Hello!!
Welcome to SkinArtist! Your one stop shop for freckle texture generation. I've included a lot of what I wanted in the first release, and will hopefully be able to add more soon
My goal was to make it easy for you to make your own decal freckle textures.
Of course, you can always combine these freckle textures with something like Chokaphi's wonderful DecalMaker.
*Copyright Note* The plugin itself is CC-BY-NC-SA, but any textures generated from it are CC0 (public domain) and are free to use as you wish!
Quick Start
Attach the plugin to a person atom using SkinArtist.cslist. Hit 'Generate Freckles'! Optionally adjust the settings and apply or create freckle masks.Once you're happy with your texture you can export it to be used as a decal texture on any model.
Caveats and General Notes
- I've only tested this plugin with female characters, but should work fine with males with adjusted masks.
- I've found that darker skinned textures tend to be much harder to work with, but it can be possible! Optical illusions around color are likely, so be wary of that.
- I'd highly recommend using masks for each region, but have left them blank by default so you can get a sense of the other settings first. I've included a handful of masks and custom mask presets for you to use and modify as you see fit.
- CAUTION! Currently saving textures or presets can overwrite files without warning if you use the same name. Do be careful! (This is on my short list of things to fix )
Core Actions
These are the main control buttons for the plugin.- Generate Freckles: This is the magic button! After you've adjusted your settings, click this to generate the freckle textures and apply them to the currently enabled regions on your model.
- Clear Freckles: This button removes all generated freckle textures from the model, safely restoring the skin to its original state.
- Save Freckles Texture...: After you've generated freckles, this button opens a panel allowing you to save the final texture maps for each region (Face, Torso, etc.) as .png files. This is useful for advanced editing or use in other applications.
Generation Settings
These parameters control the fundamental structure of your freckle patterns. I've tried to use real measurements, but, of course, skin textures are going to be stretched differently across the character, and the total area can vary wildly depending on your character's morphs, scale, etc. See the Face-Specific Settings section for settings to compensate for differences in texture size for the face (which has the largest base difference!)- Freckle Density (per cm²):This is the most important setting for controlling the overall number of freckles. It determines how many freckles will be generated, on average, within a square centimeter of skin.
- Low values (1-3): Creates a light, sparse scattering of freckles.
- High values (10+): Creates a much denser, heavier freckle pattern.
- Min/Max Diameter (mm):These two sliders define the size range for your freckles, measured in real-world millimeters. The plugin will generate freckles of varying sizes between these two values.
- Pro Tip: For a natural look, keep the Min Diameter small (e.g., ~0.5mm) and the Max Diameter larger (e.g., 2mm ~ 4.0mm). A wider range between min and max will produce more varied and realistic results.
Regions & Masks
A vital part of this plugin! I've included four masks as PNGs (and a number of presets for the mask editing tool I'll cover in a bit.) These serve as a good base and example to show you how you can limit where (and how densely) freckles are generated.You can add your own custom masks by dropping them into this directory!
><vam_directory>/Saves/PluginData/Pirsqed/SkinArtist/FreckleMasks
- Region Toggles (Face, Torso, etc.): Use these buttons to enable or disable freckle generation for each body region. The button will be green when ON and red when OFF. Freckles will only be generated for regions that are toggled ON.
- Region Name / Mask Name Buttons: The button next to each toggle shows the name of the currently selected "density mask" for that region. Clicking this button will also open the Mask Browser.
- Select Masks...: This button opens the Mask Browser, where you can assign a density mask to the currently active region. These masks act like stencils, telling the plugin where freckles should be concentrated or where they shouldn't appear at all. You can use the built-in masks or create your own with the "Edit Custom Masks" tool. Speaking of which...
Custom Masks
You can create your own masks by opening a photo editing program (Photoshop, Gimp, and Krita being common ones!) and drawing over them. That's exactly what I did for the built-in masks you'll find under the 'Select Masks' area above.
I've also built in a mask editor into the plugin! This lets you create ovals that you can place on a texture that will then determine where the freckles can appear. There is both a 2d preview in the editor that would match up with the character's texture, and a preview that shows up on the model.
The green shape is the currently selected shape.
There are options to add, rename, mirror X and/or Y, and delete shapes which you'll find in the panel on the right.
The sliders control the shape's parameters. Just select the shape from the list.
The weirdest texture to work with is the limbs texture, as the arms are not arranged symmetrically. You'll see what I mean once you try it out. But! That's why I built the live on-model preview to make it as intuitive as possible.
And, luckily, we're dealing with freckles here. They're random by their nature, so no mask has to 'perfect'!
Select a region at the top to begin editing the mask for that region.
Slider settings:
- Center X: The shape's X location based on its center. Higher is to the right.
- Center Y: The shape's Y location based on its center. Higher is up.
- Radius X: The width of the shape. (At 0 rotation.)
- Radius X: The height of the shape. (At 0 rotation.)
- Rotation: Measured in degrees from -180 to 180.
- Softness: Feathers the edges of the shape making the transition smoother.
Bottom buttons
- Load Preset: Loads preset with shape data. Five are included. (2 for the face, one for each other region.)
- Save Preset: Saves the current region's mask as a preset. CAUTION! Currently this overwrites without warning.
- Generate Region: Turns the shapes for the currently selected region into a usable mask that you can select from the 'Select Masks' button under the region settings on the main UI.
- Generate All Regions: Same as generate region, but for all regions!
- Close: I mean... it closes the editor
Face-Specific Adjustments
The face texture uses a different scale than the rest of the body. These sliders help you compensate for that to achieve a consistent look. Or a very different look! I'm not gonna stop ya.- Face Density Multiplier: Multiplies the global Freckle Densityspecifically for the face.
- Default (0.5): A good starting point that makes the visual density on the face appear similar to the rest of the body.
- Use Case: If you want a character to have a higher concentration of freckles on their face than their body, increase this value.
- Face Size Multiplier: Multiplies the global Min/Max Diameterspecifically for the face.
- Default (2): This is the key to consistent sizing! By default this value scales the face freckles to keep them roughly the same size as the rest of the body. But you're free to adjust them as you see fit. It often looks better to have smaller (and more dense) freckles on the face compared to other areas.
- Use Case: If you want a character to have smaller, finer freckles on their face, you might lower this value slightly. To give them larger beauty marks only on the face, you could increase it.
Appearance Settings
These sliders control the color, opacity, and shape of the freckles themselves. This is where the artistry comes in!- Base Opacity (%): Sets the baseline transparency for the freckles. Lower values will make the freckles more subtle and blend into the skin better.
- Opacity Variation (%): Controls how much each freckle's opacity will randomly differ from the Base Opacity. Higher values create a more varied and less "stamped-on" appearance.
- Color Variation: This slider controls how much the saturation (richness) and value (brightness) of each freckle will differ from the Base Color. A little tends to go a long way, so you'll usually want to be conservative!
- Shape Irregularity: This slider makes the freckles less perfectly circular. At 0, all freckles will be perfect ellipses. As you increase the value, their edges become more distorted and organic.
- Shape Elongation: Stretches the freckles, turning them from circles into ovals. The direction of the stretch is random for each freckle, which adds to a more natural appearance.
- Base Color: The core color of your freckles.
Generate Preview
This takes a 512x512 portion of the torso texture from the upper chest and generates freckles using the current settings on it.Mask Settings
These advanced settings give you fine-tuned control over how the density masks (the stencils you select for each region) are interpreted by the freckle generator.- Density Falloff: This slider controls the contrast of the density mask , determining how the generator treats the soft, grey, transitional areas (like those created by the Mask Fuzzinesssetting).
- At a value of 1.0: The interpretation is linear. An area that is 50% grey on the mask will have roughly half the density of a pure white area.
- As you increase the value: The contrast is boosted. Grey areas are treated as if they are much darker, forcing the freckles to be more tightly packed into only the very brightest parts of the mask. This results in a sharper, more defined pattern, even on a blurry mask.
- Mask Fuzziness:You can think of your masks like sharp-edged stencils. This slider controls a blur effect that "sands down" the edges of these stencils, creating a softer, more gradual transition between freckled and non-freckled areas.
- How to Use: After setting the slider to a value greater than 0, you must click the Apply Fuzziness to Masks (SLOW) button. This is a one-time process that analyzes the masks you have selected for each region, applies the blur, and caches the result for generation.
- The Result: A higher fuzziness value creates a more natural, feathered edge to your freckle patterns, avoiding hard lines.
CREDITS
Though no code was directly used, an enormous thanks to Chokaphi's DecalMaker, which I used to learn a lot about VaM plugin development!
Huge thanks to MacGruber's Utils plugin.
Thanks to ddaamm for their lovely Wang Xin look which I've used in my screenshots.
