March 29th - It's time for our Friday Highlights! You can check them out here!
Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.

Can someone critique my lots?

NeashaleighNeashaleigh Posts: 760 Member
edited March 2021 in The Sims 4 Lots
Hiya!
I've been building houses and lots in the sims since Sims 2, but for some reason, I just cannot get that wow factor. I wondered if anyone would be kind enough to take a look at my lots in my gallery and offer some constructive criticism so that I can take it to the next level?

My ID is Riverleigh. I'm not sure why it's showing me as Neashaleigh here.

https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/pc/gallery/browse?category=all&searchtype=ea_origin_id&sortby=downloads&time=all&searchquery=Riverleigh&max=50&maxis=false

Thanks :)
~o Sapphire o~
Gallery

Comments

  • DeanXeLDeanXeL Posts: 289 Member
    Hey, I am always up for some feedback (either giving or receiving). But first, can i ask what bothers you: the build itself or the gallery post (pictures etc.)? Also, what - for you - is something that DOES have that wow factor you are looking for? Do you have any examples of your wow factor? (Preferably not only huge lots with superdetailed builds which must have taken about a year to make, in that case I think we all know where the problem lies hehe)

    I will try to provide you with as much as I can, but I only have basegame, so for some of your builds, I will have to work mainly with the pictures ;)
  • NeashaleighNeashaleigh Posts: 760 Member
    DeanXeL wrote: »
    Hey, I am always up for some feedback (either giving or receiving). But first, can i ask what bothers you: the build itself or the gallery post (pictures etc.)? Also, what - for you - is something that DOES have that wow factor you are looking for? Do you have any examples of your wow factor? (Preferably not only huge lots with superdetailed builds which must have taken about a year to make, in that case I think we all know where the problem lies hehe)

    I will try to provide you with as much as I can, but I only have basegame, so for some of your builds, I will have to work mainly with the pictures ;)

    Hi DeanXeL

    Thank you! I think it's a combination of things. Firstly, I struggle to get away from the blocky builds that I always seem to make. I've been recently really trying to create interesting shells before furnishing them. I've looked at some builds on the Gallery and some Simmers are able to take their lots to the next level by creatively thinking outside the box. The way they combine certain elements amazes me.

    The gallery pictures of my own builds definitely need working on, but I don't know how to create amazing pictures. But sometimes it takes an image from a different angle or there might be a tree in the way or whatever and it's super frustrating.

    I don't get many downloads either. Probably because of the issues I have with building amazing lots. I like to try all sorts of styles and sizes. I've done tiny lots and huge super detailed lots. And everything in between, but I'm finding that it's the same old same old when I build.

    Does that make sense?
    ~o Sapphire o~
    Gallery
  • DeanXeLDeanXeL Posts: 289 Member
    edited March 2021
    Alright, thanx, that helped a lot! First, I want to say I do not think I am an expert and I have no intention of 'breaking down' any of your builds, I looked at your work, I think you are doing a good job and I want to help you :) Also, keep in mind there is a big random factor considering when you upload it, how many other people upload it, how many people are trolling the gallery and how many people download and like your build (potentially bumping it up to the 'popular now' category). As you gain more downloads on a build and more followers on your profile, in general, you will get more downloads on the rest of your builds too.

    I will post this in 2 pieces, since it is becoming long and I had to start over once already, since I aciddentally pressed the 'back' button :'(

    1) 'Selling' your build

    1) Lighting on your builds. I took one of your builds that I actually think looks great, you just don't have the right pictures to make it popular. I show you pictures I made by downloading it, placing it on a lot and choosing a nice lighting. Keep in mind, the first, frontal picture is the eyecatcher! If you miss this one, people won't even click it!
    00.jpgwq32Fwy.png
    01.jpgPKDHWL3.png

    Some people go really far in this, they build it on the perfect plot, with the perfect background, move in a family and go hour by hour to choose the perfect lighting. I am a bit more lazy, i pick a plot without northern facing (these plots only have darkish shaded frontal pictures at any time of the day, so they are no good), I skip through morning, noon and evening to get a nice lighting and if I am not happy, I change to a plot with a different orientation and try the 3 times again. I usually end up with morning or evening, since they give some nice shading.

    2) Decorating
    If you build for you, go ahead and go wild! If you build for being popular and getting downloads, steer clear of extremes!
    00.jpg
    A pink house, including the inside is great! Just not when... trying to get a bunch of people to download this. People don't usually download things they don't see themselves playing in. While this is a great theme house and it is very creative, it usually is not very popular.
    The 'overdecorating' on the garden in this case also hides quite a bit of the facing of the house, which can look a bit messy. I do think if you clean this one up (neutral colors and a bit less plants), this could be a nice one!

    Post edited by DeanXeL on
  • DeanXeLDeanXeL Posts: 289 Member
    edited March 2021
    2) Building tips

    This is a bit more 'style driven', personal and subjective. i will NOT tell you which style people prefer, cause I don't know. I usually do modern builds, but I also see classic builds getting a lot of attention. Just do you and what you feel comfortable with, anything that feels forced usually looks a bit off and will not be hugely popular anyway :)

    1) The right amount of pazazz

    Too little
    00.jpg
    Judging by the pictures, the hospital is 'ok'. the lighting is good, the colors of the facing are nice, but there is not much going on. It is a fairly basic shape and the entire inside looks beige and blends together. I see this house has a nice shape though and a lot of effort must have gone into it. Maybe see if pictures from a different angle work? if a build is a basic shape, but you want to build it anyway, build on the diagonal or build a part on the diagonal, it provides interesting angles for your first picture. People will NEVER download first, look later :p Also, if you look at your pics and you see the inside blend like this, add more lights, add a splash of color, maybe an accent wall, a carpet, anything to break the monotone picture. (Even if in the build it looks great, if it doesn't show on the picture, people will most likely never see it!)

    Enough pazazz
    00.jpg
    I actually think this is a very lovely build, it is interesting, contrasting colors, a pop of green, but not enough to hide the building itself or look messy. I think with the right lighting this could be a great one! If you want it more popular, it has a bit too much blue/green I think and I would finish of the leftmost part with a roofing of some sort, maybe just a small platform or a wider edge, but now it just sort of.. stops. The sloped roofs further back are nice though! They look great. I stick to the fact this one could draw some attention

    Too much
    00.jpg

    Yeah, I think I explained this one already :)
    00.jpg
    This one I think actually looks great. Not bad lighting, nice colors, nice contrast. The red flowered bush hides the detailing and lowers the appeal of the first picture. Try not to have trees or bushes actually cover anything of your house that has detailing. If they are in the picture, have one that is see-through or have it on like a blank wall or a part that does not take away from the build. The decoration is also a lovely old castle feel. I think this is creative and fun, but usually people don't prefer to play in houses this size with no bedrooms. People like to see a home they could play in and while some people actually want this stuff, if you want to appeal to most people, most people like normal/common stuff :) Just for me, I would not put a white detailed glass roof on it, it's a bit much for me, either black or not even transparent (unless it really has a function). This is MY opinion though, you stick to your style :)

    2) Filling the picture

    00.jpg

    This build is actually nice, I think the shape is interesting, the build is creative and there are some nice elements to it. The picture, however does NOT do it justice. I mentioned the lighting before, it does not help you at all here. Also, I would elongate the walkway and the front left and right piece, placing the build further in the back. This does not overcrowd the picture with 'house'. If more than 3/4 of your frame is filled with wall, it's too much, push the building, or a part of the building back. Add a little more detailing in the sides or make them assymetrical, that also helps. Why not add a balcony to the sides or your round part (the 2 blank walls you see now) It would add not only a window, but also a fence at an intermediate location, maybe a bench, it generates some more interest. Keep in mind: public lots are -in general- less popular than residential ones!

    Me personally, i love to work with bits and pieces of buildings pushed back and forward, definitely in more modern builds, just an example here.
    00.jpg

    For this one, I think it is too little house for the picture
    00.jpg
    This house has lovely detailing, but it is so far in the background, it becomes hard to see in an instant. People don't usually bother with clicking if there is no immediate "oooh" reaction. I would bring this one a bit to the front, maybe declutter a bit for the pictures, but I think this one is lovely.

    3) Defining the facade

    This is actually a major thing.
    00.jpg
    This is a nice build... from the second picture. The main picture looks all blended together, there is nothing separating the different parts of the facade of your building. I do think this is the hardest part, i would really just prefer us being able to pick our pictures... Add a different color to parts of your build, add a trim, pillars, pull a part of the facing back and have shading do the work. These are all things that define different parts of your facade and keep the picture from looking flat. The trim under your window is a great start, but why not paint the inside of the area below it also white? Why not use a paint with a corner stone and push the left roof back? Why not pull the lower roof a little more to the front, these are all tricks that help make this picture look more appealing. :)

    4) The right angle
    00.jpg
    Sometimes it is just a basic question of not having the right side of your lot facing the camera... Maybe try another angle? If all else fails, I place my builds on a bigger lot (ex: 20x30 on a 30x30), turn it the right way and mention: "fits a 20x30 lot", just to have some decent pictures to show.


    Alright, i hope this was helpful. I do love your builds, you just don't have the right pictures I'm afraid, maybe this can be a bit of a guide to reupload some of these? For me, I just build whatever I want, if I get downloads, yay, if I don't, I had fun building :) I build most of mine based on pictures of real life buildings and get my satisfaction out of trying to make the impossible work in the sims lol :D Just have fun with it, dress your stuff up for the crowd and see if there any takers ;)
  • NeashaleighNeashaleigh Posts: 760 Member
    Thanks so much for this! Very helpful. I agree with everything you have said and will be a little more critical with my builds. I generally get to the end of building and have had enough so upload without a second thought, but perhaps I need to stop, walk away and come back to it with fresh eyes before uploading. I'll also try building in better lit areas too. I was amazed at the difference in the first picture you showed me! It looks like a totally repainted house!
    ~o Sapphire o~
    Gallery
  • DeanXeLDeanXeL Posts: 289 Member
    Yeah that was the main thing I wanted to show you, your builds are really lovely, but a picture makes a complete difference when it is taken with different lighting. The rest were just tips to take it to the next level (my opinion) and have them a bit more 'commercial' if that is your goal. If you have any more questions, feel free ;)
  • orenjiAiorenjiAi Posts: 569 Member
    You’re so brave @Neashaleigh! You have my utmost respect! It really is admirable how in wanting to get better at building, you’ve opened yourself up to critique.

    I don’t know about you, but I’m a really slow builder and I often spend hours—days even!—and real effort to finish anything. While my builds are mainly for my own personal use, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that sometimes I wished there were more people that’d download my work.

    But on the other hand I wouldn’t say I’d be this open! Coz the horrible sad truth is, even if we all know it is done with the best of intentions and that we learn from it nevertheless, being critiqued hurts. So you have my mad respect.
  • DeanXeLDeanXeL Posts: 289 Member
    @ornjiAi I used to be quite defensive when people would give me critique, but honestly, now I just view criticism as an opportunity to improve. My opinion is that if everyone keeps telling you how great you are, how marvelous all your work is (whether it is builds, your job or whatever it is you do irl) and nobody dares to tell you how you could possibly improve, it is so much harder to do so! I understand it can be not fun for people and I also have tons of respect for other people that are open to it, but it IS a lot easier to open yourself up to critique than it is to criticise yourself and learn equally much from it. I do think being open to critique is just a mindset to view criticism as a person trying to help, not somehow who tries to break you down. Also, the person criticising should do so with respect for what is criticised. (I think this is really difficult when writing though, I had to reread what I wrote several times and even then I can not be sure it comes over the same way I meant it x.X)
  • AuroraskiesAuroraskies Posts: 1,834 Member
    edited March 2021
    What a lovely read, such thought through advices; and agreed, brave OP.

    I don't often download from the Gallery, but when I do it is because I am looking for something particular, that I for different reasons don't want to build myself. The search system in the Gallery is not fine tuned, and whether something is popular or sanctioned by EA or not is uninteresting to me; so I need to take a chance on search words, hoping that the ones wanting to share their builds have added them to their description.

    What I usually look for is:

    A build built on a specific lot in game, so the name of the lot: for example #BargainBend
    The type of architectural style, broken down to stereotypical simple categories, example: #modern, #classicism
    If the builder used move object cheat while building, in my case not, so: #nomoo
    The volumes of the build,so; #floors, #large , #tiny
    If the build will work for gameplay, so: #playtested

    Etc. This has more to do with downloads, not wow-factor; but I think finding your builds is the first step to getting more downloads, and like said, once they start it continues, for that is how the Gallery is made to work by EA.

    When I have a search result, I quickly go through the list of pictures, estimating whether I can use the builds, anticipating modification. I always change them, so I mostly look to the outer shape, and choose depending on how much work I will have to do to fix it to my liking. I look to the description for more information on the intent with the build, and other listed hash tags.

    I liked your builds, several of them are very nice, especially the roof on The Rise; the height on Eeny Miney Teeny Tiny; the shape and windows on Luxe Spa Paradise; the facade wall cover on Lagoon Look.

    I don't care about wow-factor. The houses that gives me that impression are often pretty to look at, but unplayable, and that is my prioritization, and I like sensible builds with good routing. But for me to say Wow! it requires the build to stand out, to go to extremes, to fulfill a cultural need of almost stereotypical perfection in a direction - that is, be streamlined to whatever idea started it. So the advice to achieve this is to be clear on what you want to accomplice, and like said, go wild. If you are up for it read the spoiler.
    The Rise as example:
    it is presented as a futuristic home, and I would click on it based on the picture; but looking at the lines of the roof trim and how it doesn't add up streamlined, I would think it required too much work to fix.

    The furniture I would have to discard in all, since to me it says '80's ordinary american'; not futuristic.

    The size of the rooms makes it hard to see everything in them when panning the camera, and would make gameplay less fun.

    The fact that most rooms are placed on the ground floor, and with the entrance leading into the living room with the others linked to it is very good routing; but I miss the link to a futuristic, in my interpretation, wacky, home.

    The greenery/landscaping does not enhance the futuristic look; and is not adapted to the lot's surrounding nature look.


  • NeashaleighNeashaleigh Posts: 760 Member
    orenjiAi wrote: »
    You’re so brave @Neashaleigh! You have my utmost respect! It really is admirable how in wanting to get better at building, you’ve opened yourself up to critique.

    I don’t know about you, but I’m a really slow builder and I often spend hours—days even!—and real effort to finish anything. While my builds are mainly for my own personal use, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that sometimes I wished there were more people that’d download my work.

    But on the other hand I wouldn’t say I’d be this open! Coz the horrible sad truth is, even if we all know it is done with the best of intentions and that we learn from it nevertheless, being critiqued hurts. So you have my mad respect.

    Thank you. To be honest, I didn't even think I'd get negative criticism. I am pretty open about my own shortcomings and am always eager to learn and grow.
    ~o Sapphire o~
    Gallery
  • lzbthnndglslzbthnndgls Posts: 285 Member
    @DeanXeL Thank you for posting pics. I can't access the gallery right now for some reason... (grr)

    @Neashaleigh I'm not gonna openly critique your builds, but I'm going to give you a list of tips on building that I have using a build I'm currently working on. Also, instead of focusing on gallery popularity, I'm going to focus on design choices, because gallery popularity doesn't matter much in the end. What matters is that you built a sims' world that you're proud of!

    First off, try to build based upon a floor plan. I noticed I started being able to build better in the sims by following floor plans first, but now I can create my own designs and I'm also really good at modifying floorplans to fit the sims better. I followed this floor plan recently and created this cute little house that's obviously been modified a lot from the original plan.

    https://houseplans.net/floorplans/96300531/modern-farmhouse-plan-1499-square-feet-3-bedrooms-2.5-bathrooms

    RrJoxUE.png
    g7Oncwe.png

    Off the bat, you can immediately see that I have very simple landscaping, I use color theory appropriately, I frame my siding, my roofing is an appealing shape, and I play with bump-outs. I'll go through each of these in my current WIP which I'll talk about in a separate reply
    Check out my builds on the gallery by searching my username: lzbthnndgls
  • lzbthnndglslzbthnndgls Posts: 285 Member
    First off, sorry for the fuzzy pics. IDK what happened with imgur. These pics are much nicer.

    So I'm building a lot in Glimmerbrook so I'm using Get Together and Realm of Magic. #1 thing about building is to narrow down a style. I'm going for German tudor/magical fairy mansion vibes here with the Get Together wallpaper, the bricks, turrets, interesting roof shapes, and the stained glass windows from ROM. You can get a lot of inspiration for different styles online. For this style, I google image search keywords like "tudor" or "storybook". One thing to note is cottage plans IRL can turn into mansions in the Sims so I always search for "small home/house floorplan/exterior"

    FBXtSdJ.png
    ti5EXMU.png
    v8fOvTA.png
    FpE8ydM.png

    So once you have a style picked out for your build and either a floor plan to follow along or some inspo pics, you need to build. Start with a rectangle (NEVER a square). Off of the rectangle, you build "bump outs". These add architectural interest to your build. I have several kinds of bump outs on this build:

    1)Turrets--these are great for castle/magic/tudor/old world/medieval vibes but they're not good in suburban builds (excluding cape cod builds but those are super complicated), small lots, tiny homes, or furnishing. Octagonal rooms are sooooo hard to furnish and they're kinda difficult to place correctly, roof into a build, and landscape around. There are 4 types of turrets (assuming a 2 story build) and I have 3 in this build. The first is 1st floor only with a roof slapped on top. The second is 1st and 2nd floor with a roof adjoining into the main roof. The third is 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floor like a Rapunzel tower. The fourth is 2nd floor only, no 1st floor so the turret appears floating off the side of the building. This look is difficult to achieve but can look nice.

    2)Dormers--I LOOOOVe dormers. These are when you have a bump out jutting out of the roof. You can find premade ones in the chimney sort of the build catalog or if you want a space to be playable, surround the second floor with roofing and the make some bump outs. It's difficult to show in pics or write about but if you download my build Double Bargain Bend (origin Id is the same as here) you can play with the roofing pieces to see how I make it work and also get to look at two classic shotgun houses, which are super easy to build and ALWAYS look great. Southern homes make a lot of use out of dormers.

    3)The traditional bump out: a simple rectangle off your big rectangle. In the pic I posted previously, you can see that I have a lot of simple bump outs. There are three types (assuming a 2 story build): a) 1st floor only with a roof on the second. b) 2nd floor only with a trim on the bottom (or overhanging a roof on the second story like over a patio). c)1st and 2nd story with a roof on the 3rd. The latter can sometimes look a little big and brazen so I usually make those smaller, thinner, skinnier, etc. On Little Boy Blue, I made it bump out further but it was skinnier. On my WIP, it is fat but it only bumps out a little. That's very important to note about bump outs, they look better in rectangles than in squares. You can see I play with not only how far my bump outs come, but also how fat they are.

    4) The barn roof bump out. idk what it is actually called, but it reminds me of barn style houses. I built one house recently (Model Living) where I demonstrate this nicely on the lefthand side of the front. As you can see, it requires at least two stories. The first story is a wide bump out and then the second story goes on top and juts out the same amount but it is skinnier so you can place half roofs on either side and a roof on top. This can either be done with straight roofs at different angles to make it look like a barn, you can curve it like I've done here and on my WIP, or you can make it super straight with the same angle on both the half roofs and the top roof and make it look like a triangle. I have aLOT of builds with this kind of feature where I vary the width of the half roofs, and the curves and angles of the top roof. I really encourage you to check out some of my builds and just play around with the roofing. It really is what makes these bump outs pop and when you look at how someone else put their roofing together, you can learn how to put your own roofing together.

    elIsvjC.png



    To be continued........ (I'm scared I'm gonna accidentally delete this so yeah)
    Check out my builds on the gallery by searching my username: lzbthnndgls
  • lzbthnndglslzbthnndgls Posts: 285 Member
    edited April 2021
    Now I'm gonna go over this briefly:

    I)Get your inspo
    II)Make a large rectangle
    III)make bump outs
    IV)Roooffff

    Roofing and bump outs go hand in hand. One thing to help you place bump outs well is 1)Don't make the front or the back super flat (Unless you're doing colonial) and 2)WHERE IS THE KITCHEN? and WHERE IS THE FIREPLACE? You can use a few counters and a couch to help you figure out some of the floor plan as you place your bump outs. I looove to place my living rooms on flat walls of the main rectangle with a chimney jutting out and my kitchens in wide bump outs. Once you figure out that, you're pretty much golden on the floorplan because with bump outs, all the rooms just come together.

    Now that you've figured out the layout and design of your home, you need deets.

    V) Details--flower boxes, columns, patios, windows, doors, etc. With the window update (god bless), you can literally figure out anything with your fancy boxes. In my WIP, I'm limiting myself to ROM and Get Together because they have the right feel and I want this build to be a lil more accessible to other players than my normal pack-filled builds. Cats and Dogs goes well with Parenthood. Dineout and City Living. Jungle Adventure and Laundry Day. Some packs just fit together. Seasons windows go with EVERYTHING. Those stick straight columns in Get Together belong on EVERY SINGLE SUBURBAN house ever. Period. See Model Living from above. I outlined all my gray siding bump outs with those columns. If your house has colorful siding, outline them in stark white columns. Adding details in creative, but SIMPLE ways can make your build great. It can make it pop. In all my builds, you can see I don't go overboard with the flower boxes, I center all my windows, I vary textures, but not too much, and I make sure that the wall doesn't dominate. What I mean by that is you can't just have a small window on a big wall (unless you're going uber modern) Windows need to fit correctly. They need to be spaced correctly as well. Some windows look nice close together but others look better further apart. I used to be so bad at that but now I'm great at it and paying attention to other people's builds or taking a walk around my neighborhood has helped with that.

    Once you've picked out deets for your build style, you need to apply color theory. This is where wall paper comes in.

    VI)Coloring--What I notice immediately about your builds is your lack of understanding about color theory. There are some minecraft youtubers like Ethos Lab and BDouble0 that have videos on color theory that explain how to match colors or you can google it. I think that first and foremost, to make your builds look immediately better, is to color them correctly. If you look at houses IRL, you'll see they're all mostly one color or material, but in the sims, you need 2-3 colors/textures to make it look really good. In Little Boy Blue, I picked out my main color--white siding, my accent texture--stone, and my accent color--blue shingles. In Model Living, I picked out my main color--grey siding, my accent texture--wood planks, and my accent color--wide white planks. In my WIP, I have my main color--brown bricks, my accent texture--stone, and my second accent texture--that Get Together tudor wallpaper. Each time, I pick three things that vary not just in color, but texture as well, and at least two of them are neutral (brown, white, black, tan, grey). Too many colors is overwhelming. You've done a good job in getting neutrals in your builds but not a good job at matching neutrals to the appropriate pop of color and learning about color theory will help with that. In my WIP, the style is very detail oriented and has a lot of colors and textures so it can look a little busy at first glance but the key is to balance busyness with simplicity. You achieve that in the modern blue build (but the roofing needs help there) and you miss the mark in many of your other builds either swayign too simple or too busy and most of that is from the landscape.

    VII)Landscaping.... I wanted to use my WIP to show you how landscaping can change a build. Right now, it's a cool-looking shell, but you can see that it's both a little complicated and a little simple. In the back, it looks slightly weird, on the side, the flat wall looks strange, and in the front, it looks kinda cold and intimidating. I'm going to show you a few pics of the landscaping process here:

    So first off, what is the focal point for my backyard (or side yard in this case)? I alwayyyyys start in the back because my focal point determines my plants. I really want to use the hot tub and a trellis because I have a lot of space to cover and I want some vertical intrigue, but I might end up nixing the hot tub in favor of a pool.

    lk6P9zs.png

    Next, I want to map out what the backyard is going to look like. To me, this is even harder than building but landscape can make or break your build. One thing I think about with most builds is screenshot opportunities and landscaping can making your screenshots rise above. A nice backyard can also be a good place to propose or get married and with this "mini mansion" in Glimmerbrook I want romance and pixie dust. I'm using the ROM fencing, a plethora of bushes, a windy path, a cozy nook, and a raised trellis area. I've picked out some flower/bush arrangements and tested them out in the nook with the fountain before I proliferate them throughout the yard. because the yard is so large and I want it to feel cozy, I broke it up with the trellis area across from the patio, and with the swirly paths that will wind around elegant statues and benches.

    fAC450N.png

    So I proliferated my bushes, using alt one very single one, I added a statue, two more swirly paths, some garden beds around the rest of the house, lots of trees, and a trellis over the patio as well. Now I have a lush backyard and the view from all sides of the house is very quaint and full and lively. Glimmerbrook has a lot of pine trees so I incorporated those amongst the decorative spruce trees. I will continue to say it until the end of time: landscaping makes or breaks your build.
    TQ1juEq.png
    CGpJJU5.png
    CvldFMy.png
    faYg6Sh.png
    YwyvzeH.png

    Sure I have a lot of flowers in the back, but I simplified the rest of the landscaping by using some large trees and the flowers in the beds will be simple as well. When you first do landscaping like this, it might look awful, but with practice you can perfect it. If you compare this landscaping to my more suburban builds, you will notice with suburban builds, I go pretty simple: a large grass space, a small patio or pool, and a few clumps of bushes/flowers and a flower bed or two, but I don't usually cover the whole backyard in foliage but this WIP is how you can make something magical and lush without going overboard. It's busy but because I use the same bushes and flowers throughout and clump like with like, it's not too busy.

    Something I noticed with your builds is you didn't have the right balance in landscaping. You could either do random and busy or simple and patterned. Unlike the house, landscaping is supposed to be soft, to shape the angles of the house. Placing things neatly and perfectly doesn't sit right. With landscaping, alt-shift is your friend and you don't need to think about it too much. Pick 3-4 bushes/flowers and just go for it. You tend to want to place plants symmetrically or in line with each other, but you really want to vary your angles here. Never place two of the same trees right next to each other unless you size them differently and place them at an angle. I can see that this is going to be the toughest part of building for you because you seem to have a good grasp of bump outs and window placement. The easiest way to conquer landscaping is to copy the landscape around your build. The sim team did a good job designing the worlds and if you copy world landscaping you'll find your build looks a lot nicer and soon you'll be able to grasp the concepts of asymmetry and balancing busy with simple.




    I hope that this helps you find not only inspiration, but a better grasp at sim-architecture and kind of the main properties of a good build. You have a good grasp on most of them, but there's always room for improvement and I think you might find yourself going back and improving on your old builds. I used to build these awful boxy mansions before I decided I wanted to learn how to build and I'm always improving (hello terrain tools, my old nemesis)

    I leave you with one last thing: a challenge. I want you to try something I don't think you've tried before: follow this floorplan/facade:

    https://monsterhouseplans.com/house-plans/modern-farmhouse-style/2400-sq-ft-home-1-story-3-bedroom-2-bath-house-plans-plan52-392.html

    It has bump outs, dormers, a bit of a challenging roof, and some simple landscaping. You can test out color theory here pretty easily with about 2 main wallpapers and a wood accent. Build it on Optimist Outlook (30x40) in Newcrest

    Check out my builds on the gallery by searching my username: lzbthnndgls
  • DeanXeLDeanXeL Posts: 289 Member
    @lzbthnndgls tip for the barn roof: try using shift +c on a roof (tip i got from chips a while ago) it lets you 'double bend' a roof and thus use the barn roof on a single story. That way if you want to use a very narrow roof to build a barn roof on, it is not weirdly high :)
  • NeashaleighNeashaleigh Posts: 760 Member
    Wow! Loads of good advice Izbthnndgls! Thank you! By the way, how the heck do you pronounce your name? Hehe. Anyway, I will grab a coffee and settle in to fully absorb what you have said. I was a little shocked by what you said about my lack of colour theory.. but only because I'm an artist in rl. It kinda made me step back and think.. hmmmmm... how can I improve on my knowledge of colour and incorporate it better into my builds. If you haven't already, take a look at my gallery. I've loads of new builds in there and I've been playing a lot with colour. Ignore the green house lol. I did that as part of a solid colour challenge, and for some reason, Maxis liked it so who knows lol.
    ~o Sapphire o~
    Gallery
  • lzbthnndglslzbthnndgls Posts: 285 Member
    DeanXeL wrote: »
    @lzbthnndgls tip for the barn roof: try using shift +c on a roof (tip i got from chips a while ago) it lets you 'double bend' a roof and thus use the barn roof on a single story. That way if you want to use a very narrow roof to build a barn roof on, it is not weirdly high :)

    I just learned that a couple weeks ago! I haven't really needed to use it yet though, but I was amazed when I discovered that
    Check out my builds on the gallery by searching my username: lzbthnndgls
  • lzbthnndglslzbthnndgls Posts: 285 Member
    Wow! Loads of good advice Izbthnndgls! Thank you! By the way, how the heck do you pronounce your name? Hehe. Anyway, I will grab a coffee and settle in to fully absorb what you have said. I was a little shocked by what you said about my lack of colour theory.. but only because I'm an artist in rl. It kinda made me step back and think.. hmmmmm... how can I improve on my knowledge of colour and incorporate it better into my builds. If you haven't already, take a look at my gallery. I've loads of new builds in there and I've been playing a lot with colour. Ignore the green house lol. I did that as part of a solid colour challenge, and for some reason, Maxis liked it so who knows lol.

    lol, it's my full name without vowels (Elizabeth translates to lzbth).

    You're an artist? What medium do you use? I do a lot of artsy things irl and right now it's beading and I can go ahead and tell you my beadweaving always ends up awful but my prismacolor drawings look amazing. Switching mediums can be sooo hard and I consider sims build mode as an artistic medium. After looking through your gallery, I recognize some of the things I used to do before going back and reanalyzing how I built. You're trying to find your niche and I can see it.

    With color theory, I knew about it since a kid but only after watching some minecraft youtubers build did I really start to think about it. I think it just takes a push and a step back. I loooove a lot of your modern homes and I think you're great at shaping things, window placement, and coloring moderns but some of the more suburban/tudor builds are just a little busy like the Rise and Flower House just have too many textures and there's not too much contrast. Also, I looooved the green house. idk why, though--maybe because green is my favorite color, maybe because the design was wonderful, etc, etc, but the main part that made it stand out is you did WONDERFUL with the landscaping there and if you apply that landscaping to your other builds, they'll pop a lot more. Like Parkshore shell is really nice with the shape and the landscaping but Oak Alcove needs some trees and Dusty Turf has too many different types of flowers.

    I think you're already doing a wonderful job (I mean, even Maxis thinks so) and you're just going to get better and better!

    Check out my builds on the gallery by searching my username: lzbthnndgls
  • NeashaleighNeashaleigh Posts: 760 Member
    edited April 2021
    Wow! Loads of good advice Izbthnndgls! Thank you! By the way, how the heck do you pronounce your name? Hehe. Anyway, I will grab a coffee and settle in to fully absorb what you have said. I was a little shocked by what you said about my lack of colour theory.. but only because I'm an artist in rl. It kinda made me step back and think.. hmmmmm... how can I improve on my knowledge of colour and incorporate it better into my builds. If you haven't already, take a look at my gallery. I've loads of new builds in there and I've been playing a lot with colour. Ignore the green house lol. I did that as part of a solid colour challenge, and for some reason, Maxis liked it so who knows lol.

    lol, it's my full name without vowels (Elizabeth translates to lzbth).

    You're an artist? What medium do you use? I do a lot of artsy things irl and right now it's beading and I can go ahead and tell you my beadweaving always ends up awful but my prismacolor drawings look amazing. Switching mediums can be sooo hard and I consider sims build mode as an artistic medium. After looking through your gallery, I recognize some of the things I used to do before going back and reanalyzing how I built. You're trying to find your niche and I can see it.

    With color theory, I knew about it since a kid but only after watching some minecraft youtubers build did I really start to think about it. I think it just takes a push and a step back. I loooove a lot of your modern homes and I think you're great at shaping things, window placement, and coloring moderns but some of the more suburban/tudor builds are just a little busy like the Rise and Flower House just have too many textures and there's not too much contrast. Also, I looooved the green house. idk why, though--maybe because green is my favorite color, maybe because the design was wonderful, etc, etc, but the main part that made it stand out is you did WONDERFUL with the landscaping there and if you apply that landscaping to your other builds, they'll pop a lot more. Like Parkshore shell is really nice with the shape and the landscaping but Oak Alcove needs some trees and Dusty Turf has too many different types of flowers.

    I think you're already doing a wonderful job (I mean, even Maxis thinks so) and you're just going to get better and better!

    Oh that's cool! About your name, that is. Also, mostly my medium is pencil, charcoal and watercolour. If you want to take a look, I have a page on Facebook called Lynda and Sapphire's Art. Also,
    The Ramblings of a Fragmented Mind. Sapphire's Story
    has a gallery section where I showcase my work, along with my personal story about the mental health disorders I am working through :smile:
    Post edited by Neashaleigh on
    ~o Sapphire o~
    Gallery
  • NeashaleighNeashaleigh Posts: 760 Member
    This is what I'm currently working on. My 3 yr old wanted a pink Barbie house, so that's what I'm doing :smiley:

    d6n3Ber.png
    ~o Sapphire o~
    Gallery
  • seabenseaben Posts: 631 Member
    id be glad to see your builds but like deanxl i only have the base game so some i might have to judge by picture
    my sims 3 shell challenges https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/974534/the-sims-3-shell-challenge-corner-challenge-4-due-july-31th/p1 or check out my sims blog https://seabensims.wordpress.com/ my Wishlist is seaben06 on the sims 3 store and my oid is also seaben06
  • seabenseaben Posts: 631 Member
    ok i looked at all your lots @Neashaleigh and to me they did have the wow factor but the ones that didn't id say is because of the landscaping sorry for my brief critiquing its just your builds don't really have anything wrong with them
    my sims 3 shell challenges https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/974534/the-sims-3-shell-challenge-corner-challenge-4-due-july-31th/p1 or check out my sims blog https://seabensims.wordpress.com/ my Wishlist is seaben06 on the sims 3 store and my oid is also seaben06
  • NeashaleighNeashaleigh Posts: 760 Member
    Thank you @seaben :smile:
    ~o Sapphire o~
    Gallery
  • NiniBeMe69NiniBeMe69 Posts: 2,327 Member
    This is what I'm currently working on. My 3 yr old wanted a pink Barbie house, so that's what I'm doing :smiley:

    d6n3Ber.png

    This lot is absolutely adorable!! Looove it!!
  • NeashaleighNeashaleigh Posts: 760 Member
    Thank you :smiley:
    ~o Sapphire o~
    Gallery
Sign In or Register to comment.
Return to top