Animated Black Swans: Incredible New Pond Animals Arrive in The Sims 4

Animated Black Swans bring graceful new pond animals to The Sims 4, with swimming and static swans perfect for gardens, parks, and builds.

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If your Sims 4 ponds have been feeling a little too quiet, Animated Black Swans might be exactly what your garden needs. BakieGaming has released a brand new animal that Simmers have never been able to place in The Sims 4 before: beautiful black swans.

The new release adds two standalone Black Swan objects, including an animated pair that swims around the water and a static swan surrounded by water ripples. It is a lovely little detail for anyone who enjoys building gardens, parks, botanical gardens, or scenic outdoor spaces.

Animated Black Swans Add a New Touch to Your Ponds

The animated version features a pair of black swans swimming around on water surfaces, giving ponds a bit more life and movement. Meanwhile, the static Black Swan can be placed on both terrain and water, making it much more flexible for decorating your builds.

The static swan also comes with optional water ripples that can be switched off if you prefer a cleaner look. Both objects can be placed close to or even through other objects, which means you can tuck them between reeds, plants, rocks, or other pond decorations.

Use the Black Swan With the Unlocked Bird’s Nest

There is also a fun little extra for Simmers who use BakieGaming’s Unlocked Bird’s Nest. The static Black Swan can be used as a breeding object on the nest and will automatically snap to one of its decoration slots when positioned nearby.

For the best placement, BakieGaming recommends putting eggs on five of the available slots first. This leaves the sixth slot in the middle, allowing the swan to snap into a non-rotated position over the eggs. You will also want to turn on the MoveObjects cheat when placing the swan on the eggs.

Where to Find the Black Swans in Build Mode

Finding the new animals is pretty straightforward. Head into Build Mode and look under Outdoor Water Décor > Pond Effects, where the Black Swan objects are available.

You can also simply search for Black Swan using the in-game search bar. The catalog thumbnails feature a Black Swan along with BakieGaming’s icon, making the new objects easy to spot.

Important Custom VFX Installation Note

BakieGaming recommends creating a separate folder inside your Mods folder, such as BG_VFX, and placing both the CustomVFX package and the Black Swan VFX folder there. Future custom VFX from BakieGaming can also be added to this folder.

There is one especially important warning for players already using Mizoreyukii’s Custom VFX Resource. You cannot have both BakieGaming_CustomVFX and Mizoreyukii’s VFX Resource file installed at the same time. Players using Mizoreyukii’s resource should wait until her file has been updated to include BakieGaming’s custom VFX.

A Gorgeous Japanese Garden Showcase

To show off the new swans, BakieGaming created a beautiful Japanese garden inspired by the ornamental black swans often seen in Asian botanical gardens and parks. The example images give a great idea of how much atmosphere these little additions can bring to a pond build.

The Japanese garden itself is still a work in progress, with several other mods being developed for it. BakieGaming also mentioned plans to eventually share the garden, so there may be even more to look forward to.

Final Thoughts

The Animated Black Swans are such a lovely addition for builders who want their ponds to feel more alive. Whether you are creating a peaceful Japanese garden, a botanical park, or just giving your Sim’s backyard pond some extra personality, having actual swans gliding across the water is a pretty great detail.

You can check out BakieGaming’s release and download the mod through the creator’s Patreon or CurseForge page. And if you are already dreaming up your next pond build, this might be the perfect excuse to give it a little makeover.

Stay tuned on SnootySims for the latest new gameplay mods and exciting Sims 4 updates. Be sure to follow us on on Patreon and all our social media channels, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Tumblr. Happy simming, Simmers!