With the public release of the TSR Workshop everyone is anxious to get busy making all sorts of custom content. But, if you’re like me and can’t mesh yet! But, still have that itch to contribute to the community with something wonderful then this tutorial might be for you.

Sims 3 Custom Paintings with EA Meshes

I will show you how easy it is to make your very own custom painting by your favorite artist using one of the very lovely frames that already exists in your game.

What You will Need:

• TSR Workshop (8.7 or latest release)

• Graphics editing program (I will be using Photoshop CS3 (a good working knowledge is a plus) or the program of your choice.

• DDS plug-ins for Photoshop, current version (installed)
(http://developer.nvidia.com/object/photoshop_dds_plugins.htm). Gimp and Paint Shop Pro also have plug-ins available on the internet.

• Good quality image of your choice or you can use mine. Just right click and save it. But, I do ask that you only use it for tutorial purposes as I’ve already uploaded it for publication on TSR.

I’ll be using one of my favorites, The Waterlily Pond with the Japanese Bridge, 1899 by Claude Monet.

Section 1 - Creating a New Project

We’ll start by opening Workshop (WS) and clicking on Create New Project

In the Create a new project screen select Object and then click Next

You will now find yourself on the Object Clone screen. In the Object By Category section on the left, select Décor/Wall Art. You will see workshop display all the paintings in the game. Remember the only paintings available to clone are the ones with a frame. I’ve selected the Painting still life for my painting. Click Next and you’re on your way.

At this point the Project details screen will pop up. Here you will type in your Project Name, Title and Description. When you are finished with all of your information go ahead and click Next

Your project has now been created and we are ready to customize it. As you can see from the screenshot, your project is opened on the Project tab. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with all the sections. It’s in this tab where you can change your project name and description if you find any mistakes and in game categories.

When you’re finished with the Project tab go ahead and click on the Textures tab. You will see a dropdown box called Variation. If you click on it you will see exactly that, how many frame variations (colors) this particular mesh has. There are 3 for the Painting Still Life. Make sure the first one is selected and move on to the next section.