#sort of tutorial

I think what you're actually looking for has already been done: https://eulaliasims.tumblr.com/post/734614595199811584/default-skin-sets

First, you have to acquire the cloth. I weave it, but you can source your cloth from anywhere. Typically, book cloth is lined in a way that means you can cut it without it fraying. A lot of people recommend using a heat-bond webbing of some sort. I’ve done that in the past, and it has it’s ups and downs. Currently, I don’t use it because the cloth I weave is thick enough that the glue doesn’t go through it. If you’re using a fine cloth (like a light quilting cotton or a jersey knit) then lining it with something is probably a good idea.

Once you have the cloth, you need to cut it. I made this template, but it’s actually just a bit too small. I recommend at least 1.5 cm bigger all around than your book board. You also need book board. You can use thin cardboard (cereal box etc.) but something stiffer is better for a hardcover book.

Once everything is cut to size, start attaching it together. I use acid free PVA glue. You want something thick, without a lot of water. Spread it in a thin layer on the book board - you want it to be there but not too much. Sticky, not slimy is what you’re going for. I use scraps of book board to spread it (or my fingers, and then I get annoyed because there’s glue on my fingers)

Leave it to dry under pressure for at least 24 hrs. I generally try to leave it 48 hrs for this step - if you take it out from under the weight too soon, it will bow. Cut the corners down (so you don’t get too much bulk) and then fold over the edges. I’ve started using spray glue for this step and it’s a bit messy, but so much easier to work with! I don’t recommend spray glue for the other steps (as it ends up more brittle), but for this one it’s fine. Then you cut the interior/liner paper. I like mine to have some contrast and be pretty. Cut the paper at least half a cm smaller than the book board so that you’ve got a bit of a reveal. I like to add a bit of glue to the cloth around the edges to help it bond well to the paper, a well a a bit of glue to the corners where the cloth is folded - it keeps any stray bits down (since I don’t line the cloth and it can fray). Put it back under weight for another 24-48 hrs.

Once you’ve got all the bits together, you’re ready to give it innards! I use good quality printer paper, but anything works here. Fold your signatures and then use some sort of template to mark your holes so that everything will line up.

I use a two needle Coptic stitch binding. I like it because it lays flat - I’m left handed so having a flat binding is important. I use weaving cotton, but a few strands of embroidery floss would work just as well. Wax your binding thread with beeswax before stitching, it makes a big difference. Pro tip - only pull the thread in the direction it’s already going, and pull slowly, don’t quickly tug or snap the thread. If it breaks, you’ll be sad. 

I use 10 signatures (4 or 5 pages each). I’ve watched a few different stitching tutorials on YouTube, but the one I started with was from SeaLemon (she’s got a few). I start with the middle set of holes because I find it’s easier to get the tension even on the outer ones once the middle is secure. You don’t need to do three sets, it’s just my preference.

Wow tumblr takes forever to upload a 2 minute video.

Oh! Actually it would be... maybe not SUPER easy but Just Tedious Not Difficult to undefault my stuff.

So, in order:

Install the default clothing (don't worry, you can uninstall them when you're done) & make a Bodyshop "recolor" of every (default) Eaxis-sized piece you'd like to keep. Just export/import the texture without changing it (via Bodyshop) so that in the end you have brand-new recolors with the CC star on them for every texture option you'd like to keep. Close Bodyshop when you're done. You only need to do this for ONE gender/age that was defaulted, whichever age/gender you use will be your "Master" file.

Open the default package that contains the mesh in SimPE & extract ONLY the EAxis-sized GMDC(s). Make sure when you're saving the extracted GMDCs you name them somewhat descriptively. You need to do this for every EAxis gender/age that was defaulted.

Open a new SimPE window, (File/New) & extract a mesh of the same age/gender/type as the original EAxis-sized mesh (Tools/PJSE/Body Mesh Tool/Extracting Stage). Extract a top for a top, a bottom for a bottom, a body for a full-body outfit. Aside from that, what the actual extracted mesh is really doesn't matter, I usually just use the naked mesh. It'll show 4 mesh parts in italics, then use Tools/Object Tools/Fix Integrity & rename those parts. Once you've renamed them, right-click on the GMDC in SimPE & replace it with the matching GMDC you extracted in Step 2 (AF for AF. AM for AM, etc.), then Save As. You need to do this for every GMDC you extracted in Step 2.

One at a time, open your "recolors" from Step 1 in SimPE, click on the 3IDR in the list, & use Tools/PJSE/Body Mesh Tool/Linking Stage to relink them to the mesh you created in Step 3. SimPE might take a few seconds to load the 3IDR after you click on it, be patient. Follow the on-screen instructions & Save (NOT "Save As" just "Save) when you're done. While you're in SimPE, after you save the changes to the 3IDR, click on the TXMT & use the Export button (NOT rightclick-Extract, the Export Button in the Plugin View panel) to export TXMT info from each recolor. Make sure you name the exported files descriptively (ex. "BlackShirtGreenPants") so you know what they are. You need to do this for every "recolor" you made in Step 1.

Open my repo'd Bodyshape recolors &, using the TXMT extractions from Step 4 & the Import button in the TXMT Plugin View, replace the TXMTs on each of the Bodyshape recolors. Make sure you click the Commit button & Save (not "Save As" just "Save") after importing At least on newer stuff I've tried to make the filenames descriptive, but it's honestly kinda whatever... you'll have the number of TXMTs extracted, just go down the list if it's not clear which color the Bodyshape is meant to be linked to, the only difference it makes is that things will be shuffled into a slightly different order. You need to do this on every Bodyshape recolor file that you'd like to keep.

Make sure your edited meshes from Step 3 are in the Downloads folder. This is where most of my fuckups happen.

IF I DEFAULTED MORE THAN ONE EAXIS AGE/GENDER IN THE PACKAGE: Reopen Bodyshop (use this opportunity to check your work on the undefaulted items & Bodyshapes you've gotten through so far), grab literally any color of the other ages/genders, & make an appropriate amount of "recolors" for each age/gender that was NOT your master file. They can all be the same color, just export one & reimport the same thing however many times, you're not keeping the textures in these. Close Bodyshop, open the recolors in SimPE, & 3IDR link them just like Step 4, then import the TXMT like in Step 5, then delete the TXTRs from the package. Follow instructions in 3IDR linking, Commit on TXMT, Save (not "Save As", just "Save") at the end.

At this point you should be able to remove the default packages & have both the original EAxis clothing item & also my mesh, with repo'd Bodyshape content, in your game.

Kinda Not-Optional Step: Use the Compressorizor on all of the undefaulted stuff.

Optional Step: If Bodyshop did a crunch on the recolors, you can extract my textures from the original default package via SimPE & use BuildDXT in SimPE in your "master" undefaulted recolors to replace.

I'm pretty sure that there's a good reason why there's not a tutorial for what I did & I think that reason is I needlessly complicate things & nobody else is stupid enough to go through all the hoops I jump through haha. But here's roughly what I did.

aahhh thank you! i appreciate hearing that so much

well it’s not really a special effect of any sorts, basically all i do is add a bit of gaussian blur after sharpening and the rest is all colouring. i turn the brightness, contrast, and saturation quite high up (but not too high, using contrast as well as curves) and add a dusty pink layer (but only on like 5% opacity), then there is some colour correction involved, and then i add a bw layer on 25%