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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#1 Old 21st Mar 2021 at 2:05 PM
Default Issues with bodyshop discoloring images when importing
Hey! I hope this is the right place to post this, seemed to make the most sense to me.

I've been getting into more clothing recoloring, and I keep having an issue with bodyshop importing the pictures incorrectly and I'm hoping one of you might know what I'm doing wrong. I did read the help section and tried the blurry bodyshop texture thing, but it made no difference, issue persists.

I use gimp to recolor, I export as bmp, then use Paint to replace the picture in the projects folder. I then import through bodshop, as per usual. And for reason, sometimes Bodyshop makes the image pixelated and adds blotches of discoloration that aren't there in my original recolor. Like this


Doesn't happen every time, and I don't see any pattern with what colors it's doing it with. I had similar issues with homecrafter when I did wallpapers back in the day, but then if I just re-did the process the new file came out fine. With bodyshop doing it again isn't helping, if a recolor does it the first time it'll do it again the 2nd time. Anyone have any ideas what's going on?
Screenshots

Creations can be found on my on tumblr.
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Field Researcher
#2 Old 21st Mar 2021 at 4:00 PM
What exactly are you using Paint for? You can just directly export as bmp to the project folder.
Have you already used Graphics Rules Maker on Body Shop just to make sure all the settings are correct?
It also might just be DXT compression crushing the color values.
Mad Poster
#3 Old 21st Mar 2021 at 4:30 PM
Some colors seem to be worse at this than others. Strong hues of blue, red, black, pink... And it also depends on the shadow overlay you're using and which method of recoloring you're using (hue/sat, shadow overlay + color layer, or something else). I think there could be several factors involved.

DXT3 and 5 can work in SimPE (don't use DXT1 or import - you probably know that). Some people swear to using the Raw24bit in SimPE (which Bodyshop seems to hate importing back in, so that's only for gameplay - it also tends to bump up the filesize times 3-4 at least).

It can sometimes help to add a little bit of noise into the overlay texture. For some reason, flat areas certain colors that aren't broken up tend to get this kind of discoloration.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#4 Old 22nd Mar 2021 at 8:20 AM
Quote: Originally posted by SmugTomato
What exactly are you using Paint for? You can just directly export as bmp to the project folder.
Have you already used Graphics Rules Maker on Body Shop just to make sure all the settings are correct?
It also might just be DXT compression crushing the color values.


I use Paint simply because I find it easier. No need to keep hopping between folders in Gimp, as I want to save the texture in my creation-folder, and then do it in Bodyshop, so I do everything in Gimp and export to where I'm saving everything related to that thing, then I use Paint to cycle through them for bodyshop as I import each color

I don't know what Graphics Rule Maker is. I followed the instructions in the help section about blurry Bodyshop stuff, is that what you are referring to or is this something else? If it's something else do you perhaps have a link to somewhere that explains it so I can try it out?

Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Some colors seem to be worse at this than others. Strong hues of blue, red, black, pink... And it also depends on the shadow overlay you're using and which method of recoloring you're using (hue/sat, shadow overlay + color layer, or something else). I think there could be several factors involved.


I am using the colorize function in Gimp, so no idea what that means in terms of the hue/sat/shadow overlay-thing you said. Definitely not the highest of quality creating, but I'm too dumb to figure out any other kind and it's good enough for my own private use, so I'm happy. But the blotchy-ness is hard to ignore, especially when it randomly adds in another color, like purple on a blue or green on a black.

Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
DXT3 and 5 can work in SimPE (don't use DXT1 or import - you probably know that). Some people swear to using the Raw24bit in SimPE (which Bodyshop seems to hate importing back in, so that's only for gameplay - it also tends to bump up the filesize times 3-4 at least).


I did try to go through SimPE, but it came out weird. Don't remember how exactly because it's a while ago now, just remember it did not look right. I'll have a look again, see if maybe I used the wrong thing.

Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
It can sometimes help to add a little bit of noise into the overlay texture. For some reason, flat areas certain colors that aren't broken up tend to get this kind of discoloration.


For me it seems to be more the areas that are not flat, like in this picture it's the area of the bust that's slightly lighter in color, or the parts on a skirt that are meant to look like the fabric being wavy. But either way it's worth a shot, so thanks for the tip, I'll try it out

Creations can be found on my on tumblr.
Mad Poster
#5 Old 22nd Mar 2021 at 1:32 PM
Most outfits get these issues directly out of Bodyshop, but you notice it better on the single-colored items because you can compare the color to itself.

The "blotchy" areas look like they're part of the texture that gives definition to the outfit. I'm guessing this part of the outfit has been a few rounds in Bodyshop from the original version through the original version of this outfit and so forth to your recolors, and has started to decay a bit. I'm not too familiar with how Colorize in Gimp behaves, but I know some of the tools I mentioned can cause further problems in Photoshop if they're not used right, and some of this can cause the "blotchiness" to stand out a bit more.

The compression issues get worse if there's very similar colors nearby. Bodyshop already seems to have a way of figuring out if textures are identical (for hairs) so I'm guessing it compresses down similar colors, too. It's possible it tries to use a somewhat simplified color palette or some such, because I have noticed some colors seem to be more affected than others. Shadow overlays sometimes stump it, too - instead of using the colors that are supposed to be there, they get turned into slightly pink/green/grey toned overlays. I've had to modify my techniques a bit lately to compensate for this...

I think the fix most people use nowadays is SimPE and PNG with DXT3/5.
(I usually don't bother unless it comes out really blurry or with the wrong colors, because most of the time you don't notice it that much ingame anyway - I probably wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't circled the issue, and even then I had to look really close).
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