In-Game SS Editing Tutorial

IT’S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I MADE A PS TUTORIAL,

but I’m finally back with this in-game edit tutorial requested by you guys.

After this tutorial, two separate tutorials will follow that go in-depth about how to edit your sims's skin and hair! (Updated version)

This tutorial follows my general plan of action when I edit in-game screenshots and will be useful for your sims-stories, lookbooks or just general screenshots you take while in-game! So let’s get started!

I generally follow these steps when it comes to editing in-game ss’s:

1.Fixing

2.Colouring

3.General add-ons

4.Hair

5.Face

6.Shadows

7.Highlights

8.Effects

Today we’re going to transform this screenshot,

Into this:

1. Fixing

First thing I do when I open my image, whether it’s an in-game ss, CAS ss or greenscreen ss, is FIX EVERYTHING that’s unnatural; you know, any clothing piece that has weird edges or a hand that is positioned awkwardly, anything like that.

Your first option

is to use liquify, which I ALWAYS use, to very easily get rid of those wonky edges. You can find liquify in your top menu OR use the shortcut Shift+Ctrl+X.

My PS is in Dutch, but you get the idea ;)

Secondly,

you can replace any part of the image you don’t like. In my case, I really wanted to fix Aren’s hand cuz’ it was just too fake-looking. So, I first clone stamped the original hand away, created a new layer and simply added a real hand from another image (I was too lazy to paint it myself).

Thirdly,

you can clone stamp parts you don’t like. You can find the clone stamp tool in your menu on the left.

What this tool does, is clone parts of your image to anywhere you want. Just play around with it and you'll get the hang of it very quickly.

For example, I used it on this scarf in one of my older edits.

Your fourth option

is painting, of course. The only thing I fixed this way in my edit, is Joyce’s belt. You don’t need a pic of that, do you? It’s not that impressive.

2. Colouring

This step can be put anywhere on the list, but I usually correct the colours of my sims whenever I feel like it’s necessary. In my case, I knew beforehand that I wanted my final edit to have a purple/blue-ish tone to it, so I decided to change my colours early on. Use the shortcut Ctrl+B to enter the colour balance menu.

3. General Add-ons

This is a personal preference. You can also do this stap last, but I found that it helps me to create a general picture of what I want my final edit to look like FIRST, so I can adjust things along the way, like create shadows of the objects I add. In this case I added some plants to my picture. I ALWAYS use the colour balance menu with images I add on to my screenshot! I added some blues and pinks to my plants so they matched the image. I also adjusted the lighting of my plants; I darkened them.

Go to "image -> adjustments -> lighting" (I think)

4. Hair

HAIR! UGH I have a love-hate relationship with sims’s hair. I mean, it’s gorgeous in-game, but sometimes, when you take screenshots, it just looks jacked up :(. I will make a seperate tutorial after this one that focuses solely on how to create pretty hair for your sims, but what I do want to say now, is that it’s a smart idea to create your hair BEFORE you do your shadows. That’s pretty self-explanatory right…? Because you know… you need to have hair… before you know how it will cast a shadow onto something… and stuff like that… GREAT so we’re all on the same page.

Here’s the hair (+face) all done:

5. Face

Again, I will make a seperate tutorial for this and go into detail about my tips and tricks and stuff and which brushes I use etc. For now just know that I always paint my sim’s faces either right after or right before I do their hair. It’s just the part of the process where I make things look more realistic and stuff. I will also paint my sim’s arms or legs if they’re showing cuz they’re usually kinda wonky-looking, but my sims wear long sleeves and pants most of the time so it’s not necessary that often.

BUT IF YOU’RE INTERESTED here’s an example of how I painted the legs of Richard and Aren some while back.

PRO TIP use the "plastic effect" to get beautiful highlights!

You can find that effect in your "filter" tab:

6. Shadows

MY FAVOURITE PART. This is where everything just comes to LIFE. The tool I use often when making shadows is the ‘’pen tool’’. This tools allows you to make beautiful, sharp selections and that way we get very crisp, contained shadows.

You can find your pen tool in your left menu:

Using the pen tool can be very tricky in the beginning, but after some practise - TRUST ME - it’s going to be your best friend. I can’t explain to you in detail how it works, but here’s a very detailed video about how to master this tool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kAQUNFZJXY

NOW THAT YOU MASTERED THAT, USE IT. Make a selection on your clothing - where you want your shadow to be - grab your painting tool, set the harshness to 0, select a dark colour, and paint NEXT TO your selection, NOT WITHIN your selection - If you want the shadow to be feathered at the edges.

Afterwards, lower your shadowlayer's opacity.

(The yellow part with 100%, just above all your layers.)

Here’s the difference between painting next to - and within your selection:

PRO TIP use this method to create a very neat shadow at your sims' jawline!

Don’t forget the shadows of your sim’s surroundings!

It will make world a of a difference! If your ss doesn't already have great lighting, then you should definitely make some shadows for like your furniture or the shadow your sim casts onto the furniture etc.

Just create a new layer, pick black, paint your shadows and then lower the layer's opacity.

(I also used the "plastic filter" here to create the wet texture on the ground and walls!)

7. Highlights

Create a new layer, grab your paint tool and select a light colour, for example white (but I tend to use a slightly off-white), set the brush's hardness to 0 and start painting away. I usually set my layer's blending mode to ‘’overlay’’ or "vivid light’’.

(The red underlined part, just above your layer section.)

Follow the lighting that you used in-game! If your lightsource is a window, and that window is situated on the left of your image, than make sure you paint everywhere on your sim where the light would hit from there. In my case, my lightsource was above and behind my sims, so I painted the top of their shoulders, arms and head and also the edges of Aren’s hoodie to match that. DON’T FORGET TO GIVE YOUR SURROUNDINGS SOME HIGHLIGHTS TOO! (which I totally forgot to do with my plants here… BUT LET’S PRETEND THAT NEVER HAPPENED.)

8. Effects

Now it’s time to make your edit feel completed. We’re going to add some overlays, lights and other general effects to it. First, I made sure to blur the background of my image, so the focus is more on the couple, since they’re in the foreground.

Make a selection of the part you want to blur. Go to filters in your top menu and select "blur -> gaussian blur". Adjust how intense you want the blur to be with the little slider.

Second, I add any shadows and highlights to my background that are missing. I added a shadow at the top of my walls and some extra on my sims, and after that I added a pink light in the center of my walls (here, I set the layer's blending mode to "vivid light".)

Now, I’m going to add a colour gradient. I create a new layer, add some green in the corners and purple in the middle. I set that layer’s opacity to 70% and the blending mode to ‘’vivid light’’ (you can play around with your blending options, whichever fits your edit best) and BOOM - finished.

I hope this inspires you to create amazing art with your in-game screenshots :two_hearts: :two_hearts: let me know if this was useful to you and maybe send me some pics of your edits? I'd love to see your beautiful creations! It's because of you amazing people that I create these tutorials after all :see_no_evil: :two_hearts: