How to make (standing) fakes

Here I'll describe how I make fakes in Photoshop CS4 - quick and simple.  It may seem slow-going at first, but the more you get used to it, the quicker it will become - especially when you've learned all the hot-keys. :)  Bear in mind that this will only work with standing fakes - sitting fakes need to interact with chairs, so the Z's are a little more complicated.  Also, though I use CS4, this tutorial should also work with other versions of Photoshop, as the tools should be interchangeable.  

To advanced creators, you should be able to ignore all the details and follow the instructions in bold.

Okay, here we go. :)

How to make (standing) fakes

        1)  First, you need to clone a fake or a similar object (a rug or a sculpture) in TMog.  Uncheck 'Just Change Colors' and 'Compress Bitmap'.  Check 'One Zoom, All Channels'.  Save the cloned files wherever is convenient for you.

        2) Now open up SimPose.  Click File > Options > Reset Camera and Light Defaults and Reset world offset.  In the Camera/Light controls box, change the drop-down menu to Background.  Changing to a good contrasting colour like yellow is best. 

        3) Now the Sim should be in the game's default isometric position.  Choose the skins for your Sim in the Character tab.  In Library Manager you can choose your character's pose.  You can change the character's direction in the camera bar if you need to.  Now press Ctrl + Prnt Scrn.  This takes a cap of what's on your screen.

        4)  Open up Photoshop, open a new file, and paste the cap onto your screen.  Crop the cap around the Sim.

        5)  Now zoom into your picture to a size that's comfortable for you.  Use the Magic Wand tool and select ALL the yellow parts of the picture (MAKE SURE the anti-alias box on the tool bar on the top is unchecked.  Otherwise you will lose data).  You might need to zoom in a considerable amount to get all the small bits.

        6)  When all the yellow has been selected, press Ctrl + Shift + I.  This will inverse your selection, so that the Sim will be selected.  Copy the selection and paste into a new window.

        7) Resize your Sim by 50% (Image > Image Size) and sharpen the image (Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen).  NB:- You can perform your last filter action by pressing Ctrl + F.

        8)  Now open the corresponding fake sprite you cloned.  Change the image mode from BMP to RBG Colour (Image > Mode > RGB Color).  Go back to the picture you made of your Sim.  Select the image and paste it into the fake sprite.  Move your Sim so that its position corresponds to the cloned sprite. Choose the bottom, background layer, and with your Paintbrush, paint over the cloned sprite with the background colour. 

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        9) Now change the image mode back to Indexed Colour.  Photoshop will ask if you want to flatten the picture.  Click 'OK', 'OK'.  Then save over the original file.  DON'T close the file - you'll need it for the next part.

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        11)  Press and hold down the Ctrl button.  While doing that, click on Layer 1.  This will select your Sim.

        12) Click on the Channels tab.  You will see 4 samples of your Sim in different colours.  Click the second icon on the bottom, 'save selection as channel'.  This should be the white circle on the grey square.  This will create a new Alpha channel.  Click on this channel.  Your Sim will now be in black and white, and will still be selected.

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          13)  Press Ctrl + Shift + I.  Use the paintbrush to paint the edges of the Sim in black.  This will make sure that there is no yellow 'halo' around your fake when you use it in-game.

        14)  Next, select the entire image, and copy and paste into a new file.  Make sure your image is in Grayscale (it should be automatically, but it pays to make sure).  Now save your alpha over the cloned alpha file.  Again, DON'T close your alpha file.

        15)  Back to Photoshop!  Change the image mode from Grayscale to RGB Color (click 'Flatten'). 

        16)  Press Ctrl + I, to inverse the image.

        17)  Now press Ctrl + U (alternatively, go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation). Change the Lightness to +65.  Click OK. NB:- You can perform your last Lightness adjustment by pressing Ctrl + Shift + U, then OK.

        18)  Now you have instant Z's!  Change the mode back to Grayscale, and save over the clone's Z's. 

Done!  But wait - no it isn't!  Half the job is done!  Now you have to do the same for the back view of your fake.  Then import back into TMog.  Your fake is complete!  Well done! :D

NB:- You may need to open up your fake in TMog and adjust the placement, just to make sure that your Sim is central on the tile.