View source for Tutorials:Body Shop Meshing Introduction

==Introduction==

[[Image:Icon-info.png|right]]Want to create new clothing, body shapes, hair meshes, accessory meshes, and the like?  This is the right place!

===What do I need to know before I make meshes?===

'''Required Knowledge:''' Before you can begin working on Body Shop meshes of any type, you need to have a solid basis in recolouring/retexturing Body Shop meshes!  You cannot just jump into meshing from nothing.  For one, the tutorials assume a basic level of knowledge... And additionally, a good solid level of experience in recolouring/retexturing helps a lot in understanding the whats and whys of the meshing process.

[[Image:RightArrow.gif]] If you are not already an experienced Body Shop recolour artist: [[Tutorials:Body Shop Recolouring Tutorials|Body Shop Recolouring Tutorials]] - do some of those tutorials, get some experience under your belt, and then come back here.

===What will I need?===

For most of these techniques, you'll use :

* [[Body Shop]]
* [[SimPE]]
* [[Graphics Editors|A graphics editor]]
* [[3d Modeling Programs|Milkshape]]
* [[Unimesh]]  

If you need anything else or anything different, the individual tutorial will tell you what will be required.  While Milkshape is a pay program (costing around $25), it is a great program for the price, and no other program will let you do such major edits for so low a price.

For more information, and other options if you just really don't want to use Milkshape, see: [[Tutorials:Body/Hair/Accessory Meshing Tools|Body/Hair/Accessory Meshing Tools]]

You will also need '''time and patience'''!  Be willing to read things several times and try them, eventually it will all make sense, even if it doesn't in the beginning. This is not a quick thing - plan on spending hours on a single project, especially when learning new tools.

If you don't have experience with your graphics editor, you should go find some generic tutorials to teach you the basics of how to use it from the web. Same goes for the 3D editor, you will find some help and tips on this site, but to get the most out of it and build complex things, you will need to learn how to use the editor to it's fullest.

It is a fine goal to say "I want to make cool things like (name your favorite creator)". You must realize that they have invested countless hours/months getting to the level they are at. There's no reason why you cannot also get there with hard work, but like with anything, you must start with simple/basic steps and then build up to more advanced topics. And realize that the creator you admire might have worked for days, weeks, and sometimes MONTHS (no exaggeration!) on a particular project to get it just right.

===Where do I start?===

Making a new body mesh (shape) or hair mesh is not a simple thing to do. It is not impossible, but... even with tutorials, it sometimes takes more than one try to get something working the way you want. To quote one successful mesher - 'I made some monsters before I got things to come out the way I wanted'.

For example...

[[Image:MonsterMeshes.jpg|center]]

If the picture above makes you quake in your boots and run screaming, you are not quite ready to take on this task.  See the "What do I need to know before I make meshes?" section above to get a better basis in recolouring/retexturing first.

If you're feeling brave and wanting a challenge...

We have a series of beginner clothing/body tutorials which teach the basics of creating a new mesh package, editing, uv mapping, and chopping together mesh parts (also known as "Frankensteining") - these are the basic techniques that you will use for most meshing, and from there, you can move on to more complex things like accessories, hair, or more complex body/clothing edits.

For those first tutorials, see: [[Tutorials:Body Shop Meshing Starter Tutorials|Body Shop Meshing Beginner Tutorials]]

If you want to understand the basics of what makes up 3D meshing, i.e., ''Terms and Concepts, Textures, UV Maps, Joints'', etc., take a look at Wes Howe's tutorials. [http://customsims3.com/pedia/doku.php?id=custom_content_creation - Wes Howe's 3D Meshing Tutorials -]

===Frequently Asked Questions (Read the FAQ!)===

Still have questions?  Try our FAQ...

[[Image:RightArrow.gif]] See: [[Tutorials:Body Shop Meshing FAQ|Body Shop Meshing FAQ]].

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