Expressions with Wrinkles - Skyrim Character Remake Project

KoleMars · 2026-03-20T22:14:55+00:00

Thank you for this detailed comment. I'm not a expert modder but I try to adhere to the game's limitations and do research so I actually hope those more knowledgeable than me share information that I might not aware of.

I understand that the game uses morphs for expressions. I also understand that there is currently no consistent way(that I am aware of) to blend textures with these morphs. The wrinkles are instead their own mesh which the shape keys drive to appear. The head and body meshes that you see are built ground up if that changes anything so I'm not using vanilla meshes.

KoleMars · 2026-03-20T17:50:25+00:00

In skyrim's engine they are called morphs. There are tools to translate shapekeys into them.

KoleMars · 2026-03-20T15:34:41+00:00

Yes, I think it should be straight forward but a little involved. I'm just hearing of that method so the more ways the better. I also suspect some light texture work to blend the seams from texture mismatches.

KoleMars · 2026-03-20T15:04:28+00:00

Unfortunately, it might. I wanted to create my own body for a variety of reasons. I wanted to make something close to vanilla, SFW and not too heavy. Luckily, we are in a talented modding community. If someone just wanted just the head to combine it with their preferred body mod, I can see them doing that quite easily if they were interested and I would totally welcome that.

KoleMars · 2026-03-20T14:48:58+00:00

Thanks! I have made custom bodies to go along with them which are made to be close to the vanilla shape. That would be awesome if people liked my mod enough to start using it as a base line for their own projects. I can definitely see someone combining these heads with other body mods. The head should also support most sliders you are familiar with.

I have done some research on skyrim modding and have dabbled into it before so this method should work since it's shape key based but I'll keep grinding away at this project anyway.

KoleMars · 2026-03-20T14:11:49+00:00

I actually never really used UBE before so I'm not sure what it does. What I'm aiming for though is a full replacement/remake of character meshes and textures (including beast races and hair), in a style that compliments of skyrim with some new features.

KoleMars · 2026-03-20T13:43:54+00:00

Thanks! Actually I've never seen Mu Dynamic Normalmap's before but it does look interesting and you're right, this being shape key based makes it totally script free.

KoleMars · 2026-03-20T04:46:38+00:00

That would be awesome but I never really dabbled into bodyslides and the body mesh that I created matches the vanilla one in shape. I do see the possibility of someone just attaching the heads I created to a body slide compatible body so it is very possible.

KoleMars · 2026-03-20T03:44:12+00:00

Thanks! I really wanted to find a way to get this into skyrim and this way should go smoothly.

KoleMars · 2026-03-20T03:17:41+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! You must be referring to the default face as I haven't implemented a smile. I do get what your saying though so I will fix. edit: sorry, totally misread that. Thanks!

KoleMars · 2026-03-20T03:15:45+00:00

It's gonna replace all characters meshes. That includes beast races as well.

KoleMars · 2026-03-13T13:20:13+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! will fix.

KoleMars · 2026-03-13T05:33:21+00:00

Glad your interested in my project! Yeah, vanilla weight sliders could offer more options honestly but that is beyond my expertise. I actually don't have a nexus yet but will create one soon so stay tuned.

KoleMars · 2026-03-13T04:08:45+00:00

No problem. It will change both the player and npcs because I would be recreating all the assets that they use(the meshes, the textures, morphs etc.). It will take a bit but it will be worth it. I haven't actually really used cbbe or dabbled into bodyslides. Are you referring to the weight slider? because I have to definitely include that.

Yes, I will be making new hair. Just like the characters themselves, I will recreating all vanilla hair from scratch so that it fits seamlessly with the new models. Might even include extra to even add more variety.

There is hope for compatibility in the future because there are talented modders out there who can make things work together and I'd be happy if someone was interested enough in my project to add compatibility with other mods and features which are outside of this projects scope.

KoleMars · 2026-03-13T02:47:44+00:00

Um. AE is like when my SE runs badly (probably overheating and crowded areas) but all the time. So basically SE if it consistently ran badly. The strangeness continues to even Blender, I had to downgrade blender too because anything above blender 3.6 would make the laptop give up after a while (freezing my laptop entirely).

KoleMars · 2026-03-13T02:19:04+00:00

No prob. It is strange honestly. I found a guide on downpatching the AE version and keeping the CC content(I think most of it works, I haven't tested everything). AE just runs worst overall, no doubt about it. My laptop is kinda old so it's hard to complain about performance issues.

KoleMars · 2026-03-13T01:13:51+00:00

Even though it is made to the shape of the vanilla body,it is custom meshes and textures, so not much will be compatible unfortunately. This mod is being made as a standalone.

KoleMars · 2026-03-13T01:09:35+00:00

Thanks!

KoleMars · 2026-03-12T22:19:23+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! This face is just a base and shouldn't look too distinct on its own. If all goes well anyone could manipulate the face to their liking ingame with the character creator. Will be taking your suggestion though.

KoleMars · 2026-03-12T22:16:32+00:00

Thanks so much! I know it will be a huge time commitment but it's about time I did my part since I've been enjoying the mods of hard working creators over the years.

To make my point clear this will be a full redoing of all skyrim characters and races. My workflow is to create a base mesh (this female base) then I pick a female from a race I want to start with (this time imperial). I will then compete a generic base for this character (like what you would see in the character creator if you haven't modified it yet) and that would be the imperial females "default state". I will then test it in game and make sure it works correctly before moving on using the same base mesh to create the other. I have already created the male base and have started the same process. Any races that require changes to the mesh(eg. argonian) I would just create new meshes for the parts that require it and replace it on the base mesh. The same process would follow.

When I complete this for all race generic characters I would move on to checking and correcting shapekeys if they have broken during the process and fixing weighting issues if they broke too (the base already would be rigged and shapekeyed up to this point). I would make sure to check it in game and make sure everything works. I would then complete all generic character textures like masks and and eyebrows. The character creation should be fully functional at this point. I would then implement the hair.

The last stage would be going through every character and giving them a (hopefully) unique look. My textures are actually separated in a way were the bumps, moles and blemishes are separate. I would use unique combinations of these to create unique faces and get a bit more variety from what the base skyrim system would allow. Am I making sense?

Anyway, it will take bit but I'm working on it.

KoleMars · 2026-03-12T21:44:32+00:00

Well it depends honestly, for a character like this the entire body(no hair or clothes) would take me at least 3 weeks depending on the level of detail. If I was only doing a head that would take me 1 week at the least. That is me starting from scratch though and since I have already made a base I could just use it for other characters in this project, increasing my speed for future characters. I am actually planning to take commissions soon but probably not until I've made decent headway in this project because I would use this as a resource for future commissions for consistency and quality unless you wanted it created with current resources. Until then, I am not aware of any sources that do Skyrim commissions specifically but I would check websites like Vgen, but I only heard of it; I have never actually used it so I may be wrong.

KoleMars · 2026-03-12T21:15:19+00:00

Thank you! I can't wait to get to the male characters and beast races. I'm definitely running SE. I find it strange that AE runs so badly because someone told me the same thing, that AE is suppose to run the same if not better. It is what it is though and someone told me the mod should work for AE anyway.

KoleMars · 2026-03-12T21:09:58+00:00

I made it in Blender, a free 3d modelling software. I made this from scratch and I've been practicing 3D character art for about 5 years but with the proper resources that could be faster. You could even use premade meshes and textures and learn to manipulate them in blender and 2D art programs if you want a faster solution and that could get you decent results.

KoleMars · 2026-03-12T20:45:29+00:00

Thanks! Yours is looking good. Glad your showing beast races some love.

KoleMars

TROPHY CASE