Reskinning with GSkinViewer

For simple reskins, GSkinViewer may be easier and quicker to use than gsmhacking. While it can't do transparency changes or other advanced things like gsmhacking can, GSkinViewer can update textures and show you the results instantly. Which is all you need most of the time.

To reskin a model with GSkinViewer, follow these steps.

Step 1: prepare a working directory

First identify the model you wish to reskin. Copy it and any textures you think you need into some directory somewhere. Now load up GSkinViewer and open the model. The image below shows SWT_ELEM_HIGH.GSM.

Before reskinning

If GSkinViewer can't load any of the textures, find the missing files and copy them into your work directory. Then hit the Reload textures button from the Textures menu to reload the model's textures.

Step 2: make your changes

Now you've got all the textures for the model, load them up into your favourite image editing program. Make whatever changes you ned for the reskin. In this example I'm going to swap the officer's legs for [furryclan] white legs. Save any modified textures with NEW NAMES. I'm using swt_fcl00.bmp to replace SWT_LEGS2.bmp.

Step 3: replace the textures

Open up the Textures menu and select the textures you edited. For this example, that means all occurrences of SWT_LEGS2.bmp.

Select textures

Next click Browse for texture and locate your modified files. swt_fcl00.bmp in this case. Finally click Replace textures to see the results of the reskin.

After reskinning

Step 4: tidy up

When you're happy with the reskin, open the GSM menu and Save GSM under a new name. Copy the new GSM and any modified textures to your mod directory. DISCARD the unedited files. The game will pick them up anyway!

For more information on mod making, see the uniform guide. For more information on GSkinViewer, check out its homepage.

Feedback

As usual, you can send feedback to swat3@furrycat.net. If you need extra help, feel free to ask but remember to tell me what you've read and exactly what it is you didn't understand. That way I can make the guide better. Mails asking "Can you tell me how to make mods?" will be ignored with extreme prejudice.