Face Templates - 2008-05-08 - No Update - New Links

[Nailati]

-------- Downloads -------
Custom face templates. Age & gender complete.

Nailati_faces_complete.zip
Mirror 1 (Mediafire): http://www.mediafire.com/?1k53a15byk4
Mirror 2 (myfreefilehosting.com): http://myfreefilehosting.com/f/d5f0f48008_3.54MB

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Incomplete face templates. These include faces for only adult males and females. Sims using these incomplete templates will revert to default Maxis faces at all ages other than adult.

Nailati_faces_incomplete.zip
Mirror 1 (Mediafire): http://www.mediafire.com/?vb2ywmvm2ru
Mirror 2 (myfreefilehosting.com): http://myfreefilehosting.com/f/4e181f2bf4_1.93MB

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Complete faces (these are included in Nailati_faces_complete.zip):

02


08
(Outdated pic)


14


15


(ADDED 2007-12-09) 17


18


24


27


-------- Info -------

What do these files do?

These face templates (or "archetypes") will replace the default faces in CAS and BodyShop which you use in making your own Sims, and which the game uses to create new townies.

How do I install them?

Just put them in your Downloads folder (Documents:EA Games:The Sims 2:Downloads). To uninstall them, remove them from the Downloads folder.

If you are using other custom templates, note that you can only use one template at a time for each face. So, for instance, if you want to install my template for #2, you must first remove any custom #2 template you may already be using.

Will these affect my current townies, or my current Sims?

No. The Sims that already exist when you install these templates will not change in any way (appearance or genetics). Only Sims you create and/or townies you generate while the templates are in your Downloads folder will have these new faces.

Will my Sims or townies go back to normal if I uninstall these templates?

No. Sims keep the appearance and genetics they were created with, regardless of whether you later remove or replace templates. So you can, for example, create a few Sims with my #2 face, then replace it with a different #2 template, make a few Sims with that one, etc.

You can combine these with templates from other creators, as long as you use only one template per face.

Have fun. 

 --------- Original Post: ---------

Thanks to BlueSoup's gracious offer of help in this thread, I'm working on a new set of face templates for CAS & Body Shop. I thought I'd post screenshots of my progress here to see if anyone has comments/critiques. Your suggestions will be...duly noted. 

I'm trying to retain the unusual features of each face, just not the fugliness. I'm going backwards, roughly. I'll be doing templates 21, 25, and 26 later. Here's what I've done so far...

[BlueSoup]

Looks pretty cool, I would definitely use these in my game. 

[Ephraim]

Looks good!  I would use them as well. 

[Verona]

The biggest problem I have with all the faces in the Sims is eyelids, or lack of. The men especially seem to need more eyelid definition. We can put eye shadow on the women, but the men are always weak looking. Eyelids.....

And it's okay if you have a gas mask too. And I would download your templates. Amazing job.

[Nailati]

Awesomes. 

The biggest problem I have with all the faces in the Sims is eyelids, or lack of. The men especially seem to need more eyelid definition. We can put eye shadow on the women, but the men are always weak looking. Eyelids.....

I'm not sure how to fix this--I'll fiddle around in BS. Maybe sinking the eyes in, then moving the brows up, then re-selecting the eyes from Genetics...don't know if that'll work. Any suggestions?

And it's okay if you have a gas mask too.

Excellent. I shall defer to your status as the OG (Original Gas-Mask-Wearer).

Yes, I'm a dork.

[Metalkatt]

These are lovely.  If you're looking for eyelid definition, Hairfish made some "eyeshadows" that are really just lid definitions--work *great* for males.  Let us know when they're done, ne?

[eaglezero]

Nice, nice. I would use these in my game!

[san]

Me too, that's a great job you've done there

[Nailati]

Thanks so much for the encouragement, you guys. I plan on going back and making some final tweaks to all of these faces, so feel free to make suggestions.

Let us know when they're done, ne?

Absolutely. I'm getting there...I should have another batch of pictures tonight. I'm enjoying this entirely too much.

I tried to finesse the eyelids, but I couldn't work anything out. Sometimes I can "fool" Body Shop by using temporary placeholder facial features to smush things around in a way that the sliders won't allow. Not sure if I explained that very well, but it's very much a trial-and-error process.

If you're looking for eyelid definition, Hairfish made some "eyeshadows" that are really just lid definitions--work *great* for males.

You're referring to these ones, right? They look fantastic--I'll definitely try them out.

[Zeljka]

Very cool,
I really like them, it's the first set I've seen where the faces are 1.Not completely hideous, yet still 2. Not identical. I am pretty thrilled with what I see so far and will anxiously await their completion.

Only 1 suggestion, which you can note or disregard as you see fit...

When you upload them, can you do them separately?
I have an elf replacement that is not too bad and I think it would be wonderful to have the option of mixing and matching. (perfectly happy to download them all, but some default replacement packages come in one big file that are not easily separated by the likes of me) It would be nice to be able to switch them around when generating new townies to get a variety.

[Regina]

Only 1 suggestion, which you can note or disregard as you see fit...

When you upload them, can you do them separately?
I have an elf replacement that is not too bad and I think it would be wonderful to have the option of mixing and matching. (perfectly happy to download them all, but some default replacement packages come in one big file that are not easily separated by the likes of me) It would be nice to be able to switch them around when generating new townies to get a variety.

Actually, I finally figured out (after much looking at other people's files) that it's pretty easy to figure out which face is which to know if you want replacements or not.  In BodyShop and CAS, the faces are in numerical order from 1 through the last.  If you don't mind back-tracking when you lose count, just note the number of the face and replace that file with a custom-made one.

I've downloaded a couple of different sets and have come up with some good replacements, and was also working on a set of my own, but that's before I got completely side-tracked and honestly when it comes to making things I'm very lazy--if I can find someone else's that I like why bother?

At any rate, I think Nailati is doing an absolute great job with these faces!  I'll be looking forward to them, too.

[Nailati]

Another batch of previews.

[Faces 16 - 19 moved upthread --3 June]

I really appreciate the feedback--thanks, everyone.

it's the first set I've seen where the faces are 1.Not completely hideous, yet still 2. Not identical.

Yay! That's my goal exactly.

When you upload them, can you do them separately?

I think I know what you mean--I've downloaded templates that had, for instance, the male and female in one package, so you couldn't replace just one.

I plan to have each face separated and further divided into gender & age packages. Each template would be broken into unisex toddler/child, female teen, male teen, female adult/elder, and male adult/elder. So you'd be able to pick which templates to install and whether you want both genders. (You could install only certain ages, too, but it would probably turn out badly.) I'm also going to include comparison pictures, like the ones I've been posting, so you can see which face is which without launching the game.

To get back to this:

The biggest problem I have with all the faces in the Sims is eyelids, or lack of. The men especially seem to need more eyelid definition. We can put eye shadow on the women, but the men are always weak looking. Eyelids.....

I think I may have worked it out with #16, the latest one. It's hard to see in the picture. The eyelids are pulled up--making the eyes look more heavy-lidded--and the area above the eye is set back somewhat instead being melded with the eyebrow. Is that what you were thinking of? (If there are any Body-Shoppers who want to know exactly how I did it, I'll get technical.)


Some ramblings:

Wherever possible, I've tried to determine what ethnicity each template is supposed to represent. (If there's a list somewhere I'd love to know about it.) Based on that, I've used reference photos to guide my changes.

For instance, the infamous #18, CAUS; I figure the AUS is for Australian, more specifically Aboriginal Australians. It's sure not Austrian. I dug up photos of Aboriginal Australians, and it turns out they're actually completely human, and are not a grotesque frog-human hybrid. Maxis. They do have distinctive facial proportions, particularly the short nose and the wide face. But having a wide face isn't the same as having a wide head, as the template does. Their heads aren't particularly wide, but are short, so they may seem squat and wide. I toned down the bloated head and other exaggerations, but hopefully I succeeded in keeping the unusual proportions.

[Renatus]

These are looking really awesome, Nailati. I do have a question - are you shortening the faces at all? As they come in the game they've got very long foreheads and I usually shorten them. It kind of looks like you have but I can't quite tell.

Even if you haven't, I will probably use yours when you are done. I LOVE that you are using pictures of actual ethnicities the templates seem to be named after. Maxis's gross parodies actually kind of upset me. Maybe I should write a letter.

[Kukes]

For instance, the infamous #18, CAUS; I figure the AUS is for Australian, more specifically Aboriginal Australians. It's sure not Austrian. I dug up photos of Aboriginal Australians, and it turns out they're actually completely human, and are not a grotesque frog-human hybrid. Maxis. They do have distinctive facial proportions, particularly the short nose and the wide face. But having a wide face isn't the same as having a wide head, as the template does. Their heads aren't particularly wide, but are short, so they may seem squat and wide. I toned down the bloated head and other exaggerations, but hopefully I succeeded in keeping the unusual proportions.

I'm Australian, and your versions are much more Aboriginal in appearance than the originals - the originals look terribly exaggerated and I've never seen an Aboriginal man or woman with those facial features. I agree with Renatus - they are pretty upsetting and offensive.

[eaglezero]

Wow, you REALLY improved on fugly number 18! I'm impressed.

[Regina]

It's been my theory for years that when it comes to The Sims Maxis does many things just because they can, and the #18 template face seemed to me to be one of those.  I can see them now, "Hey, we can make REALLY awful looking faces here!  Look at this one!  I just know EVERYONE will want to kill this sim over and over and over again!"

I remember in the movie "Quigley Down Under" some pretty wild-looking aboriginals, but even the 'ugliest' ones were downright cute!

[Riez Forester]

Wow... This must be the best face template EVER!
When and where can we expect this? 

[Metalkatt]

I have to add a prop and a poke as well... You've managed to make them all look different, but not hideous!  How far along are you to being done?

[JenW]

OMG, I have been looking at template replacements and I agree with what everyone has said here...these are really nice. Plenty of variety but all nice looking. I'll be keeping an eye on this

[Ellatrue]

I think you might want to move the eyes closer together for a number of them as well- I think many of the Maxis templates have them unnaturally far apart. Like in number 19, I think they look too wide.

[Nailati]

Finally got back onto the site. Wow! Thanks for the feedback. More pictures soon.

As far as how soon these will be done:
I'm working on #14. I have 16 more to do. In RL,  I'm also in the process of deciding whether to renew the lease on my apartment, and what to do if I don't. I'm working hard on these templates because I really don't want to think about this stuff, but I can't set any hard deadlines--I hope to wrap them up within a month if I'm not homeless.

I do have a question - are you shortening the faces at all? As they come in the game they've got very long foreheads and I usually shorten them. It kind of looks like you have but I can't quite tell.

Yes and no. I'm correcting the proportions within the face--eyebrow to chin--which makes it a bit shorter, especially the distance from the eyebrow to the bottom of the nose. In the process, the face's position on the head shifts upward slightly, to even out the overall proportions, but it doesn't move up as far as it would if you just gave the move-face-up button a click.

I move the face up and down a lot while I work.  I also do a lot of blending of the Maxis features. At the end I move the face back into place, and--because it no longer matches up perfectly--just slightly higher than the original Maxis face (using the eyebrows as a guide).

I don't raise it an entire click because I hope to maintain some compatibility between these faces and the Maxis faces--and all of the user-made faces at the "standard" Maxis height--so that their offspring won't be complete mutants. It may be pointless, though, since the nose-chin area is consistently higher on these templates anyway. What do you guys think?

I think you might want to move the eyes closer together for a number of them as well- I think many of the Maxis templates have them unnaturally far apart. Like in number 19, I think they look too wide.

I've noticed that as well, in addition to the long noses and weak chins. I've tried to move the eyes slightly closer together on the faces I've done, more or less depending on the reference photos I'm looking at. Do any of the ones I've posted still look too wide-set?

Back to the grind...

[Renatus]

I don't raise it an entire click because I hope to maintain some compatibility between these faces and the Maxis faces--and all of the user-made faces at the "standard" Maxis height--so that their offspring won't be complete mutants. It may be pointless, though, since the nose-chin area is consistently higher on these templates anyway. What do you guys think?

The nose-chin area being higher is probably going to have some weird effects anyhow, if some of my earlier experiments are any indication. I'd personally prefer the foreheads to not be as high as the default since I find it to be much too large. As it is most of the changed templates you've posted do improve on that at least a little.

As for the eye width, from what I could tell by eyeballing and by-the-thumbnails measuring the eyes on the changed templates are less widely set than the defaults and generally one of their widths apart from the other. Some are a little wider set, none seem to be narrower set. Perhaps some templates could have slightly narrower set eyes for variety.

[BlueSoup]

Back to the grind...

I'm currently working like crazy to get all of Inge's stuff on The Laden Swallow, so please, take your time!

[Nailati]

I'm currently working like crazy to get all of Inge's stuff on The Laden Swallow, so please, take your time!

No worries. The perfectionist in me will never be satisfied, so I'll keep fussing and tweaking until you're ready.

The nose-chin area being higher is probably going to have some weird effects anyhow, if some of my earlier experiments are any indication. I'd personally prefer the foreheads to not be as high as the default since I find it to be much too large. As it is most of the changed templates you've posted do improve on that at least a little.

As for the eye width, from what I could tell by eyeballing and by-the-thumbnails measuring the eyes on the changed templates are less widely set than the defaults and generally one of their widths apart from the other. Some are a little wider set, none seem to be narrower set. Perhaps some templates could have slightly narrower set eyes for variety.

Okay--thanks. I'm keeping notes on all of this--once I finish all the "rough drafts," I'll go through them and make final adjustments.

The smoothing in the game always makes the faces seem a little more bland and averaged out than they looked when I made them--including the eye distance, which seems closer in BS. I'm not sure if that actually changes or if it's just an effect of the lighting/DOF differences. I should check the faces in CAS more often while I'm working, but it's such a redass. I'm learning bit by bit which things I need to compensate for, even if they look weird in BS.

I'll definitely bring some of the eyes closer together. I'm going to make the rest of the face heights consistent with the faces I've already made, for simplicity's sake, and then if I decide to raise them it'll be a snap to do them all at once.

[Renatus]

I've also noticed that faces can look considerably different in CAS than they do in bodyshop. The lighting definitely has something to do with it - it's extremely bright in CAS, especially compared to how very dim bodyshop is.  Having the faces static vs. animated makes a big difference as well, even when they aren't grinning like loons in CAS.

You're doing an excellent job so far.