Have you ever felt that your previews are not nearly as good as your creations? In this article you will learn how easy it can be to make your work stand out from the crowd with just a few clicks.

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Introduction

Making good previews is not exactly a problem tomost people, but it can be quite a challenge to some, not to mention timeconsuming. This article is intended to help you make better previews in asimple way by showing you some of the most effective tips and tricks thatcreators often use in their previews. You probably know most of these tipsalready, but maybe you’ll read something here that will help you make yourcreations shine even more.

Now let’s get started! 

Requirements:

- You will need a graphics editing program, preferablyone that uses layers. Paint.NET (http://www.getpaint.net/) and Gimp (http://www.gimp.org/) are freely distributed,so you can always use any of these programs to edit your images. I willbe using Adobe Photoshop for this tutorial, but you should use the program youfeel most comfortable with.

Recommendedtutorials and programs:

-         SimsPhotography - Taking Better Photos by wildstar24;

-         How to extract sims from screenshots by BlackGarden;

-         Although it’s not absolutely required, you may alsowant to download FRAPS      (http://www.beepa.com/) to take   screenshots.

 

Table of contents

1.     Setting up the scene

1.1.                       Lightingup the room;

1.2.                       Dispositionof the elements you want to photograph;

1.3.                       AddingSims to the picture;

1.4.                       Usefulcheats to have in mind;

1.5.                       Adjustingyour game settings.

 

2.     Taking the best screenshots

2.1.                       UsingCamera Mode in game;

2.2.                       UsingPrint Screen (for Windows);

 

3.     Arranging your preview

3.1.                       Generaltips and tricks;

3.2.                       Usinglayers and styles;

3.3.                       Makingyour own preview templates;

1.           Setting up thescene

Now that you have finished creating,get ready to play with your stuff! Many artists don’t test their creations ingame as a player normally would, but I think that the screenshots taken duringthe testing are often the best ones you can use on a preview. By doing this,you will be telling everyone that you had fun playing with your creations andthere’s a high chance that they might enjoy it as well.

1.1 Lighting up the room

Before you start placing thecreations/sims you want to photograph in your set, look closely to the shadowson your lot. As you can see in this example, the light hits the lot from thelower left corner, making room 3 extremely bright and room 2 too dark to obtaina good contrast between light and shadow. Keeping this in mind, start by placing windows at regular intervalsand keep your creations in well lit areas that are neither too bright nor toodark, like rooms 1 and 4. If you must take pictures outside, use the sameprinciple and opt for places that are neither too dark nor too bright.

You can use artificial lights to create a different atmosphere. Switch to night time view, start placing yourlamps and once you’re finished, you can switch back to daytime and the lampswill remain lit.

In the picture on the right, two lamps were hidden in the room to createa more dramatic contrast.

 

 

 

In the picture on the right, you can see how colourful lights can hugelyaffect the colour balance of the room and the objects. It is not always a goodidea to use these lights, especially if you’re presenting new objects.

Also, you should avoid taking pictures with only partially built rooms. When sunlight hits the walls, chances areyou’ll end up with an overall poor quality image. Remember that if an image istoo dark, you can always adjust the brightness/contrast of the picture when youstart editing the preview using your graphics editing program.

1.2. Disposition of the elements you want to photograph

Although there aren’t any specific rules to display objects in apreview, there are always some guidelines you can follow.

- Don’t over decorate

Try not to include too many details in one picture and focus on what is reallyimportant. An image cluttered with complex wallpapers or floors and too manyobjects will distract your audience from what you are offering them.

 - Use corners to your advantage

Corners can have a great impact on the viewer’s perspective by automaticallycreating different focal points in aroom and making the set more appealing. They can also be really helpful whenyou want to show your wallpapers.

- Size matters

When you’re trying to capture the best angle for your objects, you’ll find thatthe bigger the room is, the harder it is to get a nice detailed shot of allyour creations. Don’t be afraid to experiment and think of creative ways toshow all your objects in a small space.

- Avoid using custom content thatis not your own to enhance previews

The results may be fantastic when you use a cool background or someone else’sCC mixed with your own stuff, but it can be really disappointing for thedownloader to discover that the preview was actually better than the realthing. If you need to add more content to the set, Maxis objects are always agood choice because it means people can have the same results in their owngame. If you still think it’s a good idea to include someone else’s CC in yourpreview, make sure you credit the otherartist in your description.

- Choose colours carefull sww and DOT at TSR should be credited for this tip and images

As much as we love a certain colour, the best way to make it stand out in aroom is to make sure we are using it sparingly and creating a nice contrastwith other objects. For example, if you created a gorgeous pink sofa and absolutelyadore pink, you should make it stand out in a room by not using so many pinkfloors and walls.

1.3 Adding Sims to the picture

Sims can be great advertisers andthey are very photogenic too, so don’t be afraid to use them to make yourcreations shine. Whether it is a lot, a set or even some walls, just rememberthat every time you place a Sim near your creations, you will be tellingeveryone how much fun you had testing your stuff and how it actually works wellin game. Bring your Sims to your set and have fun taking pictures!

1.4 Useful cheats to have in mind

Some people don’t like to use cheats whenthey’re playing, but when taking a shot, don’t hesitate in using them! Theseare the cheats that I find really useful:

moveobjects on – This simple cheatis very effective to place any object or Sim in places you couldn’t before.

boolPropallow45DegreeAngleOfRotation true - This cheat allows the rotation of objects at45-degree angle. (You must use the “,” key to rotate the object, instead of themouse.)

boolProp snapObjectsToGrid false - This cheat allows you to place objects/sims outsidethe grid, and is even more useful when combined with the moveobjects and the45degree cheats.

boolprop showFloorGrid false - Makes the grid disappear in build orbuy mode. (I usually prefer to hit the “R” button in build mode, as the designmode also makes the grid disappear)

Plumbbobtoggle - Makes the overhead plumb bob ofthe selected Sim disappear.

maxMotives - If your sims start to get tired ofyour photo session, this cheat maxes the motive bars of all Sims currently onthe lot.