Sims by Valia

[valiasims]

Charm'd - Build Set 1

Hey everyone!

Am I or am I not writing this at 4AM 6AM? Yes, I am! :D Just the usual. But I wanted to share this set with you before I leave for the Camino.

I named this collection Charm'd because the Victorian style reminded me of Charmed that I used to watch a lot back in the day. And because I couldn't come up with a better name.

The main focus of this first part of the collection are the windows and doors with a few build items to complete the Victorian look.

Since I had less time and I have a bunch of ideas I'll continue with more build objects in the next part.

For this set I really wanted to make some stained glass windows and doors so almost every type of window has a few swatches with a stained glass design, and all doors have in the same colors. As you can see, there are two styles of windows, I also made a few arched ones, I think they look good mixed with the regular rectangle windows.

I know the game already has siding but I hate that the colors are so limited so I added 41 colors for us to enjoy. I wanted to make a version with the corners but I couldn't finish that one so I might add it to the next part.

I mentioned earlier that making a roof trim was quite tricky because there's a setting in Sims 4 Studio I don't understand but I managed to make one and I like how it turned out. I added a simple one so you have all the same colors as the decorative trim.

I made a few decorative gables in various sizes, I tried to do different angles so you can use them in more than one cases. They are in the roof decoration category.

Thank you so much for all your support! I hope you like this set and that it was worth staying up all night so I could upload it. I'll be back next week with updates on the next part, and I'll try to answer your comments in the meantime.

The Set Includes

Front Door (3 widths, 2 heights)

Single Window (2 versions)

Short Single Window

Small Single Window

Medium Single Window

Double Window (2 heights)

Triple Window (2 heights)

Round Window

Arched Small Window

Arched Short Window

Arches Single Window

Gables (2 versions, 3 sizes)

Column

Spandrel

Siding

Roof Trims (2 versions)

-BECOME A MEMBER-Public Release on the 7th of June 6PM CEST

[valiasims]

WIP#98

Hey everyone!

First of all I want to thank you everyone for the understanding and all the nice comments you left! It feels heartwarming knowing you're here.

I was working on putting the roses into the game and they are still not perfected and I may add more variations and think this through BECAUSE thanks to @lumenniveus' suggestion on tumblr I managed to do these to snap together like the shelves in Dream Home Decorator. I don't know it'll be annoying or not but I find it very cool that you don't have to move every single piece one by one and maybe it's a little quicker to design a big plant. Now I'm inspired to do this with modular sofas. I've recorded a quick video for you to show how they work.

As I was testing it I came to the conclusion it's easier to put the upper parts together first on the floor because it's harder to find the perfect spot where they snap when they are in the air. If you don't like them snapping together it's possible to align them close to each other. But the big advantage of this that if you don't use moveobjects it'll still work. But please, use moveobjects, life's much more easier with it. :D

So, my original plan was to finish this set this weekend but it might take a little longer because of the time I lost with stupid things like my job. :D But I'll try to be quick and add the things I still want to make. This rose just took over and I went along with it. Now I just have to come up with variations that make sense but I don't want to overclutter the catalog either.

Also, forgot to add but wanted to: Thank you soo so much for reaching 70 000 followers on Patreon! That's so many people I can't wrap my head around it and I'm really grateful for everyone who's here and following my journey!

[valiasims]

WIP#97

Hey everyone!

It's been soo long since I've checked in. I didn't plan it this way but I got an urgent project in my job that required a lot of my time last week so I was going really slowly with the next set.

Finally things are back to a more okay workload and I could get started on the other fence I was planning to do, it's more for the garden with two types of gates.

I saw a lot of inspiration photos of arches with the climbing rose si I thought I would add one and I'll make it so it'll function as a wedding arch so it's not just decoration but something functional as well. I'm still perfecting the placement of the roses but you can see the idea.

Next I'm gonna do the build items I wanted to include, trims and friezes. I hope they won't be too fussy and will cooperate with me.

It feels so bad that I only could update you so rarely lately, I really want to get back into posting more again because it keeps up my motivation and I really like hearing from you!

[boratrait]

💫 BORASAVE WIP : streamlet single || 2836 pelican way, willow creek

↳ here are some more WIP screenies from entryway of the cc-lite version of this build. the full-cc version is on temporary (and maybe indefinite) hiatus...i got to thinking, and i really don't want to link all that cc for the download 😭 so, we are regrouping with a new version of this build that only has cc from one creator, @valiasims, because they are my favorite cc creator! ─⋆𐙚 ↳ i'm planning for this build to be the home of a high-school english teacher and YA author. can't wait to share the finished product with you all!

[valiasims]

Thank you for your nice words! <3 I love the style of this build.

[rafilik]

@valiasims stuff fits my interiors perfectly. Love it!!! 🩵

[DL] a villa in Tartosa ⛱️

[valiasims]

Wow, looks so nice!

[valiasims]

WIP#96

Hey everyone!

I’ve been back for a couple of days now, but I jumped straight into working on the new set, so I haven’t been able to post an update yet. Thank you all so much for the lovely comments! I had a really wonderful time on the Camino, with a little suffering and the usual tiredness along the way. But I walked through some really beautiful places, and it was absolutely worth it! To top it off, after I got back I had my first running race since I picked up running as a hobby like a good old millennial. :D It was an eventful 2 weeks.

But I also started working on the set, beginning with a fence. This one is for the porch, and I want to add a different version for the regular fence around the lot. I found some cute inspiration for a gate, and that’s when I came across climbing roses and I felt I needed them in the game. I made them to fit around columns and spandrels, with three variations (I might add one more for ceiling lattices). They’re designed to be more modular rather than a ready-made arch.

Sorry for the Blender images, I'm yet to put these into the game but I wanted to show you what I'm working on currently. I wanted to thank you again for all the nice comments and for all the support you give me! I'm really happy you like this collection and I can't wait to expand it with more sets.

[valiasims]

your cc is so good i am so happy every time i use it.

Thank you! That's really nice of you!

[valiasims]

Hi Valia, I was wondering if you have any tips on how to import glass textures into Sims 4 Studio. When I import the mesh, everything looks almost metallic rather than clear, whereas in Blender it's clear.

Thank you!

Hey! I always export and check how the in-game textures look in Photoshop. Make sure to export them in .dds so you can see the alpha channel as well and use that transparency for your glass texture. I only can think of alpha issues that can be the cause, you might did the alpha color too light which means it's less transparent. That paired with a pure white specular could make it look like metal. But I'm just guessing since I can't see your files. Also make sure you use PhongAlpha or the Glass shader, these support transparency.

[valiasims]

Quiet Corner - Lounge & Read

Hey everyone!

The last part of the Quiet Corner Collection is here! The main theme for this part is the lounge area where you can sit down and read your favorite book. I know bookshops usually don't have this area but this is a fancy bookshop. :D

I made a centerpiece item which has absolutely no funcionality other than looking good. This would be the spiral stairs which in theory and in our imagination is for the sims to reach to upper bookshelves. I added some slots so you can decorate it

I wanted to make a seating set with a sofa, a loveseat and an armchair that would look good in residential homes as well.

I also added 20 new readable books. 4 of them are from the last set I just made readable but the other are all new and I made a little sheet with all the titles on what books I added (I modified their titles a little compared to the original ones). I don't know if you're aware but most in-game books have different states when you put them on a display. They change to a similar look as I have my deco bookstands in my previous set. I wanted these new books to have this funcionality but I was unable to find a solution on how to change the covers for the displayed books. (Even some of the in-game ones are incorrect.) So I made a custom tuning for each of them and removed that code from the it so the books won't change state.

As I said this is the last part of the Quiet Corner Collection. I was struggling a little with this last part, I felt my motivation slipping away but thanks to all of you who left a supportive comment I gained back my passion and I'm really excited to continue with a completely new theme next. I mentioned earlier that the next style I will create in will be the Victorian style, trying to make it look stylish and not dated. That idea combined with a lived-in family home. We'll see how it'll come to life because I'm yet to specify what I want to see in this collection. I know I'm gonna start with windows, doors and build stuff. I'm really inspired by Victorian windows at the moment. So expect a check-in next week!

As I'm writing this it's currently 3AM and I'm travelling tomorrow morning for a few days trip away and I have to rant a little because I can't believe I always end up posting my sets in the middle of the night. I was almost finished with all the pictures when I noticed the walls weren't looking correctly in the game. So I had to save almost all of them again and that means hundreds of images. So yeah, I wasn't happy. Of course I always do these nonsenses when I don't have time. Rant over, thank you for reading it. :D

I hope you'll like this set even it's a little smaller than I try to aim for. Thank you for all the love throughout this collection!

The Set Includes

Sofa

Loveseat

Armchair

Decorative Cushions

Sidetable

Head Sculpture

Decorative Library Stairs

Oval Rug

Ceiling Light (3 sizes)

Wood Parquet

Ornamental Wall Paneling

Ornamental Half Paneling

20 readable books (available from any bookshelf as other in-game books or from debug)

-DOWNLOAD HERE- Public Release on the 10th of May 6PM CEST

[valiasims]

This set is free to download!

[valiasims]

WIP#95

Hey everyone!

I've been so locked in on finishing this set, i didn't have time to update you on the progress. Since I'm going away next week I really wanted to finish this set before I leave because I hate leaving things unfinished. So if everything goes well, I'll upload it on Tuesday!

Now, what I've been working on? I did all the swatches for the windows and I put together all window variations. There are 13 of them. I made extra swatches for the stained glass versions (not all colors have a stained glass swatch because that would have been 80 or so swatches together. :D) But after I was done with the design I realized I don't like it, I feel the lines are too thin so I want to change it a little and hopefully I'll be satisfied with them. Although I wanted to make more designs, I don't think that will happen because I don't have enough time for that unfortunately.

I also finished up the column, and spandrel (not pictured) which took so much time because each has like 10 meshes in them. For columns for example when you place them on the wall it cuts the half of it or in a corner it cuts 3/4 of it. For spandrels there are 3 types of curved variations in 3 sizes. So yeah, it was a little time consuming to do all of them but they are done!

Next thing I thought would be a quick and easy thing was a roof trim because I saw you'd like to see one in this set. I managed to do the one you can see on the picture but it wasn't quick and I have no idea how they work exactly. I'm just happy I could add it and I'll try to figure out the hows and whys later. :D

Now I have 2 days to finish everything and do the pictures so wish me luck because I have a ton of swatches left to do and I also want to make another, bigger gable too.

I have so many things I want to add to this collection, I think I'll continue with the build items for the next part as well. Without the big amount of time I usually spend with windows I can concentrate more on other build things, like a new fence, dormers, corbels, hopefully trims and I want to make some outdoor flowers too. Plus the elements to turn this into a UK style Victorian building too. So many-many things I'm excited to work on once I'm back!

[rafilik]

My love for CC @valiasims is boundless.

[DL] LARGE FARMHOUSE

[valiasims]

Love this, looks so cozy! Thank you for using my CC for your build!

[simmerlou]

finally finished the bookstore ⭐

[valiasims]

So cute!

[valiasims]

Hi Valia, do you have any tips for an aspiring CC creator on starting their blender journey? The best way to learn and where to get started, mistakes to avoid making, etc?

Hey! If you're starting from completely zero I'd recommend doing Blenderguru's donut tutorial, it's on Youtube. It's a good start to get to know the basic tools and the interface which can look scary at first. I really like Polygon Runway's videos, they have follow along tutorials and long modeling videos. Once you learn the basics you can search for specific things like "sofa modeling" or "rope modeling" just to name some random things. You will find anything on Youtube and these videos are really useful to learn new techniques. When you've done a lot of these you're gonna have knowledge to do anything with the tools and techniques you've learned. In 3D modeling there are many ways to get to the same result and all of them are good (usually some of them are quicker). There are tools (called modifiers) to make the work easier, it's useful to know the most important ones. The best way to learn is to practice. I can't think of any mistakes, maybe that always save your file and always make a duplicate of your mesh before you apply your modifiers because it's harder to edit it later.

[valiasims]

Hi!!! I think all of your cc is amazing! But I really am completely blown away by your food and plant cc especially. I think you make the most amazing of both I have ever seen, so I wanted to know if you were planning on making any more in the future?

Hey! Thank youu! <3 Foods currently are not in my plan, maybe here and there I'll one when I'm doing kitchens or dining rooms. Though I'm currently working on some building items, later when I'm gonna do interior sets I'll include plants in them. I love plants and I think they're must haves to decorate a room.

[valiasims]

WIP #94

Hey everyone!

I'm here with the next work in progress! As you can see I progressed with the front door and I added some extra architectural elements like the spandrel, a new column and a decorative gable and the siding.

I'm gonna make a few variations of the front door, like a for taller wall height, and less wider options. Now I'm planning to finish all the other windows I showed earlier and I'll see if I have time for more things. But I have a bunch of tasks with the spandrels and columns, since they have a lot of mesh variations for all the use cases in the game such as curved walls.

When I was researching Victorian architecture, I decided to go with a more decorative style, like the ones commonly seen in the US. However, I’m really tempted to add some elements from the UK Victorian style as well. It’s a bit different, but the base features, like the windows and front door would still work with that style too. When I come back after my small trip I think I'll continue with that route if you're interested in it. I'm thinking about brick walls, simple stone columns etc.

I'm feeling this set is finally coming together. I was afraid for a little while it'll look lame but once I added the small details, I think it pulls it together and it's finally starting to look like what I was imagining.

[valiasims]

WIP #93

Hey everyone!

It feels a lifetime ago when I last checked in but as I mentioned I was away for a few days so I couldn't start the new collection.

Once I got back home I started with some research about Victorian architecture so I can do my items as accurate as possible. I gathered a bunch of references and ended up with this more simple looking sash window style.

Since I’m planning to include more ornate elements like spandrels and columns, I wanted to keep the windows simple and versatile so they can work with other styles as well.

Although the windows are simple they will have swatches with stained glass. I'm really excited to do those swatches because my main inspiration for this collection were stained glass windows.

The last few days I've been experimenting with friezes. I've made 3-4 versions and didn't like either of them and I got frustrated and moved on to the base texture for the windows so I can show you something other than gray models. :D So I'm yet to return to that project. But I might have to scrap that whole idea.

In early May I'm going away again for a few days to continue the Camino de Santiago which I started last year, so I have 2,5 weeks for this CC set. I will do my best to include as many items as I can but my main focus is quality over quantity. I’m planning to make a couple of front door designs (hopefully two), along with the column and spandrel I want to include.

I hope you like the start of this new collection, I'm excited to see it come to life and to give it more personality.

[valiasims]

Quiet Corner - Book Display

Hey everyone!

I wanted to finish this set earlier but these last few days were really hard for me, it took a lot to work on this set and complete it.

Sorry, if I won't be that animated in this post, despite that I'm still excited to share this set because I worked a lot on it, especially on the book covers.

This part of the Quiet Corner Collection focused finally on the books and showcasing them in the shop. I wanted to create bookshelves, displays and a lots of books. As you may saw my posts on Patreon I tried to as many book covers as I could. They took a lot of time so I couldn't do everyone's suggestion but thank you for everyone who sent one. I handpainted all of them in small resolution so in general one cover took about 10 minutes.

About the collection: The bookshelf is modular and can be placed next to each other seamlessly. I made some cabinets which snap to the wall and you can either build up a unit with them or put them above the bookshelf. They are 1 tile high so for medium wall you can place bookshelf+1 cabinet for tall bookshelf+2 cabinets. I was really inspired by the bookshelves in Livraria Lello in Porto, but I simplifed and changed the design so it fits to the style I was going for with my bookshop.

Both the bookshelf and the display shelf has a slot for a book genre sign, you can snap it on them and change the swatch.

I made the display shelf and the round display Businesses&Hobbies compatible so you can sell things from them. A slight disadvantage that you can't decorate them if you enable the sales because sims will buy the deco things as well. But on the display shelf you can put the in-game books and sell them (some of them have that thing when you put them somewhere they magically have a bookstand under them), and I plan to do some functional, readable books (hopefully) to have some trendy books in the game, and I'll use your earlier suggestions for that.

That's all. I hope you like this set, and I hope I can continue with the next part that I plan to be the last for this collection. Right now I'm a little overwhelmed and I have a hard time finding my motivation.

I just want to say, if you're here and keep supporting me by either subscribing or just following me, I am really grateful and I never once took it for granted. I respect everyone's opinion if they come with the same respect but I won’t respond to any hateful comments directed at me. I'll keep doing my Patreon as before, I won't post less, actually as I said in an earlier post, I want to post more often.

The Set Includes

Bookcase

Display Shelf

Round Display

Book Cabinets (2 versions)

Chalkboard

Books (2 version)

Book Stand

Book Genre Sign

-DOWNLOAD HERE- Public Release on the 9th of April 6PM CEST

[valiasims]

This set is now free to download!