Have you ever wanted to join the fray of custom content creation for the Sims community? Do you want to try making CC that you’ve been searching for for ages but can never find? Are you looking for a new way to enjoy the franchise? It might be time for you to learn how to mod The Sims 4!
The Sims 4 has a wide range of ways that players can modify the game, from a small level of commitment all the way up to full-blown projects. Whether you’re just getting started for the first time or looking for a new way to spice things up, we can help you learn all there is to know about how to mod The Sims 4. If you can think it, you can make it!
How To Mod The Sims 4 – Beginner to Expert!
Because there are so many ways to learn how to mod The Sims 4, we’ve decided to break it down into Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert level projects. They will cover a range of different mod types so don’t feel like you have to go through all the beginner projects before moving on to intermediate level or higher, and instead focus on the area you’re most interested in modding. Feel free to experiment and have fun!
Recoloring Clothing & Objects
Level: Beginner
Required Tools: Sims 4 Studio, an Image Editing Program
The simplest and likely most common form of how to mod The Sims 4 is by recoloring objects that already exist in the game or that have been made by other modders. Every item in the game, be it CAS content or Buy/Build content, consists of two main parts: a mesh and a texture. The mesh is the shape of the item, and the texture is the coloring that wraps around it. By modifying the texture of the object you can change its color, design, or entire look without changing the functionality of the item.
Examples of recolors include:
- Tough And Tufted Sectional Sofa and Lounge Recolours by Krabaten 59 which adds new colors to the Dream Home Decorator sectional couches
- Discover University Clothes Recolors by Annette’s Sims 4 Welt adding dozens of new patterns to clothing that came with Discover University
Take a look at this beginner-friendly tutorial by Simsina to learn how you can get started making your own recolors!
The directions in this clothing tutorial are the same steps for recoloring other CAS content as well as objects, so you can get started doing either. You can also use this same technique for walls and floors in Build mode!
Create A New Career
Level: Beginner
Required Tools: Web Browser, an Image Editing Program, S4PE, Python
Creating a Career might seem like a daunting process, with all the different levels and tracks and the like. Fortunately for us, most of these things can be handled via the Create-A-Career tool by Neia, which streamlines a lot of the process.
Examples of custom careers include:
There is a basic written tutorial on how to use this tool by Simmillercc which gives step-by-step instructions, and as long as you follow it you should be rocking your own new career in no time!
Once you’re comfortable using this tool you can further advance your skills by looking into creating careers without it, and even going so far as to try your hand at creating an active career!
Create Tattoo CC
Level: Beginner
Required Tools: Sims 4 Studio, an Image Editing Program
Creating tattoo CC for the Sims 4 is one very simple task. Would I say it’s the easiest of all tasks even? Yeah, it could be. When we, at SnootySims, started creating CC for the Sims 4, we initially started with tattoos. We put up a few packages on our Patreon profile. Check them out. And have a look at a bigger collection of CC tatts here.
If you click the image below, you’ll be redirected to a full guide on how to get started on creating your first Sims tattoo.
Modifying Meshes
Level: Intermediate
Required Tools: Sims 4 Studio, an Image Editing Program, Blender
Moving on to mesh edits, we’re going to start simple by modifying existing meshes in small ways. A popular way of doing this is to separate outfits into individual clothing items or changing the size of in-game objects. It’s also very common for Maxis-match creators who will often combine multiple vanilla meshes for things like hair and clothing, colloquially known as “frankenmeshing.”
Examples of mesh edits include:
- Base Game Male Hair Edits by BustedPixels that adjust the size and shape of BG hairstyles
- Shrunken Square Coffee Tables by Peacemaker which take coffee tables from The Sims 4 and resize them to more practical dimensions
This Basic Mesh Edit tutorial from IllogicalSims can help you learn how to get started. It can be a little overwhelming if you’ve never worked with a 3D modeler before but just keep practicing, and know that nothing will go into the game unless you add it so don’t worry if you make a few disasters before you get the hang of it!
Creating New Object Meshes
Level: Intermediate
Required Tools: Sims 4 Studio, an Image Editing Program, Blender
Creating a new mesh follows a similar process to editing an existing one with the main difference being that you will be building the new mesh from scratch within Blender, so some experience with the program is needed. If you’ve been doing a lot of mesh edits you should have a basic grasp on how the system works.
Examples of new object meshes include:
- Functional Wall Phone by awingedllama which has its own unique mesh as well as meshes from previous The Sims games
- Spin Like The Birdies Chandelier by Surely-Sims adding a gorgeous and colorful bird chandelier to your builds
Simsina once again makes it easy learning how to mod The Sims 4 with her simple tutorial, and as you get more comfortable you can try more elaborate meshes.
When you’ve mastered making meshes you can advance your expertise by adding functionality such as deco slots or full-blown interactions!
Making Poses
Level: Advanced
Required Tools: Sims 4 Studio, an Image Editing Program, Blender, Andrew’s Pose Player, Teleport Any Sim Mod
The general concept behind making poses is fairly straightforward but the reason it’s considered an Advanced project is because there is so much nuance behind making poses look natural. You have to take into account the flexibility limits of a sim body, the way one holds themselves even when standing in a neutral position, and most importantly the facial expressions. Pretty much anybody can make a pose, but not everybody can make a natural looking pose.
Examples of poses include:
- Happy Feet Poses by RatBoySims which is full of different poses that all look natural, from the silly faces to the angles of the limbs
- Sadness Pose Pack by Cazmari-Mods has a collection of poses which use elements like sulking shoulders and facial expressions to fully capture the emotions being expressed
Another well known pose maker, KatVerse, has created a useful tutorial to get you started:
When you’ve gotten the hang of creating basic poses, you can then move on to larger projects such as group poses or poses requiring the use of props!
Creating New Clothing (or Hair) Meshes Using Blender
Level: Expert
Required Tools: Sims 4 Studio, an Image Editing Program, Blender
Starting a clothing mesh from scratch is a lot trickier than using Maxis meshes, which already have a lot of the needed data as part of the mesh package. In addition to the mesh and textures, you will need to worry about things like UV, bump, and specular maps as well as how the clothing will interact with different bodies and other articles of clothing.
Examples of new clothing meshes include:
- Dakota Set by korkassims adding a puffy top & skirt combination reminiscent of snowsuits or windbreakers
- PixGlitz dress by Madlen offering a dress with unique cutout details and the choice of a matching purse
Eviltiptip has a thoroughly detailed guide on how to make your own clothing meshes for advanced creators who are more comfortable with how to mod The Sims 4.
Creating New Alpha Clothing Meshes with Marvelous Designer
Level: Expert
Required Tools: Marvelous Designer, Sims 4 Studio, an Image Editing Program, Blender
You may have noticed that Alpha CAS content looks much more like real-world elements than it does the cartoonish style of The Sims 4 and if that’s the look you’re going for, this is the way to do it. Marvelous Designer allows you to create clothing in the program that has realistic fabric physics such as stretching and billowing.
Examples of alpha clothing include:
- Kitsch Raglan T-Shirt + Shirts by Plbims containing a shirt and shorts with realistic wrinkling/pulling
- Cotton Shirt and Slim Fit Pants by Mermalade featuring a shirt with rolled up sleeves and a lopsided popped collar
Blue Craving has made a lengthy tutorial on how to use Marvelous Designer to create clothing.
Once your mesh is completed you can import it into Sims4Studio to add textures.
Creating Miscellaneous Mods with Zerbu’s Mod Constructor
Level: Beginner to Expert
Required Tools: Zerbu’s Mod Constructor
The mod constructor program is sort of a mad-lib style way of creating a range of mods, where the program has the framework and you fill in all the details. You can use this system to make a variety of mods from interactions to traits (for sims and lots) to events to holidays traditions and more!
Because this program has such a span of content it can create, instead of linking to a single video you should check out this playlist by Sims ModelSimmer, which contains over a half-dozen tutorials spanning all sorts of ways you can use the Mod Constructor program.
Useful Links
We’ve mentioned a lot of different programs today; don’t forget to grab the ones you’ll need for whatever project you want to try!
- Andrew’s Pose Player
- Blender (make sure to download the correct version for your project)
- Create-A-Career
- GIMP (free image editor, you can use other programs if you prefer)
- Marvelous Designer (free trial should be available)
- Python (make sure to download the correct version for your project)
- S4PE
- Sims 4 Studio
- Teleport Any Sim Mod
- Zerbu’s Mod Contructor
Final Thoughts
If you’ve ever been curious how to mod The Sims 4, it can be pretty overwhelming getting started. There are so many ways to create for this game, whether you want to dip your toes in with a simple CC recolor or go all-out on a game changing mod. Luckily, no matter what kind of modding you want to do, there’s a helpful tutorial out there to get you started. And, best of all, you can go at your own pace and keep practicing until you get the hang of it, or move on to a different kind of project if you’re not enjoying the current one. If you’ve been looking for a sign to learn how to mod The Sims 4, consider this to be it. Maybe we’ll be sharing your CC here on SnootySims one day!
About the Author:
Nicole