Unable to download Skin templates

Hello,

I'm still rather new here but I would like to make my own skin and most importantly shapes. I have been reading the forums over the last week and found loads of information about skins but all searches about making shapes have lead me back to the same spot...Download skin/clothing templates. I don't know if this is right, but it is where I am starting (and having a rather difficult time).

I have downloaded the templates from Chip Midnight's site, I have tried to download them from other sites, I have even tried to download templates from Robin Sojourner Wood's site. Everything seems to download but I can't find it through Photoshop. I have tried going through File ..and used every link beneath it: Open, Browse, Open As, Open as Smart Object. I have even tried Bridge. I can not get any CMFF files to open. I get an error message that tells me I can't open it because it is the wrong file type. I have opened the CMFF files through the Search tab once inside the "Start" button. I have checked and they are PSD files, and they have the "zip" extension. Does anyone have any clue why I can not open these files through PS3?

Do you mean Photoshop 3.0??? Hopefully that is not the case, and you mean Photoshop CS3.

My guess is you have not yet extracted the Zip archive (either with WinZip or the many other free unzipping applications). Once that is done you should have files tagged with the *.psd suffix that will open in Photoshop.

If you truely DO have PS3 then there may also be a compatability issue with that MUCH older version of Photoshop. If that is the case then you might want to download Gimp (free) and work from that for the time being. It will open PSD files.

It is Photoshop CS3. Thanks for the advice. I'll try that.

You can edit the shape of your avatar by selecting appearance from the pie menu. There is no way to create a shape for your avatar offline.

So people selling shapes are simply editing them?

Yes, but it's harder than it sounds. The menu of features is very complex, and it's hard to balance all of them properly for the best proportioned shape that projects who YOU are. Look around at all the wierd-shaped people in SL. A good shape designer can get you to look the age you want, have the proper professional demeanor, appear just sexy enough or prim enough to match your personality...... Shape designers are in the body image business and the good ones earn their fees. Sure, anybody can create her own shape... just like anybody can build.

Here is a link to a SL skin template download site:

http://goodies.onrez.com/shop/chipmidnight/

Is this the one you're having problems downloading the templates?

And if there's any alternative to Photoshop, you can always use Paint Shop Pro or even GIMP - the latter being almost as functional as Photoshop.

I think Namssor is probably right they hadn't been unzipped yet.

I downloaded Winzip and it didn't work. I assume because it wasn't free. So I got rid of it and went with a free one (CAM-UnZip). It downloaded and I was able to view the files from one of the sites given. I don't know what I should do next, but I still can't find the CMFF files through Photoshop, nor the CAM UnZip. I hate being the person asking all the stupid questions, but I just can't seem to get this to work.

Those templates are also available in jpg. Why not just get the jpg?

What operating system are you using? If it's Vista by chance then zip support is built in. Just double click the zip file to see the contents, then drag the PSD files out to a folder where you'd like to keep them.

If your Winzip is still in its 45 day trial period it should work just fine Zip files should already be associated to it if you've installed it so just double click the zip file (from your desktop or whatever folder you downloaded it to) to open it in WinZip, then use the "extract to" button and tell it what folder you want it to unzip the PSD files to. Once you've done that you can open the PSD files in Photoshop. You can't load them into PS directly from the zip file.

I walked away from it for a few days, came back, downloaded the full set of templates again and this time the Cam UnZip opened them and I chose a folder I could access easily. I am ecstatic and all I did was open a file (I'm not exactly computer illiterate either). So, I don't know what comes next but I am on my way to making skin. I just wanted to thank everyone for their help before I got started. Thank everyone so much.

Glad to hear that it's working for you now, Lavinia

If you haven't seen them yet, you might want to play with Eloh Eliot's skin PSDs a bit, just to get a better idea of how SL skins are made.

http://eloheliot.blogspot.com/2007/12/my-psds-let-me-show-u-them.html