SIMS 4 - MAKING PATTERNED WALLS - TUTORIAL (Patreon)

You can find the Google Docs format of this tutorial HERE. 

REQUIRED PROGRAMS:

• Photoshop, GIMP, or Paint
• Sims 4 Studio

REQUIRED RESOURCES:

• Seamless patterns must be 256x256 pixels

3 WALL HEIGHT FILES:

• SHORT 256X768 pixels
• MEDIUM 256X1024 pixels
• TALL 256X1280 pixels

I use Photoshop for my patterns and wall files, so that is how I will explain the process. It’s very similar in GIMP, and I haven’t used Paint but it can be done.

PROCESS:

1. Get your pattern ready.

Patterns can be found just about anywhere on the web. There are several sites you can go to, or just do a Google search for “seamless patterns” and include the subject you are looking for. For example “seamless Christmas patterns.”

-Many of these sites are free, some are not. It’s up to you which you choose, however please follow the site’s terms of use and credit when necessary.

You can also make your own patterns using Photoshop brushes, clip art, hand draw, etc. Just be sure they are seamless!

What is seamless?

-Seamless patterns repeat with no distortion in any direction. If you use patterns that aren’t seamless, your walls will look messy, chopped, and altogether not pleasant. The only time you don’t use a seamless pattern for walls is if you’re making a wall mural, and that’s a whole other topic!

Whatever pattern you are choosing, if you have to size down the original, you may need to copy and paste the pattern over itself a few times after resizing to get rid of a potential faded line on the edges of the pattern.

Patterns must be 256X256. There is no other way to make walls in The Sims 4 than with this size. That is because walls in the game are only 256 pixels wide per panel.

2. TEST YOUR PATTERN:

It’s very easy to see if your pattern is seamless. Simply make a 512x512 blank file in Photoshop. Copy and paste your pattern into it 4 times. Move each square to a corner. Now, where the pattern squares meet each other there should be no lines, and the details should line up properly. If they don’t, your pattern isn’t seamless and you will need to work on it or scrap that pattern.

3. Get your wall height files created and ready.

You will need to create 3 files to work with, one for each wall height.

SHORT - 256X768

MEDIUM - 256X1024

TALL - 256X1280

I always create them in order of height because of how I name the files and it makes it easier when importing the finished product into Sims 4 Studio. You’ll figure out your preferred way as you practice more.

So, in Photoshop, click on File > New and enter the measurements in the boxes. The width should be set at 256 pixels and left alone, as it will be the same for all three heights, as shown above.

4. Once you have the 3 wall files open, you can begin to put in your pattern.

This is where some people get confused. You can’t simply make a small wall and use it for all 3 heights. This will make the medium and tall wall patterns stretched and distorted. You picked the pattern for a reason, right? It’s very easy to keep the pattern properly placed among the 3 wall heights, and yes, it’s a bit time consuming. But for your sake and anyone you share the walls with, please don’t use one file for all 3 wall heights.

My first step is to always make the tall wall first. A 256x256 pattern will fit perfectly into the tall wall file 5 times. So, select all of the pattern CTRL + A, copy CTRL + C, and paste CTRL + V it 5 times into the tall wall and position the pattern squares so the entire file is covered. You only have to press CTRL + V 5 times, you don’t have to reselect the pattern and copy it each time.

Slide one square to the bottom or top, and the rest you can line up more easily. Photoshop has a snap to function that lines the top and bottom of the patterns automatically when in place. Once they’re in place and you’re satisfied with how it looks, merge all the layers by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + E, or by clicking at the top tab Layers > Merge Layers or Merge Visible or Flatten Image. They’ll all work in this case.

Save your tall wall. I call it 3. Short is 1, medium is 2, for me. From here, I can either name the next colours 4, 5, 6, which will organize your walls by colour; or 1a, 2a, 3a, which organizes them by size. You can have your own naming system or use one of those, it’s entirely up to you!

5. Make the medium and small walls from the tall wall.

To accomplish this, select all of the tall wall file CTRL + A, copy CTRL + C, and paste CTRL + V, your tall wall into the medium and small wall files and merge down using CTRL + E. Using the regular paste function CTRL + V, not paste into and not paste in place, is essential or the patterns won’t line up properly without moving them around. This way, they’re automatically in place in the small and medium files.

YOU’VE MADE YOUR FIRST SET!

I will warn you, sometimes there will need to be changes because you may not quite like how something looks in game, so it can be good to test your package with just the base colour files.

PRO TIP: Do not use pure white or pure black in your creations unless it’s in very small amounts. White can be blinding in game and as with pure black, can remove all shadows and contours to your creation. Black simply makes a black void in game with no texture visible. Fully saturated colours should be used sparingly as they are also hard on the eyes in game and distract from everything else. There’s a time and a place for that in your creation, yes. Just be warned, most people don’t want to have to shade their eyes when playing the game, nor do they want to have to squint to see any details.

If you’re making walls, or anything, to be shared, remember to take into consideration who is going to be downloading your work.

6. Recolours:

Now, for more colours, there are so many ways to accomplish this. Since we’re just talking about walls with patterns and no embellishments like molding or panels, etc, this is pretty easy. Three ways I like to use are as follows:

1. MANUALLY: Go to the tall wall and press CTRL + U, or go to the Image tab on the top tool bar, Adjustments, then Hue and Saturation. Change the numbers using the sliders or whatever way works for you. Write down or remember the numbers in the Hue and Saturation panel, and go to the medium wall and repeat the adjustments. Then do the small wall. Remember to save and name these walls differently from the first 3 or you will lose the first 3.
2. COPY AND PASTE: Go to the tall wall and press CTRL + U, or go to the Image tab on the top tool bar, Adjustments, then Hue and Saturation. Change the numbers using the sliders or whatever way works for you. Copy and paste the tall wall into the medium and short wall files, merge each and save. Remember to save and name these walls differently from the first 3 or you will lose the first 3.
3. ACTIONS: If you know you’re going to be using the exact same adjustment over and over, it’s best to make an action for it so it’s done with one click. I tend to use the brightness and contrast option often, so actions don’t always work for me, but they can be useful and I do use them often. Click on the Actions button, which looks like the play button on a stereo, a solid triangle pointing to the right. On my Photoshop layout, it’s on the left side of the main screen, and could be hiding under the history button. Click on the + button at the bottom of the Actions panel and name your action whatever you want. If it’s something you’ll use often, name it clearly for your own sanity. Then, click the Record button, which is a circle at the bottom of the Actions panel and begin your adjustments that you want to repeat. For example, using the Hue, enter in 20. Click stop on the Actions Panel. You’ve made an Action! Now save the file with a new name/number, as previously mentioned, and go to the next one. Click on your Action name, or the action recorded directly below it, and click PLAY, or the solid triangle pointing right at the bottom of the Actions panel. Voila! Your hue has been change using the parameters set in your previous action. Save the file and go to the next one. Click play, and save. Done!

Hint: you can make an action for copy and paste as well:

Make all the tall walls first, including recolours, then open all of the tall walls in Photoshop, then make your base small and medium walls. Record the copy and paste from the first tall wall to the small and medium base files and stop. Now you can click on the next colour of tall wall and click play on the Action. It should copy and paste them for you!

7. Import your files into your Sims 4 Studio package.

It is important to watch as you import each file to be sure it’s lining up correctly in the preview window of Sims 4 Studio. This way you can head off any potential problems that are a pain to discover in game.

—With regular patterned walls you don’t need a special specular or normal map. But, you do need those files in most wall packages or the walls won’t work as you intend in game. Sometimes, however, if you pick the right wall, there are no specular or normal maps required at all.---

8. Making a basic Specular:

If the package has a Specular requirement, you can export the speculars from S4S just like you would a texture file, or diffuse, for recolouring. You will end up with 2 files for the specular, one ending in .mask. Do not change the names! Or if you do, rename them with exactly the same name, but keep the .mask at the end of the one that has that extension. This way S4S can import them together by clicking on either one of the speculars. The .mask is an alpha channel that’s been separated. For zero shine, a completely matt effect, simply fill each of the wall file sizes completely with black. If you want some shine, adjust the specular to a shade of gray, the lighter the gray, the shinier the effect. If you didn’t use the exported Specular files, the file sizes have to be changed, however, so now resize the TALL to 256x1024, and the MEDIUM and SMALL walls to 256x512. Save, and import to the Specular sections in S4S. You only need to import Specular files once, instead of for each colour, as S4S carries them between swatches.

9. Making a basic Normal:

If the package has a Normal requirement, you can export the normals from S4S just like you would a texture file, or diffuse, for recolouring. Fill all channels of each wall height, including the alpha, with 50% gray, and save. Channels are located down by the Layer panel on the bottom right of Photoshop. If you didn’t use the exported Normal files, the file sizes have to be changed, so now resize the TALL to 256x1024, and the MEDIUM and SMALL walls to 256x512. Save, and import to the Normal sections in S4S. You only need to import Normal files once, instead of for each colour, as S4S carries them between swatches. There’s a lot that can be done with normals, like enabling a 3D effect for crown moulding or making wallpaper, paint, or bricks appear bumpy, but for this tutorial, we’re only looking at basic flat patterns.

Now, you should have created 3 wall height files for your pattern and any/all recolours, one set of Specular files including short, medium, and tall, and one Normal set including short, medium, and tall.

Once you have everything imported to S4S, you have a small bit of work before you can put your package in game.

10. TAGS:

I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about tags.They are so important! Tags are found under the Tags Tab in Studio mode in S4S, which is where you probably already are. Click on the Tags tab and adjust what’s necessary. Colours only have to be separately checked for each swatch, whereas everything else can be done once, and then clicking Apply to all Swatches for each area. Make sure you have put your wall in the correct Pattern category. There’s nothing worse than going in game looking for a brick wall and seeing flower patterns everywhere! Tags are as important to you as they are to anyone you share your work with for organisational purposes!

11. Save and name your package:

Now you can save and name your package, and please, use a name you and others can find and recognize. For example, I always put my creator name first, the basic category of the creation, and then a name: Simmiller_Walls_Butterfly Wallpaper. Often you will see packages without a creator name, and then if something goes wrong, you can’t figure out who to go to with your issue or to get updates. Don’t be that creator! Also, you may have made a series of walls in sunset colours, for example. Let’s say you name the package (Creator name)_Sunset. Well, a downloader is going to look at that in their game that potentially has 200GB of custom content and be like, what is that? Could be paintings, could be a pretty dress, who knows??? Make it clear what your creation is. I find using my creator name then the type of creation really helps keep my content organized, because most people view their cc alphabetically, and this way all my walls are together, or all my floors, etc.

12. Test in game:

Now it’s time to test your creation in game! Once you’ve put your package in your Mods folder start up the game and see how it looks.

Most importantly, have fun!