Skyrim

About this mod

A collection of carefully curated and optimized character improvements.

Requirements
Permissions and credits
Changelogs
TOTAL CHARACTER MAKEOVER

A COMPLETE CHARACTER APPEARANCE OVERHAUL





DESCRIPTION

I think we can all agree that vanilla Skyrim characters are are not very aesthetically pleasing. It’s not just that they’re unattractive, it’s that they don’t look much like people. Thankfully we have an extremely talented modding community who have gone to great lengths to rectify this problem. Total Character Makeover is an attempt to collect this work in one cohesive, easy-to-install compilation.

I've gone through every face and body mod on the Nexus so you don't have to! I compared each individual texture in Photoshop and in the game, and mixed and matched until they looked just right.


MY CRITERIA:
  • Detailed but performance-friendly textures
  • A consistent look -- characters look like they all belong in the same game
  • Improves upon the vanilla look without straying too far from it

WHAT'S INCLUDED:
  • Improved hand and foot meshes
  • Double-sided eyelashes
  • Underwater invisibility fix for eyes
  • Complete texture sets for all races
  • Complete snow elf textures
  • Complete vampire textures
  • Fangs for female vampires
  • Improved teeth textures
  • Eye textures for all races
  • Eyebrow textures with shine fix for ENB
  • Beard textures
  • High resolution makeup, warpaint, dirt, freckles, and scars

WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED
  • Nude body meshes
  • Hair textures
  • New hairstyles
  • New beards
  • New eye colors
  • New warpaints or scars
  • Child meshes/textures
  • Changes to individual NPCs



COMPATIBILITY


You will not need any custom armor meshes or compatibility patches to use this mod. I have intentionally kept it as a simple, all-in-one collection.

The textures should be fully compatible with UNP and Better Males if you prefer to use those mods. Just install this mod after them.

It also works fine with vanilla bodies, as it was designed with them in mind.



INSTALLATION


INSTALLING THE MOD
1. Extract the contents of the zip file to your Skyrim Data folder.
2. Profit.


NORMAL VAMPIRES FACES
If you prefer the Dawnguard vampires to look more like other humans (no conspiciuous ridges on their faces), here’s what you need to do:

1. Go into the Data folder and go to textures/actors/character/female
2. Delete femaleheadvampire_msn.dds
3. Copy femalehead_msn.dds and rename it to femaleheadvampire_msn.dds
4. Go to textures/actors/character/male
5. Delete maleheadvampire_msn.dds
6. Copy malehead_msn.dds and rename it to maleheadvampire_msn.dds


SKSE MAKEUP TWEAK
In order to get the most out of the high resolution tintmasks in this mod, you will need to do the following:

1. Download and install the latest version of SKSE.
2. Go into your Skyrim Data folder and check for an SKSE folder with a file named SKSE.ini. If the file does not exist, you will need to create it.
3. Open up Notepad (or another basic text editor) and type in the following:
[Display]
iTintTextureResolution=1024
4. Save the file as SKSE.ini. Be sure the “Save as type” line is set to “All” so you don't accidentally save it as a .txt file.

Alternatively, you can go download an already-made version of the file here. That download also includes the memory patch settings for the SKSE Alpha Build (which I recommend using, if you aren't yet).


HIGH RESOLUTION MAKEUP FOR NPCS
In the Downloads tab, you will find a large optional download for FaceGenData. This download will apply the high resolution tintmasks and the corrected eye meshes to all vanilla and DLC NPCs. It makes NPCs look a lot better at the cost of some performance. Without it, NPCs will still use the pixelated vanilla makeup, dirt, and warpaint textures.

If you want to apply high resolution tintmasks to NPCs from other mods, you will need to use the NPC Editor tool to export their FaceGenData. The Creation Kit produces files that are the same size as vanilla, which defeats the purpose.



CREDITS

These amazing mod authors created the assets included in this compilation, and also granted permission for other mod authors to use them. Please visit their pages to toss them a kudos and say Thank You!


MY CONTRIBUTIONS:
  • Added missing mipmaps
  • Optimized some textures
  • Blended texture seams
  • Curated eye and brow replacements
  • Added double-sided lashes to eye meshes
  • Edited skin textures for snow elves
  • Generated new facegendata for NPCs



RECOMMENDED MODS


AWESOME MODS:

TEXTURES FOR CBBE FEMALE BODY:
Women of Skyrim (contains nudity) - my compilation uses the UNP version of these textures


MY OTHER MODS:
Aurora Village
Embershard Cottage
Farmhouse Chimneys