Requesting Rules & Reference Shot Guide (1 Viewer)

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Requesting Rules​

These rules have been put in place to ensure that modders have the necessary material to draw the mod and do not waste their time unnecessarily.

1. Requests have to be for hair or costume mods only (either for Her or Him)​
   • If your request includes Loader features, it should be made in the Loader Requests section.​
   • If you want an existing mod to be modified, ask for it in the Revisions section.​
2. You must check the Archive, search the forum and the Ressource Manager to be sure that your request hasn't already been made.​
3. The title ot the request thread have to include the full name of the character and its source (anime, series, cartoon name, etc.).
   • Avoid abbreviations and fan nicknames.
   • Some more characters from the same source may be requested together (but don't be too greedy).
4. Specify what kind of mod you are requesting (i.e. static hair, dynamic hair, costume).
   • Without it, it will be assumed that a static hair mod has to be done.
   • Note that many modders are able to produce static hair mods while only a few can make dynamic ones or costumes.
5. Provide usable references:
   • Side-view is essential: almost nothing can be done if the hair or costume is not shown exactly from the side (i.e. 90°).
   • Anime-style is essential: it means two or three colours for the hair (base, shadow, highlight) with no or very simple gradients. Photographs, 3D game screenshots, digital "waterpainting" pictures, etc. have colour gradients very difficult to reproduce.
   • High resolution is essential: very pixelated refs makes drawing small parts impossible.
6. Put your references on an offsite image hoster (e.g. Imgur) and paste the links in image tags (
   
   then , top bar of the edition window).
   • To change the picture size, click on the picture and choose the "Change size" icon (
     
     ), then type the desired height or width in pixels.
   • DO NOT use the "Upload image" button (
     
     ) as it wastes server space (attachements may be deleted without notice).
   • Avoid hotlinking as sometimes the links don't work or get obsolete.
7. Do not bump request threads! If you want to express your support, use the "Like" button. If you do not contribute to the request by adding useful references or insightful comments, do not post in it. Superflous posts that bump a request will be deleted.
8. As everywhere else on this forum, the basic Site rules apply.

Not following these rules will result in the transfer of the request to the Invalid Requests section, where it is very unlikely to be fulfilled.

Recommendations​

These are not strictly speaking rules, but they should be followed to ensure the smooth running of the Requests section.

• Be polite: say Hello, please and thank you (it has never killed anyone to say it, but it is pleasant to read).
• Don't be greedy: don't ask for dozens of mods to be made at once, a request has to be easy to fulfill. Ask for one thing, if it gets done, you may ask the modder to carry on with other proposals.
• Don't show off the character with sexy images that have no value for making the mod.
• Avoid cliché phrases such as "I'm surprised that nobody has asked for this yet" or "I'll be super grateful to anyone who makes this".
  Saying "I'd do it myself if I knew how" only tells that you're too lazy to read the tutorials, or that you're unwilling to learn a new skill.
• Try to find the best resolution for your references (search the image with Google Images or TinEye) and don't crop it by yourself.

Reference Shot Guide

Good references shots are essential to make hair mods easily, requests with bad references will probably be ignored.
This is your part of the work, making the mod requires much more qualification and requires lots of time.
Keep in mind that if you can't find a usable reference, the mod simply can't be made.
This happens to a lot of characters, so if you don't have a good reference, don't make a request.​

Most of the time, the drawing will be made from a single image, but to do this, the artist needs a very good reference that has:

• an anime style with two or three colours for the hair (base, shadow, highlight) with no gradients or very simple ones.
  Photographs, screenshots of 3D games, digital "watercolour" images, etc. have colour gradients that are very difficult to reproduce.
• a character represented exactly from the side (90°, not from above or below).
• a character immobile, in a straight position, with the head vertical and hair behaving naturally.
• all the hair/costume: do not forget the bottom of the hair and try to find kneeling positions for costumes.
• high resolution, especially if the hair has small strands, complex shades or highlights, or if the costume has little parts, etc.
• adequate lighting: not in the dark, with too much light or with parts in the shade.

If the tracing of the image is correct but the lighting and/or colors are not adequate, other images with accurate colours must be provided.
In any case, it is essential to provide at least one image with a good tracing.

Usual places to find references​

• Google images: lists almost all the images of the Web (but only 1.000 images per request are displayed, so do not rely only on it), with the option to see all the resolutions for the same image (get the highest one).
• Imageboards are often the best place to look. Search with tags (usually, the Japanese characters are tagged like that: "familyname_surname", e.g. "akiyama_mio"). If nothing can be found with tags, search with Google and add the name of the imageboard (e.g. "mio akiyama gelbooru").
  • Gelbooru (anime artwork, most of images are there, but that shouldn't stop you from looking elsewhere)
  • Anime Character Database (about 80.000 characters, with many artbooks)
  • yande.re (high-res scans)
  • Danbooru (anime artwork)
  • Rule #34 (anime artwork)
  • Konachan (anime wallpapers)
  • Sankaku Channel (anime/manga/game images, this site is blocked in some countries, use a VPN from Japan to access it)
  • e-shuushuu (anime/manga/game images)
  • Zerochan (anime images & wallpapers)
  • Anime-Pictures (anime pictures & wallpapers, Japanese site, language selection in the top right corner)
• DeviantArt can also be a place to look, with some fanart.
• If they exist, dedicated wikis can sometimes have good material.
• Own screenshots: play an animated film or a cartoon on your computer, pause the movie and press "Print Screen", then paste it and save it in an image editor (MSPaint will do).

Spoiler: Tags for searching adequate references

Remember to add underscores when searching in imageboards/boorus.

• profile
• from_side
• side_view
• character_sheet
• character_designer
• kiss
• blowjob

Examples​

• No. 7 made a review of possible references (click on images to see them in full size):

Here's a bunch of excellent images, plus a bit of criticism so you know how each one could be even better. (Almost) All of them are images I used to make my own imports, so they're all "good enough."

OFFICIAL ART​

Official art is always a good thing to check out. If an artist goes off of official art, it's very hard for them to "mess anything up" as far as accuracy of portrayal.

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This is a pretty good picture to be able to reference. The only problems are that when you zoom in to her head, it is somewhat small, and that the style is pretty non-SDT. However, it's definitely a good image.

ARTBOOKS​

Related to official art, artbooks often contain a wealth of information about exact how the subject's head looks, and have such wonderful shots as these:

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Especially of note is how this clarifies the difference between the left side and the right side of her head; for many characters with wacky anime hairstyles, this matters.

SCREENSHOTS​

This only works for anime/cartoons, or anime-style cutscenes from a game, but it can be a perfectly good way to get a profile view and is also under the umbrella of being "official."

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This is almost perfect. The only things to watch out for are the fact that it's the wrong side of her head (doesn't matter since her hair is symmetrical) and the colors are faded (supply an image with brighter colors).

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Another screenshot from the same anime, a great image for the girl on the left. Colors are brighter, it's the correct side of her face. The only things to look out for are that even though it's an official image, for some reason it obscures green headband, which is an important aspect of her appearance. Also, the hair coming down in front of her body is resting on her shoulders in a way that would not work with SDT; this is something that could be left to the artist to fix, but it's good to know.

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A great image. The only caveats are that since her head is tilted downward, the artist will have to adjust for gravity messing with where everything lies.

BREAST CHARTS​

These are wonderful in that they almost always show a great multitude of characters and their hairstyle from the side. Sometimes they can be a little too deformed and stylized, but they are usually excellent. It's also the first category we've run into that is not drawn by an "official artist" (99% of the time), so be wary of whether or not the portrayal is 100% accurate.

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This is just a little bit stylized and it's the wrong sides of all of their faces, but otherwise, it's a veritable goldmine.

FANART​

Breast charts are usually fanart, but this is the last-most-preferable category. Most hentai is fanart, and everything on deviantART is obviously fanart. It's also pretty likely that this will be the bulk of what you find. Just be mindful that in this category, scrutiny for quality is key. There will be a lot to wade through that, even though they show the profile, are in the wrong style, are not accurate, etc.

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This is pretty good. Her hair, however, is moving, so an artist would have to manually adjust to make her hair look stationary. Also, the back of the hair is cut off and an artist would need to consult another reference or freehand that part of her hair.

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Pretty excellent. The only problem is that the style doesn't match SDT's completely, and the proportions of sizes are a bit wacked (the bangs are way too huge compared to the "official" portrayal).

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This is good hentai (in more ways than one). It realistically and accurately portray's the subject's hair, except her braids, which look strange since they're in contact with the ground and not hanging. There are good hentai artists to rely on who always draw characters accurately and in a somewhat "realistic" way, such as Azasuke, Jyusuke, etc.

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This is actually just "okay." I ended up relying on it for one of my first imports and that import needs to be revised desperately. It's in oekaki, so the lines are very thin and hard to trace over accurately, it's very rounded and stylized in a way that doesn't fit SDT, the proportions are off, and it's the wrong side of her face. Feel free to give an artist this picture, but don't expect them to be able to use just this.

• Huitznahua made a guide for costume references (click on images to see them in full size) :

FIND THE BEST REFERENCE IMAGE​

You found a proper reference where we can see the side profil of the character, like a character sheet. Example:

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One problem here: this image is too small. As a modder I want to be able to zoom one every details.

How to get this same image but with a better resolution? Use the Google's reverse image search!
On google image look at the tiny camera on the right of the search bar:

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Here you can past an existing image's url or upload the image from your computer (or the easiest way: drag and drop the image):

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When I drag and drop my reference image I get this result. You can see the actual size of my image (720x565) and you can search for all the others size of this same image:

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Here you can find the exact same image but with a better resolution:

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This isn't perfect but this is still way better than the previous resolution.

So remember, when you have a nice reference, try to find a better resolution.

GIVE MORE DETAILS WITH OTHER REFERENCES​

You are searching for a specific character outfits but you can't find a proper reference image. Example:

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I'm very interested by the detailed fold on her sleeves but this isn't a side view and the resolution is quite low. Well, this isn't the only picture of a detailed folded short sleeves in the world ! I can search for others reference image with similar detailed. Like this one:

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This is still not a perfect picture, but at least I've got a side view of a detailed short sleeve.

Beware! You still need to provide reference image of your original outfit request. By providing additional references image not directly relevant you'll need to be very cautious in the presentation of your request. So please, specify that is an additional picture providing details about a very specific part of the costume.

link to the former Reference Rules
link to the former Reference Shot Guide​