WIP: Salvaging Maxis meshes when I should be doing something else

[aquilegia]

Needing to fix age conversions + thinking gee, I would really like that style if the textures didn't suck + avoiding something I should be doing but don't wanna = a lot of hair retextures. Praise be to Nouk for providing all of the textures I used.

I showed off my retexture of the Uni AF messed up hair at GoS last night. Then, inspiration:



I still don't entirely like the mesh but it looks more like a hairstyle someone might actually have and not a disastrous combo of mania + dull scissors.





Not sure about this one...



Cool story, me: When I first saw this hairstyle I was absolutely certain that whoever made it was thinking of Neil Gaiman.



Two for one special! The cropped afro with actual afro hair textures, and the wavy hair that was just asking for Nouk's new wavy textures.


There will be default replacements eventually, yes, including the styles Hat has retextured.

Comments

[hat_plays_sims]

Oh, I like the shortcute! That looks exactly like the kind of character-driven haircut you'd get when you took your daddy's dagger to your long flowing hair and whacked it all off to join the military. Or, you know, if God told you to cut your hair short and go lead an army against England. Or if long hair on women is an abomination unto Nuggan.

I like the waves on the female messy, although it's one of those hairs that might benefit from supersized textures, provided it doesn't have eight million groups.

[aquilegia]

I was pleasantly surprised at how much the shortcute is improved by waves. There's really no saving that mesh otherwise. -- which is saying something considering I like choppy DIY haircuts.

Fortunately, the female messy only has three groups, so large textures aren't untenable. :)I am using a 1024x1024 texture in the shot, but Milkshape displays contrasty textures on the crunchy side. I'll have to check in Bodyshop. If those textures work, I've got a better handle on how to use the warp tool now, so I'll just have to pilfer likely looking bits from CC styles for a decent alpha.

For anything that does have a billion groups (AM messy and longfuzzy are horrible for this) I'll do the thing where import the project a bunch of times and switch textures via SimPE.

[hat_plays_sims]

I like it! And want it, but I'll wait. Texture-wise, it might be improved by putting a little more hair in the middle of the bangs-- the part there looks a little awkward for some reason.

It could be that the female messy has some stray wisps in it that makes it look very in-progress (but lord knows I've missed a few spots myself, so yeah).

Isn't that just the handiest trick? It is a trick responsible for me doing quite a few hairs I would've said FUCK YOU to otherwise.

[aquilegia]

I'll see if I can wedge in another wave in that gap. It's a tricky part, as that gap spans parts of two different mesh pieces. For some inexplicable reason the bangs are in three mesh pieces that aren't mapped contiguously.

I'll see if I can make the messy look a bit better without too much hammering, but that texture IS the best of three tries, so. If I decide I hate it after all I'll try banging on straight textures with the warp tool.

If it weren't for SimPE import the Gaius/Gaia hair would've never gotten done. XD

[curiousb]

'shortcute' is actually living up to its name now - much more cute!

And I've always had a soft spot for 'fuzzylong': when I first got the game, in a time before I discovered the wonderful world of CC, I had to resist putting it on every female Sim in sight.

'female messy' looks good to me too - I like the big, soft waves - and although I've never liked 'male messy', perhaps you can change my mind about it. ;)

[aquilegia]

I've always liked fuzzylong too. :D It's one of the best basegame styles.

I'm considering deflating the male messy style a bit, the layers don't quite hang together right for it to really be charmingly floppy.

[cosmetical]

I think these all look fantastic. I kind of like the bangs as they are on the first one, it looks very "home haircut" to me.

[sophie8]

shortcute, closecropped and fuzzylong look amazing. And default replacements are always good.

[azaya]

I cannot even put into words how much I love that you're using Nouk's new wavy textures. That's my absolute favorite curly texture.

[aquilegia]

Mine too! :D It's amazing and versatile, and I have a much easier time getting it to fit meshes than straight textures. I'm really tempted to tackle every likely looking mesh with it and overrun my game with curly-haired lovelies.