View source for User:Armiel/Tutorial How to take upload pics for lots

==Quality==
The following points are covered in much greater detail - including specific examples and ways of improving your lot building, in the tiptorial [[Tutorials:Building_Great_Realistic_Houses_-_From_the_Ground_Up|Building Great Realistic Houses - From the Ground Up]]

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! style="text-align:left" | Aesthetics
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|Does your lot look nice? Does it have a good flow to it? Is the way it's laid out attractive, interesting, and enjoyable to look at? 


'''Tip:''' Using Create a style-tool in TS3 can have a tremendous effect on how your lot will look like. Please explore the possibilities of this tool. Selecting the patterns and colors yourself instead of using EA-made presets creates much more unique, and often better looking results.
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==Screenshots==
People want to see what they're downloading! Your screenshots sell your upload - if people don't like the look of your screenshots, they're not going to download - and if your screenshots are too bad, you won't get your upload approved. Please make sure your screenshots show your lot as you have packaged it.

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! style="text-align:left" | No over-Photoshopping
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|[[Image:Chairs-Photoshopped.jpg|right|300x300px]]While it can be tempting to get artistic with your screenshots in Photoshop, please don't.  Screenshots need to be just as things look in the game, with no extra filtering such as contrast, sharpen, blur, saturation, etc.  Also, please don't too crazy when it comes to adding text - make sure your text is in blank areas of the picture or covers an absolute minimum of your creation.  Remember, you're showing off what you've made for the game, not your skill in Photoshopping your pics.
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|'''Examples of pictures that will not be approved'''
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|pictures here
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! style="text-align:left" | Enough Light
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|[[Image:Daynight.jpg|right|300x300px]]Your main screenshots should always be daytime screenshots, as they make it much easier to see what your lot looks like. We will only accept nighttime screenshots if they are sufficiently light enough to see your lot clearly, and they should only be used as optional, extra screenshots. Make sure your lights are turned on, and your game options are turned up enough that light makes a difference. 

'''Tip'''
*TS2 - If you click the "Day/Night" toggle and place lights during the night they will automatically be switched on. 
*TS3 - If you click the "Day/Night" toggle the lights will toggle on/off.
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|'''Examples of pictures that will not be approved'''
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|pictures here
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! style="text-align:left" | Distance
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|[[Image:Lots-CloseEnough.jpg|right|300x300px]]Screenshots taken on the lot should show the whole lot, zoomed in so that the lot is centered in your view. You shouldn't have a lot of blank space on the sides, or cut off the edges of the lot in your picture. 

Screenshots of lots taken from neighborhood view are low detail and often have holes in the walls and are missing objects. They have a poor angle, too high up, and really don't show off your lot very well.
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|'''Examples of pictures that will not be approved'''
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|pictures here
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! style="text-align:left" | Centered
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|[[Image:Centered.jpg|right|300x300px]]Make sure that your building is the main focus of your screenshots, and adjust your camera angle so that the lot is centered and fills the whole image. Don't take your pictures at an angle that shows something irrelevant like the sky, the street, or the house next door, while cutting off your lot.
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|'''Examples of pictures that will not be approved'''
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|pictures here
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! style="text-align:left" | Angle
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|[[Image:Angle.jpg|right|300x300px]]When taking your pictures, drop down to a low level with the camera, so that you are taking your pictures basically from a sim's perspective.  Many beginners make the mistake of taking pictures from high above the lot, from the normal perspective one would have as a player.  This gives mostly a picture of the roof and not the lot itself, and really doesn't show off the lot very well.
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|'''Examples of pictures that will not be approved'''
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|pictures here
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! style="text-align:left" | No Gridlines and Interface
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|[[Image:GridlinesUI.jpg|right|300x300px]]When taking your screenshots, you should take them in Cameraman Mode (using the TAB key) so that you don't get the User Interface (the blue control panel) in your shots.  You also have better control of the camera in Cameraman Mode.


'''Tip:'''
*TS2 - If you press R on your keyboard before hitting Tab, it will also temporarily remove the gridlines.
*TS3 - You will have to move in a sim to the lot to take your pictures in Cameraman Mode, and without the gridlines. While this is a bit of a hassle, the camera controls (and resulting pictures) are MUCH better that way. 
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|'''Examples of pictures that will not be approved'''
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|pictures here
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! style="text-align:left" | Lot Picture as Main Thumbnail
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|If you have based your lot off a real house or house plan, please choose an actual picture of the house you've built (i.e. an in-game picture) as your default thumbnail. Don't use a photo,drawing or floorplan of the original lot – people want to see at a glance what they'll get in-game, not the picture you used as inspiration. Also, please edit the thumbnail as little as possible – a border or a title is fine, but a collage with real photos or drowning the picture in photoshop effects are not.
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|'''Examples of pictures that will not be approved'''
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|pictures here
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===Required Screenshots===
Certain screenshots are absolutely required when uploading lots.
We require certain screenshots for lot uploads - if you do not include these screenshots, your lot will not be approved!

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! style="text-align:left" | Exterior Shot 
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|[[Image:TS3-LotExteriorNew.jpg|right|300px]][[Image:TS3-LotExteriorBack.jpg|right|300px]]Show the entire lot from the outside as it is seen from the street.  
Show the back of the house from the outside making sure to include any patios or pools.  

Make sure you show the house with all levels visible, and the roof on - and that you do it from a sim's eye view, not high above, from a player's eye view.

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|[[Image:TS3-LotExteriorObstructed.jpg|right|300px]]'''Tip:''' Sometimes it may be difficult to find a good angle to take a picture of a lot, if you have used a lot of trees, high fencing or other things that obstruct the view. You can take an additional screenshot to show the architecture of your house, by deleting the trees/fences in the way, and stating that the picture is to show the house better.


Please note, that the trees have been added to the lot to show the difference in the example pictures.
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! style="text-align:left" | Interior Floor Plans
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|[[Image:TS3-FloorPlans01.jpg|right|300x300px]]Show a basic layout or floor plan of the lot, ensuring that for each building on it, the entire level is displayed.  (This pic needs to present the complete layout and not just a collage of individual rooms.)  This is best accomplished with an overhead shot.  Make sure these pictures are large enough so people can see details.

Make sure that you display the floor plan for each playable level on your lot if there is more than one accessible floor, and be sure to center just the house itself in the picture.


'''TS3 Apartments'''

Make sure the floor plans include the livable area as well as the NPC areas that are marked with the hidden room marker.  For levels that you have used the '''level skip''' marker, you can just state that in the description about those levels, you do not need to provide those floor plan views.
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! style="text-align:left" | Comparison Picture 
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|If your lot is based on a real building (for example, a particular castle, a particular chain of supermarket, a house from a movie), then please include a comparison picture of the real building.  We understand there are some major limitations in the build tools and lot sizes, so it may not be possible to reproduce a building exactly, but it should bear a close resemblance as best as can be achieved with the tools available.
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