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{{Era|TS1|TS2|LS|PS|CS|TS3|TSM|TS4}}
A '''skin''' is a graphic file in ''[[The Sims]]'',''[[The Sims 2]]'', ''[[The Sims 3]]'', and ''[[The Sims 4]]'' which are used to represent the head, body and [[Clothes|clothing]] of a [[Sim]], but how they work in each game is somewhat different. The term "skin" arose because, in ''The Sims'', they included the Sim's skin as well as clothing or a hairstyle. The wide availability of third-party skins has unquestionably contributed to the high visibility of the series.▼
▲A '''skin''' is a graphic file in ''[[The Sims]]'', ''[[The Sims 2]]'', ''[[The Sims 3]]'', and ''[[The Sims 4]]''.
==The Sims==▼
The term "skin" arose because, in ''The Sims'', they included the Sim's skin as well as clothing or a hairstyle. The wide availability of third-party skins has unquestionably contributed to the high visibility of the series.
Skins in ''The Sims'' are comprised of two parts per Sim: a head and a body. Both are simple 256 color (8-bit) bitmap images, numbered to correspond with the mesh file which gives them the desired shape on the Sim. Each image file is that Sim's ''entire'' body or head, including skin (there are 3 skin tones - light, medium and dark - and it is common for the same outfit to be made in all 3 tones) and hair. However, a Sim's hands are separate, and hands are not part of a body skin, though it is possible for a skin to have custom hands. For example, a skin might have white hands so a Sim using it will appear to be wearing white gloves. Some skins have accessories such as hats and glasses, which have separate BMP and mesh files.▼
▲==The Sims==
▲Skins in ''The Sims'' are comprised of two parts per Sim: a head and a body. Both are simple 256 color (8-bit) bitmap images, numbered to correspond with the mesh file which gives them the desired shape on the Sim. Each image file is that Sim's ''entire'' body or head, including skin (there are 3 skin tones - light, medium and dark - and it is common for the same outfit to be made in all 3 tones) and hair. However, a Sim's hands are separate
True custom skin tones aren't possible, but variations of the basic skin tones are, as long as they're named so that the game engine "sees" them as light, medium, or dark tones. Some creators made "pale" versions of the light skin tone and made them available for use by others.
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In ''The Sims'', all information about a skin file is carried in its filename. The first letter identifies the type of skin. Heads are identified with "C" (for Cranium). Everyday skins are identified with "B" (for Body). Pajamas are identified with "L" (for Lingerie). Formal, Swimwear, Winterwear{{vgversion|Vacation}} and High Fashion{{vgversion|Superstar}} skins are identified by their initial letters, though players should note that hand files also begin with "H". The next three characters are an identifier for the mesh. [[Maxis]] always used numbers, but creators could, and often did, use letters. The next two letters identify gender and age, respectively. Gender is identified with "f" (female) or "m" (male), while age is identified with "a" (adult) or "c" (child). Technically, child skins could be identified as "uc" (unisex child), but this was rarely done in practice. For body skins (but not heads), the next three letters identify the body type. Next, there are three letters which identify the skin tone as either light (lgt), medium (med), or dark (drk). This is followed by an underscore and the actual name of the skin. Mesh files do not have skin tone information, but otherwise follow this convention, though there are some naming conventions that only apply to mesh files.
Unlike ''The Sims 2'', ''The Sims'' does not distinguish between custom skins and those included with the game. All head skins and Everyday skins are available when aging a [[baby]] to a [[child]], aging a child to an [[adult]] with the '''Age of Instant''' [[Spells (The Sims: Makin' Magic)#
Once created, a Sim's appearance is not editable from within the game, except for their clothes, which can be changed by using a [[dresser]]. Some third-party utilities let players change a Sim's appearance.
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==The Sims 2==
With the advent of the full 3D environment in ''The Sims 2'' (See [[Comparison between The Sims and The Sims 2]]), skins become more complex. Skins are still in BMP format but are now contained in a ".package" file, which can be extracted (and compiled) with the included [[Body Shop]] tool.
A Sim's body is now separate from their [[Clothes#The Sims 2|clothing]], and there are now 4 basic skin tones (light, medium-light, medium-dark and dark) with each skin tone's graphic files being divided by age and gender. Some skin tones are hidden, and can be accessed by placing [[Create a Sim]] in [[Create a Sim#Debug Mode|Debug Mode]]. In addition, custom skin tones are now possible, and many are available as [[custom content]]. That Sims' bodies and clothing are separate makes all outfits available to all Sims of the appropriate age and gender, regardless of their skin tone or body shape. It also means it is now possible to create distinguishing marks such as tattoos that are unique to a Sim, although in practice this is not an economical use of drive space. (Some outfits are made so that Sims wearing them appear to have tattoos. Pre-made Sims who have tattoos are actually wearing one of those outfits.)
Hair is also separate, with different colors and styles, and eye color can also be set. These traits are carried in a Sim's [[genetics]], and passed on to their [[child]]ren. While ''The Sims 2'' generally distinguishes between custom skins and those included with the game, hair is a partial exception. Some hair creators place their creations in their appropriate color bins. Hair that has been "binned" will still be marked as custom content, but it will not be treated as custom hair, and the game may use it when assigning hair to a newly generated Sim.
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Sims can [[Change Appearance|change their appearance]] through a [[mirror]]. Hair color, hairstyle, facial hair (male teens and older only) make-up, glasses/head accessories, and face paint can be changed.
Clothing has also undergone changes. Not only is there far more detail, but
*0x00000007: Everyday
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*0x00000020: Formal
*0x00000040: Undies
*0x00000100: Maternity<ref group="n">Clothes which are only flagged as Maternity cannot be added to a Sim's wardrobe unless mods or modified objects are used.</ref>
*0x00000200: Gym Clothes
*0x00001000: Outerwear{{vgversion|TS2:S}}
These flags are normally set by Body Shop, but they can be edited in [[Package editor#SimPE|SimPE]]. The Outerwear flag can only be set in
''The Sims 2'' also uses internal flags to show which [[life stages]] can wear an article of clothing, and which [[gender]] it is for. SimPE can be used to set these flags, but it is not recommended to have an article of clothing available to more than one life stage unless the stages are [[young adult]] and [[adult]]. Likewise, an article of clothing can be flagged as being for both genders. This can be, and sometimes is, done with clothing for [[toddler]]s and children, as their bodies do not have gender differences. However, it is not recommended to have clothing for older Sims flagged as being for both genders.
There is now an internal flag which controls which sounds are made when the Sim walks while wearing an outfit. This flag is often left unchanged when custom clothes use a mesh that has been changed from one type to another. For example, clothes
*0x00: None - This is for Everyday tops, and should not be used for Everyday bottoms or whole-body outfits.
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*0x02: Heavy Boot.
*0x03: Heeled - Heels, of whatever height. This produces the heel-click when walking.
*0x04: Normal shoe
*0x05: Sandal
*0x06: Footie Pajamas - Some Maxis outfits with slippers, such as the bathrobes from [[The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff|K&B]], use this value.
*0x07: Armored
*0x08: [[Servo#The Sims 2|Servo]]
===Notes===
<references group="n" />
==The Sims 3==
[[File:Skintone.jpg|thumb|250px|A Sim in the
In ''The Sims 3'', all clothing types can have separate tops and bottoms, or can be one-piece items. Shoes are now separate items, rather than being part of the overall body mesh.
There are now 6 basic skin colors, though three of them are green, red, and blue. Once a color is selected, the player can use a slider to lighten or darken the skin. [[The Sims 3/Patch 38|
==The Sims 4==
[[File:TS4 Patch 105 skin tones.png|thumb|150px|Skin tones available to all Sims in ''The Sims 4'', as of Patch 105]]
Similar to ''The Sims 3'', all clothing categories have separate top and bottom options, as well as full-body outfits. Shoes and accessories are once again separate items, and hats can now be worn with any hairstyle underneath.
Before [[The Sims 4/Patch 105|Patch 105]], there were 26 natural and 9 unnatural (red, blue, green, and varying shades of grey) skin tones to choose from for normal Sims, with no slider adjustments. Certain [[life state]]s ([[Alien#The Sims 4: Get to Work|aliens]], [[spellcaster]]s and [[Mermaid#The Sims 4: Island Living|mermaids]]) have access to 8 additional unnatural skin tones (three shades of blue, three shades of purple, one shade of green, and white).
As of Patch 105, there are now 135 natural skin tones, divided evenly into three categories: "Warm", "Cool" and "Neutral". Unnatural skin tones also have their own category, called "Miscellaneous". Every skin tone can have its brightness adjusted with a slider, similar to ''The Sims 3'', and customized tones can be saved to be reused for other Sims.
▲[[File:Skintone.jpg|thumb|250px|A Sim in the Sims 3 skin tone chooser]]
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* [[Realistic
* [[Create a Sim]]
[[Category:Custom Content]]
[[Category:Create a Sim]]
[[Category:Game mechanics]]
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