Face Mods

[StarScream1947]

Ill get strait down to sounding like and idiot and ask my question.

F***ing face mods, how do they work? Miracles?

I try different versions of ECE different face mods download all the recommended mods and still my character look like crap... Look for tutorial presets and other stuff and its just outdated or just doesn't work.

I want to play the Skyrims but cant pull myself to it with such an ugly face. I just don't have the time i did when i was in uni to figure out what I'm doing wrong. can someone help my ass in achieving a face like the one attached?

[2xGHoSTx2]

i would suggest using coverwomen but if you want a more realistic mod i suggest Smashin face by nanabeats

although the mods in the picture look more anime styled to me and would be on other sites...

[BlackRoseOfThorns]

Have you looked into mods that offer more face presets for char creation screen or lv1 saves? Also try RANs Headmesh, Eyes of beauty, SG Female Texture Renewal. With this set up I was able to create almost perfect character with just vanilla sliders.

Edited June 11, 2014 by BlackRoseOfThorns

[PetPet]

BlackRose's suggestions are great if you are looking for more anime style character face design. However, I have a feeling that you do not know lighting can make or break the character looks...and the screen cap you provided is definitely using an "ENB" preset (google "Skyrim ENB" if necessary). Before I throw in my 2c, question is...are you using or planning to use ENB?

[Tilki]

It doesn't look like you want a "realistic" face, but I wouldn't say that girl is necessarily anime.

She looks like a fairly real Japanese girl, for the most part. Regardless, she's very pretty.

 

Off-hand, it looks a little bit like Univision face, but the nose is not so squished and shiny/plastic-y.

And I wonder how they got the "eye bags"? It might be a custom, personal mesh.

 

I recently posted my character, after finally configuring a face I liked. The mods are written below the image:

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/images/429994/?

 

Mine is more "European" looking, but it depends what you do with ECE's sliders.

The eyes could be smaller, with a flatter, wider nose.

 

I've seen wonderful faces with just SG textures and maybe Real Girls normal maps, but I liked Nuska's femaleface.dds a lot for the light freckling and darker tone around the nose area (looks like cold-weather effects), and the crisper nose edges. It's very pretty and not flat. However, I had to edit it for the upper lip: was much too light, giving her a "monkey face" look.

 

Tried Smashin Face recently. I think it's based on Nuska's? Personally didn't like it, but don't remember why.

I definitely took off the P30-sandpaper-like normal maps, though.

 

Check out Dreamburrow's characters: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/images/363977/?

I'm fairly certain she uses the Ningheim race, if not just her own mashup of that mesh/texture combo.

You can get nice eyes and a flatter nose using The Ningheim, very easily.

 

EDIT: Also completely agree about the ENB.

For example, I really liked some of kjj92's faces for the translucent appearance of the skin:

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/images/315217/?

They use SG tintmasks + Real Girl textures underneath.

I tried that combo, but because I use a different ENB, it just didn't look as nice at all.

 

EDIT 2: What were the recommended mods for the face you posted, if any?

Edited June 11, 2014 by Tilki

[JobVanDam]

I personally think it doesn't come down to textures and such but rather what is your definition of an attractive face.

 

For me personally, not including the body, the most attractive thing about a girl is hair. I love a girl with nice hair. Color, body, length, effort, style. I love all of that.

 

Look at pictures of girls and take note of what you notice first than find the top texture replacer in that category.

[PetPet]

@Tilki.

 

From the pic of kjj92's posted face, I assume kjj92 bumped up the specular (+ intensity) indoor settings quite a bit to get the "wet surface" look. As the wood and face seem to share a similar shine. As for my preference...well, it is a bit of an odd combination...I generally avoid face textures being too anime (being too smooth and / or plastic-ky) and too glamorous (I have trouble telling apart eye shadows from war paints...wait, are they the same?)...neither seem to fit into the cold harsh world of Skyrim (IMO of course). For the longest time I was using a slightly modified face texture i grabbed from "Girls of Skyrim" (since the mod author removed the mod...I cannot tell what the source material is coming from). After I switched from CBBE (based) to UNP (based), I have since been using SG Renewal textures with some customization (I added some noise / grain using GIMP). But my preference is probably much closer to those screen caps posted by the "Girls of Skyrim" mod author.

[Tilki]

Petpet — interesting; is that the specular setting in the ENB ini (if there is such a thing)? I was thinking more about the light/glowing quality of the skin, not so much the wet shine. When I used SG + RG, it was kind of nice but the face looked a bit "dirty". Don't have an image right now.

 

Another thing that helps is having nicer models to start with, for example the Inhabitants of Skyrim Presets. My end result doesn't look like any of them, but it was easier to get a pretty, non-lumpy-potato face when using those rather than vanilla presets.

 

Looks to me like OP wants a softer face: not texture-wise necessarily but shape-wise. It can be hard to achieve, as I believe that has more to do with meshes? And sliders of course, but sliders can only do so much to a base mesh. That's why Ningheim is easier; different base.

 

I wish there was more transparency around exactly what people are using, even if it's a custom job. Rather than just listing 2 mods, when there was clearly much more fine-tuning to it than that. But, I understand some people don't want to tell, since it's their personal character. Maybe they don't want to see copies sprouting up everywhere.

 

P.S. Petpet, I chuckled at your comment about eye shadows. Had to check if you were male. Thing about the "tints" (makeup) section — they don't need to be intense. They can be applied subtly, but enough that they change the shape of and lighting on the face in a way that the actual shape-sliders alone cannot. That goes for real life, too. If you've ever watched Michelle Phan or similar on youtube, it's interesting to see how subtle tinting can create the illusion of a different face-shape. Example, a slightly darker tone on the Cheek Upper & Lower (in ECE) can make for a thinner look.

 

That's why it bothers me a bit when people suggest Xenius or Bella's females or CoverWomen for "realism": the tints, especially the hard-edged lips, are not so subtle. To me, the makeup versions look like late-30s women trying to cover their age. The non-makeup versions are just older, have more rectangular faces, and are generally more Nordic looking. That's some people's bag, but I wouldn't say it's necessarily more realistic.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Tilki

[Tilki]

Just stumbled upon something; surprisingly be relevant here.

Check out this guy's characters and mod links; they are similar to the OP image.

http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/images/104435/?

 

Looks like mainly the Pretty Face mod is used. Apparently it includes morphs/meshes. I bet if you combine this with ECE and SG textures and some nice hair, you could get close to the OP... I'm tempted to try it myself, actually. It's only textures.

 

There are also links to some outside sites which you'll have to translate. NSFW, though.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Tilki

[BlackRoseOfThorns]

  On 6/11/2014 at 3:46 PM, BlackRoseOfThorns said:

Have you looked into mods that offer more face presets for char creation screen or lv1 saves? Also try RANs Headmesh, Eyes of beauty, SG Female Texture Renewal. With this set up I was able to create almost perfect character with just vanilla sliders.

 

 

  On 6/11/2014 at 4:39 PM, PetPet said:

BlackRose's suggestions are great if you are looking for more anime style character face design.

 

I disagree with this set up being only good for anime character :tongue: It's entirely up to how you use sliders. You can make character that is 100% western with those mods and you don't even need something like ECE, etc. I believe GT StarScream might wanted something more natural looking and girlish. Japanese and korean faces can be very attractive, especially when mixed with european blood.

http://www.ranker.com/list/hottest-south-korean-models/bikinibabehotties?format=SLIDESHOW&page=3

 

Anime Face would be something more like this:

http://static-3.nexusmods.com/15/images/110/3381839-1330368178.jpg

 

 

My test character:

http://i1032.photobucket.com/albums/a410/BlackRose_of_Thorns/2014-01-11_00001_zps1913c6a8.jpg

 

I'm using cover eyes and RANs HeadMesh variant C, SG pack and UNPB in this picture. It's vanilla character creation screen with hair mod. Took me about 4min to create her when I was testing SG for possible seams with this body mesh.

Edited June 12, 2014 by BlackRoseOfThorns