My VERY FIRST skin! (well, reskin) Woohoo!

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

I think the human female skins are kinda dull\boring, so I made this skin (my VERY FIRST one) for my own use and for some female regulars on my servers, but I decided to share it with the public in case people might want to see what we look like to ourselves.

Inspired by the television program Extreme Makeover, where average people have thousands of dollars worth of aesthetic (plastic) surgery, dental work, professional hair and makeup styling, and a new wardrobe, I gave Tavion an "Extreme Makeover": laser tattoo removal, hair and makeup styling, and some wardrobe "adjustments":



Notice that her feathers, eyeshadow, and nail polish are team-color-coordinated!











Programs Used:

MGI PhotoSuite 4 (got it free after rebate a few years ago
ModView Version 2.5 (from the free JA SDK)
WinZip 8.1 (free Evaluation Version)

[Lil Killa]

The skin tones need a little work but everything else looks alright

Kep up the good work

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

A lot of that was from my messing around with the gamma and color saturation of the screenshots after they were taken. Many of the screenshots are recorded much darker than they appear on my screen, so when I brightened them it washed out the color. I tried to compensate but overdid it on a few of them.

Thanks for the encouragement, but that's the only skin I really wanted to do. I'll leave future ones to the experts

[lassev]

Originally posted by Amidala from Chop Shop
Thanks for the encouragement, but that's the only skin I really wanted to do. I'll leave future ones to the experts

Aww... Surely not! That is such a fine skin and you did miracles with Tavion. She looks far better in your shots than in the original game. Just look at Ragnos! Even he looks impressed by the three clones of your New Tavion posing in front of him . If that is your first skin (modification), you could achieve truly much if you kept going and doing more of them.

[Godzilla]

Goodish all the way. (Is that a word? It is now.)

[Prime]

Very nice!

[Autobot Traitor]

wowzers. Looks like if she were to fight in that thing the strings would snap

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

Originally posted by Autobot Traitor
wowzers. Looks like if she were to fight in that thing the strings would snap

Wishfull thinking, although it would work even better than Mind Trick for distracting weak-minded males

Originally posted by Prime
Very nice!

Originally posted by Godzilla
Goodish all the way. (Is that a word? It is now.)

Thanks guys!

Originally posted by lassev
Aww... Surely not! That is such a fine skin and you did miracles with Tavion. She looks far better in your shots than in the original game. Just look at Ragnos! Even he looks impressed by the three clones of your New Tavion posing in front of him . If that is your first skin (modification), you could achieve truly much if you kept going and doing more of them.

Well, you talked me into it!
I think the next model in desperate need of an Extreme Makeover is the jedi_hf Human Female. This is what I was able to do on my first night messing around with it (I'll reskin the torso_c1 arms. I just wanted a quick preview of the concept):

I'll try to have blonde, brunette, auburn, blue, and red hair with both blue and green eyes. The new heads, torso, and legs will be available in the menu.

The hardest part will be getting all the skin tones consistent. I guess I will have to break down and install my Photoshop 5.5 that I have lying around and *groan* learn how to use it.

Any suggestions or tips for a beginner? Yes, this really will be only my second (re)skin.

[lassev]

Impressive! It's an early shot, granted, but still it's a very, very clear indication that you have a fine and clear vision and skills to achieve it. I think your new skin for the jedi_hf looks much more lively than the original one, and prettier...

The more I see these high quality works, the more I doubt I can ever modify or produce the female skin for my own SP project myself...

[wedge2211]

You seem to like putting the characters in bikinis...not so sure I like that in conjunction with the elderly-looking woman you've done there. :P Kick the gray hair.

You have done an incredible job with the face...compared to yours, the default one looks like she took one too many baths in Olive Drab paint.

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

Originally posted by wedge2211
You seem to like putting the characters in bikinis...not so sure I like that in conjunction with the elderly-looking woman you've done there. :P Kick the gray hair.

You have done an incredible job with the face...compared to yours, the default one looks like she took one too many baths in Olive Drab paint.

LOL, you'll notice that her ear and front of her neck are gray too (I haven't "colorized" those areas yet)! I made that image a grayscale so I could color the flesh tones first and leave the hair a neutral light color. Then I can use that image as a template for all the different hair color variations.

That's not a bikini top, that's a belly shirt! I might dupicate the oval cutouts in the back of her shirt on the front though (if I can make it look "3-D"). The Zabrak and Twilek females get to show their legs and not the humans? Cmon, it's not like she will have cellulite or varicose veins. Hmmm, that reminds me, maybe Mon Mothma could use an Extreme Makeover.

[Lei Hng Wei]

Mon Mothma in a crop-top and leather boy shorts?

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

OK, no more gray hair:



I don't know what's wrong with the end of her hair. It's a .png file with a transparent edge, but it is not transparent in ModView.

[GothiX]

Didn't Raven use a shader file for that?

[keshire]

More than likely it'll work the way its supposed to in-game.

[lassev]

Originally posted by GothiX
Didn't Raven use a shader file for that?

Yeah. A shader entry like this:

models/players/jedi_hf/hair_03_alpha
{
	cull	twosided
    {
        map models/players/jedi_hf/hair_03_alpha
        blendFunc GL_SRC_ALPHA GL_ONE_MINUS_SRC_ALPHA
        rgbGen lightingDiffuse
    }
}

But I believe keshire is right: It might work in game, if the alpha is still OK.

Looks remarkable! It's like a totally new person.

[Antizac]

Originally posted by Amidala from Chop Shop

...It's a .png file with a transparent edge, but it is not transparent in ModView.

In ModView, click: "View" and check: ...usung Alpha Blend.

or Press Ctrl - A.

That enables the alpha channel (transparency) in the PNG file.

And if you want to enable it in Jedi Academy you need to write a .shader file with an alpha command for the .png file(s) with alpha channels...

I'd post a tutorial, but it's almost 5am, and I haven't slept... =)

[Zappa_0]

Very nice Amidala, I cant wait to see more stuff from you.

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

Originally posted by Antizac
In ModView, click: "View" and check: ...usung Alpha Blend.

or Press Ctrl - A.

That enables the alpha channel (transparency) in the PNG file.

And if you want to enable it in Jedi Academy you need to write a .shader file with an alpha command for the .png file(s) with alpha channels...

I'd post a tutorial, but it's almost 5am, and I haven't slept... =)

Thanks Antizac, that fixed it!


Please get some rest, then when you are refreshed, I'd really appreciate it if you could teach me (and others) about that shader file, because I don't know anything about writing one. Thanks!

[Ro'Nin1968]

wow very nice work.....

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

I added a shader file that fixed the hair problem. Thanks for the suggestion!




I had to go back to the default lips because I discovered the interface of the upper and lower lips on this model is extremely critical. If the interface isn't placed precisely and if it isn't the exact correct shape it caused pixel-stretching that made her lips look awful.

[GothiX]

The shading on her chin could be a bit darker, but other than that, it looks splendid.

[lassev]

Truly splendid. You have a precious natural gift for skinning.

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

[Zappa_0]

Are you gonna make a pants version as well? Because I think she would look alot better in pants, unless you made a better top to make the bottom. Or you could do both.

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

Originally posted by Zappa_0
Are you gonna make a pants version as well? Because I think she would look alot better in pants, unless you made a better top to make the bottom. Or you could do both.

There will be separate heads, torsos, and legs that can be mixed and matched with the standard ones in the custom menu. I am planning different versions of the same head with different hair and eye color combinations. I will also make the Hoth clothes available in the menu.

There is an alternate version of each standard torso (to get the skin tones to match) and the costume bottom for the bare legs choice is color-tintable like the torsos, so they match, and for team color support. The bare legs choice is almost exactly the same as the Zabrak Female bare legs choice, except the bottom is color-tintable on mine.

So you can use any of the standard legs (pants) options with the new heads, but you will probably have to use one of the new torsos with a new head to get the skin tones to match. The Hoth clothes can be used as is because no skin is showing.

[Zappa_0]

Cool....very cool !

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

Originally posted by Zappa_0
Are you gonna make a pants version as well? Because I think she would look alot better in pants, unless you made a better top to make the bottom. Or you could do both.

Is this what you had in mind? In addition to all the standard pants and the Hoth pants, these are new pants that I made:




Or do you prefer redheads (with green eyes):






I just need to do the dark-haired head, icons, bot support, NPCs, and I'm done.

[wedge2211]

Damn, she's sexy.

[Lei Hng Wei]

See folks. It ain't that hard to make a Mara Jade skin.

Good work. Have a cookie.

[Zappa_0]

Thats not the Mara Jade model and yea thats the look I was talking about. Great job.

[lassev]

Outstanding! I like the new pants. They make her look very professional and not at all less-sexy, quite the contrary I think. I think those last shots you produced are far closer to "true" Jaden than anything Raven produced...

[keshire]

What's funny is the quality compared to the Standard Raven Rosh. It makes them look un-professional.

[t3rr0r]

wow, i love that face. O_O who was the reference/source, if i may ask?

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

Originally posted by lassev
... I think those last shots you produced are far closer to "true" Jaden than anything Raven produced...

Originally posted by keshire
What's funny is the quality compared to the Standard Raven Rosh. It makes them look un-professional.

Originally posted by t3rr0r
wow, i love that face. O_O what was the reference/source, if i may ask?

Well, to give credit where credit is due, most of her face comes from...........Raven!

I don't want to give away too many of my secrets, because I'm concerned about some copycat throwing something similar together and posting it before I'm done with mine (I see someone has already copied my taste in screenshots, LOL). But basically, more than 50% of her face is from Raven (Jedi Academy). The general face is a blend of the jedi_hf\face_b.jpg and a non-Raven, non-game face. The eyes are from another Jedi Academy face, recolored by me, and the mouth is the standard jedi_hf\face_b.jpg mouth, recolored and recountoured by me.

So with the exception of the eyebrows, nose, and most of the cheeks\forehead\chin skin (which is actually just different in color\tone), the rest is Raven (JA)-sourced. The hair is the standard jedi_hf\hair_02.jpg and jedi_hf\hair_02_alpha.png, recolored by me.

The new torsos and legs are also reworked Raven material. Now, I have done some creative things with shaders, which I will reveal when it's ready to post (afraid of those copycats and rip-off artists), but I must say that I have the benefit of good source material from Raven when using my Dr. Frankenstein-like approach.

[Plasmacoolant]

Much respect goes out 2 Amidala. Amazing Job for first & second time skin projects.

-Plas.

[Alegis]

They all look nice...Except for the ginger one but thats cause i don't like ginger

good job

[Amidala from Chop Shop]

Originally posted by Plasmacoolant
Much respect goes out 2 Amidala. Amazing Job for first & second time skin projects.

-Plas.

Wow, that's high praise indeed, coming from the master of female JO\JA skinning himself. Thanks, I am honored!