Recolouring Using A Seamless Image

What You Will Need:

• SimPE
  
• CEP - Required for re-colouring Maxis objects
  
• Legacy Nvidia DDS Utilities - Download and install them, just like any Windows program, then start SimPE, select the menu 'Extra', 'Preferences' and fill in the field 'Nvidia DDS Tools' with the exact installation path (you can use the "Browse" button to find the folder where the DDS Utilities are installed).
  
• Gimp - Free image editor
  
• A seamless pattern. Find a list of sites here.
  

You can click on any image to show it fullsize at ImageShack.

First of all, open up SimPE and the Object Workshop. Click 'Open' to open up a cc file, or 'Start' to open up a Maxi's file. For this tutorial, I'll be re-colouring a Maxi's sofa:



(Please note that the 'Object Workshop' may be in a different place, depending on how you have setup the layout of SimPE.)

Select 'Seating/Sofas/Lap of Luxury Sofa':



Click 'Next':



Select 'Recolor', then 'Start':



Make a new folder on your desktop, or somewhere easy to find. Inside that folder, save the file as something easily identifiable, for others and yourself:



Select any fabric from the top part of the window and click 'OK':



Export the image to the same folder you just created:



Start up Gimp and open up the image you exported:



Open up your seamless image. I usually scale them to a width of around 256 or 128, but it can be any size you want, depending on the look you are going for:



Select the image:



Copy the image to your clipboard:



Using the rectangular select tool, select the parts of the image you want to fill with your pattern:



Select the pattern fill tool:



The clipboard selection is at the top-right of the pattern box:



Click the selected part of the image to fill it, and repeat the process for each part of the image you want to recolour with the pattern. You can also recolour the wood parts the same way. Then select the 'File' and overwrite option to save the new image:



Go back to SimPE, and right-click on the texture image. Select 'Build DXT':



If that option doesn't show, you need to check your DDS installation as you can find at the top of this tutorial. Open the image you saved, and click 'Build':



Click 'Commit' then 'OK':



Save the file, then save it to your Sims 2 downloads folder:



Now fire up your game to see what it looks like:



Simple, wasn't it? :) Once you get used to the process, you can knock out dozens of re-colours without breaking a sweat! Try it, you won't regret it!

Just a word about adding shadows - if you are familiar with using layers in your image editor, you could add a new one to add some shading, creases and shadows to make your re-colour a little more realistic.

 

This tutorial makes recoloring a TS2 object so easy, Angela!
Great, simple to understand instructions, complete with excellent images for those of us who are visual learners.
I am excited to find a list of seamless pattern sites here, too!   

BTW, I wish I were more experienced with layers & shadows using PSP7.
You are right. It would add a more realistic appeal to my recolors.   

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recoloring tutorial with us at SP.   

   

Thank you so much! I found a good tutorial at MTS about adding shadows and highlights:
http://modthesims.info/t/140780

That tutorial makes shadowing look so easy, doesn't it?
The instructions are for doing so using Photoshop and Faylen provides a link for adding shadows with Gimp.
I can't imagine it being too hard to figure out using PSP7?
I will do some research on it.

Thank you, Angela!  

Well I've just learned how to add a drop-shadow using Gimp, though I've never tried this type of shading, but it would make clothing and furniture look so much more realistic. Some people just have that artistic gift...I'm sure mine would look fake! lol.

I've seen it done on bedding and cushions etc., and it makes a big difference.

I can't wait to try this out. I 'use' gimp, meaning it's my image editor but I don't really know how to use it that well. So tutorials that use gimp are wonderful.   

All the tutorials on my site use Gimp. This was before Photoshop brought out a free version of their software. Most of the the tutorials seemed to be for Photoshop or other paid programs, which is why I decided to create my own. Most people couldn't afford the software required at the time...my tutorials always use free software, even for meshing.