This tutorial was written using PSP 8, though it should be usable with PSP 7. Download a trial copy of Jasc Paint Shop Pro at the official site.
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Export one of Maxis' default eye colors. It doesn't matter which; I chose the lighter blue.
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Remember where you saved the files...
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And open the texture file into PSP. |
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Zoom in on the eye in the upper-left corner. Select it using the circle tool, with Feather and Anti-alias both set to zero. |
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Add a new layer, without deselecting the eye. Set the new layer as "active," i.e. make sure it's the highlighted one listed on the layer palette; if you don't see a layer palette, press F8.
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Flood fill the selection on the new layer with any color; I used a dark purple, #3B0048.
Then, go to Adjust > Add/Remove Noise > Add Noise. PSP 7 lacks a monochromatic setting, but users can go ahead apply the noise and then press Shift+L to colorize the selection.
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To get a more circular impression from the eye, apply the Kaleidoscope Effect by going to Effects > Reflection Effects > Kaleidoscope. Eight petals looked about right to me, and I chose a rotation of 45 degrees. |
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To get an idea of what the new eye looks like, go ahead and hit "Save." A dialogue will pop-up warning you about the layers, but this won't have any affect on the saved image. The only danger is that you might accidentally close the image you're working on and you won't be able to un-merge the layers to edit them. |
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Now that we can see a preview, I think the color's a little too dark. |
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Press Shift+B to get the Brightness/Contrast menu. Leave the contrast alone unless you want to increase/decrease saturation. Brighter by a degree of 40 looks right. |
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Now that looks better--in my opinion, of course.
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Back in PSP, minimize (don't close!) your eye, and open s2eyep.psp from where you unzipped it. A reminder, it looks like this:  . Copy it, then close s2eyep.psp. Return to your eye, and press Ctrl+L to paste the pupil as a new layer. Position the new layer using the Move tool (it looks like this:  ) above the eye.
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Save, and preview again in Body Shop. The eyes looks all right, but I think they could use some more depth.
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Back in PSP, add a new layer below the pupil. When adding the new layer, set the active layer to be layer one, and the third layer will appear on top of it. |
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Select the Gradient fill option. |
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Click on the gradient's mini-image to adjust the properties. Use the black and white linear gradient, angle set to 270. |
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Flood-fill layer three with the gradient. |
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Set layer three's blend mode to Overlay, or whichever you think looks best. |
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Your eye should now look something like this. Save and preview it in Body Shop. |
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That looks good enough for me. |
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Back in PSP, Merge all layers. (Layers > Merge > Merge All (Flatten)) Press Ctrl+C to copy the still selected eye, then deselect it with Ctrl+D, save, and close the eye texture. Open up swatch.bmp, and press Ctrl+L to paste the eye as a new layer. |
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Adjust the background layer as you see fit; if you plan on uploading your eye, it's a good idea to put your name/handel somewhere on the swatch. Save and close the swatch file. |
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Add your name to the tool-tip as well, then use the folder icon to import your eyes into the game. |
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Isn't he cute? Er, maybe not, but all the better to see those lovely new eyes. |
