Post mod recommendations
ESSENTIAL:Mod Organizer: This program makes adding mods easy. Not required, but it's much easier than doing things manually, much more reliable than using steam's workshop, and much less broken and shitty than using Nexus's mod manager
Wrye Bash: If you wanna play Skyrim the right way, you MUST use this. You don't have to use the mod organizing itself, but you have to use the extra tools it provides! There are a few key features that seperate this from the rest of the mod managers. First off, you can merge mods and make bashed patches. A bashed patch is when you combine features with several different mods and make them not conflict or interfere with each other. You can also sort your mods and load order, get conflict notifications, edit INIs, and organize your saves.
Unofficial Skyrim Patch: This are a MUST HAVE, no exceptions. Bethesda are lazy, idiotic hacks that leave massive bugs in their games like fucking numbskull downsies. This mod, along with the versions for
Dawnguard,
Hearthfire, and
Dragonborn, fix these bugs, and don't make any unneccessary changes. 100% "Why didn't bethesda fix these themselves" territory. Download the main one, and each one for any DLC you have.
SkyUI: SkyUI replaces the UI with a much better, friendlier UI that works better with PC and isn't a straight fucking console port, like Vanilla. It also overhauls hotkeys and the favorite system, for the better. If that weren't enough, it adds the MCM, or Mod Configuration Menu, which 90% of good mods use to let you configure and customize options for the mods. Very important.
MFG Console: During the end of Skyrim patch 1.8, people found out console commands that allowed you to edit facial expressions! It was an amazing discovery! Everyone found a way to use this whether it be screenshots or videos. Then a tragedy occurred, patch 1.9 came out which destroyed this feature, as well as some of the lip synching. Bethesda even said that nothing was broken, because they are hacks. This mod re-adds the feature, as well as adding some nice functionality to the ~ console. Very important for good screenshots, and general usefulness.
Precache Killer: When you add to many hair mods, Skyrim has a CTD when you go to make a character, because Bethesda are idiots. This fixes it. 100% needed if you want a good waifu, because the vanilla hairstyles are fucking godawful.
SKSE: Skyrim Script Extender makes 90% of mods possible. Without this magical addition, you can't play modded Skyrim. It's that simple. You /have/ to get this.
NO-BRAINER PERFORMANCE MODS:Remove Underwater Grass: Removes underwater grass that you can usually not see in skyrim because people don't swim a lot. It's a great mod because would mods that add extra grass density, it also adds more unecesarry seaweed that you don't need at all. Free FPS
Skyrim Performance PLUS: Rain, Snow, and falling leaves are unnecessarily high-quality textures for seemingly no reason. Thanks to this mod, you can lower that, for free performance at no noticeable loss in quality.
OTHER S-Actually, you know, I was going to spend like, 2 hours posting this, but most of it is just plagiarized from TESGeneral, the site the /vg/ thread for Elder Scrolls games uses. Use it insteadNow, as for the mods i'm using to make the character look like this specifically: Enhanced Character Edit: For better character making options
SG Hair Pack: Find it on TESGeneral's
'How to Waifu' page.
UNP Skinny Body: You can get this, or the normal one, both in the same link, or the "
Busty version". Or the "
Curvy Version"
SG Female Textures: For pretty textures. Some people use
Mega Milkdrinker, which looks good from what I see, but it requires more setting up, and is more taxing performance-wise.
Northborn Scars: Vanilla scars are boring. These are nice looking. That's why my character has the Glasgow smile.
Improved Eyes: Better eyes. I think I used these, there are other options available.
SG Female Eyebrows: Better Eyebrows. Pretty sure I used this.
Also, ENB is very important. TESGeneral has a page on it:
http://www.tesgeneral.com/#!enb/c5xENB /can/ be very graphically intensive, expecially if you use a heavy preset. I use just basic, vanilla, unmodded, normal ENB with a few options turned on, and turn them off when i'm not taking a screenshot. Use whatever looks good.
I also used some armor mods and such, but i'll leave that up to you to choose what clothes look nice. TESGeneral has good suggestions on one of the pages.
Oh, I also use the MFG console mod I linked quite extensively to get good expressions. I'm not great at it yet, but if you want anything but boring resting face, use it.
"Facelight" is a good mod for screenshots, too, as well as some of the animation and posing mods suggested on TESgeneral:
http://www.tesgeneral.com/#!poser-fu/c23kzIf you have any more specific questions, just ask. To close off, i'm posting another picture of my character, this time having fun doing what she loves most.