User:Eldorado
About me,
I've been an avid Sims enthusiast since the release of The Sims 1. In my day life, I work for an Architectural Firm as an assistant to the big boss man, and am attending university to pursue an Architecture career. In my night life, I'm a structural genius (in my own mind) that uses the Sims 2 to make housing for my pixel pal and the assorted characters that (I) decide are suitable. I've also made a few complete wardrobes, as well as a few automobile packs to be used as decor in the bare sims 2 (no EPs).
Where have I been???
Ah, you caught the big surprise. I've actually had very little interest in the Online Sims Community. I've not joined any of the "Online Forums" simply because I feel that there is little to be gained by participating. I guess it is just my own attitude, but I feel no need for someone to critique or praise my work; I'm happy with the structures I produce, and truthfully I don't care what others may think of the work that I have done. Life is far too short to worry about the opinions of people who mean absolutely nothing to me. I've finally stepped forth into the light of this corner of the Sim Community, but please do not assume that I'll be joining your favorite local forum any time soon. I've enough to keep me busy without the added hassle of listening to the same questions over and over by individuals who lack the forethought to consider reading through a board before asking a question.
How NOT to recolor an article of clothing.
Above is a picture of a repaint I did this morning to demonstrate a typical beginners recolor on a baseball cap. I will now explain what was and was not done correctly. (More emphasis is going to be placed on the image as well, if the image sucks nobody will look at it long enough to see if they want the hat.)
Wrong; 1. From the start, the image has one major flaw; it's a .jpg file extension. Yes, they upload and reload faster on web pages, but they do NOT show closeup details well, Jpegs usually blur clean lines, and make the whole image 'fade out' details that were done. A .bmp format of the same screen capture will give the picture justice and keep the details clean and crisp.
Wrong; 2. If you know anything about what a baseball cap looks like, you know that this image lacks the minor details. There are no seams between each panel on the upper, there is no stitching on the bill portion. There are no air holes for ventilation. The cap was obvioualy colored over in block pattern; a bucket tool or 'fill area' tool will very easily and quickly fill the area, but it look like it was done in 4 minutes. (The image took me exactly 3.5 minutes, including the time to test it in game and get a screen shot; good quality recolors take longer, muhc longer. One project formal dress I worked on a couple of months ago took a total of a month and a half, and when you look at it in game, it looks like it took longer than that!!!!
Wrong; 3. The picture angle is way, way, WAY off. You get a great look at the side of the guy's head, his glasses, his goatee, and his shoulders, and then way up at the top is this blue and red ball cap. The image you are taking the picture of needs to be the focal point of the image! The angle in relation to the person is ok, off to the side so you can see the bill, front panel (with Braves A logo) and the side, but it is a little too low. I would bring the camera up (towards the roof) about Three-Quarters of a foot in relation to the sime and look downward on the hat, you'll still see that the image is a lot more focused on the hat and not the man wearing it.
Right 1; The lighting. This picture is loaded with light, and it makes the whole image look better. The big secret; I took that photo in a studio I built on a lot in the game. It's a foundation with two walls coming together in one corner and nothing else. I input chairs or a mirror or whatever to get the feel I want. This image has a reclining chair and an end table. Neither is visible in the shot but they are there if a good looking angle had produced that allowed a viewer to see past the subject. It keeps the shot from looking like it's an empty room. The lack of four walls and a roof allows me to use natural lighting instead of trying to pack the room with light to make the image look good.
Right 2; The colors. Back to the Hat. The Atlanta Braves use a hat which is Navy Blue with a Red Bill, and a White A. This is key information! Getting this right is a major point to making the hat right! I've seen hats for ball teams that were obviously in the wrong colors. I knew what a Braves hat looked like, but I still checked online to make sure I got it spot on; and the hat looks [roughly] like the real deal.
Right 3; Title. I named this file "Braves Ballcap" Another good choice would have been "Atlanta Braves Baseball cap" or even "Altanta Baseball Hat". If I were uploading the hat somewhere, I'd name the whole file any of the above names. This tells a person who is looking for an Atlanta Braves Ballcap a good idea of what the file would be about. Naming it "My Favorite ballteam" "My First hat" or "My homies lid" gives a person no clue what the hell is in the file.
The main idea to making anything for the sims is attention to small and specific detail. It is the smallest of details that makes the difference between a 'ho hum' production and an amazing one. If you look around at the 'best' sims downloads, you'll notice that in general, they all have one thing in common; precise details. The truth of the matter is, I could literally spend hours making the braves hat look great; a little detail around the edges of the brim, panel definition, bill stitching, ventilation holes,a defined line of stitching around the band, etc. Some makers have works out there with probably upwards of 300 hours invested, but when you look at them, you can see that it was well worth it.
