hi,
i've been searching for an answer for hours and i haven't found any yet so i decided to ask here.

when you make a mask, you can have max 4 recolorable parts (RGB + Alpha), ok i understood it. but i don't know what to do if i want a part of the item non recolorable. how can i decide the color for the part AND make it non recolorable? do i have to do something both on the texture and the mask?

i've been wondering

oh, btw what does the alpha in the texture actually do? i tried to understand it but i didn't get it well...i feel like an idiot!

The alpha controls which bit is visible. So if you wanted a top with straps, you'd paint a solid white line where you want the straps to be. Where the alpha's white, the bit of your texture in that same spot on your texture will show up. Where the alpha's black, the bit on that same spot of your texture will be ignored. Greys can be used for transparent parts, which is always pretty neat. Lighter greys = only slightly transparent and darker greys = more transparent.

As for making things non-recolourable, you can use the overlay feature. EA clothes use this on the studs for jeans and some buttons. In CTU, it's located under designs>textures>overlay. You just hit replace and add your new overlay file. As for the type of file you need, you can export an original ea overlay file. The adult female "airforceofficer" has one.

The alpha layer of your overlay shouldn't be the same as for the texture of your outfit. You need to only paint white the areas that you want to be non-recolourable. Leave the rest black.

Hope that's understandable!

thank you a lot for your help!! yes that was really understandable for me a very beginner :D
i will try the file you told me and see it in photoshop