Archive Tag Game! by @krisunbr
Thanks for the tag @bigraaga! <3
I'm tagging @cinnybunsims, @vampwan, @syyymbiote, @cockatoocc
I used to have an Instagram account where I posted my very early screenshots of The Sims 4, but I don't have access to that account anymore because I deleted it. Fuck Meta, am I right? So, they're just kind of lost to time.
When I first started on Simblr, I didn't post too much. I reblogged things here and there, but I was kind of afraid to post my own things like OCs. I saw amazing things on here from other people and I was so intimidated by it all. Everyone is so talented and clearly have been doing this for quite a long time—they knew what they were doing and I didn't—and stupidly, I was ashamed that I didn't know anything.
Eventually, I bit the bullet. One way to show how much I've grown my screenshot taking skills is to focus on one of my favourite OCs that have been with me for a long time—even before I started playing The Sims 4—Rhys and Derwyn.
Here's Rhys and Derwyn from 2022:
Around this time I was just taking low res screenshots with the built-in camera; I would crop it with just the basic Windows photo app and add whatever filtres came with the app. I suppose it isn't too bad, though. I believe I started using Canva quickly after this.
Now, here's a shot of Rhys from April of 2025:
This was around the time I discovered what Relight—after using Reshade / Gshade for awhile—was. I was still at the beginning stages of understanding it, trying to get it to work how it's meant to work. I also discovered SRWE, thanks to tuts from the amazing @pictureamoebae, so now I was able to take proper high quality shots and this changed everything for me. This was also around the time I was able to properly check out and use Photoshop. So, I taught myself how to brighten eyes and make shiny things pop more just by looking shit up and playing around with stuff.
This is one of Rhys and Derwyn from October 2025:
I wouldn't say around this time I mastered anything, but I think I was doing pretty good. *shrug*
Unfortunately, I don't have any recent shots around of Rhys and Derwyn, but now, I'd say I'm doing more editing in PS, but not too much. I've learned how to use overlays and different textures. Like I did with these shots of Hunter and Raxil.
I feel like I've learned a lot over time, but there's still so much more out there to learn. Whether it's PS, Reshade / Gshade, SRWE, Blender or whatever tools you have access to, it feels so much better to know how to do things yourself, rather than have a soulless machine do it for you. It may not seem like it, but screenshots and edits are art! And art needs humans to create it. Machines cannot make art. Machines cannot feel things when looking at art.
It may seem like it's taking forever to learn, but doing little by little every day helps. So keep trying, keep learning, make mistakes because sometimes mistakes lead to amazing things.
Do yourself a favour and let the world see what you can create with your own imagination. It's so much more satisfying.
