So this is where everything goes that I use on everything, but isnāt actually a default replacement. This list is being continually updated, so if youāre reading this in a reblog, check the original post.
Despite having the default replacement version of this skin installed as well, I pretty much use Kurasoberina Primer UHD ND for all my custom-made sims, not just the ones I intend to share. In fact, itās pretty much my default skin in effect, as my first step in creating or editing almost any sim is to switch him/her into this.
There are several reasons I prefer UHD:
1. The default version has to share the young adult body texture between all ages teen and up, due to EAās inherent programming, but the non-default version differentiates between custom body textures for teens, young adults, adults, and elders, for both genders. The body aging detail really does add a lot more depth without feeling intrusive or calling too much attention to itself.
2. The above advantage also applies to HD and non-HD versions of the skin, so long as they also are non-default, so donāt feel like you are forced to use the UHD skin regardless of your computerās specs.
3. I also prefer the ND ramps, more subtle takes on the three default EA ramps and with the addition of a fourth, darkened tone.
Nevertheless, as much as I love Primer, certain sims call for a different skin. Sometimes less definition is desirable and for those cases I use Iced Starfruit Expanded ND (shared with this sim, who incidentally looks much better in Iced Starfruit than in Primer) or any of the Original/Epicanthic flavors of the original Starfruit skin. I also use Freckled Fruit V2, for sims with more and/or all-over body freckles. All of these are by Kurasoberina as well, in case you didnāt realize.
S-Club 3D Eyelashes are pretty much self-explanatory. I think very few people who are into making sims donāt use these. I ended up not using these on male sims, but I rarely make males anywayĀ :-/Ā They are a bit fiddly to use, because they require at least three separate files in order to work.
The base mesh for females (here) and males (here)
CASPart files: to these I will link not to S-Club themselves, but to BuckleySims and her fixes for these files: N1 and N2 here and N3A/B here. Note I always use the āglassesā or āearringā files, and never the āeyelinerā files anymore, because those seemed to cause strange bugs with the other makeup being randomly switched out.
The eyelash files themselves: N1 (female only) / N2 / N3A / N3B (fantasy)
Optional sliders, so you can adjust the length (I find the base values make for too-long lashes), as well as the fit if you use custom eye sliders.
You will also need a mod to remove the original eyelashes. Any such mod will be a default replacement for not only the eyelashes, but the eye and teeth textures, so shop around for one you are sure you like.
EA freckles are practically disfiguring, so I use Vasilla Freckles: Part 1 and Part 2 . To make them all show up in the CAS interface, I use Fanaskher More Beauty Marks Freckles Wrinkles (an update of the original mod by Rez Delnava).
I abuse high-poly custom hairs, but I also appreciate the occasional well-done low-poly hair mesh, especially when trying to populate an entire town. There arenāt a lot of them, you see. Enter BuckleySims again to save the day: she has deaccessorized and fixed many, many EA (female) hairs, and they are gorgeous. Part 1 and Part 2 of theĀ āDisentangledā project is hosted at MTS.
Many of my custom sims use multiple pieces of makeup for each slot. This is made possible by using NRaas Master Controller with its add-on module Integration (available at the same page). I use this to not only enable multiple pieces of makeup per slot, but also to make the CAS clothing interface load much faster (see the modās documentation page for more information). Note that you donāt need MC+Integration if youāre downloading and using my sims without touching their makeup at all, but I would still recommend having it on-hand, as it might help head off potential problems. The vanilla MC also allows you to change your simās outfit without going to the dresser, or having to wait for the sim to run through the spin animation.
Speaking of NRaas, I also use their Dresser mod a lot. It enables your sim to have more than three outfits per category, and has a function where you can automatically copy accessories/hair/makeup from one outfit to all others, or remove them as you see fit. This is especially useful for editing the naked outfit, which canāt be accessed through normal in-game channels, when it rolls with odd additions or borked makeup.
EA does this weird thing where it makes sure every sim wears gloves with their outerwear, like some overprotective grandmother, and ruins the outfits I plan for them. BuckleySims made a mod to take care of this: No Gloves with Outerwear. It apparently conflicts with any and all Sim XML edits, so watch out for that, but I havenāt run into any problems personally.
EA also has a thing for giving everything they make a stubborn rubbery shine. Not only is it ugly (especially at darker colors), but it also really messes with color perception. So to cover any items that arenāt already fixed by various default replacements, I use velocitygrass No Stencil. Requires some familiarity with the consoles cheat to use, but thereās a simple and easy-enough-to-understand explanation at the download site
