Editing Tips!

Editing Tips!

This isn’t quite a “How I edit my screenshots” tutorial, but it is some advice for those of you who like my editing style and want to try something similar yourselves. Go to my Resources page to find links to most of the brushes I use regularly. Although, it is recommended you have a graphics tablet, tbh. If you don’t have one, you can for sure still make pretty CAS edits, and these tips are adaptable, but I couldn’t tell you how to go about it, either. Take it as an opportunity to get creative and succeed over your current limitations :D 

1. Cleaning up the Screenshot. 

I use the Topaz Clean + Texture Smoothing actions from the Clean and Clear Set. This isn’t necessary, but I do this before I cut out the sim from the background using Select and Mask (here’s another tutorial that focuses on cutting sims out from backgrounds). 

After that is where the true clean up begins. Even though what is pictured up above is pretty smooth and clean, I’m still going to go around almost all of the edges and draw my own, usually keeping in mind where my light source is and how it’s hitting my sim (Google is your best bet on shadow and light; I would be crap at explaining it). 

Before:

After:

The basic concept here is making the folds and edges clear and smooth. You’re tracing over what’s already there (unless there’s clipping to fix; you’ll probably have to draw new stuff if you’re fixing clipping body parts or clothes… yay…)

2. Depth with Shadows + Highlights. 

I use a very dark, almost black navy blue as my shadow color. There are a lot of other ways to achieve a similar effect you can find through Sims 4 Edits on YouTube, but that’s what I do. And white is my highlight. 

You’re basically following where all the shadow and light is already laid out for you. I also use the select tool to select my entire sim. After that, I create a new layer (super important!), make the opacity of my airbrush about 50%, and then place down the shadows and highlights. Somewhere between shadow and highlights, I change the layer style to overlay. 

Before overlay:

After overlay:

And along the way, you use an airbrush smudge tool to keep things where you want them. I also tend to top the highlighting with a hardbrush, 100% opacity white like this:

3. Color Balance

I adjust the color balance in all of my edits. All of them. Even my gameplay shots, too. Some people do this through Curves, but I use Color Balance. It is a testament to my lack of pro knowledge that I honestly couldn’t give you any theory about how to correctly use Color Balance…. I just mess with it until it looks good. 

Before: 

After:

As you can see, I used Exposure, too. I adjust it very slightly because usually, with all the highlights and shadows I’ve already given this piece, anymore through exposure would ruin the look. Sometimes I mess with Vibrance, too. 

4. Gaussian Blur 

I am a little addicted to the soft, dreamy sunlight aesthetic. Not only does it cover up some of the flaws I was either too lazy or otherwise lacking in talent to properly correct, but it can give an edit that final flare it needed to really feel finished for me. If that makes sense? 

Anyway, I tend to do this before color balance and all the other adjustments, but that’s mainly just a preference thing. First, we’re going to make a new layer that merges all the previous layers without actually merging them. (I’ll be using a different edit as an example here).

Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E

If you did it right, the new layer will pop up above all the layers below it that it merged together. 

Then, you go up top, go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and decide how much blur you want to start with. From there, with your blurry top layer, make the eraser an airbrush, turn the opacity to 20-30%, and start erasing away the parts of the pic you want to gradually become clearer.

Before:

After:

And that’s the gist of it!

If you’re anxious about your Sims edits or even just your art in general, know that I eventually when from this to that in the span of like 4 years.

So if you’re not good now, that’s not to say you can’t eventually be better in the future so long as you continue to make the effort and practice with purpose. 

Hopefully, this was helpful to someone :O 

Meet Shirley Summers.

Shirley is the best friend's mom for @kiwisim4 CAS challenge. Never tried one before actually. And it was interesting, thank you @kiwisim4

I didn't have actual friend’s cool mom because it’s my mom was called cool all the time. Haha

I started with Stifler’s mom. But then something went wrong. lol. I imagine that she gives her children freedom and doesn't care much about grades and curfew. All because she knows from her childhood that she wanted trust from her parents. She believes in it and doing well with her kids. Other kids always say ” Your mom is great”. She is that kind of mom.

I still don’t understand how to add links to cc that I use. But I want to give credit because I love those creators and their work.

Well, Veronica found out who’s the sims lottery winner.

She already knew him. So...

How convinient. Sorry, Simeon. 

I absolutely love this sweater by @anessasims​ 💕

I like your style so much☺️

I’m trying to do this right now and omg I don’t know how to make my face 😂 never did a simself before.

simself in my outfits tag by @rosymiel! 💕

i was tagged by @sleepoutinthegarden and @oliveandoak, tysm! here’s my simself in my “cute” outfits. they’re very similar to outfits i wear when i go out!

hair • top • jeans • sandals

hair • top • pants • sandals

top • pants • sandals

top • pants • sandals

top • pants • sandals

top • shorts • sandals

i tag whoever hasn’t done this already and would like to do it!

I really love this game. Story is amazing! 

I played on PS4 and now I want to try PC, becase there is a mod where you can fly for the bird and it’s magical ✨

Run, lil John, run! 😩

I actually want it irl 😍

Ipanema Dress •

my cc niche is very quickly becoming recreating dresses from reformation lmao!! but anyway, this is based on this dress irl - aka a square necked bishop sleeved button down dress. it’s fun! hope u like it!!

24 swatches from @softerhaze​‘s gorgeous wildflower palette, including a white swatch and a few patterns

feminine frame; teen-elder (enabled for both frames)

morphs, custom shadow, bump, spec map & thumbnail

base game compatible

note: there will be a bit of clipping due to the size of the sleeve

let me know if you have any issues!

Download. (ALWAYS FREE on patreon)