Edge Smoothing (GIMP)

This tutorial shows how to smooth rough edges in GIMP. Please note, this only works on pictures cut from the background (in this case, Sims). Here is the photo that I am going to start with (please ignore the crappy cut-out of the sim).

Select your sim. One way I found is that if the background is a solid color, select it with the select by color option (Select> By Color) then click the background and then inverse the selection (Select>Invert).

For this tutorial, we are going to use a layer mask to smooth the edges. Shift-click your cut-out layer so that the sim is selected. Now, right click the layer of your cut out sim and select "Add Layer Mask". When the window pops up, select the "Selection" option and check the box that says "Invert mask". Your layer mask will be added to that layer and it should look like silhouette of your sim on a black background.

Once the layer mask is created, you can deselect your sim (Select>None)

With the layer mask selected, go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set the radius to around 10. Click okay.Your numbers will probably vary depending on the size of the photo.

Now your sim in the layer mask should be slightly blurry. With that layer mask still selected, go to Colors>Level. Play around with the levels by moving the outer arrows towards the middle arrow until the edges on your sim look smoother. You can also move the middle arrow around to get the desired effect. My settings are shown below. The values for the arrows read 42, 0.22 and 235. Your photo will change while you adjust the levels so you can see the result before clicking Ok.

As you see from the photo below, the edge on my sim's shoulder is a lot smoother than it was before.

This is just one method you can use to smooth rough edges. You could also use an eraser and carefully go over the edges. This technique is tedious and time-consuming and it helps to have a steady hand. Another method that could be used is to use the smudge tool and carefully run it over the edges (this works best for images not cut from the background).

So that is it. If you need more explaination or have any questions, feel free to ask.

Set Design

Hello, this is the second of my in-game tutorials :) This one will focus on set design.

We're going to start out with the outdoors set design portion. I'll be using the same setup that I used in the lighting tutorial :3

Beach/Tropical Scene

For the beach set, I like to buy an empty lot on the beach and build the room like I showed in the lighting tutorial. Then I add trees and rocks to cover the portion of the wall that is shown. For the beach scene, I use palm trees and other tropical looking plants.

 This is what the completed scene looks like. Very simple and quick :) In this case, I would just cover the little bit of the wall that's showing.

Forest Scene

For the forest scene, I start out with the same setup but I usually use a lot that has a foresty look to it so that you don't see roads or sims running by in the background (unless of course that's what you're going for).

Then I start adding trees, rocks, shrubs and little flowers here and there to make it look like the model is in the middle of the forest.

I also like to add trees outside as well to add to the effect and give it some depth.

 For areas where you see through the branches of the shrubs/trees, you can add small rocks so that you can't see the wall through them. Note: the "moveobjects on" cheat is very helpful here :P

I also like to add some plants in front of the model to give depth to photos as well.

This is the final photo. (sorry that she's using a guy pose lol. I didn't have many women's poses installed and was too lazy to exit and install some)

Pond Scene

The final type of outdoor scene I'm going to show is a pond scene. It uses pretty much the same procedure as the other scenes but with everything (including the pond) inside. Because of this, you will need a large room.

I started by filling the area in with a dirt terrain paint.

Then, using the pond tool, I made a horseshoe-shaped pond around the model.

 

Now, start adding water plants like lilies and cattails around the edges of the pond.

Feel free to add more lights to lighten the scene more. Continue adding plants and rocks until you are satisfied with the result.

This is the final result.

These procedures could be applied to any kind of outdoor scene like snow, rainforests and deserts.

Indoor Scenes

This section will be short because there isn't too much to tell. For this example, I will create a princess-like bedroom.

For indoor scenes, people normally recommend using less rectangular rooms and more slanted walls because it improves the look of the resulting photo.

For this scene, I used slanted walls, light wood floors and pink and white patterned walls.

Since this is a bedroom scene. I start by adding the basic furniture: a bed, side tables, lamps, etc. Then I start adding other decor and clutter to make the room look more homey. I ended up changing the color of the lights to flame to give the room a more warm color (as seen in the second photo)

When I make these kind of scenes, I just make it up as I go along. You can let your imagination go wild.

 Here is the final photo.

I know it's still fairly simple but you get the point. You could go further and put dirty clothes and other objects on the floor to fill up more empty space, and play with camera angles to change the look of the photo. Using the buydebug mode allows you to access objects normally hidden in the game or things you can only get on vacation or as rewards for careers/opportunities.

As always, feel free to ask questions.

Lighting and Camera Angles

Hello everyone! This is the first of my in-game tutorials. This will focus on lighting and basic camera angles. The lighting portion will be broken into indoor and outdoor lighting :3 I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos. I had to take screencaps in windowed mode so they aren't the best quality >.<

Indoor Lighting

This part is, obviously, focusing on the indoor lighting.

First, get an empty lot (or at least a lot with some extra space) and build a room. It doesn't have to be a certain size, just big enough to fit your sim and whatever you decide to use for your set.

For this part of the tutorial, I'm going to use a plain background. This will be helpful for if you want to take headshots/bodyshots for your models.

Choose the third flooring option under the carpet (it is called "Simple Flooring") and cover the room with it.

Now click the icon that looks like a paint palette to change the color and style of it. Choose the Misc. category and select the plain white "pattern" (circled below).

To change the background to pure white, drag the arrow all the way over to the left. For a plain black background, drag the arrow all the way to the right.

For this tutorial, I'm going to stick with white. For the walls, choose the one called "Flat Wall" and change the color/style the same way you did the floor.

Now to add the lights. To be able to access the lights, you need to use a couple in-game cheats. Press Control-Shift-C to open the cheat bar. Type in "testingcheatsenabled true" and press enter. 

Now enter "buydebug on" to access the hidden objects where the lights are located.

A special icon will appear in buy mode that looks like a question mark. Click it, then go to the last category (the miscellaneous category). This is where you will find the lights :)

Scroll down until you see what looks to be blank icons but they are really pictures of the lights. Choose the one that says "Circular Ceiling Area Light 4x4". This is going to be your light for the ceilieng (obviously :P). Place the light in the middle of the ceiling.

Now scroll down in that section more, and you'll find more lights. Choose the one that says "Wall Area Light 2x2". These will be used to light up your model.

Place them around the ceiling light so that they are angled towards the center of the circle. I changed the angle of this photo so you can see them better.

Add your sim in the area and adjust him/her so that they are completely lit.

Now you can use cameraman mode to zoom in on the model and make interesting camera angles. 

Here are the controls for cameraman (also called movie making) mode:

Tab Key - enable movie making mode

 Q or E - lower or raise camera height

Shift + A - roll camera counterclockwise

Shift + D - roll camera clockwise

Z or X - Zoom in or out

C- Take Photo

P- Pause

This photo was taken by rotating the camera until the sim is completely horizontal.

This photo's angle was from rolling the camera clockwise.

This photo's angle was from rolling the camera counter-clockwise.

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Outdoor Lighting

This part of the tutorial focuses on outdoor lighting.

As before, start with an empty lot.

As you can see, the outdoor lighting isn't all that great. My sim has a lot of shadow on her face and it looks uneven. That's why I made a tutorial for outdoor lighting.This section will teach you the trick to getting good outdoor lighting. This is because your sim will actually be indoors ;)

Make a room as shown in the indoor lighting section, but don't worry about adding paint to the wall since it won't be seen anyway.

Use the cheats as before if needed, and place the lights :)

 
In the photo below, I added some trees and rocks to the set. See the set building tutorial for tips.

One thing I will mention when it comes to outdoor sets is that for this method, put rocks or something in front of the part of the wall shown so that it will be out of sight in your picture (unless your photo won't be showing the ground). The photo below for example, has rocks and tress hiding the wall. On the left hand side of the photo, the wall can be seen so I would have to either hide it in-game, edit it so that it can't be seen (like cropping, for example) or tilt the camera so that the area is not seen.

This is the final product with the camera tilted to conceal the wall.

Here is it as a bodyshot. 

These photos are directly from the game, no editing whatsoever.

 Sorry it isn't highly in depth, but if you want clarification on something just ask :)