CC project: tattoos

[strangetomato]

I've been considering another cc project. I know I have about a million (slight exaggeration) in progress right now, but this one occured to me as something that would be useful for storytelling. I want to make some character-specific tattoo overlays, based on Morague's real body overlay tattoos.

Tattoos are so common these days that a whole cast of characters without them seems really unusual. These days, I feel sorry for people who got tattoos to be alternative, because even their mothers probably have a lower-back tattoo. It's way more shocking to find someone without any ink on their body. My father in law (!!!) even remarked on this the other day, saying, "Not having any tattoos is the new 'having tattoos.'" (Seriously, he actually said that. :P) Tattoos would also a fun way to play around with the personalities of the characters, and you know how much I love to do that. ;)

I'm thinking of having The Shifting Paradymes get tattoos done together, maybe in celebration of their first hit single, because they seem the type (in fact, Jaxy's original outfit comes with tattoos attached, but I really hate the style of them for her). I think Jaxy would look cool with full sleeves of something (though I'm not sure what sort of sleeves, as of yet - any ideas?), and I'll probably give Zoe some sort of cheeky pinup design. Helena might get some take on woohoo hearts, I think, but maybe in red to match her hair. I'm going to keep Ripp's a secret for now, but I know exactly what I'll give him. For someone like Ripp, there's really only one tattoo option. (Hint: it's the most commonly regretted sort of tattoo.)

If I'm going to play around with this idea, I'll probably look into making some other simlish and Maxis-match tattoos, using things like the aspiration signs, woohoo hearts, llamas, the simolean symbol, sim sports logos (fighting llamas, etc.), cowplants, and alien spacecrafts. (I love the Freestyling Freezer Bunny creation by Spacedoll in this set, for example.)

What would you like to see? If you have any suggestions for simlish tattoo designs, I'd love to hear them.



 

Comments

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

Hee. I like your father-in-law's take on it. :P Who know not having tattoos would one day be ~edgy~. :D

That said, I'm still probably going to get one someday, lol.

I like your tattoo ideas and I can't wait to see Ripp's! I'm thinking it might be someone's name?

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I was amusing to hear him spouting opinions on fashion at the supper table, but wherever he picked up the opinion (I'm thinking CBC radio), they knew what they were talking about.

So you're going for the midlife crisis tattoo? :P My Aunt got one of those when she turned 40.

Thanks! And yeah... everyone is pretty much on the right track with the name tattoo for Ripp. Those impulsive, romantic types just can't resist.

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

Oooh, good idea. :D I've been playing around with Morague's overlay tattoos as well, actually for the Shifting Paradymes. I can't use those tattoo'ed outfits otherwise because it's just stupid when the tattoos vanish when they change clothes. But I've been having trouble with the tattoos vanishing when I exit the lot. :/

Ripp will have a love heart with Ophelia's name in it, I bet.

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

Or a heart with "MOM".

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

This would also be very appropriate. (Or maybe he could have one on each arm, so he can properly suck up to everyone.)

The best thing about the "Mom" tattoo is that you're less likely to regret it in the future. Even if you're not so fond of her anymore, she's always your Mom.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Did you see marhis's comment below? She's created a fix for that issue (and provided a link to it).

It makes sense for the Shifting Paradymes, doesn't it? Did you give them the tats they wear when the game begins? I know that was the original purpose of the overlay (so those tats would "stick").

Is it that obvious? Yeah, I'm sure it is. :P (But there's a little twist, also. You'll see...)

[meetme2theriver.livejournal.com]

Oh, excellent. I hadn't seen that. Thanks. *grabs*

Yeah, I did use the tattoos they come with, although it's not such a big deal that I couldn't use them on Jasmine, I compensated with some nice piercings on her... but I really would like them on Gunnar. He looks kinda plain without 'em. :p I have Space Doll's tattoos as well (someone mentioned them further down), although I suppose there needs to be a separate fix for them.

It is pretty obvious, yes. ;) But I look forward to the twist. :D

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

My first thought was the secret society (turning it into Skull and Bones). A sim catches sight of the "secret" tattoo and gets all freaked out.

And being tattoo-less is the new cool. Has been for quite some time. It's just like fashion. If you wait long enough, your outdated stuff will be acceptable again (like the god awful 80s stuff, they just need giant bangs to make a comeback).

That overlay is very cool. I was always annoyed by the tattoo outfits that came with the game. A lot of them aren't so bad except for the tattoos.

[pixelcurious.livejournal.com]

Some cc creator should fix those tattoo outfits to remove the tattoos. (Or maybe I should. I'd have to learn how to do it... but just removing the tattoos seems like it would be reasonably easy.)

I love the idea of a Secret Society tattoo!

And the overlays are a great idea. I never use tattoo skintones because they're never close enough to Maxis for me.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure removing the tattoos from those outfits would be as easy as a small alpha edit to remove the parts tht show as tattoos. It's quite easy to do.

I don't actually like any of those uni outfits enough to bother with them, with or without tattoos, but I still like the idea of making them more versatile. I'm sure others would appreciate it.

The secret society tattoo would be a pretty cool idea, and it's probably something that someone could use in a story.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

The secret society tattoo is a great idea, and would be useful for storytellers. I haven't done much with it, so it didn't occur to me, so thanks for suggesting it.

Or shoulderpads could come back. Never in my wildest dreams did I think neon would be back, but the kids are all over that like flies on *cough* honey. Also, grunge is back! In its GrungeWear tm form, that is (which was funny the first time around, but also sad.)

It makes so much more sense for tattoos to be attached to skin instead of clothing, but having them attached to actual skintones is also lame in practise (the tattoos would be genetic). These overlays are super useful.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

A portrait tattoo with Johnny's face on it printed over his heart.

:3

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

YES! XD

Not exactly, but I am sure you will be equally delighted and amused by the truth.

[momijichan8893.livejournal.com]

I think Ripp's tatto will either be some random girl's name (probably misspelled), or a barbed wire armband. Either way, I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

It's funny you mention the barbed wire armband, because my brother has one of those and he's a whole lot like Ripp (he also has a black panther clawing into the other arm - another classic).

I laughed at the mispelling idea. That's such a Ripp thing to do (in fact, I have him mispelling words in a very important note he writes in a future chapter), but I think I'll take pity on him in this case.

[momijichan8893.livejournal.com]

Well, I know someone mentioned an Ophelia tat, probably thinking of Ripp showing his love for Phi. However, I saw him doing something more like, getting ridiculously wasted at some bar, meeting a beautiful woman who tells him it would be awesome to get a tatto of her name, and he wakes up in the morning, looks at his arm, and says to himself, "Who's Ananda?" To me, that would be a Ripp thing to do :p

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's sad but true, especially during his college years. He's lucky he didn't do that already.

Though, to be honest, I don;t think he ever got quite attached enough to anyone in particular to do it.

I should make him get a Sugar Tits tattoo. :P

[momijichan8893.livejournal.com]

That would be the coolest tattoo in all of Strangetown :D

[allysonsimming.livejournal.com]

Oh no! I hope Ripp doesn't get a tribal armband D:

I would love to see some Simlish/Maxis Match tattoos... maybe something pertaining to the different neighborhoods? Strangetown-themed tattoos? A lot of my friends who are heavily tattooed have a bunch of tats referencing Chicago -- you know, home-town pride and all that!

[ikichi.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure what I'm thinking is in the neighborhood of what Ripp's getting. :D (obvious guess is obvious).

I'd love to see your process.

[poppyperson.livejournal.com]

I think Ripp will get drunk and get an 'I love Mum/Mom'(I'm English) tattoo

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

If you're going to do simlish language tattoos, there SO needs to be one with a heart that says MOM in simlish. :)

[momijichan8893.livejournal.com]

Just to save ST the trouble, I thought I'd point you to this:

Space Doll's Tattoo Overlays (http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=267363)

A nice simlish MOM tattoo, although I'm sure ST's would be lovely :D

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks! I didn't even realize that was an option there. That's pretty cool.

[simsforaranya.livejournal.com]

I'll have to tell my best friend what your FIL said.

She really wants a tat, but has been informed that she is not to get one under any circumstances...so she'll either hit me or laugh. XD

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

You have no idea how close you are to being completely right. There's just a small detail or two that'll be different. Heheh. It's so obvious and so Ripp.

I'm loving your suggestions. A plumbbob would be perfect (platinum for optimists and red for badasses! :D), and I love the silly cursive Bella name. In fact, maybe Bella should be used for the pinup tat too, just for more meta weirdness.

[pixelcurious.livejournal.com]

YES to Bella pinups!!!

Also to plumbbob tattoos. :D

[will-o-whisper.livejournal.com]

I second the motion for Bella pinups. She is the Iconic Pop Culture Woman of the Sim verse, so it would really be wonderfully appropriate. ;)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

*snicker snicker snicker*

Well, that's one way to avoid cheating. His partner in crime gets him out of his pants and realizes that a certain somethng has someone else's name on it.

"Umm, does this belong to someone else?"

Sort of like those bookplates that state "this book belongs to: ..." Heehee. I actually do see the whole name tattoo idea as some sort of branding thing, though, and maybe as a way of reminding himself. It's a pretty big commitment, when you think about. Even rings can come off, but not so for tattoos.

I think the alien head would be cool, and also the alien spaceship. The game has a lot of sim-specific images and iconagraphy that could be used for tattoos. It's very cool.

Tattoo hack fixed

[marhis.livejournal.com]

Shameless self-promotion, ok :P but it may be useful.

The issue with Morague's tattoos, that will disappear when you quit the game has been fixed: here (http://www.digitalperversion.net/gardenofshadows/index.php?topic=11221.msg325186#msg325186)'s the original fix, in this case made with a body hair overlay; here (http://www.digitalperversion.net/gardenofshadows/index.php?topic=11221.msg330138#msg330138)'s a further developement by Sarah. Also, here (http://www.fantasiadomain.com/sims2/stuffz/MoraguesTatto-fixed.zip) you can download the original Morague's hack fixed by me - Morague didn't put it up yet, so here you go.

Obviously, you can directly use all this basis for your own tattoos, thus saving some time, and then make fixed new ones.

In those two posts I linked from GoS there are some tips about how the fix works, but if you need more help (some passages can be tricky) feel free to give me a poke and I'll be glad to help :).

Re: Tattoo hack fixed

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! :D

I had no idea about this issue, since I haven't tried the tattoo overlay in-game yet (and won't be able to until I get home again). Thank you for fixing it, and also for telling me about it.

I hope to be able to work directly from these fixed overlays, since I don't have enough knowledge of SimPE to mess around with fixing hacks myself. Maybe this project will be a bit of an education, though. I'd like to learn more.

I will definitely take you up on that offer and poke you for help if I need it. ^_^ I really appreciate the offer.

[swhedonberry.livejournal.com]

I can only imagine that it will be Johnny and/or Phi's name or possibly some combination of the three of them. Now to quote a scene with comedian Daniel Tosh.

Girl: "It's an artistic expression!"

Daniel: "Really?! 'Cause it looks like a butterfly above your cooter."

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you're on the right track. ;)

Funny quote. That sums it up pretty well, doesn't it?

[emmelfish.livejournal.com]

ST, this is too spooky... my Jasmine and Zoe had the Morague overlays added when I began the game BUT every time they went to a community lot or changed clothing, the tats disappeared just like meetme2theriver said. It got so tiresome trying to remember which ones I'd used and having those boxes lying all over the place that I gave up. (It looks like the community lot glitch has been fixed according to your link though... don't tease me, Morague!)

Yep, I agree with all the above, name tats are indeed the regrettable ones and Ripp is an impulsive li'l blighter. Kiss of death they say. I unfortunately fall into the no-longer-unique category as I myself have been inked just the once, but it's actually a tattoo of one of my Dad's drawings (he's very artistic). So I can safely say no one else has it. Amen to that! :)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Sharing a braincell, are we? Well, you know what they say about great minds. ;)

Did you see marhis's fix that she linked to above? It should solve your community lot problem.

I have a very funny story about the name tattoo thing. My cousin did that when he was younger and ended up breaking up with the girl (of course), but then he ended up marrying a woman who just happened to have the very same name! :P He swears it wasn't intentional. I guess he got lucky.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I enjoy a good tattoo (though I hate a bad one). I just agree with my FIL that it doesn't make you super unique anymore, and especially not very edgy. To be shocking, someone would pretty much have to cover their entire body, face and all.

A personal drawing sounds like a nice tattoo. I think I'd literally have to hve it done by a professional artist to feel comfortable with the idea of someone drawing on me, though. (I've had my moments where I wanted a tattoo, but I'm thankful now that I didn't. I'm not exactly the tattoo type.)

[emmelfish.livejournal.com]

Aha! Got it. I'll be checking that fix out for sure, thanks! :)

Yeah thankfully my Dad's was a simple drawing that he'd done for me when I was little... if it was complex I'd have never had the guts to go through with it! :S I doubt I'd get another, I'm not a 'tattoo type' per se either but that one was associated with a new phase in my life etc. Plus it's hidden too - nobody sees it unless I'm on the beach or something which I'm pretty happy with.

OMFG! For serious?!? That story about your cousin is crazy. He most certainly did get lucky. :D I hear removal is way more painful than the tat itself so that's a sigh of relief if ever I heard one!

I'll be keeping up with the CC project progress, I can't wait to see the tats you come up with. :)

[muchluvtoyou.livejournal.com]

Regrettable tattoo... Ripp's getting a tramp stamp?

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Heheh. Not quite. That'd be super funny, though.

[sophie10.livejournal.com]

I have a tattoo but like one of the above commenters it is something original. It's my own design, it took my 5 years to get the thing right! And it's meaningful to me.

I can totally imagine Ripp getting Ophelia tattooed on his bum except it'll be spelled wrong or something daft like that.

[inkspottedtea.livejournal.com]

Do those tattoo overlays .. stick? I always thought that they came off every time you entered the lot and you had to reset them?

[inkspottedtea.livejournal.com]

DURR READ THE REST OF THE COMMENTS, CAITLIN.

Those fixes look great! I can't wait to see the tattoos you make :D

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yes, how dare you not read them! :P Answering your own question reminds me of something I would do.

I'm pretty pumped about the fix. The whole idea of these overlays was that they stuck, so it would be lame for them to disappear when the sim left the lot. I'll be testing them out when I get home again.

[(Anonymous)]

I think a heart with Phi and Johnny's names in it?