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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#1 Old 11th Apr 2019 at 6:34 AM Last edited by Kylaaab : 11th Apr 2019 at 8:39 PM.
Default TS3-- Huge Lot, would like opinions please
Here's a gigantic post. I'm making a desert southwestern adobe mansion-- well I've finished it, but I'm willing to make changes. I'm not really looking for input on the overall structure of the thing, because it's literally finished, but if there are any little details I should change I'd like to know. (Such as "this color is too blue, it would look better dimmer", "this would look better with a different pattern" or "this object doesn't fit with the theme, _ would be better" etc., anything would be helpful) If you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it. Don't worry about hurting my feelings haha.

I've used no CC (aside from those neat retaining walls), and I will not add any. I should warn anyone that is willing to offer help in advance: there are over 80 pictures of this mansion, and a lot of it is pretty colorful, which is something I don't usually do, but I found some awesome inspiration pics and dragged color schemes from a bunch. I've noticed some southwestern style interiors have contrasting bright colors, while some just stick to red and browns; I've done a mix of this. Now, it's nothing neon or anything, but it's out of my comfort zone. Despite that, I had tons of fun building it though .

I am hoping to make this flawless, meaning, if you think there's even a certain picture that's zoomed in or out too much, let me know please!

Here's another question too, how do I make it uh.. "picked upload" worthy? (I'm not even going to hope for feature worthy because I'm not that good.. ahaha) I wish I didn't just strive for notoriety but I do lol.




















I also would like to cut down on the pictures, but idk I think they're all important ahah. If you think any of the pictures are unnecessary let me know so I can trim em out of the final submission. :}
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retired moderator
#2 Old 11th Apr 2019 at 7:16 AM
Not a Sims 3 player at all, but lovely lot! I like your use of CFE.

Only one fault with the pictures and that is the floor plan is too far away making details hard to see. In addition to the overall one- which is good to have so that people can place how everything fits together would be some closer floor plan shots. Often a left and a right picture will help with that but you may need four and label them eg "bottom left" for ease so there is no need to work out what is what. Floor plans are actually one of the most important pictures and most often what people could get better.

As to picks... that is staff discretion or algorithm.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Instructor
#3 Old 11th Apr 2019 at 11:23 AM Last edited by Crowkeeper : 11th Apr 2019 at 11:51 AM. Reason: adding a picture
Quote:
I am hoping to make this flawless

I love that attitude

Alright, I am suggesting this over and over but I feel a need to suggest it yet again. Please try to think a bit more about the external wallpapers. The simple ones you are using make the whole build look sort of “flat“. I believe that the wallpapers from WA with recolorable edges could really help to give it some more “depth“ even if you don't give much contrast between the “edge“ and the main wallpaper:


The adobe fence you cfed seems to have some rather harsh angles. Maybe it would be worth it to re-make it with gentler angles? What technique are you using for CFE? I would suggest shaping with the “pond“ tool for greater accuracy (I know you said it is uneven on purpose but to me it feels like it is not all that well done. I hope you won't mind my honesty .

I am not sure about the fence at the very edge of the lot. It feels rather…repetitive? I would try a different one.
You say you did not use CC but I see a lot of plants I am not familiar with from the game (but I am not using stuff packs so that might be the reason). If you removed the CC later, it should not be in your screenshots for the upload either I believe (but of course, I am not a moderator so it might be fine. I just prefer the „what you see is what you get“ kind of presentation).

I like the landscaping. This is just the amount of plants I like:D. I would only put dirt under certain palm trees which did not have it.
The pool area is really cool
Screenshots

Visit my Tumblr for more creations http://crowkeeperthesimmer.tumblr.com :)
Top Secret Researcher
#4 Old 11th Apr 2019 at 2:30 PM Last edited by Norn : 11th Apr 2019 at 3:02 PM.
I like the use of different floor levels! Also overall the use of geometrical patterns.

There is no "too many pictures". While you don't need to show every corner it's nice to get a good idea of what it looks like. If you want us to be more specific about which pictures to use, maybe number them so it's easier to reference? Also, for better feedback, maybe show the inspirational pictures, too? Also I love to see an overall overview picture that shows the full lot (with roofs up, for example), so that I can see the landscaping as well.

In general I'm not sure what style you want to go for, especially as I don't know what you used for inspiration. It's quite a mix of different cultural influences and this makes the interiour look a bit... random in parts. My comments are assuming that you want to go for a more or less "stereotypical" adobe (Southwestern US/Spanish).

- I absolutely second what Crowkeeper said about the walls. Even if they often look rather flat irl, I would take a bit of liberty here to make it look more interesting
- maybe consider taking pictures in a more suitable environment, not a lush green one with a waterfall in the back, but anything that looks more like "desert southwestern"
- the floor plans differ in details from the full pictures, were they taken at different stages of building? Maybe double check if they all show the final stage
- not a fan of the shrubs in the ITF fence used on the roofing. Do you use Velocitygrass' Stencil remover? If you remove the overlay on the fences the shrubs are gone. (If you don't use that mod yet, try it! It adds a lot of variety to your building catalogue ). Same for the loft.
- roofing colours: unless newly built I would expect them to look more "bleached" by the sun.
- I find the mirror in the dining room a bit unusual
- also not sure about the stone tile walls inside with the 3 parts (I think they are from LN, or maybe ITF) which you used with different colour schemes. It doesn't look very "adobe" to me, especially not the one with the clearly visible vertical lines (sorry, not sure how to say that in proper English - where you can see where one wall tile ends and the next starts). From what I know from pictures, the walls tend to be all plastered. I like them in the bedroom, just as a detail, as a highlight, but not as the main walls.
- Same for the ceiling, they look like tiles when it should look like plaster (or wood) between beams.
- the playroom looks like any other playroom in any US home. I first thought that picture had been in there by mistake. It's also a weird mix of decors (tree and "grass" carpets?)
- you could do more with the floors, like adding mosaics or pattern with floor tiles like you did in the Rec room.
- the art and sculpting studio looks more like a living room. If it is supposed to be the place to be creative, add less "nice" things - they would get messy quickly, especially once you start sculpting. Add things you can touch with dirty hands. Or at least separate the "creation" section and the "display and admire" section more clearly
- why is there a fence in front of the garages? The driveway created in this way looks a very artificial. Maybe use your cfe'd fence there, at least in parts?
- such a large lot, 13 bedrooms (if I counted correctly), and no crib? Where are all the residents supposed to come from?
- I can't tell from the pictures if the ceiling is painted in movie room, spa, gym and arts room?
- in one bedroom you used glass doors, they look a bit misplaced in this environment
- the half columns don't make sense in front of the drawers in one of the bathroom
- while it's realistic that the kids get only a small room, for playability reasons maybe consider moving the playroom to a larger room.

And most importantly - have you playtested the lot? Are all objects usable? I'm very sure one of the showers is not usable and also maybe the bathtub that uses the same footprint as the door.

My, that got a bit long, sorry I won't comment on each piece of furniture because that really would be too much.
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#5 Old 11th Apr 2019 at 6:51 PM Last edited by Kylaaab : 13th Apr 2019 at 3:25 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Only one fault with the pictures and that is the floor plan is too far away making details hard to see. In addition to the overall one- which is good to have so that people can place how everything fits together would be some closer floor plan shots. Often a left and a right picture will help with that but you may need four and label them eg "bottom left" for ease so there is no need to work out what is what. Floor plans are actually one of the most important pictures and most often what people could get better.


Alright! I will do that! Thanks for the tip, because I wouldn't have known to do that otherwise. The final submission will have closer, 4-part layouts as you suggested :}

Quote: Originally posted by Crowkeeper
Alright, I am suggesting this over and over but I feel a need to suggest it yet again. Please try to think a bit more about the external wallpapers. The simple ones you are using make the whole build look sort of “flat“. I believe that the wallpapers from WA with recolorable edges could really help to give it some more “depth“ even if you don't give much contrast between the “edge“ and the main wallpaper:



Haha the external wallpapers-- you probably won't believe me, but I am currently using those exact WA one's but the 'dirty edge' just isn't very dark. I'll make it darker, so it'll look more like the WA wall covering than just a plain one eheh.

Quote: Originally posted by Crowkeeper
The adobe fence you cfed seems to have some rather harsh angles. Maybe it would be worth it to re-make it with gentler angles? What technique are you using for CFE? I would suggest shaping with the “pond“ tool for greater accuracy (I know you said it is uneven on purpose but to me it feels like it is not all that well done. I hope you won't mind my honesty .


This makes a lot of sense since I've been using single steps in the ground, placing a wall in the lower terrain or the step, and then leveling the top of the fence. I'll try using the pond tool though! The other thing is, it's also not a long enough area to do many different heights and still look non-uniform, but I will definitely try using the pond tool to see if I can improve it.. I thank you for your honesty, no worries.

Quote: Originally posted by Crowkeeper
I am not sure about the fence at the very edge of the lot. It feels rather…repetitive? I would try a different one.
You say you did not use CC but I see a lot of plants I am not familiar with from the game (but I am not using stuff packs so that might be the reason). If you removed the CC later, it should not be in your screenshots for the upload either I believe (but of course, I am not a moderator so it might be fine. I just prefer the „what you see is what you get“ kind of presentation).


Oh, yup! The plants! Ahh, I made a version with those plants and without ehe. They're not at all necessary, but the sims doesn't have desert plants so I made a version of it with them, in case there's another person that agrees the sims needs more desert plants lol. I'll upload both versions in the same submission. Sorry for not mentioning it, I completely forgot.

Quote: Originally posted by Crowkeeper
I like the landscaping. This is just the amount of plants I like:D. I would only put dirt under certain palm trees which did not have it.
The pool area is really cool


Thanks for the compliments! I will absolutely put dirt under certain palm trees as you suggested!

As for Victor_tor's response, sorry I didn't get to it in time to quote it, but I wasn't really going for an Egyptian style adobe, or anything necessarily historical..? I'm going for a more southwestern adobe.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
I like the use of different floor levels! Also overall the use of geometrical patterns.

There is no "too many pictures". While you don't need to show every corner it's nice to get a good idea of what it looks like. If you want us to be more specific about which pictures to use, maybe number them so it's easier to reference? Also, for better feedback, maybe show the inspirational pictures, too? Also I love to see an overall overview picture that shows the full lot (with roofs up, for example), so that I can see the landscaping as well.

In general I'm not sure what style you want to go for, especially as I don't know what you used for inspiration. It's quite a mix of different cultural influences and this makes the interiour look a bit... random in parts. My comments are assuming that you want to go for a more or less "stereotypical" adobe (Southwestern US/Spanish).


I can number the pictures in the original post, and I'll add a few overhead views of the house in the final submission :} Thank you.

I'm going for southwestern US with influences from Mexico, as you assumed.

Here are (most of) my inspiration pictures:




Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- I absolutely second what Crowkeeper said about the walls. Even if they often look rather flat irl, I would take a bit of liberty here to make it look more interesting


I'm following Crowkeeper's suggestion :} I'll make the edges more noticeable.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- maybe consider taking pictures in a more suitable environment, not a lush green one with a waterfall in the back, but anything that looks more like "desert southwestern"

Ehehe, it's the world I use for building! I can do that though, I'll place it in a world that better fits the theme and retake those pictures.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- the floor plans differ in details from the full pictures, were they taken at different stages of building? Maybe double check if they all show the final stage


I'll be retaking those anyway at a more closer view as joeandsarah77 suggested. I don't see any discrepencies, but I might just not be looking hard enough.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- not a fan of the shrubs in the ITF fence used on the roofing. Do you use Velocitygrass' Stencil remover? If you remove the overlay on the fences the shrubs are gone. (If you don't use that mod yet, try it! It adds a lot of variety to your building catalogue ). Same for the loft.

I'll try it out!

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- roofing colours: unless newly built I would expect them to look more "bleached" by the sun.

This is an amazing idea, and I would've never thought of it if you hadn't mentioned it!

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- I find the mirror in the dining room a bit unusual

I will replace the mirror with another decoration.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- also not sure about the stone tile walls inside with the 3 parts (I think they are from LN, or maybe ITF) which you used with different colour schemes. It doesn't look very "adobe" to me, especially not the one with the clearly visible vertical lines (sorry, not sure how to say that in proper English - where you can see where one wall tile ends and the next starts). From what I know from pictures, the walls tend to be all plastered. I like them in the bedroom, just as a detail, as a highlight, but not as the main walls.

I agree :} I'll take out the more tile looking ones, but I will keep the ones as bedroom details.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- Same for the ceiling, they look like tiles when it should look like plaster (or wood) between beams.

That was an issue I was having with the corner pieces only. They, for some reason, show a line when placed next to a normal piece. I have realized the same happens with the stone flooring corners, and I'm not sure why. I don't exactly know how to fix this without completely changing the ceilings altogether, and EA just doesn't have a convincing enough 'ceiling beam' floor.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- the playroom looks like any other playroom in any US home. I first thought that picture had been in there by mistake. It's also a weird mix of decors (tree and "grass" carpets?)

I'm laughing at myself ahaha I entirely agree. I guess I got lazy and was like 'eh, it's a kids room'. I will make that room more cohesive for sure.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- you could do more with the floors, like adding mosaics or pattern with floor tiles like you did in the Rec room.
- the art and sculpting studio looks more like a living room. If it is supposed to be the place to be creative, add less "nice" things - they would get messy quickly, especially once you start sculpting. Add things you can touch with dirty hands. Or at least separate the "creation" section and the "display and admire" section more clearly

I will make both of these changes

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- why is there a fence in front of the garages? The driveway created in this way looks a very artificial. Maybe use your cfe'd fence there, at least in parts?

I've deleted them. I decreased the extension of the fence so it does not align the driveway.

[QUOTE=Norn]
- such a large lot, 13 bedrooms (if I counted correctly), and no crib? Where are all the residents supposed to come from?
- I can't tell from the pictures if the ceiling is painted in movie room, spa, gym and arts room?


I'll change one of the rooms into a nursery ASAP

It doesn't look like those ceilings are painted.. I'll fix that.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- in one bedroom you used glass doors, they look a bit misplaced in this environment


I did that because of the awning around the windows. The big windows need more protection from the heat, and they're not in any place where the sun would metaphorically beat down on them.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- the half columns don't make sense in front of the drawers in one of the bathroom

Aw man, you noticed. The tile top extends past the drawers, so I tried to remedy that by adding those pedestals. Extra cabinet decoration? No? I'll change them haha.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
- while it's realistic that the kids get only a small room, for playability reasons maybe consider moving the playroom to a larger room.

And most importantly - have you playtested the lot? Are all objects usable? I'm very sure one of the showers is not usable and also maybe the bathtub that uses the same footprint as the door.


I partially playtested it, but I didn't check the bathrooms. I just made sure I could open the fridge, access the retaining-wall areas, and a few other things. I'll go try out all those showers and tubs though.

Quote: Originally posted by Norn
My, that got a bit long, sorry I won't comment on each piece of furniture because that really would be too much.


No problem! My response is getting very long too. Thank you so much for your very specific and expansive input!
Staff - Moderator
staff: moderator
#6 Old 11th Apr 2019 at 6:58 PM
I think this looks very pretty! I did notice though that some of the windows did not have curtains, others did, one had a shade, and many had different colors. I think I would stick to just one color for window dressings and choose only a very few types of window dressing. I think you are allowed up to 100 screenshots for upload so you might get above shots of each room to show each well.
Top Secret Researcher
#7 Old 11th Apr 2019 at 7:27 PM
Thank you for adding the inspirational pictures. Now I'm looking forward to the updated screenshots! Maybe also really look through your furniture while you're at it, and try to focus more on your desired style.

About the pedestals - not sure what you mean, which tile exceeds where? I don't see anything wrong that needs hiding here (but maybe I will once you removed the pedestals )
dodgy builder
#8 Old 11th Apr 2019 at 9:03 PM
I'm just going to add my little input. You're doing a great job, so the input will be more picky. If things I comment on has already been mentioned, just ignore me. Do with the feedback as you please. I'm sure you will make another house later as a development on this house. I know I usually do.

Floorplans. It looks to me like your floorplans needs some update. I usually google for inspiration and develop my own from that. Try this search.

I know this is southwestern us, but I get confused by your styling. The arabic bay windows with islamic decoration you use in courtyards are usually used outside to make the women able to follow what's going on below on the street, without being seen. The normal windows you use outside needs more shading for the climate they are fitted for. If you see your inspiration pictures, they have everything from curtains, to being fitted deep into the walls, blinds etc. If you use different types of solution, you should have a reason for it. Like a courtyard prividing shade, hard sun from the outside, or shading from a planted espalier roof. If you choose to have different framing on windows all over the house, again you need a plan. Why is this window a different color, why is the frame more worn, is this house a grunge style building? If it's not a grunge style building, you have to consider how much wear and tear you can allow. For short, you need to think about styling and have a plan.

When it comes to grunge, you have to consider which one of your inspiration pictures is the real McCoys. The light in a desertlike environment is very yellow, meaning cream becomes more yellow in pictures. Some people also add different kinds of filters on their pictures, making them look more saturated then they really are. You can also use picture number 3. Number 2 has been taken in the evening, making it more yellow. Picture number 3 has probably been taken in RL, but 1 and 2 might just be a 3D program.

I would take the first picture into a picture program like Photoshop or Gimp or something, and pick the cream color on the lower front building, and use it as a base for the hole building. Build hex numbers from the cream colors. Then I would try to make a render that looks very close to the render on that building. Use contrasting colors in the channels and make it a bit dirty. Make it look real if you like. Then you can build a style from that. Pick windows to fit your style, build a story around your building.

There is a while since I uploaded on mts now for ts3. Al Hama Palace has been built in an Adobe style with courtyards open to the sky, and long hallways. I have learned from my many roman buildings, and this is all the way back to 2014. The warm climates in the old world has houses with long hallways to cool down the house, and open courtyards do the same, keep the house cool. You should think about that when you build your houses. Never have a room too far from a courtyard or hallway, and don't use windows that heat the building during the warmest hours of the day. Also use windows that can fit the style.

Another thing you should think about is grounding your plants and the house. Think about a real house. It's darker by the base and plants have a darker base. Look at this picture. Because it's darker as the well goes deeper, it creates an optical illusion. Without the gradually darker bricks, you would have troubles understanding the picture. This picture takes it to the extreme, creating a horse that almost comes riding you down. The only thing you need to do is have some brown ground below the walls and plants.

Lets move on to colors in your house: When you use very strong contrasting colors like turqoise and orange/brown/cream, you have to consider which color is the strongest and make sue you have the least of it. In my opinion your kitchen have too much turqoise, and you need something more of the cream colors in that room to reduce it a bit. You have both the curtains and the island in turqoise. I can see where you have your inspiration from, but that house is very grungy, is that what you're going for? If you don't the island in a different color idea might not fit. The kitchen needs a wider set of colors.

The gym should have a blue that fits the type of people in this house better. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't enjoy neon blue that well.

The snookertable can be recolored. In that room I suggest you take a view at the room from a far, and wonder what parts of the room should be in the focus of the viewer. To me it looks like the green parts of the room, the ceilinglamps and snookertable has too much attention. I would reduce them a bit by choosing a less saturated green. The room also has too many ceilinglamps in my opinion. There should only be one, or there about. Use wall-lamps and if that isn't good enough, use the invisible lamps in buydebug.

The room with the turqoise bed has the same issue. You should work more on less saturated turqoise and a more modest wood. The kids bedroom with 2 single beds alongside the walls, have a more suitable turquise in my opinion. I'm thinking this kind of styling is better:


If you still want more color, you should think about what color should be the strongest, or make a more balanced style.

Your rooms are very big, and I would think about what you can figure out for the extra space. Sometimes having the furniture in the middle of the room, or adding a dressingroom into bedrooms can fix the issue. You might even add some hallways for air circulation. I see many of your rooms have furniture very symmetrical along one wall by the bed or something similar.

When it comes to pictures, you should look at marketing pictures by realestate agents. That kind of pictures are the kind you want to reproduce. After all you're going to sell your house to downloaders. That means they will have to be at sims eye-level, and straight At TSR I can only have 10 pictures, and finding the right one's are a bit of a struggle. I just choose a quility I would like to show off. This kinds of buildings often have lovely looking gardens, you would like to show off livingrooms, perhaps some bedrooms. Only show the best rooms. Having 100 pictures might end up being counterproductive as we say where I live. People might think it's too much and get bored.

When it comes to picked uploads. I don't think you should focus on that. You need to get the right moderator, the right day, and it's often a bit of a "I scratch your back and you scratch mine" kind of thing. That is probably the wrong saying . There is also hard competition, and the moderators might not like your style. It's a bit like school and even worklife really.
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#9 Old 12th Apr 2019 at 12:42 AM Last edited by Kylaaab : 12th Apr 2019 at 4:05 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
Floorplans. It looks to me like your floorplans needs some update. I usually google for inspiration and develop my own from that. Try this search.


At this point of building I'm not making any structural changes. I'd have to uproot the entire build for that, and I kinda like the floor plan I've made. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
I know this is southwestern us, but I get confused by your styling. The arabic bay windows with islamic decoration you use in courtyards are usually used outside to make the women able to follow what's going on below on the street, without being seen. The normal windows you use outside needs more shading for the climate they are fitted for. If you see your inspiration pictures, they have everything from curtains, to being fitted deep into the walls, blinds etc. If you use different types of solution, you should have a reason for it. Like a courtyard prividing shade, hard sun from the outside, or shading from a planted espalier roof. If you choose to have different framing on windows all over the house, again you need a plan. Why is this window a different color, why is the frame more worn, is this house a grunge style building? If it's not a grunge style building, you have to consider how much wear and tear you can allow. For short, you need to think about styling and have a plan.


I did not know that about those bay windows. I just noticed that they seal out a lot of sun, which would make sense for desert climates, and admittedly I may have used those because they're called "The Desert Shield" hahaha. The windows that I'm using are the deepest set windows I can get without using custom content. The ones with the thick outer frame are the most similar in the game, but let me know if you know of a better alternative.

I'm not sure I know what you mean by the different window framings.. I've made them all the same color, aside from those bay windows you mentioned, but I will fix that :} Edit: Just realized that I have those red windows. I turned the glass-less ones into ones with glass, and I changed the inner panes to match the wood of the rest of them. Each of those have curtains in front of them too. Thanks for pointing this out to me.

Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
When it comes to grunge, you have to consider which one of your inspiration pictures is the real McCoys. The light in a desertlike environment is very yellow, meaning cream becomes more yellow in pictures. Some people also add different kinds of filters on their pictures, making them look more saturated then they really are. You can also use picture number 3. Number 2 has been taken in the evening, making it more yellow. Picture number 3 has probably been taken in RL, but 1 and 2 might just be a 3D program.

I would take the first picture into a picture program like Photoshop or Gimp or something, and pick the cream color on the lower front building, and use it as a base for the hole building. Build hex numbers from the cream colors. Then I would try to make a render that looks very close to the render on that building. Use contrasting colors in the channels and make it a bit dirty. Make it look real if you like. Then you can build a style from that. Pick windows to fit your style, build a story around your building.


Hmm, I'm not exactly going for grunge, but a few of the inspiration pictures are rustic. I included a bit of a rustic feel to some things, but I am aiming toward an "updated" rustic look of Southwestern US and Mexican interiors, or something along those lines. Because adobe has clay in it, it's not unlikely for it to have yellow and orange tones, depending the mixture. Some types of adobe are more brown and usually the lightest it comes is tan, but I think cream would be too light to be adobe. Maybe you're thinking of stucco? Stucco has lighter tones that looks yellow under different lighting.

Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
There is a while since I uploaded on mts now for ts3. Al Hama Palace has been built in an Adobe style with courtyards open to the sky, and long hallways. I have learned from my many roman buildings, and this is all the way back to 2014. The warm climates in the old world has houses with long hallways to cool down the house, and open courtyards do the same, keep the house cool. You should think about that when you build your houses. Never have a room too far from a courtyard or hallway, and don't use windows that heat the building during the warmest hours of the day. Also use windows that can fit the style.


I hope this doesn't offend you, but I don't think that's adobe. It's beautiful, but it looks like it's made of stucco, even the inspiration picture. Adobes don't have rooving as is shown on that building. They have flat tops and are made with adobe, which is a mixture of clays, straw, and sometimes a few other materials. Both adobe and stucco are found in warm climates, so they likely share a lot of aspects when it comes to long hallways and open courtyards.

I tried to use EA windows that I thought were the most similar to windows on irl adobe homes, but it doesn't quite match up. Unfortunately, I do not want to use any CC, even if it does make the building more accurate.

Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
Lets move on to colors in your house: When you use very strong contrasting colors like turqoise and orange/brown/cream, you have to consider which color is the strongest and make sue you have the least of it. In my opinion your kitchen have too much turqoise, and you need something more of the cream colors in that room to reduce it a bit. You have both the curtains and the island in turqoise. I can see where you have your inspiration from, but that house is very grungy, is that what you're going for? If you don't the island in a different color idea might not fit. The kitchen needs a wider set of colors.


You're completely right, the kitchen could use a bit more warm colors. I'll change the curtains to either a brown with red tones or a pattern with red in it.

Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
The gym should have a blue that fits the type of people in this house better. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't enjoy neon blue that well.


I tried to make yoga mats lol. I don't think non-bright yoga mats exist, but I could change it to red, so it fits with the house better.

Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
The snookertable can be recolored. In that room I suggest you take a view at the room from a far, and wonder what parts of the room should be in the focus of the viewer. To me it looks like the green parts of the room, the ceilinglamps and snookertable has too much attention. I would reduce them a bit by choosing a less saturated green. The room also has too many ceilinglamps in my opinion. There should only be one, or there about. Use wall-lamps and if that isn't good enough, use the invisible lamps in buydebug.


Unfortunately, I can't change the color of the lighting above the pool table (snookertable), because it has one set color for that portion of the lamp as set by EA. I will definitely change the green tone on the table itself though. I'll also try out some wall lamps in substitute for those extra ceiling lights.

Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
The room with the turqoise bed has the same issue. You should work more on less saturated turqoise and a more modest wood. The kids bedroom with 2 single beds alongside the walls, have a more suitable turquise in my opinion. I'm thinking this kind of styling is better:


I'll play around with the colors a bit and see if I can improve it.


Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
Your rooms are very big, and I would think about what you can figure out for the extra space. Sometimes having the furniture in the middle of the room, or adding a dressingroom into bedrooms can fix the issue. You might even add some hallways for air circulation. I see many of your rooms have furniture very symmetrical along one wall by the bed or something similar.


A few of the rooms have walk in closets, and I've tried to fill any extra space with seating areas and the like. It's hard to show everything from the pictures, because there's always the wall that's not seen because it's the side you're taking the picture from.

Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
When it comes to pictures, you should look at marketing pictures by realestate agents. That kind of pictures are the kind you want to reproduce. After all you're going to sell your house to downloaders. That means they will have to be at sims eye-level, and straight At TSR I can only have 10 pictures, and finding the right one's are a bit of a struggle. I just choose a quility I would like to show off. This kinds of buildings often have lovely looking gardens, you would like to show off livingrooms, perhaps some bedrooms. Only show the best rooms. Having 100 pictures might end up being counterproductive as we say where I live. People might think it's too much and get bored.


I know what you mean, but I am the type of downloader that likes to know what every room looks like. (Most specifically, I like seeing the bathrooms, and I want to make sure they're getting just as much effort as the rest of the house. It's funny too, because I think bathrooms are the most tedious to make. Eheheh.) I will try taking a picture of the house at eye-level as you suggested though, to show downloaders what the house would look like from their sims view.

Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
When it comes to picked uploads. I don't think you should focus on that. You need to get the right moderator, the right day, and it's often a bit of a "I scratch your back and you scratch mine" kind of thing. That is probably the wrong saying . There is also hard competition, and the moderators might not like your style. It's a bit like school and even worklife really.


Haha oops, I can't not focus on that. It's my goal as a builder tbh. I understand what you are saying though, and at the end of the day, I'll still be fine if my upload isn't picked.
dodgy builder
#10 Old 12th Apr 2019 at 4:08 AM
I only showed you Al Hama for the floorplan solutions and only for the hallways and courtyard. As I said it's a very long time ago, and it sure isn't directly translateble 2 your building. I'm not offended

I'm a bit puzzled by your mentioning adobe and stucco as buildingstyles. In my book stucco is a wallcover, while I understand the use of adobe as a buildingstyle.
So I understand you don't want have that kind of stucco effect then on your walls? Perhaps clay has a more wet effect, you just need to find the right look 4 your building.

If you like more rustic rather then grunge, I would say you need to work on that. It might not be on this building, but 4 later projects. Building houses is a project that is never finished, there is always something 2 work on. That is the fun in it as well, always something new 2 learn.

When it comes 2 pictures. In my opinion you're either a creator or a downloader. Mixing those roles will only lead 2 confusion. In marketing there is theories about what you want 2 do with your pictures 2 sell the most houses. If you consider yourself a downloader as well as a creator, you often "meet yourself in the door", as we say up here. The creator suffers, and you end up in corners like "I can't do this and I can't do that, because my downloaders doesn't like it". In my experience it's the people who don't like it that speak the highest, sometimes because the people who do like it keeps quite, or because you have so many of them saying "AWESOME" you tend to ignore them, and the one dissatisfied one is the only one you see. You're an artist, and sometimes doing what the customer asks of you, makes your houses look just like everyone elses. Finding your specific style is more important, that is what makes you stand out from the crowd. I see you have already learned 2 say no :p

Be true 2 your inner creator, and don't go chazing others praise all the time
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#11 Old 12th Apr 2019 at 4:47 AM Last edited by Kylaaab : 12th Apr 2019 at 5:02 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
I only showed you Al Hama for the floorplan solutions and only for the hallways and courtyard. As I said it's a very long time ago, and it sure isn't directly translateble 2 your building. I'm not offended

I'm a bit puzzled by your mentioning adobe and stucco as buildingstyles. In my book stucco is a wallcover, while I understand the use of adobe as a buildingstyle.
So I understand you don't want have that kind of stucco effect then on your walls? Perhaps clay has a more wet effect, you just need to find the right look 4 your building.

If you like more rustic rather then grunge, I would say you need to work on that. It might not be on this building, but 4 later projects. Building houses is a project that is never finished, there is always something 2 work on. That is the fun in it as well, always something new 2 learn.

When it comes 2 pictures. In my opinion you're either a creator or a downloader. Mixing those roles will only lead 2 confusion. In marketing there is theories about what you want 2 do with your pictures 2 sell the most houses. If you consider yourself a downloader as well as a creator, you often "meet yourself in the door", as we say up here. The creator suffers, and you end up in corners like "I can't do this and I can't do that, because my downloaders doesn't like it". In my experience it's the people who don't like it that speak the highest, sometimes because the people who do like it keeps quite, or because you have so many of them saying "AWESOME" you tend to ignore them, and the one dissatisfied one is the only one you see. You're an artist, and sometimes doing what the customer asks of you, makes your houses look just like everyone elses. Finding your specific style is more important, that is what makes you stand out from the crowd. I see you have already learned 2 say no :p

Be true 2 your inner creator, and don't go chazing others praise all the time


Ah! About the adobe thing, funnily enough, adobe refers both to a building material and a type of house. Sorry if I confused you there aha.. I was sort of in a rush to get all my words out there that I didn't phrase everything completely clearly.

Thank you for your inspirational words! All the things you are saying are true :} Everyone should be true to themselves as you said, because it's very important.

(And I can't help it! My mind is all needy like 'shower me with praise!' haha.)


This is just a quick little update, but I'll be doing a full update late tomorrow.


I did a few other things, but I haven't taken pictures yet. The next update will address everything thus far.
Instructor
#12 Old 12th Apr 2019 at 11:15 AM Last edited by Crowkeeper : 12th Apr 2019 at 11:29 AM.
Quote:
Haha oops, I can't not focus on that. It's my goal as a builder tbh. I understand what you are saying though, and at the end of the day, I'll still be fine if my upload isn't picked.

Hehe It's embarrassing to admit but I was the same when I started uploading so I can understand you very well. But unfortunately, Volvenom is right, upload picks are completely random. If you go through the pages of the picked content you will notice that they do not always match the requirements (showcasing some of the best talent and creativity available on MTS and in the community) which can feel pretty unfair to creators. Even when you DO get a pick you might start wondering why is it this creation which did not take all that much time and effort and why something you tried extremely hard to make went unnoticed etc. I am afraid that not all moderators are dedicated builders and they might not realise how hard it was to make certain things.
Anyway, if you still feel like getting some picks, then maybe you might want to read this: http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php...ontent_Criteria

BTW: using a foundation instead of walls for shaping with CFE might be easier.

Visit my Tumblr for more creations http://crowkeeperthesimmer.tumblr.com :)
Alchemist
#13 Old 12th Apr 2019 at 6:28 PM
Everything and more has been said, even for the 'picked' thing, it's by chance. I have 2 picked uploads and their style is miles apart.

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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#14 Old 13th Apr 2019 at 4:18 AM Last edited by Kylaaab : 13th May 2019 at 7:23 AM.
Here it is.



More prominent 'dirty edge' (and I decided to not be as lazy and not just do edges but also use the bottom dirty pieces unlike before) with a desert background world. I'm going to find another world though, because this one's sand is too pink for my liking.

I think the wall-fence looks more jagged because of the short fence aligning the top. Maybe it's just the wall itself though. I just don't see how I might possible make it smoother without making it a heck of a lot longer. Now, for the rest of the update, I'm using the sites image hosting, because I don't want to upload more pictures to my tinypic profile rn.

So I'll order the pictures the same as the corresponding responses, starting with

1. I changed one of the rooms into a nursery.

2. I tried out the stencil remover, but it didn't remove the flowers. It removed the overlays of them, but not the shapes themselves. I tried all of 'sompa' and the flowers persistently remained. They don't personally bother me too much, so I'm not going to worry much about it.

3. Got rid of that mirror.

4. Here is a picture displaying the overhang of the tiled wall in the bathroom with the pedestals. I had already made the wood of the lowest panel match the cabinets, but I feel like wood on the wall looks odd. idk

5. Changed the home gym's colors and added a ceiling that matches one of the walls. I changed the ceilings of those other rooms too, but I haven't taken pictures to show because it's not such a drastic difference, but I can take some if needed.

6. Fixed the pool table colorings.

7. Changed the kitchen colors around a bit (Just the curtains and the counter island top slightly)

I added some other floorings and tiles to the plain white hallway floors, as suggested, but I am not going to take those pictures until everything is done and that's when I'll take the 4-part layout pictures where the flooring will be seen. It can also sort of be seen in my last partial update in one of the pictures.

The only thing I didn't get to yet is the studio. I'll work on that soon.

EDIT: I am taking a break from doing more on this mansion for now. I just suddenly stopped feeling like it eheh, even though it's pretty close to being done. (I blame my ADHD ahahhaa) So, I'll update again.. eventually.
Screenshots
Top Secret Researcher
#15 Old 13th Apr 2019 at 10:58 AM
I'm sorry for misleading you about the ITF fence! We used it that way in Cronor and I had thought it was done with the Stencil remover mod. But it was Crowkeeper's recolouring magic that removed the flowers, which sadly cannot be done for a single lot. Sorry for causing extra work for nothing! It looked better before...

I like all your changes so far (except for the fence, sorry again). And I still don't see anything with those bathroom walls. If you don't like the wood you could try to use tiles there?

As for different worlds, you could try Ourbacker's Whour Valley here: http://ouerbackersims3stuff.blogspo...eta-852013.html which is the template for Eastlands. As it is mostly empty it should load better than Eastlands.
Screenshots
Top Secret Researcher
#16 Old 18th Apr 2019 at 4:17 AM
I am late to the party, but I see you have been in good hands. The only thing I would add: you can turn on "moveobjects on", and separate the chimney into pieces. Then you can delete all but the top section and make a new chimney with walls and any wall covering you like. Finally, use NRaas Debug enabler to move the top of the chimney to the top of your new chimney, and smoke will still come out when a fire is lit in the fireplace. No more red brick chimney!!

Screenshots

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