I was wondering about this too....it's minor to me, if a little confusing.

There was just no way to get that level of detail with the original map. I'm not changing anything else on the mesh itself. The creator hasn't been around for 9 months either, otherwise I would just ask them.
 
Edit: Success, with a lot of trial and error and your help, thank you! It just shows as a recolor in the game catalog, perfect

LOVE IT! thank youuu!

I have a custom object that I'd like to recolor. The problem is that the original texture coordinates on the main TXTR image is not detailed enough for my needs.
 
I've extracted the mesh by opening the creator's mesh file in Simpe and exporting as an .obj, then importing as a Wavefront .obj in Milkshape. This is from a tut I'm concerned is really outdated. I did NOT use the Object Workshop for this, and I haven't changed any of the original files in Simpe...I've just been playing around with the maps.
 
I was able to completely rebuild the texture coordinates for the main part of the vehicle. I haven't altered the mesh in any way.
 
I've searched high and low for a *current* tutorial about cloning a custom object so I can just replace the TXTR images (with new maps), but my search is coming up empty. So, if someone could point me to a current tut for that, I'd much appreciate it! I'd rather know the correct method to do this before I go any further, since I'm confused enough by all the outdated information out there.
 
I hope this all makes sense...thanks for any and all help!

share that too, please? lol, I can't imagine this being easier...but any insight into shortcuts would rock *hint*
 

*dies*
 
Thank you so much!! You're the best...much appreciated and crystal clear, w00ts
 
EDIT:
 
Utter success on the first try...thanks for sharing something so simple, logical and much needed!
 
Thanks, BlooM!! 3 minutes and my issue is solved!

Thanks so much for the answer, I'm giving it a shot right now
 
EDIT: Thanks a lot for your help.  I started from scratch (for the hundredth time) and it's looking great...much appreciated!

K I'm giving myself a crash course in meshing.
 
I'm using Milkshape, and have installed all of Demon's Tools. After about 50 tries, I finally pieced together all the info here and there all over the net, and along with a lot of trial and error, I totally get it. I'm really pleased with the mesh itself but this is my issue:
 
I cannot get rid of dark shading on the faces along a sharp edge, no matter what I try. Attempts to align the normals row by row or in sections just give me uglier triangular shadows.
 
Should I be creating smoothing groups first, before I align the normals?
 
I see conflicting information about smoothing groups, some of which say don't ever do them, and some of which say the groups are necessary to align the normals, even on body meshes. I know not to use auto-smooth, so maybe I'm just confused (a distinct possibility). So, what are my options?
 
EDIT: I tried the trick here, and still no luck http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=297275
 
 
Some pics of a collar: could the problem be cause by creating faces on 2 sides of the same plane? I tried it originally in 3-d but I still had the same problems with shading and aligning the normals properly.
 

 
The problem should be obvious. I should note that this is just a test mesh to figure out this issue, my *almost done* mesh is in another file, so yeah I know this collar isn't perfect lol.
 
Suggestions?
 
Also I'm really curious how to assign the texture coordinates to a specific part of the mesh. I started with a maxis mesh of course, and although I was able to juryrig a reasonable texture on the newly created collar, I want it to be perfect. I know there is a way to create a perfectly flat section on my recolor file to assign a texture to the collar only, even if its not contiguous in my recolor file and my alpha, I just have no clue how to make this happen. For example, if I want a striped collar with the stripes all perfectly in their places. I played around with the texture coordinates but it's really shmessy looking.
 
Can I do that just with a group assignment?
 
I apologize in advance for my n00b status with all this lol...but I'd love to get past this hurdle.
 
Thanks in advance!

All this work is beautiful...you're all just awesome.

Here's a few I just finished.

*sending love and big hugs*

*dies*

thank you. XOX

Yup, I found you *hugs* thanks!  Hopefully I'll finish the rest of it in my lifetime lol

xox and cheers

If  **This mod is not compatible with any mods that modify any dresser globals (i.e. plan or change outfit)**  then I should uninstall my hacked object "Any-Wear" coat hook?  Will regular sims be able to use this to change outfits and appearances too?

Thanks!  Your mods ROCK!