How to edit a vanilla NPC's face

The steps explain how to make simple changes to a vanilla NPC without the frills found in many "how to make a follower" tutorials.

HOW TO EDIT THE FACE OF VANILLA NPC

LE (Oldrim) version is here! (Yes, the same file, just uploaded there too)

Over the years I've had many requests to do some tutorials on how to modify Skyrim. I usually answer, well there are already tons of tutorials, so why ask me instead of reading/watching them? High profile modders like Gopher and DarkFox, but people ask me. I'm honestly confused. Anyway, I've recently been asked to provide simple instructions for editing common NPCs, because those popular tutorials have a lot of stuff that other people don't need or want, and usually involve how to make custom followers with many unique aspects.

Disclaimer: I'm writing from memory as I'm currently away from my main computer and all my modding gear. I returned to my parents because my mom was in hospice care and was about to become cancer-free. These days, we just have time to wait. I'm typing this on a laptop she no longer uses, so I can't provide any screenshots or videos at this time. Part of the knowledge I gleaned from videos and other tutorials long ago, and part of my exploration and discovery in CK.

This tutorial makes no assumptions about previous modding functionality. If you already know how to copy and navigate the Creation Kit menu tree, you can skip this first part.

Here are some great Youtube Video tutorials. The first 10 here are official ones from Bethesda. The rest are community-produced tutorials. I highly recommend watching at least the first intro to the toolkit, which explains the menus, "buttons" and how to navigate the toolkit. The full video list is here:

Now, go to the File tab and download the tutorial.

This is a simple RTF, so it will open in Word or Wordpad.

Some suggested resources:

Here are several popular NPC "beautification" resource mods. If you plan to release a mod that includes its assets, you must check each modder's individual permissions. This is what's called a "standalone" NPC mod. Alternatively, you cannot package these assets into your mod and make it clear to users that they must download the mod separately for it to work as expected.

Skin mod:

CBBE meshes and textures

SG texture update

Urshi's smooth masculine texture

Skysight skin (male)

Bjinn's skin (female)

(and many more)

Eye model

beautiful eyes

natural eyes

Ruby red vampire eyes

Eye of Abber

cara's eyes

(and many more)

hairstyle:

Apachii hair (male and female)

KS hair

friendly hair

(More)

Makeup and Warpaint Mods:

Tairen soul war paint

Community Coverage Maps 1 and 2

(a lot of)

If you found this helpful, please endorse it :)

If you're feeling extra grateful and generous, please visit my Patreon page and prepare a dress-up. Support is never needed but support is always received! :)

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HOW to EDIT a VANILLA NPC FACE

LE (Oldrim) Version HERE! (Yeah same file, just uploaded there too)

I've had many requests over the years to make some tutorials on this or that subject of modding Skyrim. I usually answered that, well there are already so many tutorials out there, so why are you asking me instead of reading/watching them? Hi-profile modders like Gopher and DarkFox, yet people ask me. I'm honestly confused. Anyway, I was recently asked for simple instructions to edit a vanilla NPC, because those popular tutorials had a bunch of other stuff some people don't need or want, usually dealing with how to make a custom follower with a bunch of unique aspects.

DISCLAIMER: I am writing this from memory because I'm currently away from my main computer and all my modding stuff. I'm back at my parents because my mom is in hospice care about to pass away from cancer. These days I have nothing but time while we wait. I'm typing this on her Notebook, which she no longer uses, thus I cannot provide any screenshots or videos at this time. Parts of this knowledge I gath …