Using Simgaroop's Hair Colour Actions

[strangetomato]

I'm new to hair retexturing and using colour actions on them, so I need to ask a probably very obvious question about using those actions. I have some of Neena's textures to work from (someone uploaded them on a thread at GoS), and Simgaroop's colour actions, but I have no idea how to apply them. Is there an order I need to work in? I tried applying the black colour action to the Neena blond hair texture (sort of pale yellow) I used to retexture, and the end result was more like dark brown. I figure I'm definitely doing something wrong. Should I be using a different hair texture to start from? Am I missing a step? Please help!

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help this hopeless beginner.

Bonus question: Are there any meshes out there that haven't already been Neena'd that you'd like to recommend for recolour? I'm trying to find a couple of good options for my secret santa and it seems like most hair meshes already have been given the Maxis-match treatment. Any oldies but goodies or otherwise overlooked meshes out there that you love?

Comments

[simsarenotfood.livejournal.com]

Heh, don't worry I had no idea how to work them in the beginning too x)
You should start with the blond texture by Neena which I uploaded here. I duno if it's the same one as your using but that's the base that I use.
For each colour except grey and black you just apply the actions straight to the blond.
For grey you start with the blond and then press ctrl + shift + u (or go to image-adjustments-desaturate)
For black start with the grey texture and then apply the black action.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Ah! Thank you! The textures I have are a little different than those (they have slightly more contrast, I think), and I had a Neena blond and a volatile blond included in the package. Looks like the volatile was the one I should have picked to start with, but I chose the other blond. No worries. It shouldn't be too much trouble to restart what I've already done.

Thank you for the tip on the order of the colour actions. That makes sense, and I was sure there must have been some detail like that I was missing.

[simgarooop.livejournal.com]

This is how I re-texture hair (I am actually doing that right now because I'm working on my Secret Santa present! :)) :

1. Re-texture the hair using the blond texture (as long as it is similar to Neena's original one you're fine. I use one with a bit more saturation (5% more) so it looks more sunny.

2. Desaturate your re-texture so it looks light gray.

3. Apply the rest of the actions (the reds, the browns and black) to that gray texture, that's how I originally "designed" them.

4. And that's it!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

This is for my secret santa gift, too. ^_^

I sent you a PM about this earlier in the week, because I thought you'd obviously have the best insight into using your colour actions, but you must have missed the message. I'm glad you saw this post, so I can hear about it directly from you.

That makes a lot of sense, and I like it because I can continue with the progress I've already made! :D

Thank you.

[simgarooop.livejournal.com]

LJ has been a pain in the ass lately. I have quite a few things to post today and it times out frequently :(

Glad to be of help! :) If you have any more questions, my e-mail address is simgaroopk at yahoo dot com. There's no way I miss anything sent there, because I have it on my phone too :P.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Don't worry about it! :) I figured you had a reason for not getting back to me.

Thanks for email address. I'm not sure if that the same one I had already, but it's good to know the best way to contact you.

[skellington7d.livejournal.com]

I'll throw some mesh recommendations out there:

I've seen this one done MM-ish, but in the more "streaky" Maxis Match look rather than the Simgaroop style and colors: www.digitalperversion.net/gardenofshadows/index.php?topic=14822.0

I know this one's weird, but I love it: http://www.digitalperversion.net/gardenofshadows/index.php?topic=16745.0

This is an elegant one I haven't seen done:
http://www.digitalperversion.net/gardenofshadows/index.php?topic=20770.0

I also haven't seen this one yet: http://www.digitalperversion.net/gardenofshadows/index.php?topic=23857.0

I'm a big fan of updos since they don't clip through the Sims shoulders.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recommendations! :) That elegant updo is a really nice one. I tend to overlook meshes that I already have similar Maxis hair for (in that case, the french twist that came from the sims 2 store or one of the later SPs), because I try to limit my hair collection. It's bad enough as it is! :P

[jyllandrea.livejournal.com]

The only one I can think of is this hair! http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=75187 I forget how I found it. I don't think it's been properly Maxis matched a la Neena/Simgaroop. I never really cared for the original Jeanette Biedermann Maxis mesh, but I think it looks great on guys.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestion! It's good to have lots of options to choose from. I wouldn't have thought of retexturing a Maxis mesh, since it's already Maxis-match in a sense, but it could be redone with the Simgaroop colour spectrum (and maybe some tweeks to the texture, too).

And I also think that mesh works much better as male hair. It makes for excellent rocker or wrestler type hair.