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click to go to introduction of the tutorial.

 

step ELEVEN.
load the textures into bodyshop, and make any modifcations you feel you need.

Again, play with the positioning to get it how you want. Add highlights, layer on extra textures, hand-paint some stuff. Do whatever you feel you need.
WHAT I DID: I made the eye wider by a click, did some minor yexture-fixing, and moved the pupil a pixel or two.

step TWELVE.
when you have the textures as you want them, create a swatch, then import your new eye color.

Don't forget to put something informative in the tool tip, as well! For my swatch, I created a new 64x64 document in photoshop, then copy and pasted my eye texture into it. I went edit, transform, rotate 90* CCW, and positing it on the document. :3 Snazzy, neh?

step THIRTEEN.
test out the eyes in a sim, then go recolor crazy. :3

I suggest trying it on both Maxis sims, your own sims, and maybe some more realistic ones. Sometimes eyes'll look great on one particular eye shape, but crappy on another. XD The simmies pictured are my Jill and my Salus. :3 Smexy beasts, huh? Ha, Jill looks so innocent with these eyes.

step FOURTEEN.
when recoloring, use adjustment layers. see text for the "why" and "what".

Okay. This is a bit 'advanced' and only works in Photoshop, as far as I know. I'm not even sure if it's included in all the PS versions, but, I know it's in CS2 + CS3. An Adjustment Layer is just like the Image, Adjustments things, only it's applied to a layer (which applies the adjustment to everything beneath it) and is not permanent! It's pretty cool. You can find tutorials online for the specifics, but, this is how to apply them to eye making.

First, create an adjustment layer of your choice. For kicks and grins, I'll pretend I'm making a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer that makes everything grayscale. Position it above the iris layer (or whatever layer you want to apply it to). You'll notice that the adjustments are made to ALL the layers beneath grayscale, and that's definitely not what you want. You can either edit the layer mask (It's like an alpha- white makes this appear, black maes this dissapear), ooooorrr do it the super-special-awesome lazy way. :3 With your cursor between the adjustment layer and the iris layer, hold down alt. You'll see two overlapping circles (As pictured) appear. Click, and you'll notice the adjustment layer becomes indended slightly, and has an arrow pointing downward. That means you just created a Clipping Mask. :3 What that means that that the adjustment layer will ONLY be applied to the Iris layer, and NONE of the others.On mine, I've done both; I have one adjustment layer that simply affects the entire iris layer. Then, above that, I have an adjustment layer that has a layer mask applied. I filled the layer mask in black, then used the brush tool to make the parts I wanted visible visible. :3 Hard to briefly explain, but, that's the general gist; again, Google if your friend for more specifics!

You want to use adjustment layers simply because you /never/ permanently touch your iris. Therefore, if you do something ugly, you can simply change the adjustment layer (or delete it) and no harm has been done! It's a life-saver, believe me.

step FIFTEEN.
congrats! you just made an eye set from a source image!

^_^ Yes, you're FINALLY done! After fifteen grueling steps, you're DONE! :3 Yayayay. Be proud, give yourself a pat on the back, and PRACTICE. Skinning is one of those things you just need to do over and over again before it becomes second nature. :3 But, once it is, you can crank out eyes like a machine.

How was this tutorial?
Being the first tutorial I've ever written, I want to know how I did! If i could be clearer on some parts, less wordy on others, please, let me know. My email's sbrimm [ at ] zombiejill [dot] net. :3 Also lemme know about my various typos. I'm too tired to spell check this atm, so, there's probably a bunch. And, please, lemme know if this was helpful, most importantly. ^_^ Show me the eyes you've created using this method! I'm curious, nyah.
Enjoy!