This tutorial will show how to use the basic steps of recoloring a multi colored object using Photoshop 7.0 tools. Level: Basic

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A Simple Tutorial Showing the Basics

Let’s start with what you’ll need. I use Wizards of SimPE(with DDS Utilities installed) for my recoloring needs. It is a lot easier touse than regular SimPE because you do not need to worry about all thosenumbers. I also use, of course, Photoshop 7.0. Even if you don’t have the 7.0version you should still be able to use this tutorial with other versions.

**Note** If you have SimPE then you have Wizards ofSimPE. It can be found by going to START, ALL PROGRAMS, SIMPE, WIZARDS OFSIMPE. If you don’t have SimPE get it here: http://sims.ambertation.de/en//(just copy and paste into your browser).

Here is the texture we will use for this tutorial.

Step 1.

Once you have Wizards open click on “Recolor” and waitfor it to completely load. You will see some familiar icons. Click on the iconthat, in game, usually represents the knowledge items (where you find thebookcases, exercise equipment and such). Select the child’s stove. This is afairly simple item to recolor but still show you some very useful features ofPhotoshop.

 

Step 2.

And select the child’s stove. Then click “Next”

Step 3.

The next screen will look like the picture below. This isthe texture for the stove and it is what we will be working with.

Step 4.

Next, select the texture and then click “Export”

Step 5.

You will get a window that asks you to name and save thetexture. I chose to save it to my desktop just for convenience. Name it somethingeasy. For myself, I would name it “stove” but for this tutorial I named itsomething more detailed. It does not matter what you name it or where you saveit as long as you can remember it. After naming it click save.

Step 6.

Now it is time to open Photoshop. Here is what my screenlooks like.

Step 7.

Go to FILE, OPEN and find the texture you just saved.

Step 8.

Once it is opened your screen will look like this.

Step 9.

Go to VIEW, and ZOOM IN. This will give you a better viewto work with. Also resize the window.

Step 10.

Once you have done that your screen will look like thepicture below. I want to get rid of those silly little cupcakes so select theCLONE TOOL.

It looks like a stamp. In order to use this tool you willneed to resize the curser (now called a brush) to an appropriate size (orwhatever size you are comfortable with) you can do this by right clicking. Iuse no more than a size 10. When you have your brush size selected it is timeto select the area to be copied. Find an area on the pink that has an evencolor and hold down ALT and click in that area. Let go of ALT and you are readyto clone. Click and drag the brush over the annoying like cakes and they willbe replaced with the pink color.*note* when you reach an area that has justbeen cloned it will clone what was there before so you will need to let go ofthe mouse button and start cloning again. Once you leave go of the mouse buttonyou can use the area you just cloned to cover another area*. This step can betime consuming but take your time, especially if you are new to this. Whathappens if you make a mistake? It can be easily fixed.

Step 11.

Ok, so those pesky little things are gone now but you areleft with a small amount of them left on the light blue portion. To correctthis, clone an area along the top of the pink (where the pink and blue meet).Do the same thing for the bottom. You are looking for a nice clean line betweenthe two colors. *Be sure not to make the pink area bigger or the color we putover the pink will be on other parts of the stove*. It should look somethinglike this when you are finished.

Now we are ready to select the first area we want to workwith. In this section I will show you how to make layers and how to adjust theoriginal texture to better show off your work.

Step 12.

First, select the MAGIC WAND and then click on the lightblue parts. Don’t forget to click on the small portion in the bottom right handcorner.

When you click on the bottom portion of the stove (wherethe burners go) it will not select the burners. In order to add to yourselected area you must hold SHIFT and then click (this will work with allselection tools) *ALT and click will remove an area*. Wonderful! How are you doingso far? It’s not too difficult is it?

Step 13.

The first thing I do with a selected area is todesaturate it, which is to take the color out (for those who did not know). Goto IMAGE, ADJUSTMENTS, DESATURATE. Voila! The color is gone but we are leftwith a dark gray. If we leave it this way the color we put on top will be verydark so we need to adjust the brightness. That option can be found under IMAGE,ADJUSTMENTS, BRIGHTNESS/CONTRAST. See the pictures below if you need help.

Step 14.

I chose to use a brightness of +67 and a contrast of +10.You can play with these options to find what you like best. Decreasing thecontrast is a good option if the area you are working on has a pattern that youdo not want to show through. I often use a contrast of +100 to remove any traceof a pattern. If the pattern does not disappear on the first try you can reducethe contrast again until it does disappear. Often when I adjust the brightness,I adjust the contrast just a touch to bring the shadows out a little. Becareful with metallic or glass surfaces though. Too much brightness will makethem glare.

Step 15.

Now comes the fun part! We are going to add a layer oftexture over the parts we just lightened.  But first…we need to make a patternto put in our layer. If you have a design of your own you would like to usefeel free. If not you can use the design I gave you in the beginning of thistutorial. Save the design and then open it in Photoshop. Go to EDIT, DEFINEPATTERN. You will be asked to rename it. I just leave it as whatever it comesup as and hit OK. Let’s make a layer! Go to LAYER, NEW FILL LAYER, PATTERN.

Step 16.

A window will pop up with some options on it.

You can rename the layer if you want; I usually keep itthe same. Color remains “NONE”, “OPACITY” remains 100 and the “MODE” has a dropdown menu. Choose MULTIPY from the drop down menu and hit OK. It should applythe pattern we made earlier (If it does not you can choose the pattern from thenext window) and hit OK.

Step 17.

Congratulations! You just made a layer. You should havesomething that looks like this:

To modify a layer it is fairly easy. Control click on theblack and white image next to the pattern you applied and that will select it.Then go to LAYERS, CHANGE LAYER CONTENT. You will have the option to change thepattern, color or gradient. If the pattern you applied is still too dark youcan lighten it with these steps: control click the layer to select it thenclick on the original layer (usually called BACKGROUND, but can be called LAYER0) and adjust the brightness/contrast from the IMAGE, ADJUSTMENT,BRIGHTNESS/CONTRAST. Make sure you are working on the original layer with thenew layer selected or it won’t work.

Step 18.

Time to move on and make another layer! This time we aregoing to change the knob color. With the magic wand in hand click on the yellowarea at the top left corner.

Go ahead and desaturate and use the brightness/contrast.I used a brightness of +100 and no contrast adjustment (none was needed sincethere is no pattern or shading).  Add a new layer, but this time add a solidcolor instead of a pattern. This option can be found under LAYERS, NEW FILLLAYER, SOLID COLOR.

Step 19.

I try to pick a color that is somewhere in the pattern Iam using. The new layer options window will come up and this time choose COLORfrom the dropdown menu and hit OK. When the color chooser comes up you will beable to choose a color from the pattern with an eyedropper tool. Pick yourcolor and then OK. WHOOHOO! Layer number 2.

Step 20.

We’re on the home stretch now. All we have left to do isthe green, the pink, the red, the gray, the wood and the two little rectanglesat the bottom right. Worried? Don’t be! We are going to do all that in oneaction. So get your magic wand and start selecting. If you have troubleselecting some small areas with the magic wand switch to the rectangle selectorand draw a box around the area you want to select* remember to hold down SHIFTto add to your selection* With the remaining areas selected, repeat the processfor making a new layer: DESATURATE, BRIGHTNESS/CONTRAST, LAYER, NEW FILL LAYER,SOLID COLOR and MULTIPLY from the MODE dropdown menu.

Step 21.

This is what you should now have.

Looks pretty good don’t you think?

Step 22.

Now is a good time to show you some of the mode options.Here are some pictures of a few of the options using the same color as above.Don’t be afraid to play with these options and see what they do! Opacity and Fillare fun to play with too (these can be found on your layers pane).

All the same color but different results! Have fun!

Step 23.

Before we can save our final project we need to mergethese layers into one. To do that we go to LAYERS, MERGE VISIBLE. Tada! Onelayer once again. Sometimes it will require flattening. That is an option underLAYER too. This file should automatically save as a .png file. When you go tosave, if it tries to save as a .psd file cancel and then “FLATTEN” then you cansave as a .png.

Save this directly over the original file.

Step 24.

Almost done! Time to importback into Wizards of SimPE. After you have saved it, go back to wizards andclick IMPORT. Find the file you just saved and click open. If you have the DDSutilities installed a black box will appear and then disappear. The old textureis replaced with the new one. The last step!

Click NEXT and you will be asked to name your project.Name it something unique. Most creators use the pattern: creatorname_objectname_datetime.

I would name it like this:munchkin_brat_child_stove_tutorial913. After naming it click finish. It willautomatically be saved it in your downloads folder so you won’t have to put itthere.

HURRAY! You did it! It was not that difficult was it? Nowgo see what you accomplished. Check it out in game. I mean really check it out!Look for mistakes that need to be corrected or things that you would like tochange. I don’t know how many times I have scrapped a whole project and startover just because I did not like it or it looked funny in game. Recoloring canbe fun. Enjoy yourself and let the creative juices flow! Here are the finalresults of my recolor.