Easy Way to Make Catwa Lipstick?

[FairreLilette]

I read there is an easy way to make lipstick and/or Catwa lipstick too, I'd gather.  I am having a difficult time of it.  It's a very tiny space to work in.  Any helpful hints?  

So, what are the "easy" ways to make lipsticks?  

I rezzed out the Catwa dev kit but I don't know what to do with it.  I'm on the HD lips now too which is too much for me.  I want more subtle than HD.  

Edited October 18, 2020 by FairreLilette

[MaxMare]

I only worked with older Catwa dev kit, but have used latest LeLutka Evo which has HD layers, method is the same...First of all read the notecard, if UVs or PSD document download link are not added, NC will tell you how and where to get it, usually UVs are included and you need to download them to your computer, open in PS or Gimp..I would go with HD, how subtle the result is depends on how you create the texture and if you are using materials and/or transparency..Method is the same for HD and/or head UV (worn as a BoM layer/tattoo)...Unless there are additional helpers (i.e. lips, eyebrows shape+placement), I suggest to test it first so you know for sure what line you need to follow, where the edges are for lips alone in this case...Alternatively, apply UV map as  a BoM layer to your Catwa head, take a few pics and save, this will help you learn how it stretches and what the boundaries are for particular part...

So now creating lipstick; you have two options: 

• Draw lips by hand (this is much easier with a graphic tablet), this also implies some understanding of human anatomy and painting in general (shading, highlights, structure etc)
• Find a good lipstick photo (it should be large enough that you can use it without upsizing on a 1024x1024 document), cut a preliminary shape, place under UV map (if UV map is not transparent, add multiply filter to it and lock the layer)..use create a smart layer and use puppet warp to adjust lipstick to UV guidelines, merge/flatten the layer once you are happy with it and cut excess with about 1-1.5px feathering to selection so texture blends better...you can combine both methods, as in using photo texture for base and adding drawn on highlights, edge line, shadow etc, most creators use the  photo texture method cause it is easier and gives decent results with less work..

Once your texture is finished, hide all layers except lipstick, save as .png and import to SL. Create a BoM layer and see how it works, don`t get discouraged if it doesn`t look perfect in the first, or even 10th try, it`s normal, especially if you are new to this....

A few additional tips you may find useful;

• there are free PS brushes with lips highlights  (adjust intensity with blending mode and/or transparency in PS)
• if lipstick photo is not 100% front view, you can use one side , flip horizontally and cut off middle (feather 3-5px)
• use multiple layers for different elements, this way it will be easier to adjust/fix details
• create multiple colors using Hue/Saturation adjustment layer
• add more or less contrast using Levels
• create and save mask or alpha cut for future use
• follow UV edge flow  (horizontal and vertical), it will save you some headache down the line (i.e. weird stretching, crooked lines etc)
• look into materials to enhance and make your product more unique (especially specular/shine)
• BoM does not support materials, if you want to add specular, you will have to either use any preset from main HUD or add your own via applier script
• some textures will have to be adjusted for each brand, more so lipstick, eyeliners and such

Hope this helps!

 

[FairreLilette]

6 minutes ago, MaxMare said:

I only worked with older Catwa dev kit, but have used latest LeLutka Evo which has HD layers, method is the same...First of all read the notecard, if UVs or PSD document download link are not added, NC will tell you how and where to get it, usually UVs are included and you need to download them to your computer, open in PS or Gimp..I would go with HD, how subtle the result is depends on how you create the texture and if you are using materials and/or transparency..Method is the same for HD and/or head UV (worn as a BoM layer/tattoo)...Unless there are additional helpers (i.e. lips, eyebrows shape+placement), I suggest to test it first so you know for sure what line you need to follow, where the edges are for lips alone in this case...Alternatively, apply UV map as  a BoM layer to your Catwa head, take a few pics and save, this will help you learn how it stretches and what the boundaries are for particular part...

So now creating lipstick; you have two options: 

• Draw lips by hand (this is much easier with a graphic tablet), this also implies some understanding of human anatomy and painting in general (shading, highlights, structure etc)
• Find a good lipstick photo (it should be large enough that you can use it without upsizing on a 1024x1024 document), cut a preliminary shape, place under UV map (if UV map is not transparent, add multiply filter to it and lock the layer)..use create a smart layer and use puppet warp to adjust lipstick to UV guidelines, merge/flatten the layer once you are happy with it and cut excess with about 1-1.5px feathering to selection so texture blends better...you can combine both methods, as in using photo texture for base and adding drawn on highlights, edge line, shadow etc, most creators use the  photo texture method cause it is easier and gives decent results with less work..

Once your texture is finished, hide all layers except lipstick, save as .png and import to SL. Create a BoM layer and see how it works, don`t get discouraged if it doesn`t look perfect in the first, or even 10th try, it`s normal, especially if you are new to this....

A few additional tips you may find useful;

• there are free PS brushes with lips highlights  (adjust intensity with blending mode and/or transparency in PS)
• if lipstick photo is not 100% front view, you can use one side , flip horizontally and cut off middle (feather 3-5px)
• use multiple layers for different elements, this way it will be easier to adjust/fix details
• create multiple colors using Hue/Saturation adjustment layer
• add more or less contrast using Levels
• create and save mask or alpha cut for future use
• follow UV edge flow  (horizontal and vertical), it will save you some headache down the line (i.e. weird stretching, crooked lines etc)
• look into materials to enhance and make your product more unique (especially specular/shine)
• BoM does not support materials, if you want to add specular, you will have to either use any preset from main HUD or add your own via applier script
• some textures will have to be adjusted for each brand, more so lipstick, eyeliners and such

Hope this helps!

 

Wow, MaxMare...that is a lot of work and doesn't sound easy at all, does it.  Sometimes I wonder if it would just be easier to buy lipsticks BUT I want my lipsticks to fit onto the skins I'm making, so it's not easy.

I'm been masking, using transparency pngs as bumps to look like highlights and gloss and trying to add in lines for realisim and it still seems like they don't fit and the lip line mask I tried to add is ridiculous to get right with such a small item or area to work in.  Some of the colors are good and they look fine from far away but they are missing a good outline, so I tried putting a darker lip behind to give depth, and I still haven't gotten anything that really fits my skins lips or doesn't have just a tad missing such as one side for example.  So, I'm thinking I need to paint on these things and it's so small I don't think I could do that as it's so tiny to see.  But, I have been layering and have gotten some HD lip looks that look good even in Midday but they are not a 100% perfect fit.

I will go over all of this and see if I can figure it all out and what works best for me.

Thanks so much for your time writing all this out.