In-Game Hints, Tips and Tricks

Mon Apr 30, 2012 11:23 am

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So I've had a request or two to make an in game tutorial. At first I wasn't sure I'd have any clue what to say, but I did realize that I do have a few guidelines that I go by. I decided to share them and hope that this isn't all information that you guys already knew! If it helps anyone at all out then I guess it's worth it hehe.

P.S. I know this isn't editing, but I didn't know where else to put it lol.

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Section One: Focus

Lots of things come into play when considering the focus of a picture. You've got camera angles, props, sim, pose, zoom, etc. Let's just assume the focus of your picture is your sim. (Hey - It might not always be!) There are a few ways of bringing focus to your sim. The kind of obvious way is to have them up front and center, very close to the camera, etc. However there are a few other ways to have more depth to your picture but keep your sim the focus.

1. Lines. You may notice the majority of my indoor sims shots are taken with a corner of the room in view. Even if your sim is slightly off center from the corner, those lines kinda help guide your eyes to the sim's general direction.

Example

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2. Framing. This is actually a great outdoor shot technique, using trees and their branches or architechural structures to sort of frame the sim. In the example I've used a door frame.

Example
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3. Eye contact. The sim making a connection with the "camera" can really draw in a viewer.

Example
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4. Lighting. Use of dramatic lighting - be careful with this one!! I don't really use it a lot I don't think ;)

5. Color pop. I'll get more into color use later, but sometimes just having the sim be the wearer of a color that just pops (without clashing) against the rest of the picture can be a really fun way of drawing the viewer to your sim.

Example:
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Section Two: Depth

I think adding depth is one of my favorite parts of creating a picture! There are soooo many ways of doing this and it reaaaalllyy makes a great shot!

1. Your model versus the set - Your model really needs to be integrated into your set, rather than just looking like she's standing in front of a bunch of props. I have two basic ways of doing this... there could be more, but these are the two I can think of ;)
a. Have some foreground objects that are closer to the camera than your model, placing her IN as opposed to IN FRONT OF.
b. Have your model interacting with something in the set, ie. lounging in a chair, resting against a pillar, etc.

Examples:

Interaction:
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Objects in foreground:
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2. Windows - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you have a window in your set and you can see through it, make sure that it's something good. Even if you edit in a sky or just place some kind of pretty tree outside of it. We don't want to see choppy EA grass or blurry house two lots away. Sometimes you can really take advantage of them and wait for a nice sunset/sunrise or beach view. OOOHHH Almost forgot! This applies to mirrors as well!

Example:
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3. Patterns, textures and plants - These can really make or break a picture. I know not everyone has the luxury of massive amounts of CC, but if you do, this is SOOOO helpful.

This is a great place for patterns:
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And Here are a few great places for plants:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] <---- also has amazing linens/curtains stuff like that ;)

Honestly, I feel like when it comes to nature themed terrain paints, the in game flower ones are just really flat and odd looking. I find that for the most part I prefer to use a simple paint and then use CC plants, pebbles, etc for the detail. I also VERY MUCH dislike photoskinned CC clothing. Other than EA, here are my fave places to get CC clothes:

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Also, pay really close attention to the quality of your CC unless you know how to fix it in gimp or photoshop.

Examples of pattern/plant usage:

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Section Three: Color

I understand that in real life not every photograph taken is color coordinated and of course life itself is not always color coordinated, but (especially with modeling pics!) it really helps to pay attention to your color scheme. Make sure your colors are working well together and not clashing or just the opposite - boring. This is an awesome site if you have no clue about color schemes... even if you do, it's incredibly fun to play with:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] (don't forget to adjust saturation and brightness or else they're all pretty loud lol, and then check out color list for the color codes!)

Anyway, having at least a bit of a planned color coordination with your picture just really helps it all come together. Maybe you want to do a color pop kind of thing where everything is mostly monochromatic except for your sim, or maybe you want to use colors to set your mood. Just be aware of all the colors and realize recoloring stuff might take time but can really draw your picture together.

Examples of pics with lots of color scheming (for lack of better wording:

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Notice in the orangey pic how I have an orange wall, but I placed my sim (wearing orange) against the white wall, not the orange so she pops against it and gives the picture balance.

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Section Four: Camera

Of course your picture *should* be taken in camera mode by pressing tab in live mode. Here is a link in case you don't know the EA camera controls:

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I almost always tilt the camera a little bit, but unless you're going for a dizzying effect, don't go too far with it! Another really neat option, especially if your sim is lying down on the floor is to lower the camera waaayy to the ground, almost looking up at the sim. They're kind of at the bottom of the pic. Just make sure there is something more interesting to look up to than a flat ceiling!

Camera angle is actually one of my first steps when I take my in game snapshot. I usually build a shell of a set, pose my sim and extras if there are any, then choose my camera angle. I then go back and forth between buy mode and camera mode, filling in appropriate objects as I go. I've found it just helps keep my set balanced that way.

And that concludes the basic principles I use when creating my in game pics. I really hope this helps some of you and that I've not just wasted your time with stuff I already know lol. Feel free to ask any questions!!!

Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:07 pm

Ohhhh ty for this. Imma learn something from this!

Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:08 pm

Love it! I even used some of it for my PS entries...

Found a typo though
"I really help this helps"

Reminds me of in Portal when GLaDOS is like "Help me help you HELP US ALL" XD