work 'smarter' not harder (story screens) editing tut/tips photoshop
This tut is inpired by my simmer friend that crashes out over editing multiple screens and i always say "work smarter not harder" friend. So here are a few things I do when I have to edit multiple screens and im TIRED, it's all about the illusion guys give the viewer things to focus on.
step 1: FIRSTLY. i take into consideration LAYOUT. if there is too much space in one screen i think "what can i put there?" "i have 2 great pics but it's already too many slides.."
helpful tip: you can read up on 'the golden ratio' and 'rule of thirds' if you struggle with where to place images/crop.
step 2: TEXT layout, screens are already more interesting when the viewers eyes are being moved around the image. i use 'warped 'text' in photoshop.
the average person looks at a story photo for a few seconds. (to those of you that read manga think of how long it takes for an artist to draw a panel that you only look at for a few seconds as you're excited to get to the next part...) hence why i usually work harder on single edits than longer story posts
step 3: take into consideration (The "cheerleader effect" a cognitive bias where people perceive individuals as more attractive when they are in a group than when seen alone,) i use this approach with my screenshots, all of my story screens (lately hehe) look cohesive together as opposed to alone i try to ensure the previous slide elevates the next one to not be repetitive 'cause then they're not interesting to look at.
i usually edit story screens in photoshop for efficiency than having to transfer files from ipad to pc, if i have 20 slides i might decide to quickly draw hair in 5 in procreate (or try my luck drawing hair w my mouse) and create a fun illusion for the rest. i do this by using more:
special effects
lighting
cropping or
dynamic text
templates also help me add much more info in my screenshots without 'info dumping' and have super long text (though not always avoidable)
step 4: i decide which parts of an image will have more attention to detail when editing and which parts will be relatively basic. this can help a boring screen look less tragic and act as 'support' if the more interesting screen takes the spotlight. (as you can see below i focused my editing towards the female sim (noee) as opposed to the male sim in the top right (lee))
step 5: the parts that save me THE MOST time are not zooming in on the screen every 2 seconds & using the 'dodge & burn' tools in photoshop (the free software Gimp also has these tools) i don't have to create a new layer then change blending modes etc.. i just duplicate the layer and begin 'lightening' or 'burning' the image. (i do this using my mouse, no drawing tablet)
pay attention to the 'exposure' of your brush when using dodge and burn tools, the key is to LAYER the effect not go all in on the first brushstroke (i keep my exposure at around 22%)
step 6: i'll then colour grade the screen but not in 'camera raw filter'
And that's it!! now i feel i edit more efficiently and can add more 'info' into my screens and it works well for my montage style story telling. if i'm being super fast it takes around 7-15 minutes to edit a story screen. 30 mins if i'm feeling crazy.
Hope you found this helpful if you have any further questions just send them to my ask box :) check out my other tuts here
Introducing Are You Alive? (or just Alive) , the ReShade preset I've been using in all of my posts for the past two years. It makes the game a little more alive with saturated colors and a warmer look.
Download here -> PATREON or here -> SimFileShare
Check under the cut for more pictures. No editing was done other than adding the text. For best results make sure edge smoothing is turned off in your settings. My ReShade version is currently 6.6.1 and this is how my shaders are structured in-game.
I've been working on a free resource website for Sims 4 CC creators called Resources4CC. It's a directory of 100% free tutorials, assets, and useful websites related to creating Sims 4 custom content of all kinds: maxis match, alpha, script mods, meshing, recolors, and more.
If you'll get use out of this site and want to help it grow, please reblog this post to spread the word :)
Over my years making CC, I've often ran into problems finding tutorials, graphics, and tools. People share them on forums, on Tumblr, on YouTube, and even their own websites! So I decided to start R4CC for fellow CC creators who would like a sortable list of free resources, all gathered onto one convenient site.
Note: All the entries link off to the original pages. Nothing but the occasional thumbnail image is hosted on R4CC.
On R4CC, you'll find:
TUTORIALS made by the community for creating CC of all varieties, as well as for using common programs.
ASSETS including patterns, color palettes, graphics, fonts and more.
WEBSITES full of their own tutorial and asset libraries, as well as inspiration for CC, help forums, game mods, and other community resources.
More info under the cut!
But first, a cry for help. This is a Herculean task, yes. I'm an ambitious fool. While I did my best to start the site off with plenty of resources (99 entries, to be exact), it's very incomplete!
Do you know of something that could be a great fit for the site? Suggest it via the contact page! The form helps me stay organized and makes sure I won't miss anything, so please don't send recs thru Tumblr. Questions and other comments are encouraged!
FAQ
or at least i assume people might ask these things idk faq is a lot snappier
How do the directories work?
Directories are split into 3 broad categories:
1. Tutorials is for the how; written and video tutorials and program walkthroughs.
2. Assets will cover the what; free design resources and downloads.
3. Websites is the where; free programs and community sites, as well as websites that consolidate assets and tutorials themselves.
Some websites contains massive amounts of tutorials and assets (ex: the S4S forums). In these cases, R4CC will point you towards the homepage or subpages in the websites directory. Select tutorials and assets are still spotlighted, but most won't be catalogued. If you can't find the tutorial or asset you're looking for, give that directory a search!
What is R4CC's AI content policy?
No AI. I only feature visual resource websites that prohibit AI content, programs without AI features, and 100% human-made assets and tutorials. If you spot slop, alert me! Due to AI disclosures not being universal, the onus of identification falls on the consumer; I greatly appreciate your help in keeping R4CC and the CC community at large authentic.
Are you planning to add more directories?
As of right now, I can't think of any categories that would warrant their own directory as opposed to a filter tag. There will be many more filters to come as new resources are added.
I have a feature suggestion or bug report!
To suggest content you think I should add to the site or to report issues, please use the contact form to let me know.
I want my content removed from the site.
Message me on Tumblr (quicker response) or through the contact form and I will remove it ASAP, no questions asked. I will also avoid including your work in future updates. If you're still okay with it being included in future updates, please let me know when you're requesting removal so I don't add you to that list!
I want to change something about how my content appears on the site.
Message me on Tumblr or use the form to get in touch. If you want to be credited by a different username, have your entry link to a different site, if I got something wrong, etc. I will update it ASAP. Hell I'll put sparkles on your entries or decorate them a bit if you ask me to a little whimsy is never bad
Will you add a search bar to the site?
Don't ask me no personal shit like this. (I don't know how to; help wanted!)
Do you want help with the site?
If you'd like to volunteer something, then feel free to DM me with your ideas. Right now, I'm not actively looking for anything except more to catalogue! (And maybe that search bar...)
Some of the filters are empty!
As of right now, there are 99 total entries but you may notice that 4 filters have zero results. A couple of things and projects have come up that require the majority of my attention, so I can't spend the absolutely heinous amount of time per day I was spending on the site before.
Because of that, I decided it was best if I went ahead with launching. It contains a lot of useful stuff already, plus if people really like it, that'll help me justify prioritizing it also my ADHD is entirely unmedicated so if it just sits there I am definitely gonna forget I even made it. Most importantly though, some very kind simmers might suggest things while I'm busy.
Updating entries takes a few minutes, but searching for them can take a lot longer - so IMO, it's better to open up that possibility instead of letting it collect dust!
Thanks for being so supportive of me over the years. I hope this site can give back to the community a bit and help spread some knowledge :)
Please stop trigger tagging with #epilepsy tw/cw/warning/etc.
I need every single person to understand how horrible tumblr’s tagging system is
I go into the tag for epilepsy and its all flashing lights. We can’t use our own tag because people without epilepsy fill it up with improper warnings.
Use ‘flashing’ in place of ‘epilepsy’ in your tags. You aren’t warning people of epileptics, you’re warning us of flashing lights. Please please tag properly. Epileptics say this endlessly and constantly and it’s ignored. You are risking lives by doing this.
Here’s proof of what I mean:
THIS POST IS 100% OKAY TO REBLOG, I ENCOURAGE PEOPLE WITHOUT EPILEPSY TO ESPECIALLY DO SO!
I never get political on here because its simblr for crying out loud, but if you're a republican I literally hate you. You make my blood boil. You make me want to throw large objects at things. You are the devil's spawn and you follow a literal demon from the 7th circle of hell who shits his fucking pants.
Unfollow me immediately and then block me for eternity.
"I ONLY LISTEN TO SINGERS" - A collection of PSDs/PNGs (TS4)
(PART 1) This started as me being bored and then it possessed me so now we have a collection of social media based psds to assist in storytelling for your famous singer sims! I've done english & simlish versions (w/ simified name changes for some!) I've labeled this as part 1 cos I was gonna do more then I got tired lmao.
IN THIS PACK:
TEMPLATES
Spotify/Simify artist page (Desktop)
Vevo Live Sessions / Vevo DSCVR series
Radio 1 Live lounge / LlamaFM Live lounge
Genius Verified
PNGS
ColorsxStudios (Simlish only)
Tiny desk (NPR/SPR) performance (Simlish only)
DO NOT RE-UPLOAD ANYWHERE OR PUT BEHIND A PAYWALL
(no s*msdom,boosty etc)
Feel free to tweak for personal use, but again, please don't re-upload.
please tag me if you use these! would love to see these in action
templates were made with simblr in mind but if you want to use them for non-sims rp purposes that's fine, but again...please credit me.
made w/ photopea. | fonts used: spotify / nootrasim / legiza / antonio / genius / plain
The tumblr that is up @ellcrze is not her so please do not go and harass them as they just basically took the name and archived everything she deleted
I am not doing this to cause drama or send hate in anyones direction I just want people to be aware of what happened and at the end of the day it is up to you, yourself if you want to support her in her comeback or don't support her
it seems that not alot of people know this, she is now under a NEW name called Melluhsims, I am very uncomfotable to know that I have been watching her content for weeks now without realizing who she was, and even interracting with her and becoming mutuals. You can not run away from the things youve said. Making a new account with a new name feels almost like running away from taking accountablity and feels very decietful.
BUT HEY AS LONG AS HER SIMS STYLE IS NICE WE ARE JUST GOING TO IGNORE IT?
She’s a weirdo that almost had a successful rebrand. Genuinely did not realize that was her until she said some weird shit in her live and puzzle pieces connected. A racist is a racist 🤷🏽♀️. Support a black simmer instead
not only is @/melluhsims a shell for ellcrze to return without any apology, she’s also been stealing off @virsancte since she sprouted back up.
spot the stylistic difference? yea, me neither.
while it’s totally okay to take inspiration, this is like… a direct rip 😭 it’s one thing to use a shader someone put out, but when you steal the thumbnail style, the sims style, the cas background, plus using the shader… c’mon now?
hello! all i can say is: ellcrze (or melluh) is not my friend, she's not anyone i know personally, and i have never agreed to be used as a template to rebrand. there's, uhh... plenty of various similarities in our content, such as:
the way she changes her presets to match whatever i am using currently as well as her abandoning the beige/white build style she used to have to instead replicate my style of decorating (random screencap of hers and random screencap of mine - didn't cherry pick anything for a reason)
very strong similarities in sims style, from oldest to newest, with her style changing every time mine does (there's more and i remember some better examples that popped up on my dash before i blocked her, but from what i can tell she's wiped a lot of posts off her tumblr)
or even something small, like how i started using polaroids in my thumbnails and suddenly it became "her thing" on every thumbnail. can i copyright a polaroid? no. is it weird that her stuff always mirrors mine? yeah, a little.
there's more, like how her first legacy's gen 1 is eerily similar to one of my hot tea sims or how her desire to write a new "ranch life rags to riches legacy" popped up about, uh... a week? after i started playing a ranch life rags to riches.
and before anyone tries to tell me "she probably doesn't even watch your content!", well
i'm pretty sure she does, as stated in this vod.
see, i have kept this to myself for a long time and watched in silence as she'd adjust her style and channel depending on the changes i'd make to mine. i didn't say anything because i'm just not confrontational (and i didn't know how to approach it, because it's not just "specific" things, it's quite literally The Whole of my channel and hers), but it does piss me off that somebody is basing their rebrand off of my content without even acknowledging the fact that originally they left due to racist remarks they never apologized for.
i may not be very active on youtube anymore, something that, i'm sure, was very beneficial to her in this case, but i do get her content recommended to me as well as sent to me by friends and i have observed this constant stylistic copypasting for a long time.
listen, it's one thing to be inspired by someone (plenty of people have been inspired by my work as much as i have been inspired by creators like dey, pearlean, warmsol, elderwisp, etc - i give credit where credit is due and don't bother people when they do the same with me) and i wouldn't even say anything had she stuck to the old stuff, but ever since she found out i'm still very much active on twitch it's been getting out of control. i can't leave a cas vod up without her style changing to follow something i did in it. it's weird and uncomfortable. peace out.
Yeah, so, I normally don't do this but I'm a wee bit worried about both this creator and anyone who downloaded from him. If you have any CC from someone called UNYOOZD please check the files. I don't care where you got those from, but especially the ones from his Patreon have a chance to be compromised. This may just be nothing, but safety first.
had an insanely fun time in cas trying out the new @my-kwy and @orquedyas set! this style is one of my faves in real life and i knew i had to get my hands on it ASAP! also been dying for new cas poses and @wotunciba provided as per usual 😌 appreciate u guys sm for the talent you have!!
origamiaround
annaxmalina
vaporwave
kianamaiart
discoholicmusic
andulkaphoto
janainaart
romaincrisis
