#sims tutorial

No ReShade? No GShade? No mods? No graphics tablet? No art program knowledge? No paid art programs? No problem.

This tutorial is an edited version of my old 2021 screenshot editing tutorial and is designed to only need three things: - the GIMP free image editing program version 3.0.4 ideally - Irfanview, a photo editing program that can also batch-edit - and the GMIC plugin for the program which gives you access to a bunch of extra effects, some of which does some of the same things that ReShade and GShade offer (like Colour Temperature or Chromatic Aberration). It is posted to my tutorials website and linked below.

The screenshots used in this tutorial are all from when I played on Xbox. It is designed to be easy to follow, low-effort and also explains the tool shortcuts and such for people that have very little knowledge of navigating programs like GIMP. It is designed for people who know little about editing screenshots and covers:

colour overlays

useful GIMP filters and GMIC plugin uses

Simple edits for magic effects

Brightness / Contrast and Hue / Saturation

Image Overlays, like rain etc.

Batch Conversion of images and File Size / Type explanation

Tips for the in-game camera and camera control keys / buttons

Hopefully it is of use to people!

Modding the Sims 2 - A Beginner's Tutorial Part 1

YouTube Tutorial just dropped! Leave a like and sub!

how to pose sims for photoshoots - tutorial

MODS & CC USED:

teleport any sims

pose player

mc command center

iso love photos – full control camera (optional)

photographic memory (optional)

wicked whims | wonderful whims (optional)

backdrops 1 & 2

@ts4-poses

How to Create Your Own Main Menu & Loading Screen for The Sims 4 - Tutorial

What you'll need:

• Refreshed Main Menu 3 or New Refreshed Loading Screen (depending on what you want to make)

• A raster graphics editor (Photoshop, GIMP, Photopea, etc.)

• Access to my Background Pack Generator – right now it’s available to members of supporting tiers due to server costs, but I’m working on a free lite version with some limits.

Step 1: Prepare Your Images

Your files must meet these requirements:

Resolution: 1920x1080 or 2560x1080

JPG or PNG format

File size under 4MB

Step 2: Start Work with Background Pack Generator

Click HERE to access the tool.

If you aren’t signed in, you’ll see a message explaining what’s needed to verify membership.

Once you’re logged in, you’ll see the welcome screen. Choose Generate New Backgrounds.

In the next step, you’ll be asked to type in your basic info, which is used in the file name and to make your files unique. Enter your Creator's name and the name for your Background Pack – it can be something generic or theme-based, whatever you like.

Then you’ll be able to select or drag and drop your custom images.

Step 3: Set How Each Image Is Used

After your images are added, you’ll see settings where you can decide if each one will be used as a main menu background, a loading screen background, or both.

You can also rename the background if the current file name isn’t something you want in the final output.

To preview how the image will look in-game as a main menu background, click the thumbnail of your image on the left.

Once everything is set the way you like it, click “Generate Background Packages.”

Any images that meet the requirements will upload to my tool, which will then generate your files.

Upload time depends on how many images you selected and your internet speed, but the actual generation process always takes about a minute, no matter how many images are being processed. The progress bar will show you how close you are to the end.

Once the images are ready, they’ll appear at the bottom as a list. You can download each file individually or click “Download all” to get everything in a single ZIP file.

While it’s good practice to follow the assigned template for file naming, you can rename the final files however you want.

The only important thing is to keep the ##, #, or $# symbols and the numbers at the end, since that’s how my main mods know how to use the backgrounds.

That's it! Enjoy!

_________

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Main menu overrides can become outdated with some game updates and break the game.

With the custom method my mods use now, you WON’T have to recreate your custom backgrounds after updates.

You DO have to make sure you’re using the latest version of Refreshed Main Menu 3 or New Refreshed Loading Screen, if something breaks after a patch.

This is for TS2. IDK how to do things for Sims 1, 3 or 4.

I'm contantly struggling to keep my downloads in check (aren't we all?) and recently realized that rather than deleting things I could reduce the number of recolours I add each time, so this is my method for going through them. Maybe it'll help someone ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You'll need:

SimPE

A bunch of recolours

First things first, unpack your downloads if you're using fresh ones. Don't move them to your Sims folder yet (or do I just like to do this first).

Open a chunk of the recolours at once in SimPE. I've found it'll only do 12 simultaneously. You can then go and open another 12 and have 24 open at once, but that's too overwhelming for me and messes with the easiness of this method. Keep them highlighted. Or just remember where your chunk starts and ends.

Mine does this thing after the first 3 or so, but I click okay and I've never had an issue. NGL, i don't know what it is and I've never bothered to find out.

Open the texture file in Plugin View. If there are multiple textures find the one that gives you an idea of what the thing actually looks like.

Repeat for each one you've opened. When you find a recolour you don't want to keep close that window. Leave the ones you like open. This also helps me prune things even further if I get to the end and still have 10 recolous of the same sweater. Line your windows up side by side if that helps you compare. Whatever your process is for deciding happens now.

Sometimes the last few don't open properly and the loading splash screen gets stuck on top of all my windows. This doesn't really get in the way of what I'm doing so I deal with those one later in the post. This is not a technical or well-written tutorial. (I also have multiple displays, so if it's really bugging me I'll move to another one for now).

Once you've gone through them and you're left with only the recolours you like still open go back to your selected files (or reselect the same chunk) and delete them. It's going to give an error because some of them are still open in SimPE. Good. Check "Do this for all current items" to save yourself a bunch of clicks and then "skip". Now you're left with just the ones you want to keep and you didn't have to remember a bunch of file names. If you had that stuck loading screen thing and some didn't load close all you SimPE windows (I usually have to use the Task Manager for the stuck ones) and open the whole chunk again. Repeat the above steps.

If you had more than 12 reolours just lather, rinse, repeat until you've deleted all the ones you don't need/want.

That's it. From here I'll Bulk Rename things to my liking (already done in these screenshots), run them through the Compressorizer and then put them in my _NEW_DOWNLOADS folder for testing. I like doing it this way because I can see if I have 7 blue dresses that are technically different shades but I really don't need all of them. So I can pick my favourite and be as particular as I want in comparing them. You can do this with the files you already have or with new downloads. You can do it with Meshes instead of recolours too. In that case you want to preview the GMDC instead of the texture to see how the thing actually looks in game. The texture is essentially the flattened out skin of the item.

written with the help of chatGPT

Why Use Upscayl?

Upscayl is a great tool for improving textures and reference images. Whether you are working on character skins, environmental textures, or UI elements, this program helps to:

Increase image resolution without losing quality

Reduce pixelation and enhance details

Improve the clarity of textures for a more realistic look

How I Use Upscayl (look at the photo)

Finding or Creating a Reference Image I start with an image that I want to enhance. This could be a low-resolution texture or a reference image for a new design.

Adding Noise for Testing To demonstrate how Upscayl improves images, I intentionally added noise to a mask texture. This allows me to compare the before and after results more clearly.

Processing the Image in Upscayl I import the noisy texture into Upscayl and choose an appropriate AI model. The program processes the image, enhancing its details and removing unwanted noise.

Examining the Results After running the texture through Upscayl, the difference is clear: the texture appears sharper, more detailed, and free of noise, making it more suitable for in-game use.

Enhancing Existing Game Textures

Apart from improving references, Upscayl is also useful for enhancing in-game textures, such as character skins. If a skin looks too blurry or low-resolution, running it through Upscayl can significantly improve its appearance without having to manually repaint details.