5 Tips for Building Realistic Outdoor Environments in TS3
A guide by @itssimplythesims
1. Play with the terraforming tools. I keep areas flat for any structures I'm building, but after they're placed I will start raising and softening the land around them. I typically keep this subtle if I'm going to be doing any landscapingâbecause plants don't always play nicely on slopes. Same with fences (place them first!)
2. Loads of landscaping. I love details so I always mix lots of grasses, flowers, shrubs, trees and rocks (Seriously, Iâm addicted to landscaping cc. If it exists, I have it!). I use terrain paints to help with realism, too. I will paint areas along raised terrain with rock textures and a blend of grasses and leaves. Combining them is key to believability. Unless your yard is perfectly manicured, youâre going to see a blend of dirt, soil, grasses and weeds. Remember to consider the wildlife as well! My pictures really come to life when I start to add in common animals such as pets, birds, insects, etc.
PRO TIP If youâre a storyteller, treat your setting like you would a character. What can you say about them through the details? What mood can you create that feels right for the people or scenes that take place there?
I use Grande Lamaâs Boulders and Grasses all over the place. They create a wonderfully realistic look and help in hiding some of the hard lines created by the terraforming tools. (Thank you, @grandelama!)
3. Check your camera angles. When Iâm building a new lot, I think about what kind of pictures I might be taking, such as close-up's or panoramas, and from which angle(s). Sometimes, I build for a particular picture in mind so most of my attention is focused on 1-2 camera angles. These are usually temporary sets, like what I created for The Hunt. With my stable, however, I wanted to be able to take pictures from anywhere, so I regularly check out how my lots are coming together. Can I see any blemishes such as untouched plots of land, broken fence lines, or seams between lots?
4. Work small! My lots are packed full of details so I work exclusively in empty worlds. I also lower my graphics settings, especially when Iâm building and decorating. This helps me reduce lag and my game is more amenable to all the hundreds of plants (and deco) that go into building my environments. I also use small lots that are pieced together rather than several large lots. I find the larger ones to be overwhelming and working small helps me finish what I start.
5. Create an atmosphere. Curate a moodboard of inspiring references, camera angles, compositions, colors, and details you think you might want to include in your environment (I have a whole board dedicated to my vision for Twinbrook that guides and inspires the lots I build within it.) Also, remember what I said earlier about treating your setting like a character? Try picking a color palette that feels right for who they are and what they represent. For example, a mystical forest might use dark evergreens with touches of lavender florals; whereas a mysterious, cursed forest might be full of shadowy grays and veins of red.
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