's Blog

Whew, tomorrow will be a long day!

Tomorrow TSR is allowing us to edit our previous submissions, and I have a lot of work to do. I FINALLY made a preview image I am happy with, so tomorrow I will be spending the day re-doing all of my pattern submission images. *Faint*

I'd also like to say a quick thank you to those of you who have downloaded my patterns and 'loved' my work. I have a lot more in store -- but I am not going to do any more patterns (besides the ones that are pending, of course) until the preview images are sorted. I am somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to this sort of stuff, hence the changing preview image types... I just could not find something I was happy with. Finally glad I got that all sorted out.

I have also decided that my patterns will be exclusive to TSR. I have had too many problems with the official sims site to make me want to post there at all. I know a lot of the people there aren't happy with this site and refuse to download from it (don't ask me why, I don't get it), but I like it here. :)

How I create patterns.

I personally don't know if this is the best way or not, but here's my method of making a pattern.There are limits to what you can do, by staying within the boundaries, you can make some fun stuff.

First I try and use only four colors to make a creation: Red, Green, Blue and Black. The RGB are the three color channels that the TSR Sims 3 Workshop uses. I had to learn the hard way when I tried and made some patterns (which I have uploaded) which are essentially stuck with only one color with various hues.

An example is my "Tiki Jungle" pattern:

Looks pretty good huh? Well heres how it looked after I was done with photoshop:

By using either Red (ff0000,) Green (00ff00,) and Blue (0000ff,) I was able to create a pattern with three different channels that can be changed.

BTW, if you want to reuse certain patterns, make sure you save the project as a PSD. Then you can go back and reuse them like my later example here:

If you want a color to be static, change it to black. The background color will pick it up as a seperate color and it'll turn out good, you just can't adjust it. Here's an example:

By using black, I was able to change the color using the Background tab on Sims 3 Workshop to make this It doesn't have to be white, it can be any color you want. But make sure you like it cause it's always going to be that one color:

If you want to have two different shades of colors here's a rule of thumb: If you want the resulting color to be darker, make it lighter in photoshop. Think of it like a film negative in that sense.

Well I hope I helped at least some people out with making patterns for the Sims 3, It's super fun and helps you fill observed gaps in the games patterns.

-comet65

New Uploads for June

As in Australia its WINTER. I decided to upload my winter woolley outfits that I have been working on for a while. I have many many more outfits that aren't quite finished yet. But one day They will be, lol

They have already been published, so please find them in my downloads!!

The first is a lovely red jacket which I them duplicated and recoloured black. I thought hard about whether or not I should recolour more. maybe even a white jacket. But the two items just went so much better together then ruining it with an additional white coat!

Even still, it was hard to find a mesh that went well with my pictures. so it took a lot of adjusting. So if you love a good winter outfit. I'm your girl. I will be attempting to create two/three more very soon!

I have also completed my formal Tux set. two items, that you should find appealing, please view my screenshots to check it out!! I Just need to edit the screenshots. Oh I try to make them look appealing, But constantly fail. Even the one above me... which is an Improvment for my previews, I am not happy with!! So I shall have to hunt down ideas from other artist.

I have already decided that my name should be small and in the corner of the picture. the background should be plain, so not to draw attention. and the items should be clearly shown in the picture, with the items name above or below the pictures.

Ah, the troubles of uploading...

anyway, hopefully you enjoy them... Yay!! Up to 35thousand now. Please keep up the feedback. its really appreciated!!

Free Schedule : New Set

Yup...I said I was back, but I guess I lied. :P Sorry about that! RL is kind of hectic, and with Sims 3 adding to the mix it's just been crazy around here. LOL! Hasn't stopped me completely though! I have a few things to share with you, so here you go!

FREE SCHEDULE:

Contemporary Warmth - 4 Bed Home (Uni/NL/OFB/Seas/BV) - June 17 - June 24
Luminei - Contemporary Home - (Uni/NL/OFB) - June 24 - July 1
Mardigrew Manor - Traditional Brick Home - (Base Game) - July 1 - July 8
Catherines Ballyhara - Unfurnished - (Uni/NL/OFB/Seas/BV) - July 8 - July 15

NEW SET: Chutney Province - Medieval Starter Set! - To be released June 19th! - Sims 2

Testing is finally completed on these 4 lots that make up the Chutney Province neighborhood. The set includes 3 residential lots (including a castle done as rental units), and one community lot for shopping and socializing within the theme! It was a lot of fun to test these lots since there was a lot of gardening/harvesting involved. I actually had to fully play rather than just test to be sure everything worked properly! *Moan, moan!* Hehehe! Here's some general facts, but do be sure to check out my upcoming bin for more detailed information on each lot.

- All lots require Uni/NL/OFB/SEAS/BV/AL
- All lots contain NO Custom Content - Yup, Maxis Only!
- All lots are what I call "plop and play". This just means they are completely decorated and furnished. Just download them, install them, and play them! No fuss, no muss! (Of course this does not mean you can't add your own fun stuff...like animals in the pens would be fantastic! Oooohh...and some farming tools and big buckets...er, and tapestries...um, you get the picture. LOL!) By all means - Decorate to your hearts content, but no worries that I will be adding any more CC to your already overwhelming downloads folder. ;)

Sims 3:

Yes...I absolutely will be creating in the Sims 3, but also continue to build for the Sims 2! So keep your eyes peeled for more new stuff coming soon. :D I do hope this news makes up for my short absence, and that you enjoy the new lots and the freebies coming your way. Have fun, and be good to each other!

Love and hugs -
Illiana

I'm back!

The last 6-8 weeks have been very busy for me and I'm just now starting to feel grounded again. Due to extended family circumstances beyond our control we did a lot of traveling. One great happening was the birth of my first grandchild! (What a precious little bundle)  I'm home now, still haven't purchased a new computer so I haven't purchased Sims3. I'll be happily submitting for Sims2 for a while. Wishing everyone a enjoyable memory making summer full of family!

First Sims 3 Submission

Today is a special day for me - after long, long time of studying, having health difficulities and playing, I've created my first Sims 3 house! It isn't anything fancy (because you all know that I like simple houses), but still something pretty! It contains 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, kitchen, dining and livingroom. Oh, and don't forget about a garden ;). I really hope that you will enjoy it!

You can grab it here :)

...long time, no see.

Well, a lot of time has passed since I last posted in my own blog...and a lot has happened since then, too!

Let's see. Sims 3 came out!

And it's AMAZING, which most of you would already know. It also opened up a lot of opportunities with building and design, which are my favorite parts of teh game, anyway. So I've been busy with that.

20, 000 downloads came and went, and I think now I'm sitting pretty on twenty-three thousand.  Thanks, by the way, to anyone who downloaded any of my creations. or thanked me for them and an EXTRA big thankyou to anyone who left a comment! ;D

I've spant a lot of time in recent months over at the Sims Shack, which you can see on my banner. It's a load of fun! You guys should come 'round and check it out. You'll find something for everyone there, and a lot of familiar faces! 

Oh, and I gat featured about a week back, which was very exciting for me! One of my first Sims 3 lots made the front page! =D I also have to thank BlackGarden for drawing my attention to that one, otherwise I probably wouldn't have noticed. Here's a picture of the house:

I think that's everything in the world of sims....

  So ta ta for now, and I'll see you guys around!

Sims 3 Downloads!

Yes Sims 3 does have its faults, but overall I love this game so much. I feel like my excitement for playing this is even more so than it was for Sims 2. Which seems odd since the leap from Sims 1 to 2 was much bigger than from Sims 2 to 3.

I'm addicted to making sims! Especially celebrities. It's so much more a challenge to make them without CC, which in some ways is the fun part. You have to really pay attention to the facial features of the person instead of finding any old HQ picture and slapping it on a skintone. I only wish there were more hair options! Even after downloading from the store I've found the variety to be seriously lacking. I'm tired of using the same styles for medium length hair -___-

So since I mentioned that I love making celebrities... wonder of wonder I have new downloads available lol.

The first is supermodel Gemma Ward

The next is pop artist Lady Gaga.

And the last that's available for download atm is the runner-up of Cycle 12's ANTM Allison Harvard.

Aaaaand she's not published yet, but when she get's approved... actress Keira Knightley.

MY creating style

Well I've made quite a few lots & quite a few pets now.  I love making pets & concider it to be quite an honor when someone allows me to make their real life pet into a Sim pet.  On the subject of lots.  Well there are a ton more to come as I L-O-V-E to build!  I think the only universal thing about all of my lots is that they are very playable.  Your Sims are very unlikely to get stuck in any of my lots......my own Sims always tend to be "SPAC-ially challenged" & get themselves stuck rather easily, therefore I make my lots with mulitple ways to get around & often have 1 if not 2 spaces around things such as islands in the kitchen.  Aside from that my building is as eclectic as I am.

Re: No New Content

Not sure what was up the last two days or what I did, I did several things including changing settings in Bios. But my comp is nolonger overheating. Therefor I am back to creating. Right now I am working on a port of my A Phantasm Mansion 1. I should have it done in the next day or two, barring my comp wanting to overheat again.

Edit: Well I was working on it. Then my computer froze up. I don't know what was going on as it wasn't overheating as I had just checked and my temps were in the upper 60's to low 70's. I will probably start working on it again in the next day or two.