I like to think out loud sometimes…
I’ve been thinking a little about changing my defaults lately, the thing that’s kept me from it is that some of my sims use geneticized eyes/skins and so I’d have to make sure that they’d get a similar looking pair of eyes/skin if I did. However, testing would mean that they’d all end up with the wrong skin and well, I’m not in the mood to boot up my game only to test skins then turn it off again so I can play with my proper skins and eyes.
So, I decided to use the magic of Bodyshop to give me an idea of how it’d look if I changed, normally, I would skip showing off, but I’m proud of myself for being very good about remembering which content was used with each image. So, show off time!
This is what I started with, I removed his glasses so I could see how the eyes would look when I tested them, also ignore the fact that the images are differently sized, I couldn’t be bothered to keep them in a standard size while testing;
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Okay then, onto the eyes, for the record as long as it says “sim + something” it means that there’s something default on the sim still, if there isn’t anything default on him anymore “sim” disappears. I mean, I know there’s a sim there, obviously xD I don’t need to note that down to remember it!
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The thing that I like about Yumedusts eyes vs. Rensims Retooled eyes which I’m currently using, is that they’ve got more depth to them, I do like the maxis-like look that Rensims skin has, but the eyes leave me wanting just a little more, well, life. There isn’t a huge difference between Yumedusts regular Eye Love set and Pooklets edits of it, other than that the edited version seem more “open” whereas the original Eye Love eyes seem a bit heavier and make me think of “bedroom” eyes.
However! I also tested Pooklets “My Poor Lover” skins because I use them as defaults in another Sims game I have, and like them there. I’ve pretty much made up my mind as far as the skins goes, but, I took pictures and so I’m sharing!
I think you can see why that particular pair of Rensim eyes work best with “drier” (as I call them anyhow) skins. I do like them a bit more with a more “lively” skin, but they’re too odd-looking and the white is too sharp for my liking.
Lastly, all custom eyed and skinned is Pooklets “My Poor Lover” skin + Yumedusts Eye Love eyes/Pooklets edits of Yumedusts Eye Love eyes with Anva sclera:
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I do adore Pooklets “My Poor Lover” skin with Yumedusts eyes (any of them) but I don’t like how it’d make Clary, Poppy etc. look. They’re Rensim gals all the way and changing the skin (at least going from Rensim to Pooklet) would take away that charm. Using a maxis-match or maxis-like skin other than the one I have would have worked, but out of all the maxis-like skins out there, I like the ones I have best, so it’d be stupid to change it.
The eyes though, well, I really do like them, but the one thing that keeps me from going through the hassle of figuring out GUIDs and who has what eyes is that while Yumedusts (edited or not) have a lot of options, they’d still have to match semi-decedently with the ones I have as far as colour goes. With the particular eyes I chose for this test, it wasn’t that difficult, but look at the light green eyes that Rensim has vs. the best combo that Yumedust have:
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Top: Yumedust Eye Love eyes Chatreuse
Left to right: Yumedust Eye Love eyes Spring, Rensims Retooled eyes green, Pooklets edits of Yumedusts eyes Spring.
Bottom: Pooklets edits of Yumedust Eye Love eyes Chatreuse
Though, Yumedust does have some lighter, greener eyes as well, that also works as you can see.
The verdict? I don’t know, don’t think I’ll change things around just yet, but if I do, it’ll be Yumedust I change to. Which version? I lean towards the non-edited ones really. We’ll see.
This post was in part inspired by Wellingtons really beautiful sims, and in part inspired by me looking through some old pictures.
I think I’ll just go play now, and I’m pretty certain I’ll end up falling back in love with Rensims eyes xD That’s what usually happens when I have this dilemma.
Aspen-Garnet post coming up after though! 
I use Yumedust’s eyes. I love them for their depth. Plus I have some towniefied so they show up randomly, and geneticised so they appear on new sims. (Not that I’ve played enough recently to have new sims born in game.)
The issue with Yumedust’s eyes are that darkness at the top that makes them less open. When sims look to the side, there’s a dark spot on either side of the eyes that becomes visible. I think Pooklet’s eyes correct that by lightening up that darker shadow around the eyes. It’s an issue that you wouldn’t see in bodyshop since sims don’t move.
Valneanne Reply:
November 4th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I used to have them towniefied as well, probably have them lying around somewhere. But you’re right about that darkness-thing, I had nearly forgotten but I looked over some older pictures I have – and you’re very right! I probably would have dragged out one of my other games to test it in, but I didn’t really want to right then. But, much like I predicted, I fell right back in love with Rensims eyes, so I suspect I’ll keep them around for a bit longer ^^
Ha, half of my notes at the end of my posts are me thinking out loud so clearly I’m a fan of that too!
I use the Just Reflect defaults and am relatively happy with them. I used Yumedust’s before that but it was so long ago I can’t remember why I switched! I should see about townifying some of the other colours though.
If my Sims weren’t using some geneticised skintones, I’d switch default skins in a second if I found a set I liked better. I still love Xianah’s Soft Touch skins the best but there are only four tones so there’s not enough variety.
Valneanne Reply:
November 4th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Thinking out loud is necessary sometimes, especially when it comes to decisions about default-things I find xD
Townifying eyes is neat! And easy! I only have the various other colours that Rensim made, so I’m thinking about recolouring a few of them for darker shades etc. We’ll see, I’ve got updates and uni-readings that are crying for attention as it is!
That was my dilemma too, I’ve done the whole “switching while using geneticised skintones” bit before and ended up switching GUIDs and whatnot around and it was really tiresome (not to mention that I had to remember to never ever stick both skins in at once or use the altered skinset in another game), so I won’t be doing that again.