shmeckledorff

[shmeckledorff]

Landscaping tutorial (Oasis Springs)

Landscaping is the most challenging part of a construction : What terrain paint should I use ? Is there enough flowers ? Is this tree fits the ambiance ? How about lightings ? I saw a lot of tutorials out there, and each of them helped me improve my “landscaping skill”. I bought the Sims 4 just one year ago, so I’ve still a lot of things to learn, but I’ll share the few things I know ! Hope you enjoy.

First, you must ask yourself some questions : How many sims live here ? What’s their living style and personalities ? Should I put some kids outdoor activities ?

Secondly, the city where they live may change everything. According to me, the hardest place to landscape is Oasis Spring, because desert usually doesn’t leave any space for imagination.

BEFORE

I chose a premade house to show you how landscaping change everything for a basic house. EA just put two bushes, one mail box, a trash can and a small basic terrace in the back.

The purpose of all this, is to show you step to step how you can really improve a house.

For this, I’ll use some custom contents, the links are all in the description.

Tip : Enable bb.moveobjects and bb.showhiddenobjects

1. I replace all windows by some from the game (Get Together). Windows are a big part of landscaping and most of players forget this.When you play it’s really pleasant to see your garden from inside ! I also put a brick pathway to delimit the entrance. It should match with the ambiance of the house or the sidewalk. Use whatever you like !

2. I put some new wood walls, place the trash can on the side and also add larges windows on the back.

3. Chose a tree. It shouldn’t be too hight or too small following your house size. When you place them, don’t forget to use some terrain paint around. I only use those from the game. For Oasis Spring, I prefer sand, light brown ground and rocks texture. You can also place flowers, grass or some small rocks around trees. I put a new mailbox (base game).

4-5. Delimit some enclosure on the frontyard to go crazy with flowers and bushes. Then, delete the floor. Add some brown terrain paint for a realistic effect (circle tool). For Oasis Spring, use lavenders, scorched bushes and cactus ! Color patterns : yellow, purple, olive.

6. Do the same in the backyard but with a sand texture (square tool). It will be sandbox for kids ! I replace the column with one from Outdoor Retreat.

7. Add a lot of planters for your sims (I use different textures for a realistic effect). You can overlap multiple terrain paints (flowers with dirt / dirt with rocks, etc.). Put more terrain paints where your sims walk the most (like footprints).

8. Add rocks. You can enlarge them, merge them with others… This is the desert, so you can go crazy with it ! I replace the pathway with some street slabs from Plasticbox.

9. Add furnitures, clutter and outdoor lightings ! Your sims will go to the garden at night, for sure. So you must put some light to see them properly. For this place, I prefer lanterns and camping chairs from Outdoor Retreat.

Now, it’s finish !

Other landscaping tutorial for The Sims 4 :

Out of the Box - Landscaping * AdelaideBuilds (video)

Basics of Landscaping * Fakehouserealawesome (text and pictures)

Useful custom contents for landscaping (What I use in this post) :

Tinhouse wood wall * RachelSimStuff

Garden woody planter serie and terrarcotta *K-Hippie Team

Rock go through, Ruin water pump * Artrui

Liberated series * Plasticbox

Get Together Liberated plants * Porphyriasims

Dreams of the Beach, Bikes * Severinka

Starlight Lovers * KiwiSims4

Sandcastle, corn plant * Inabadromance

Basket * Mio-sims

[shmeckledorff]

Gracious Grove

A home of dainty beauty  -- truly a little gem that will look good in any surroundings, but flowering shrubs and trees will help, as they always do  #gettowork #cute #classic #pool #brick

Bedrooms: 2

Bathrooms: 2

Lot Size: 30 x 20

Lot Price: $69,133

[shmeckledorff]

Your builds are so good! Do you have any tips for landscaping? I always struggle with it (also you dont have to answer this if youre too busy/dont want to).

Sorry for the late answer, I was trying to figure out way to condense the pictures (s/o to iphone apps)! Here’s pretty much a huge list of things I do to fill space and decorate backyards with plants and various other things.

So the most important part of landscaping is plants! 

Color (here you can see i chose a gradient hydrangea line for a simple gray house, and yellow and white follower for a bright blue house)

Size (you can see I’ve framed the sitting area with a mix of large and small palms to give it variation)

Density (I’ve added depth to the wall by adding layers of ivy)

Environment (each world has a specific environment, like Oasis Springs vs. Newcrest, and staying within the plant species that live there is generally a good idea)

Style (adding tall trees to a suburban style home is a simple filler along fence or property lines)

If backyards are really small, potted plants can replace growing plants

Sizing up (making a potted plant larger and raising up the tall shrub is a cute porch plant)

Terra Cotta (I created a small garden corner that would be good for condos, apartments, or townhouses with tiny backyards)

Garden plots (adding flowers to large garden plots gives the illusion of gardening, but without the dying)

Terrain paint is a really good tool for creating sections

Shapes (making shapes for landscape groups is an easy way to siphon off parts of the yard)

Placement (using the smallest size can make stepping stones)

Accents give backyards character and make it playful

Springs (this is really good for big backyards, or “beach” houses)

Playground (making a sandbox with fence and terrain paint and putting the money bars together looks like a more complete playground)

Fountains (fountains in the front are easy plant substitutions)

Driveways (sizing up cars and using concrete helps make the front look less plain)

Straight Trellin from Get Together

Putting 2 together (makes a small pergola)

Putting 4 together (makes a large pergola)

Sizing up (makes a large front accent for a porch or a patio)

Half Walls like fences

Outdoor shower (adding onto a pool house or close to the pool is good for a more expensive house)

Plants (using potted plants, palm trees, or lights are good for paths to the front door or accents in the back yard)

Fencing and borders

Fences (round fences in a large driveway and putting a tree, or fences around the front of the house in fill space)

Bushes (bushes, like fences, take up space, especially in 20 x 15 lots)

Filling up empty space

Hedge maze

Wedding/large garden space

Pool

Pool house and outdoor kitchen

Patio and covered patio with a built in spa

Pergola

Lattice grass and concrete (making patterns with grass and concrete make a backyard look decorated without any objects)

String lights (one of my favorites, these are super easy to make a backyard look full)

Tree line (to break up sections of the yard

Fenced flower garden (along the border fence, adding a smaller fence 1 pr 2 blocks out and filling it with flowers takes up space easily)

Ask me more?

[shmeckledorff]

What are your top ten tips for building?

In no real order or structure -

Get an inspiration(al thing)

find a picture, video, color scheme, landscape, it can be literally anything as long as it inspires you. I personally use house exteriors and floorplans as my main inspiration sources-  @buildsims4 is my house inspo blog and www.eplans.com has great floorplans and an awesome search menu.

Don’t get hung up on one thing not working out

it really really sucks when your vision doesn’t match up, or when something just wont look like the picture, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Obviously Sims isn’t going to match up in real life because it’s not real life. Just try it out and see where it takes you - it may end up looking better than the original.

If something isn’t coming to you, move on to something else

if I’m not getting a floor plan just right I take a break by getting off the game for awhile or just moving on to do something else on the lot (like the backyard, or landscaping, or exterior colors). Sometimes taking a break gives you a chance to clear your head and come back with a fresh perspective, because retrying the same thing 5 times isn’t going to work.

Do one thing at a time

don’t try to cram every part of the lot together. Start with the basic shape, then add windows and doors to the front and back, then do the floor plan, then do the backyard, etc. Focus on one aspect of the lot so you can get all of it done and not forget something.

Plan ahead for windows

try to make windows in groups, and to plan while placing walls for the windows. Decide if you’re going to use a single wide, or a double wide shutter, and make space for it when you’re placing the wall. I recommend placing the windows on the front of the house first, then doing the floorplan, and doing the windows on the sides last. This gives you room to change the layout of the lot somewhat if windows aren’t matching up or the floor plan needs a little more or less space.

Don’t go crazy over windows though

pick one side to have the windows even from - sometimes the windows won’t match up with the floor plan and you will need to decide if they should look even from the outside or the inside. I personally would rather them match from the outside because when furniture is in the room it doesn’t look that bad, but it will when it’s empty.

Don’t put too much of one thing

too many windows may make a house look cluttered, but it’s not a sure fire # of windows that does it, it’s all about balance. Too many window boxes is a mistake a lot of builders make because they think it looks too plain, but they end up with too much. Adding accent walls can make a house have depth, but adding too many can make it look sloppy. Picking 1, 2, or 3 on a large house, for window boxes or accent walls is a great place to start. Adding ivy on 1 or 2 walls (similar to an accent wall) is also a good way to add color and depth to a house.

Don’t skimp on accents - find a balance

accent walls and ivy are good for smaller walls on larger lots, but if you have large sections of wall or roof that look empty add 1, 3, or 5 corbels to the roof. Find the largest roof as the focal point and add the large corbel, and the smaller ones from Get Together are good for the other 2 or 4. This little detail makes a huge difference. Another really good accent are dormers. When adding dormers, use 1-3 rooms, or 1 larger room with a half gabled roof. Only add dormers when the roof behind is tall enough to blend the roof/walls in. Just remember that empty space is OK.

Look at other builders lots

watch speedbuilds and look at pictures of what other people have done. Don’t be afraid to try new things and different styles. Try to look for things in people’s builds that you’re not doing and try to figure out what they did to make it that way.

Testingcheatsenabled and bb.moveobjects - think outside the box

sizing up plants and adding toy cars to garages and driveways are really easy ways that you can change the whole feel of a yard. Using pillars and fence to create a patio without any cc is seriously a game changer and makes backyards so much more realistic.

And just one last thing to remember is to not be embarrassed to look up tutorials, even I still watch them.

[shmeckledorff]

The Anthurium Library

This classic library is brimming with potential. Designed with collaboration in mind, the Anthurium Library consists of two study rooms, a computer room, a lounge, and an archive. own. #gettowork #library #classic #brick#red #vintage

Bathrooms: 2

Lot Size: 30 x 30

Lot Price: $206,929

[shmeckledorff]

Auburn Hills

A pretty little home in its shingled dress, with an artistic entrance and shutters that make it even more attractive. It's perfect for sim just starting out on their own. #getwork #classic #porch #red #forest #small

Bedrooms: 1

Bathrooms: 1

Lot Size: 30 x 20

Lot Price: $17,906

[shmeckledorff]

Roanoke Mansion AHS

I want to thank Simblr Delohr for the challenge and I dedicate this property to you!!!

It may be creepy on the outside but the inside will chill your blood. Roanoke Island was a budding colony off the coast of NC. The governer left to get supplies. When returned a year later … the entire colony had vanished. 

Creepy things happen on this island … just ask Ryan Murphy

There’s a fridge and a barrel grill. Two beds. Toilet & Shower and a mess in every room. Broken flooring, missing or stained walls, toxic spills, letters and paper and what is that smell coming from the basement!!!  Oh and it has traits to die for … Gremlins, Haunted and Filthy. So stay out of the basement!!

It’s in the Gallery on Orgin under Username RonMyroup – so download it!

[shmeckledorff]

The Casa Marina

I found this business card and fell in love with the house … so I built it. 

2B/2B, balconies, courtyard. Living room is decorated in … uh … Crazy Art Deco. The kitchen looks like a professional kitchen. Slick, gray, lots of counter space, high-end appliances and beautiful wall tile. The study is very Jules Verne-ish. 

2nd floor: Two bedroom: A simple manly (weights & guitar) room that is sparse. The 2nd bedroom is darker. Canopy bed, high boy dresser with candles, reading chair and bookcase.

Interested? Go to E.A. Gallery and look username RonMyroup

[shmeckledorff]

Pastel Paradise

Pretty as a picture, this home appeals more and more as one studies it, both from the outside and within. It's perfect for a young couple just starting out or a someone who is looking to focus upon their career. 

Bedrooms: 1

Bathrooms: 2

Lot Size: 20 x 15

Lot Price: $76,375

[shmeckledorff]

Residential Roost

Graceful rooflines and a particularly pleasing combination of brick and shingles form the attractive exterior of this beautiful bungalow home.

Bedrooms: 1

Bathrooms: 1

Lot Size: 30 x 20

Lot Price: $59,830