The eternal search...

[Ness]

After a discussion a few days ago, it seems that people are never entirely satisfied with their default replacement skins.

It's been ages since there was any discussion on this topic, and I know there are a few people on the lookout for a new set to try, so I thought I'd ask if people have seen anything new lately?

I'm currently using Lyrans defaults, which I seem to keep going back to after becoming dissatisfied with which ever set I'm currently trying.  They are a little too pale, but I've just not found anything better anywhere.

Helaenes I've found too hairy.
Enaylas I've found too shiny/oily.

I saw a set by hysterical paroxysm, but they seemed WAY too dark.

I can't stand the hyper-realistic skins, I'm quite happy with the cartoonish effect but find the maxis skins too grayish.

I've never bothered with removing the sensor blur, so realistic genitals wouldn't both me either way.  I wouldn't see them, but the fact that they would be there also wouldn't stop me using a set of skins.

So...  Any suggestions?  Any amazing new finds that some of us may have missed?

[jrd]

My options are limited, since I want skins that also have overrides in a similar style for aliens and zombies, and optimally even werewolves and plants.

Furthermore I play with a modified S1-S4 spectrum where base-S3 is my S4, and therefore I need a skintone set that offers a wider selection of choices (at least 4 or 5 choices ranging from pale to base-S3).
No sinister undertones: I just want a somewhat more realistic setting (as far as you can go in the eutopic suburbia that Sims live in, where supernatural events can occur!), so I use more realistic names (my mod), do not money cheat (loan paintings to represent morgages), and have no negroes with red hair and green eyes.

I don't know right now who the original author of the skinset I based my overrides on is: I didn't keep the originals in my game since I only play with my genetic spectrum (6 skintones in total, ranging from pale (under S1) to black (above S4). The set also has alien, werewolf, zombie, and plant overrides.
I think I got them from the adult inSim site, could be Louis.

I don't use crammyboy's penis mod, but an old mesh edit by duddly (what happened to him?) that just extends the bone there a bit, simulating the effect. My female Sims also have a slight boob job (also by duddly).

[J. M. Pescado]

Death to all Nesses.

[Ambular]

I use a set I modified, based on AllenABQ's hairy set #3, including a matching white/gray alien tone and a couple of in-between geneticized "hairless" tones for variety's sake.  I've been gradually upgrading them piecemeal with eyes to match my defaults and some nice teeth I found somewhere.  Unfortunately this means I can't share them with anyone else... :/

I also can't stand the hyper-realistic skins.  Creepy-mannequin factor aside, I find that a skin that's too detailed makes every Sim that uses it look the same.  If I need specific face characteristics for a certain Sim, I prefer to make custom face makeup for them (it takes up less space anyway.)  And for some reason the musculature on most detailed skins, especially about the abs, just doesn't look quite right to me.  Too much shine is also a rampant problem.  I don't care for painted-on genitals--they never looks right.  I just use Crammyboy's mod.

Mine are also in a lighter range than Maxis'.  However, it wasn't the mismatched skintones and hair/eye colors that bothered me, but the fact that the game does a really crappy job of rendering dark colors (not just in skintones, either; desaturated blacks look absolutely awful in clothing, so I find everything black I make has to have a somewhat blue tint to help smooth things out.)  I find this highly annoying, and if anyone has figured out a technique for making a properly dark S4 skintone that displays in-game without the ugly color striations and blotchy highlights I'd be really grateful to know.  Granted, the lighter colors do reflect the ethnic variety in my area pretty well and it does prevent massive feature mismatch, but it makes me feel somehow morally deficient even though my motives have nothing to do with race...

Honestly, I think anyone who's at all fussy about skins is better off breaking down and making their own set.  It's time-consuming, but not too difficult if you've got basic BodyShop, SimPE and Photoshop/GIMP/PSP skills.

Wild idea that just hit me: wouldn't it be nice if a bunch of skin makers got together and made overlays of various features (abs, knees, and so on) that we could download and mix and match/modify/share at will?  I know AllenABQ has made overlays of his various body hair sets available...

[Emma]

I use these by Knightskykyte Non-shiny and better colour than Maxis. My only gripe is the elders have smooth-skinned faces, but I usually put wrinkles on them to combat this.

[JennyJenny]

Just out of curiousity (and because it almost kind of goes w/ this thread, and not meant to hijack it in any way at all) other than custom defaults how many custom skins do folks have? I think I have kind of alot, maybe 8 outside of the defualts. But I am always looking for the one perfect set of defaults so that I can get rid of my extras and just have everyone look similar w/o all the agressive custom skintones that come up over all of the other ones. Personally I prefer pinkish toned skins for my pale sims (of which there are plenty, being as I am pale myself), but olive (for a more mediterranean feel) for the mid-range tones and none of the darkest skins ever look right. My hubby teaches at an all black school and I have never seen a black skintone that looks anything like what I actually see.

But back on track, as far as the Defaults I have in my game, I do use Helaene's, hairyness and all. I like Enayla's, even though I don't have any in my game, but only for girls, cause they are way too shiny for dudes. Also most of Enayla's are a little too fantasy for me and/or have a weird undertone, although I do use alien/zombie/plantsim defaults made out of some of her skintones. Because they are supposed to look fantasy and/or have a weird undertone.

[Emma]

Apart from the KSK defaults, I have Dylan's Laverwinkle alien default skins and Dylan's Vampire Paste default skins. I have no other custom skins in game. I find skin files are huge and I don't want them enough to fill up my downloads folder with them.

Can't stand the shinyness of certain skins, and although I used to use Heleanes and Ren's skins there was a patchyness about them I didn't like. Lyran's skins are also really nice, but the male skins have eyeliner on, and I don't like that.

[jolrei]

I'm using default skins from www.paradisesims.com.  I find they are not too shiny and they have a range of skintones and colours (blue, purple, pink, etc.) if you like that sort of thing.  Genitals are reasonably nicely rendered, but no "moving parts" so to speak.  Have not checked compatibility with Crammyboy's stuff.  For those that like it, they also have "nude clothing", which subs for undies, swimwear, or athletic, so sims can go nude without shocking other sims.

Edit:  they do have "normal" skintones that mirror the default maxis skintones, and a choice of defaults with pubic hair or without.

[jrd]

Other than the ones inside the genetic spectrum, I have no custom skins.

[missangelica]

I use these by Knightskykyte Non-shiny and better colour than Maxis. My only gripe is the elders have smooth-skinned faces, but I usually put wrinkles on them to combat this.

After reading the very annoying rant from the creator of those, I'm going to put nipples and hair on them just to spite him!   

[Hecubus]

I have a set of defaults I like..reasonably normal looking, slightly less ashen colorations, some body hair and nipples. I have NO idea who made them, however...the file names are 'mydefaultnudesmale' and 'mydefaultnudesfemale'. If anyone can identify...that would be cool.

And the only other skins I have are those included with some of the Made-Up Animals...which I don't use except on that made-up animal.

[Ambular]

I have ten custom skins, which includes four "normal" tones that match my defaults and give them a little more variety, and six "weird" ones I keep around for special effects purposes (skeleton skin, invisible skin, glowing, Swamp Thing, metallic, and transparent, for the record.)

[Lorelei]

I have ten custom skins, which includes four "normal" tones that match my defaults and give them a little more variety, and six "weird" ones I keep around for special effects purposes (skeleton skin, invisible skin, glowing, Swamp Thing, metallic, and transparent, for the record.)

Those sound interesting. Where did you find them?

Linkies?

I have as lot of customs, but I could probably ditch all but the default and vamp and alien replacements. I downloaded most of them in January the same week I got all the available EPs.

[Flamingo]

Click here.

[AuKestrel]

I use Lin's edition of Louis' #7 skins (http://modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=175159&c=1) and I've had a few, including Navetsea's face-in defaults. But I like Lin's version because there are six skin tones, giving me two intermediate custom tones; and the defaults are not too shiny, not too realistic, and they have nipples, which I just can't live without. *g*

[missandrony]

At the moment I'm using Shiny's version of Louis's skins, but I'm trying to make my own set based on some of Enayla's more recent skins.  Her pixie skins are way better about the shine, although I'm slowly deshining them.

A lot of people like oepu's most recent skins, and corvidophile2 did a default set here.  They're not my personal favorites, but I keep finding Sims they look right on.

And is it just me, or do a lot of skintones look horribly ashen?  There are several creators whose skins I like in theory, but in the game make the Sims look all grayish and dead.  I correct a few, but I'm too lazy to do more.

[Sandilou]

Jordi, my aunt has red hair and red brows and brown eyes - and she, like myself is nubian rather than negro, thank you.  (Get with it son!) Her daughter (my cousin) also has blondish red hair.  In fact many of my maternal cousins have brown/auburn hair.  Possibly due to the fact that one of my great grandmothers was of Spanish origin. My hair was jet black - just like my paternal relatives, when I was younger, but close up  you can see I have orangy hair ends, reddish brown streaks - and wait for it - strands of blonde too.   Of course,  I dye it a darker brown to stop people staring at my hair while they talk to me - I could tell what they were thinking before  - "is it a trick of the light or is that a marmalade cat on your head?"  

There are nubian children with green, blue and grey eyes.   Not common, but they do exist and of course the gene/trait runs in families: I have taught and know of several.  

I use a set of default skins that make me happy - they might be Spookymuffin's version of KSK's skins http://modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=215889, but I too am not sure because there is no creator's name on the defaults.  

[Ambular]

I have ten custom skins, which includes four "normal" tones that match my defaults and give them a little more variety, and six "weird" ones I keep around for special effects purposes (skeleton skin, invisible skin, glowing, Swamp Thing, metallic, and transparent, for the record.)

Those sound interesting. Where did you find them?

Linkies?

Most of them came from MTS2--the link Flamingo offered above will take you to them.  Swamp Thing I made myself, and my glowing skin is a tweaked, more "normal" version of the noxious green flourescent one at MTS2 made by substituting a regular AllenABQ texture in place of the green in the file.

[AuKestrel]

I use these by Knightskykyte Non-shiny and better colour than Maxis. My only gripe is the elders have smooth-skinned faces, but I usually put wrinkles on them to combat this.

After reading the very annoying rant from the creator of those, I'm going to put nipples and hair on them just to spite him!   

I'm with you on that one. Jeez.

[notveryawesome]

I use Spookymuffin's default replacements, found at SexySims2, which are more-or-less the Maxis skins, but are anatomically correct and have better shading (IMO, anyway). She also has lighter and darker geneticised skins, that I use as well. I too can't stand shiny or overly shaded skins that look 'drawn' upon.

Edited because I hit a wrong button and sent the post too soon.

[rosenshyne]

I picked my favorite Enayla skins and made my own default replacements, plus I have 12 extra skins that have all been genetized. My vampire, zombie and alien skins are replaced by Enayla skins as well. I use her Pixie Serpent for alien, then always attach horns to make them even more unique. And my regular default replacements are Opaline, Pixie Dream, Pixie Hush, and Pixie Ashes.

[TaWanda]

I like nice detailing around the eyes and mouths so I use Opeus defaults in my MATYville, along with Barcelonista's eyes to give my sims a pretty realistic look. On another account I'm using SpookyMufin's KSK defaults with Helaena's eyes for a slightly less realistic, but still attractive look. I'm still looking for a nice non-shiny default for plantsims, and I've never even seen any skins for werewolves!

[Zazazu]

I have the Enayla default replacements for the base four, then most of the "normal" additional geneticized skintones by her from the thread here in Peasantry. A couple of those "normal" ones have an odd tint to me, so I trashed them, but I have sixteen being used. Plus, I have a default replacement for plantsims even though I don't have any plantsims. I also have default replacement eyes. I couldn't find a default replacement vampire/werewolf eye I liked, so I have a contact set instead for that.

Maxis crap is blah, that's why I couldn't ever share any of my lots as-is unless I could find a site that would let me say "except for the wall placement, none of it is mine. Enjoy."

I don't really do fantasy sims that much. I have one very small family where the elf gene rears it's head whenever a child is born with the founder's lavender eyes, and of course one mentally unstable sim who thinks she's a fairy princess.

[Quinctia]

I use Lyran's as my default, plus the three additional skintones from there (extra light, extra dark, and freckled), I've got several NPC-enabled Enayla skins, I've got more Enayla skins in addition to that, and then there are a few others I got packaged with character sims I downloaded that I keep around because they're all right.

I like having lots of genetic variety, and I geneticize every bit of bodyshop stuff that can be geneticized, so I like having a lot of different skintones.  It keeps all the sims from looking too similar.

[Elven Ranger]

Im between defaults atm. What ive always wanted and never managed to find is a default set ranging from realy pail to quite dark ... 1 bellow the maxis S1 and 1 above the maxis s4. Right now it seems that nipples ar out! I mean ... i eep finding default skins that look nice ( even if not my personal taste) with lots of details but NO NIPPLES! WTF?!
I detest 'barbie'! Im not 3 thank you! I can make do with out much between the legs ( I have exnems penis mesh for one thing) ..... but GAH!

Louis skins are really nice, so are Navetsea's ....

actually does anyone KNOW of anything like the 6 range defaults?