All the beds in the Sims 2 share the same bedding. Maxis created the bedding designs to be made in pairs, with the design for both a single and a double bed included in one graphic. Not only are both beds on one graphic, the texture map has a section that is shared by both the single bed and the double bed. This can make designing new bedding that looks good on both a single and a double bed a bit challenging.

This mini-tutorial will show you several different ways to create bedding designs that will look nice on both single and double beds. The focus is designing your graphic, I will not cover making the recolor or using graphic tools.

If you have never made one before, there is a tutorial by Numenor that will help you get your bedding recolor started.

To start your recolor: http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?p=848405

The bedding is stored in the Colonial Ironwood Bed, so follow the steps in the recoloring tutorial to find it, and then select only the bedding (not the frame) in order to make a new bedding.

If you're using an old version of SimPE or SimPE classic you can also follow RGile's step by step bedding tutorial

Once you have the bedding in a png file....

Next, you should go get a bedding template or two (I personally use both RGile's templates and Darter's template which is further down the same thread)
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=31640

Now look at the picture below, which uses RGile's templates. The left hand graphic is the bedding (which is a large flat graphic with spots for the comforter, sheets, and pillows)
The first important thing to notice is the BLUE part. The blue section of the graphic appears on both beds.



Whatever bedding you create, the right side of the bed will be identical on both the double and single bed. Because of this, you cannot simply put a huge graphic centered on the double bed and have it also centered on the single bed. The area that will show on the top of the single bed is marked above by the green box. There is a way to make a centered graphic, but we will start with a simpler design first.

The simplest design (aside from a small repeating pattern all over your bed) is to pick a graphic that has the important area of the design positioned on the right half of the bed. In all of the bedding I made, I created the double bed first, and then copied a specific part or parts of the double bed graphic onto the single bed's other half (red on RGile's template).



In this case, a picture is worth 1000 words, so here you go, eight bed designs with markings showing which part(s) were copied to the red area, complete with screenshots of the actual beds in game, so you can see the results. Click on them (below) to see the full sized images. Included are examples of how to make a centered design and other variations.

Note: My experience with the templates is that the right edge of the red area is 3-4 pixels off, and that you must shift your copied section to the left a few pixels to get things to line up perfectly - on some beddings this might not matter, but if you're doing face shots across that seam you might need to run a few tests to get things just right. If you look carefully at my beddings, you can see a narrow gap there on many of them.

I have also uploaded this text and all the example graphics in one zip file, so that you can save them to your computer and reference them any time you wish. Do NOT redistribute any of these as your own work, or repost them to other sites w/o my explicit permission. I have learned much here at mts2, and this is where I intend to keep this tutorial.

Thank you, and have lots of fun making bedding. I had fun making these examples for you

You can download the packaged bedding for your game at these locations

Ladybug and Rainbow: http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=79342
LOTR: http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=85268
Kids beddings: http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=85267

Oh btw, I do use photoshop, and I keep the various parts of my beds on different layers; that makes it easy to adjust them if I go in to test and find things don't line up perfectly. Other programs that support layers are Paint Shop Pro and Gimp (free). You can create bedding with other graphics programs, including Paint, it might just require more patience with editing. To test your bed in the game and share screenshots, set your texture detail to high and learn how to use the camera to zoom in close (using the tab key, mouse and Q W and E keys) There's more information at Screenshots 101

Good luck to you!









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Tutorials:Designing_Bedding_Double_AND_Single_Mini-Tutorial^wiki

I was doing it all wrong this whole time! Thank you SO much!

Man! I need this yesterday for my blasted Daffodil.

Nicely done, this will be greatly used and appreciated.

Finally I can try to make beddings! Thanks A LOT!

Thanks so much for taking the time, this should get me started, I've been trying to figure out to recolor. Wonder if Maxis every realized what they started.

I've just started creating my own content and this makes my day! Thank you so much, I can hardly wait to start creating some fantastic bedding!

Hi there all
I'm new to all this creating stuff 4 the sims but have loads of ideas & would like to give it a go,.I've installed SimPE & all other progams but don't know how to use photoshop to change things on the objects.I've had a look at all the tutorials but can't find any on how to use the exported files from SimPE in photoshop. :sadpanda:
I've used potoshop for my art so I'm not new to it....................just can't figure out how to use it 4 the sims...........................can any1 help!!
Thanx
T

First, as an overview - sims objects (and the sims themselves) consist of three things -

a 3-d shape (often called a MESH)
the TEXTURE to go on the shape (that's what you change to make new sheets for a bed, for instance)
the CODE for the object (which some people do change, but that's a whole 'nother topic)

For recoloring - you will be finding the TEXTURE file - which is just a flat graphic, sometimes broken into parts - that will be wrapped around the 3d shape once it's in the game. Like, here for the bed, there's the top spread, there's another spot for the sheet, another for the pillows. Clothing also has spots where everything goes, flattened out.

You need to actually *do* one of the tutorials, step by step - say Faylen's tutorial about how to recolor clothing, or the tutorial about the bedding (which is LINKED TO in the original message thread). You'll use either bodyshop or SimPE to extract the graphics files. But at any rate, when you follow the tutorial, you will get to a spot that tells you either to save a texture or where to find the texture. Bodyshop always saves it in a specific place for clothing (and the tutorial will tell you where). There's a specific line in RGile's bedding tutorial that says "Select Export... A Save File dialog appears. You can keep the default name that’s given to the image or choose your own name.... Save it anywhere that’s convenient to you, just know where you’re putting it and click Save." Well, that's the PNG file you need to edit with photoshop.

Then once you've made your edit, you import your changes back in (using SimPE or bodyshop). Then you can view it in your game. The best way to learn is to take your time and start with a simple project - like the bedding recoloring project or Faylen's *first* tutorial and go through it step by step. As you do it, more and more understanding will come. If you get it to work but still feel a bit confused, try *another* tutorial that's marked for beginners.

Just to clarify: Recoloring means changing the colors/designs on an object or body, it does not change the *shape*. Changing the shape is also possible, but that is much harder. Start with recoloring - like making a new set of sheets for a bed or changing an outfit to have a different color shirt and pants. As it might not be obvious where the different parts of the flat graphic will end up on the 3-d shape, some people have made templates that are like a map to show where the different parts go - for example, this mini-tutorial uses RGile's template with all the parts marked in different bright colors to make it easier for you to know where on the graphic the pillows or sheet or spread is.

Good luck to you!
(and please try to avoid lots of L337, many find it hard to read)

I'd understood all the steps leading up to exporting the file ,I've done all that,it's once it's in photoshop...I don't understand how you split the double bed into 3 sections.......how to paste a picture onto the bed etc.....in order to copy it onto the small bed,anyway.....I'll keep looking round & trying.
Thanx
Tanya :moose:

Sorry, the site didn't notify me of a reply to this thread
There is a template, did you follow the link for the pretty colorful templates? They are also just a graphic, but the differently colored areas are a map to show you what spots on your graphic will be what spots on the bed.

Put the part for the double bedding in the area shown for it, then use the rectangle selection tool to grab the part you think belongs on the single bed section (it's red in RGile's template) hit copy and then paste it and align it. That is the section that in each of the graphics I provide that I drew the box around and then put the arrow. You can see that the boxed area and the spot I'm pointing to are identical. Then save the graphic, import it with SimPE (as per the the tutorial again) and test it in game.

WOW, You are GOOD! :D
Thank You Very Much!!
xts

Thank you This tutorial is brilliant! Just what I needed.

I'm doing everything that you say, however my graphic is coming out skewed on the single bed in the game. I dont know what i'm doing wrong, I've edited it a million times using photoshop with different layers but the face is still not lining up. The image that i'm copying from the yellow portion to the blue is not meeting the image on the red portion when i test it out in the game. Maybe you can tell me if i need to adjust something so that they stay aligned cuz i'm out of ideas.

Here's a copy of my recolor, if anyone can help me it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx

You're doing just fine, but the templates are not perfect. I guess I didn't specifically mention that. (fixed it now) Just nudge the part you're copying to the red area over towards the left a few pixels, and you'll be set.

Hi Tiggerypum,I just needed a tutorial for Bedding and I was frustrated because I thought that there was none.And suddenly...I discovered yours. I'll print it as a world document and learn it in depth.I am so happy that you made it.Thank you so much for your work!

I was all pumped because I was making a Britney Spears bedroom for my friend and the mini bed came out all awkward. Good to know this (finally). When I redo my beddings, I'll have to reupload them so they come out better. Thanks for the tip!

Hi tiggerypum

Thanks for the tutorial, it's great :D, just one problem.... i have followed it to the letter and i still keep getting it wrong, the patterns on my single beds are always off centre, nothing ever looks right on them, i have even used the actual template as bedding just to see where everything goes, but when i try to put a picture or pattern onto it, it just goes wrong... any suggestions on how i can fix it?

thanks in advance

Alleykat

Look carefully at the pictures -- you can't have something centered on both beds.
You can either center something small and distinct on the double bed (and not have it on the single bed at all) or you can position something *off center* on the double bed (see the GREEN BOX I outlined on the template) which will be centered on the single bed.

Maybe that's not what you're trying to do.... you could scale down your bedding by 50% and save it as a jpg (be sure NOT to save over your original work!!!) and then post it here (go advanced and use manage attachments) and I can have a look.

Hi Tiggerypum

These are the beds that i've done so far, as you can see from the screenshots, they're a bit messed up, i've tried to lay one picture/pattern just off centre on the double bed like you said, but it dosen't really look right on the double bed, i've even tried using the template underneath the main design as a guideline (only the opacity has been reduced just enough for me to see it) but they all just seam to overlap each other, it's been driving me nuts for a long time and your tutorial is the best one i've seen so far, i know i'm getting close to getting them done right, i just need one to work ok and i'll be happy!!

here's the screenshots... can you let me know where i'm going wrong please

Let's see, I'll be as specific as I can.

First I'm not sure what you're using to make the top folded over part, but you will always need to copy the section from the LIGHT yellow part of the double bed over _on that section of your design_ for that to match up seamlessly.

The Maxis beds were not designed for 'pictures'. It's the bottom line - they were designed for repeating patterns and for being able to put a border around the outer edges, but not full 'photo' beds. So not every picture will work - they require editing and must be made to fit the layout.

Your Mickey is interesting (I can see you experimented with shrinking part of the design to try and make it fit) and that's pretty close. If you just copy the part from the light yellow part of the bed for the top border there, that will fix the one really visible seam you have.

On the Animal bed, you copied the dark yellow area instead of the light yellow area. That bed will work if you copy the light yellow area - like on legolas, like on the rainbow pattern.

On the castle pic (aside from the fact that you didn't copy the light yellow area accurately) you need to create the rest of the background for the double bed. See if you can grab that very edge of the background and stretch it until it's big enough. Maybe you could edit the little disney logo off that background and write 'Disney' on that area (like I did for Legolas)

For the princess in the pink dress... First, it looks like you had to stretch the design to cover the double bed... If I really wanted to use her, I'd edit the background totally away from her, and find some background that covers the double bed... and then put her in it towards the right side (looking from above)

Because you are using large photo-like designs, you must focus on that green box as the focal point of the design. You must copy the _light yellow_ area of the template. It's frustrating because we can't edit half of the single bed, but that's what we must do.

In order to have the dalmations show up, for instance, I had to do something creative to balance out the double bed, once I'd gotten the single bed right.

Sometimes if you find desktop backgrounds you can find something large enough to use. But even then 90+% of the designs will not be useable in this format. And some will require careful editing - on some (on my kids bedding page) I drew/created an extension of the background design to go around the edges or bottom of the bed (so that my characters could be totally on the top art of the bed, like for the purplish poogles) or like the thomas picture wasn't big enough - so I 'faded' the edges into the bed.

It's 100% the case that for a photobed to work (and many of these are kid scenes, so you want single beds) you need to pick a design that's off center - you might need to flip it to make the focal point be in the correct spot, you might need to slide it around and extend the backgrounds.

Or you might shrink/crop the pictures down like I did for my dora bed here: http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=85267 and then it's a two part copy - I had the background/edge of the bed on one layer - and I had the pictures separately on another layer - so that I copied the 2nd half of those two pics to the single bed, and I also had the pink edge (you can download the bed and use SimPE to extract the graphic and use it as a template if you want - matter of fact, if you can carefully edit your pictures and place them over mine, you could then color shift the bed (and give it new pillows and I'm fine with you using parts of my graphic)

It's tricky to get these bedding designs to work for both single and double. Many people were having problems doing it, which is why I created the tutorial.

Thank you so much for this tutorial. I made my first bedding recolors yesterday - and I'm so excited!

Can't wait until I'm good enough to start sharing my recolors here so that I can give a little bit back. This site has been so great - nice to return the favor soon - I hope!

HELP!

I have been having a great time recoloring beds, cribs, changing tables, showers, etc. I have had pretty decent success and I'm learnig a lot.

On my last recolor, I had something strange happen and I'm not sure what went wrong. The material is a print and once I had the crib in the game, the material looked very different. It almost "sparkles" or "glitters" white in places. The changing table and bedding and wallpaper - from the same material - did not have that effect. I'd be more than happy to show anyone interested if you think you can help solve the riddle.

I even re-made the item, thinking I had made a mistake, and the same thing happened again.

Thanks in advance!

teaguevm, sounds like your texture is getting pixellated upon import. Are you using the normal Import or the DDS Utilities? If you don't know about the DDS Utilities, Numenor's object recoloring tutorial has a link to where to get them and tells you how to use them . Using them usually produces a better image quality.

Yes, I read his tutorial - which was excellent - and have followed that step by step. Everything else I have done has come out perfectly. Well - at least from the mechanics point of view. Still learning the fine points of design.

Upon closer inspection, it is only the white specks in the material that are shining that way. The background is black - and there are several colored specks in the pattern. Does that help any? Is that something that others have problems with?

Thanks so much.

Maybe the reflectivity in the crib is set a bit higher than for the changing table? Seems very odd - I assume you did do a recolor from the original maxis object.

Now generally speaking you shouldn't have pure black or pure white on anything in the game -- because both prevent the normal light reflection/shading to happen -- pure black can't have darker shadows and will look, and pure white does not do well in shading shadows or highlights -- light gray (for white) and dark gray (for black) are better choices.

We're getting a bit off topic from the _bedding_ tutorial that this is... so please post (and you can include an attachment if you wish) in the main area if you have further problems/questions