm sorry simmer22 I still don't understand..I am not very good with SimPE or Photoshop...and I am a visual learner..is there a way of doing this step by step with pictures...please..
Thank you omglo and simmer for trying to help..
I don't understand any of those...way to much..
I may have abandon the blinds/curtains..
Mad Poster
#6 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 2:09 AM
Posted some tutorials above.

Do you use Gimp or Photoshop or some other program for recoloring? Would be more helpful for you if we knew what you're using, so you can get tutorials that fit this program.

You can use similar techniques across programs, but if you need to also learn the basics and where to find the tools, it's best to start out with learning the techniques in one program, so you don't get confused.
Instructor
Original Poster
#7 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 2:15 AM
I use the old Adobe Photoshop CS2
Should mention to...I am color blind...my world is grey...but I can also see, black, brown, white, and red...but I can't put grey and white next to one another or black and brown together...
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#8 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 3:14 AM
I use Coral Photoshop. In there I simply recolour using the colour changer tool. When I click on it, it has two options, flood fill or colour changer. Hopefully, your program has that too. If you do bucket fill it gives a flat surface with all creases and shadows gone, if you use colour changer it applies the colour over the top while keeping the creases and shading.

I don't do anything hard like extract the creases and shadows and would have no idea how to. It's all in how you apply the colour, nothing tricky like taking the creases from one thing to another.
Screenshots

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Instructor
Original Poster
#9 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 3:35 AM Last edited by broomhilda61 : 3rd Jun 2019 at 4:13 AM.
I don't understand if you do that then I lose the picture it will be just one color right...????
I tried both ways and no creases or shading????? but that isn't what I want I want that mermaid picture

I have so much to learn...
but I think I will just go use the in game curtains for now...

Thank you all for your help... :lovestruc
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#10 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 4:49 AM
You lose the first picture if you don't have a copy of it sure. If I save the red as a different name then I would have the yellow and the red.

Do you have colour changer on your program? It's right with the bucket fill but doesn't do that bucket fill that takes away the creases. Small patterns can work the same way as the solid colour, as do repeating patterns. One way to achieve something close to that would be to use a background sea life pattern and then do a placement on a separate layer of a mermaid. I would start with something easy like solids or a repeating pattern.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Instructor
Original Poster
#11 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 5:04 AM
Yes I have the color changer...and I used it as well as the bucket but neither one gave me the shadows or creases...I had used white to try it out..I thought it might come through...
Wish I had the shadow like MysticRain did for her pillows to lay over the recolor to get the shading it would be so much easier lol...
I am doing sets...I have panel walls already made and Jonesi's Blanket and MysticRains pillows...and 2 of the 3 Echo's Rugs came out but the small one didn't so will have to find another rug to do...
Thank you Jo for your help...
Mad Poster
#12 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 11:09 AM Last edited by simmer22 : 3rd Jun 2019 at 11:32 AM.
Do "save as..." and save with a new name. If you save over the file you work on, you'll lose it.

The shadow MysticRain has for their pillows is made just like in the tutorials above. You make a greytoned texture (desaturate) of a non-patterned version of the texture you want to use, and use this as an overlay for the colors, pictures or patterns. If you just test out a few of the tutorials I think you'll understand.

I learned this back when I had Photoshop CS2 (or just CS - can't remember, but it was below the CS3 version), and all the tools from it are still in the almost exact same places in the newer versions (there have been a couple UI changes with CS5/6, but not so big it's not possible to find the tools you need), so you can use most general Photoshop tutorials.

By "color changer", do you mean the hue/saturation tool, Broomhilda? If so, that's not always the best tool to use for color changing. It can handle simpler color changes, but with too large changes the texture often ends up with spots and blotches.

Using a shadow overlay is often the best way to recolor, and I think you already know how to use them. Making an overlay is relatively easy (they're easy to make, but the quality and end result depends on the base texture you're working with), but you have to sit down with a tutorial and do the steps to learn how to make them.
Instructor
Original Poster
#13 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 12:01 PM
Yes I do the save as..and then I number them at the end with _1,_2 and so on..so I can remember what I did lol
I do use the hue/saturation but it doesn't really do the shadowing or creases...
I have never used the shadow overlay...I wan't taught how to use that and wasn't really sure what it was..
What I really need is someone watching over my shoulder and showing me how to do things lol...
I just did some in game curtains with solid colors so I think I will go back and try the overlay and the greytoned texture so see how that works
And I also found that some of the things that everyone with these tutorials are showing but not on mine or if they are I have no idea where they are...I didn't even know that you can right click on like the button to get the bucket...
This is why I struggle with tutorials..it may be for beginners for the most part...but I can't comprehend things every well...and there is just so much in words and not enough pictures...
I am 58 and graduated from High School but only have a 7th grade reading level...I know that is no excuse but that is why I struggle to understand and comprehend...
thank you for your help simmer
Mad Poster
#14 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 2:10 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AulxkPGvt1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaS8rU9ilYk (TS4, but Photoshop-heavy, shows the principle)

Some people use the grey texture at the bottom, and put layer styles/overlays on the colors and textures.
Other people use the grey layer on top with an overlay, and use colors/patterns under it (I do that, see example below). I prefer this method, as it involves a bit less masking.

Here's an example you can open up and take a look at, move around the layers, see what the different overlays do, play around with the layer masks (those can be drag-dropped to other layers), and so forth:
Attached files:
File Type: rar  testPSD1.rar (752.9 KB, 6 downloads) - View custom content
Instructor
Original Poster
#15 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 2:19 PM Last edited by broomhilda61 : 3rd Jun 2019 at 5:03 PM.
Thank you...went looking for the overlays and not sure where they are?????
I have bodyshop open and am going to try that out starting with part 1...
Oh forgot this is for Sims2...sorry
Will take a look at that file as well thank you for that
I looked at that file and well I have no idea what I was looking at what to do with it sorry

EDIT:
Well I did the Part 1 tutorial...it worked didn't like it but it worked...I understood all of that..now to part 2
Thank you for those links..
Mad Poster
#16 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 8:17 PM
Some of the tutorials I linked to are for TS4 (I swear half the TS2 tutorials I thought should be there have been swallowed by a tsunami of TS4 tutorials, and I can't find any good ones) - but since TS2 and TS4 recoloring is pretty much an identical process in Photoshop, there's no harm in using a TS4 tutorial for the Photoshop techniques. You can use a TS2 tutorial for the SimPE (or Bodyshop) process.
----

The blend modes are in the dropdown list with the arrow in the Layer list, usually bottom right corner of Photoshop.

Mark the layer you want to change (so it lights up blue, like the "Layer 2" in the picture), and select a blend mode from the dropdown list. You can also play around with Opacity and Fill for a more transparent look.
Screenshots
Instructor
Original Poster
#17 Old 3rd Jun 2019 at 11:57 PM
Thank you simmer...off to try out Part2...
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#18 Old 4th Jun 2019 at 2:26 AM
@simmer22 broomhilda61is referring to what I said above about the colour changer. Maybe a blind is too large, it worked just fine on a child tshirt, no blotches.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#19 Old 4th Jun 2019 at 11:45 AM
I don't think there is a color changer like that in PS CS2 (what broomhilda has). The tool with the bucket in PS is a gradient tool, has been for quite a while. There are a lot or other methods to change colors in PS, though.

Do you use Gimp, Jo?
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#20 Old 4th Jun 2019 at 12:00 PM
No, I have Corel Paint Shop pro vr 6. I do have Gimp but I found it harder to figure out.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#21 Old 4th Jun 2019 at 12:49 PM Last edited by simmer22 : 4th Jun 2019 at 1:18 PM.
Gimp is fine if you just want a free alternative to Photoshop, but it doesn't have all the same tools (you can probably download a bunch, though) and the workflow is a bit different. It does lack some of the functions I use quite a lot in regards to color changing in Photoshop, and I'm still struggling to figure out ways around things I can do on "autopilot" in Photoshop. Some of the tools act very diffferent even if they supposedly do the same thing. I'm only using it because it doesn't send my old laptop into pixel-hell, which Photoshop tends to do (pixellated screen, often accompagnied with a horrible noise if there's sound on, and the laptop has to be restarted). I installed regular Photoshop on my new laptop, though - I can't deal with GImp any longer, unless I absolutely have to...

I think I've tested out all Photoshop versions from CS2 to CS6, possibly one before CS2, too. They mostly have the same base functions, with some additions (that I hardly ever use) and a few updates to the hue/sat function with CS3 and on (it fixed some major issues and made the tool a lot better), and a UI change around CS4 or 5, I think (Hue/sat and similar tools moved to the right part of the screen instead of a box that pops up). So for the most part it's possible to use any Photoshop tutorial that shows the older tools, as long as you don't get too hung up in using the exact settings. Color change is one of the very basic ones, and I think a lot of the tools have been available throughout most of the CS era, with some minor or major updates.

Broomhilda, it is much better if you learn to do this on your own - but just in case, I did make a couple files for you so you can get a start on making recolors with overlays. They may need some more adjustments, and for the moment work best with solid colors and brighter patterns. All you need to do is to put your pattern above the red and blue/white layers (thye're just there to show the effect of the overlay and to show you where to put the textures, and are not actually neccessary). For darker patterns, you can select the grey overlay and play around with Levels or Brightness/Contrast to make it pop more: https://simfileshare.net/download/1075056/
Maybe having an actual example of what you're trying to achieve can help you when you at a later point need to do this with another recoloring project. Also, this isn't the only way to change colors or patterns for a recolor, it's just one of the ways.
Instructor
Original Poster
#22 Old 4th Jun 2019 at 5:32 PM Last edited by broomhilda61 : 7th Jun 2019 at 12:28 PM.
Thank you Simmmer..I got the download...
My recolors have been just simple with a bit of tweaking...because I just have never understood the tutorials...and so far they have worked in the game...
But to do this right I have got to get over my fear of tutorials and figure this out the right way...
Been avoiding Part 2 of that tutorial but now I have no choice lol...better get started..
Thank you Simmer and Jo for your help...

EDIT:
Well I tried Part 2..and I sort of understood the concept..it didn't turn out...but it was that stripe they were working with that didn't come out right...it's hard to do these tutorials using their colors since I have no idea what color it is...being color blind...
Am going to try Part 3...and then go back to the beginning and redo each part over and over until something comes out right to save..but this isn't helping me with the project I have going with these dang curtains..I do have someone that is going to make a shadow for me..I hope she can do it..if not I will have to just scrap the curtains..

EDIT:
Well the lady that I thought would be able to make a shadow/creases for this...didn't work..so will just use an in game curtain and using solid colors...I guess this is finished but would like to leave it open for the tutorials and help with that...so I will change part of the topic name..
Thank you all for your help and support... :lovestruc
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