cupidjuice: TIPS FOR NEW SIMBLRS / A GUIDE TO SIMBLR I got an ask in relation to tips for a n
TIPS FOR NEW SIMBLRS / A GUIDE TO SIMBLR
I got an ask in relation to tips for a new simblr, so I figured I would make it into a post! It’s gunna be BIG. But I’m not going to put it under a ‘read more’ link so it doesn’t get lost forever. So, let’s cover… everything? Kind of like a guide to simblr I guess! And some of my tips if you want to run a blog similar to mine. Feel free to add to this!
TERMINOLOGY
First, simblr. It’s the love child of “sim” and “tumblr”. Simblr is a community here on tumblr, and within the community there are a lot of terms and acronyms, here are the most used ones you should familiarize yourself with.
WCIF: “Where can I find” this is an acronym used when you are looking for a piece of content. From what I’ve noticed the “wcif” tag on tumblr is primarily (if not entirely) used by the simblr community.
TOU: “Terms of use” Traditionally on /tou, this is the set of guidelines, allowances and preferences laid out by a creator allowing or disallowing what you can and can’t do with their content. Please respect people’s terms of use.
FAQ: “Frequently asked questions” This is a list of questions with answers that you can normally find on /faq or on someone’s contact page. Please read these before sending someone an ask.
RESOURCES: Most simmers have a ‘resources’ page, it will list things like their default skin, eyes, and favorite creators, what actions they use. Things like that.
CC: “Custom content” (←plural, or ‘a piece of custom content’ singular) refers to content that is custom. Something a creator made. Custom content can be unique meshes, recolors, retextures, defaults, anything that is not 100% EA.
S4S: “Sims 4 Studio” the tool used by most creators, grab it here.
BGC: “Base game compatible” this is used in reference to custom content, or sims and builds/homes. If something is bgc that means it doesn’t require other Sims 4 packs.
MM: “Maxis match” this is an ~aesthetic~ of sorts. There is maxis match simmers, maxis match content, things like that. It just means your game play, sims, content, etc is similar to The Sims 4′s original look. It is the opposite of alpha (see next)
ALPHA: This is the opposite of maxis match, it means alpha hair, or realistic looking sims, game play, etc.
DEFAULT: There are default eyes, default skins, default makeup, lips, hair, etc. This means it replaces something.
NON-DEFAULT / NDF: The opposite of default. There are non-default eyes, skins (show us as skin details usually) and things of that nature.
MESH / MESH REQUIRED: A mesh is the beautiful wire frame structure that is under every piece of custom content. If someone recolors something and the post reads “MESH REQUIRED / MESH NOT INCLUDED” that means you will need to go to the original post and grab the original piece of content. If you don’t grab it, the recolors won’t show up. Just think about a grileld cheese sandwich? Sure. You got cheese, but you need the bread.
COURTESIES, PROCEDURES, THE COMMUNITY
These are I guess… the general dos and don’ts? Of course everyone is difference so this may be flexible depending on the simmer, these are just the common ways to do some stuff.
SENDING WCIFs: WCIFs are sent in the form of asks, and most simmers don’t like answering WCIFs that are asked in the replies on posts, another tid bit is do not send WCIFs on mobile. Why? because you will need the post ID. The post ID looks like this “/post/167019170915/” which can most easily be found on desktop. It is common courtesy to include a post ID. A lot of people queue post, so if you say “the hair from your most recent post” they could be gone for a couple hours or days and not be sure which hair you’re talking about. Another reason is because you can’t view people’s /resources page on the tumblr app. Also be aware that some people don’t take WCIFs, period. And that’s fine. Please respect their choice. Also also also, check their cc finds blog if they have one linked! A lot of people reblog the cc they use on their finds blogs.
REQUESTS: Some people are open to requests whether it be custom content, sims, or builds, etc. A polite way to ask for something if you’re too nervous, or maybe you’re not sure if they take requests is to make a suggestion. Maybe ask them “Hi! have you ever thought about making _______ or maybe opening up sim/lot requests? I just love your content a lot, and I would love to have ______ in my game! It is just a suggestion though! Have a nice day, thank you for taking the time to read this!” It comes off undemanding and super nice and polite! My mom always told me: If you’re gunna ask for something, you might as well ask nicely! Who knows, it could tip the scale in your favor! Or maybe it will inspire that simmer even if they don’t dig your initial suggestion, and that’s not a bad thing. Inspiration is ALWAYS welcomed in the simblr community, it’s what the community thrives off of, it’s the blood in all of our veins. Some people post their idea and leave it open to anyone, which is always an option!
REBLOGGING: There isn’t too much to this, but it’s kind of common sense and some of it is just tumblr guidelines. Don’t reblog personal posts (like selfies or photos of simmer’s children or vent rants, etc. You get it.) Don’t ride coattails or self promote, for example: if someone posts a pair of jeans don’t reblog it and add “You know what’s better? My piece of cc! Comes grab my cc instead!” it’s super rude. Don’t change the sources on post (I don’t even know if you can still do that?)
RECOLORING/CREATING: Always check someone’s terms of use before recoloring or editing someone else’s creation. Most people wanna know if you’re going to recolor their content, and a lot of creators don’t allow including the mesh. Always @tag the creator in your post with a link back to the original creation.
TAGGING: For the love of god don’t tag something #TS4MM if it’s not custom content. The general consensus is, it’s kind of frustrating.
BE NICE AND REACH OUT TO THE COMMUNITY: Simblr is a community, but before you are part of a community- you are YOUR OWN person. We are all individuals. Be nice to each other, grow as a person while you’re here, don’t take your frustrations out on others, and if you feel like you can’t keep a lid on it, or you’re upset, sad, mad, maybe more then PLEASE reach out to the community. There are so many caring people here, all you have to do is ask and someone will be there to catch you when you fall.
ACTUAL SIMBLR RELATED TIPS AND NOT JUST NONSENSE
So, this is an umbrella of information that I didn’t really plan ahead while typing. It may jump around.
FOLLOWERS:
Sure, no one really cares how many followers they have. It shouldn’t be a goal to gain a butt ton of followers but it is nice to have some form of audience invested in your game play, your sims, your content. Most of us here just wanna inspire others, and make friends. Without followers, that is impossible unfortunately. So we all kind of have to care about our follower count to SOME extent. The best way to gain followers and make other simmer friends is to make a “new simblr” post. I’m pretty sure we’ve all done this before. I sat on my empty flippin’ blog back when I was a lil 18 year old tater for about 4 months with literally no followers until I decided to reach out to people. Then it’s like EVERYONE came flooding in at the same time, it was nuts. I didn’t even know the simblr community was so large. So, dip ur toes in.
ICON:
Pick an icon! Maybe use a sim that you play with often so it can be easily associated with your blog. When people look at your icon they’ll go “!!!thatonesims!!!”
USERNAME:
A lot of people put the word “sim” after their tumblr username. And that’s fine! But I personally can only remember so many ____sims usernames before I get overloaded. Short usernames without dashes are easy to remember and stick out to people. If can be something sim related, or not! It’s entirely up to you, and just a suggestion, though.
BLOG AESTHETIC:
Now, we all have our “aesthetics” beyond ‘maxis match’ and ‘alpha.’ That is our blog aesthetic. It is how we present ourselves. I recommend grabbing a nice theme before literally anything. I personally like themes that have reblog and like buttons, that look simple. For example: @cyantists and @acuite themes. A lot of simmers use their themes. From there you can check theme-maker’s ‘theme recs’ to find even more theme creators. A lot of people use this fan site theme, I’ve noticed. It’s a good one!
SIM AESTHETIC:
Your sims aesthetic (otherwise known as ‘sim style’) will MAKE the ‘face’ of your blog/simblr. A lot of the time someone can look at a sim and go ‘Oh that’s so-and-so’s’ so… find some staples! Pick some defaults! Pick a skin, pick some eyes, two things that truly DEFINE your sims. Grab some eye bags, or lip sticks, develop an anatomy that you like. Also.. listen to be very very carefully and repeat after me… IT DOES NOT MATTER IF ALL YOUR SIMS’S FACIAL FEATURES LOOK THE SAME It is a common conception that people’s sim look like them. And… it’s totally true, especially for The Sims 4. Even if they don’t, that’s obviously fine too. Play around with your sims’ anatomy, your sims can have big eyes and otherwise cartoony proportions like mine, or maybe very smell eyes, and big noses, maybe they have big big big heads, maybe they are a little more realistic and have small heads. Just do whatever makes you happy. Don’t get too hung up on if your sim style changes over the course of ‘simblr career.’ Everyone’s styles evolve.
EDITING, ACTIONS:
Another thing that defines a simblr’s aesthetic is their editing. How they edit their game play posts, their portraits/cas photos. Their gradient backgrounds. Their font. So maybe find some actions you enjoy, or a SweetFX preset. Find a gradient background for your cas photos, or even just use a flat background, or pattern. Use curly font, plain font, whatever you like.
BE ORGANIZED
Make sure to have a “replies” tag, a “wcif” tag, uhm… you know. Links on your blog so people an find stuff. A legacy page with links for different generations. Things like that. People love an organized blog!
BE CONSISTENT, BE COMFY
Again, it is your life, and your game. I’m not gunna tell you what to do… but the general consensus is: consistence is key, and legacies are loved. If you start a new save every other day, no one is going to want to invest in your stories or sims. This isn’t a problem if you only post cc or portraits, though. Either way, find your comfy place.
BE INSPIRED, BUT FIRST BE YOURSELF. DON’T COPY.
Being inspired and copying aren’t the same thing. There are enough resources to create something unique in this community. Everyone has their own aesthetic, and even if someone uses the same default skin and eyes as you… there is SO much more to your general aesthetic, like I mention about, your blog, your sim, your game play, your editing. Be inspired, but don’t rip someone else of their individuality while trying to discover your own.
“I’m gonna use my favorite quote from Tom Waits is that ” all anybody does it imitate their favorite artists badly" and I think that… that’s true. I think everyone hopes that what they’re doing is different and unique but I think that having a multitude of influences to draw upon is going to help you be more of that. If all you did was imitate this one artist, you’re gunna sound like a shitty version of that artist but if you imitate 1,000 artists at once chances are you’re going to come up with something a little different.“
- Justin Pierre of MCSHAVE FUN
Take breaks if you need to, or play for 8 hours a day everyday, whatever is healthy and fun by your standards. You owe no one a single thing, everything you do is a contribution to the community. Please remember that, and have fun!
Wed, 17 Jun 2020 13:50:39
