https://vintagesimstress.tumblr.com/post/616668362024550400/i-getting-started
It seems like there’s a whole bunch of people who’d like to learn how to make their own CC – so, without further ado, let’s jump right into it! Thank you everyone for your feedback; I hope what you’ll find here will meet your expectations.
This tutorial is intended for people who are at the absolute beginner level and the only thing they know about CC making is that they’d like to learn it. Of course you’re not forbidden to use it if you’ve already got some experience, but just to warn you, I’ll start with the very basics. Also, it’ll be divided into many parts and I can’t predict how quick I’ll be with adding new ones, so please don’t get too impatient!
It’s intended to work as a complete, step-by step course, so in the later parts I’ll assume that you’re familiar with the previous ones. In case something isn’t clear to you, please check first if that topic wasn’t already explained before you say you don’t understand what’s going on.
So, let’s start with the basic questions: what do you even need to get started and how much is it going to cost you?
Just to immediately calm you down: the answer to the 2nd question is ‘almost nothing’.
A 3-button-mouse
And that’s the only thing you’ll have to pay for, assuming you don’t have one yet.
Blender 2.79
Blender is a 'free and open 3D creation software’, as its slogan says. It’s the place where the magic happens, where you mold your clay into whichever shape you want, in other words – where you mesh. A very important thing: you MUST download version 2.79, not 2.8. Why? Because only meshes created in pre-2.8 Blender can be read by S4S (see below). Why? No idea, we just have to accept it. Follow THIS link and download the version meant for your operating system.EDIT: Make sure you’re really on version 2.79! It seems S4S will try to automatically download an even earlier version (2.70) for you, which doesn’t have some options you’ll need later.
Sims 4 Studio
Sims 4 Studio (aka S4S) is a fan-made program which enables you to import your mesh (and a bunch of other information, like textures, bump maps etc.) and change it into a nicely packaged .package file. You can download it HERE (again, choose your op system and scroll down a bit for a direct download link)
Free image editing software (unless you have Photoshop)
Yes, I know it sounds unbelievable, but you can actually make decent textures without Photoshop! You will need the following:
A very user-friendly program where 99% of your job can be done. Download HERE.
A set of custom plugins for paint.net
Useful for many things, absolutely necessary for making specular maps (we’ll come back to it waaaaaay later). Download HERE.
A 'Normal Map Plus’ custom plugin for paint.net
Necessary for making more detailed bump maps (again, we’ll come back to it later). Download HERE.
GIMP
A not-so-user-friendly program that I’m still struggling with, so I try to avoid using it more often than necessary. However, it is necessary for turning those bump maps I mentioned earlier into normal maps, which can be read by your game. Download HERE (choose the 'download directly’ option!).
Enough disc space for your creations
Your final package is one thing, but all the half-made meshes and textures you’re going to create on the way are a completely different story. Trust me, your creations folder will grow very quickly. If you don’t have much space on your PC, you should get yourself an external disc.
LOTS of patience
Getting your first creation ready is going to be a long and painful process. I’ve already mentioned it a couple of times, but making my very first dress work took me TWO MONTHS. Hopefully the whole experience will be less frustrating for you (because you’ll have me :) ), but nevertheless, be prepared. Read everything carefully, pay attention to details, don’t give up too easily and don’t be too hard on yourself. It gets easier, I promise.
Marvellous Designer
Another meshing software, used mostly by alpha CC creators, which looks cool, but has one big downside: it’s horrendously overpriced. If you treat meshing as a hobby, then you probably don’t feel like spending 50 euro/dollar per month on necessary software, therefore… Nope.
Photoshop
No hate to Photoshop; if you have it then cool, stick to it. But you don’t need it, so we’re going to go for free software instead.
A gaming PC with amazing specs
Let’s just put it that way: if your computer can run TS4, it can run Blender and S4S. Till last month I was meshing on a laptop. I could have problems with TS4, but Blender? Never. So don’t worry about it, you’re fine.
Next → 2 - Learning to mesh