Cooper Pics

Cooper shots, for no reason except I was playing around with the sky backdrop.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year.   Here are a couple of recent favorite shots, starting with the Christmas tree burning down and ending with a little girl's hopeful sleep.

This past year was pretty much an unmitigated disaster for me, turning bizarre beyond belief even in the year's closing hours, but I'll keep on keeping on.   Hoping none of your trees burn down!

4235 Stonefall Way: With Admiration, Gratitude, and Humility

I started working on this house after realizing I had altered my main neighborhood so much that the couple who lived there, no longer really could.  I wanted something rustic I could place in Chain  Bay, so I took what I thought was the easy way out and downloaded a beautiful lot from ideas4sims.  All I can say now is, don't do that.  If you know you will need to alter something you think is gorgeous, it's very hard to accomplish.  I couldn't use the beautiful lot the way it was, but I didn't want to ruin it.  I agonized over every change.  It would have been easier to build it from scratch.  

It's been an interesting challenge, though.  It's fascinating to get an indepth look at how someone extremely talented uses space, elevations, rooflines and texture.  I will never be able to create something so lovely.  

Anyway, here is my version of Shutter Island - Gift for Antonella.  Ninety-nine percent of the wonderful clutter has been removed simply because it was too much for my game and because it interfered with some functionality.  The house has been enlarged slightly.  I had to alter the roof line (my major regret) and repurpose some of the rooms.  The tropical landscaping has been replaced because Chain Bay is north by northwest, miles and miles from everything that is South Beach.    

I'm going to go long here because I can, and because I think I need to do it.  I started writing this saga years ago on TSR with one of those typical 'Don Lothario Gets Married' things.  The ingame birth of Don's son Gabe was one of my first experiences with characters who confound you.  I didn't particularly like Gabe, but I recognized there was something there I didn't expect.  

Then there was Rafe.  I still remember the day he aged up and I sat back and stared and thought,  DAMN.  What on earth is this?   His march across my psyche coincided with meeting Gayl whose powerful writing and graphic vision knocked me completely sideways.   I've never gotten over either of them.

So.  We've all moved on, and I'm not really sure what I'm going to do from here on out, but I want to thank Gayl, everyone who ever challenged and helped me, the talented creators of lots like this, and the characters who leap out, unbidden, and will not leave you alone.

Offering my Cowboy

Cruz Delgato.  Gabe's son.  Amanda Alcaide's son.

I'm going to try to offer him for upload.  I suck at this so please PLEASE tell me if it doesn't work.  I don't know what I'm doing.

Link.

Sim and Misc Pics

I may offer her for download if there's any interest and if I can figure out how to do that.  The rest of this was me avoiding things.

Sharing Duff's Lot: Unoccupied and for Download

I stripped it and tried to make it work as a download.  All the info is under the cut.

Getting back to Duff

I went back into Duff's lot to make some final changes including fixing the roof line to accommodate the chimney and adding a smallish room on the third level.  I'll move him out before I fix the lot size (I made it too large on one side), and will package it after I do that.  Anyway, he's looking very good and probably getting impatient...

Photoshop does not like my 'profile' on my pc, something to do with the monitor and I've never been able to fix it.  It warns me about it every time I load it.  When I use PS on the pc, I get that line at the bottom of each shot.  It doesn't happen on the laptop.  Annoying.

The Rest of Rob Porter's House

I think this lot is finished.  I always change things a little bit as I use a lot, but it's functional and looks pretty good from most angles.  The planter area on the second floor needs rearranging but that's about it.  Sometime soon I'll upload all the shots into one post and put it in the People and Places blog under Rob's name.

Anyway, here's the rest of the place, beginning with the foyer.

Making It Ugly

I made Rob's front look as plain as I could.

The back has been equally hard.  I think, I hope, that I finally have it.

A Place for Rob

I should be taking update shots but I got distracted.

Looking West: Update

Any and all fails are my fault.  Including text borks.  All the best is Gayl's.

Playing with Fire: One

More Rayne Junk

Miscellaneous shots, still in Rayne's lot.  I redid the porch.  The portrait is in her bedroom, obviously in the dark.  

Rayne's Mess

Rayne's beach house.  From beach in the rear; the bedroom; part of the living room; and part of the front porch.  I really stomped on this lot between moving it around to try to deal with flooded terrain, cleaning downloads and losing stuff I didn't want to lose, and my normal screw ups.

More Duff's House

Two sunset type shots and the shower door that drove me crazy.

Outside

Outside shots.  I tried to get a good overall shot but haven't accomplished it yet.

Bathroom

Duff's bathroom.  Bathrooms have always been the hardest thing for me to build and finish.  This one was no different.

The Fireplace Problem

I must have tried every fireplace I could find before finally settling on this one.  I wanted the chimney to show up, so I kept it out in the room and recolored the chimney part to get rid of the brick.  The unfortunate downside is the bit that pokes up above the roof.  I'll have to change the whole roof line to accommodate it.

Living and Dining Room

More on Duff's lot.

Gayl created paintings to go on the dining room walls.  I wanted something very specific and couldn't find it.  Thank you!!

I need to do something more with the living room but I'm still searching for the right cc.

Duff's House: In Progress Again

I'm picking up where I left off months and months ago.  This is Duff's house, and it is still a work in progress.

Random Post

I'm trying to figure out how to make my computer and game work together again.  Some things are still not right.  There is something wrong with the quality of the shots that I haven't been able to resolve.

Going Home: Studio Time

It took a long time to do this.  Both of us have been sick and dealing with some ugly RL stuff.  I had to build four complicated sets and learn how to use lot adjuster in order to do it, including expanding a beach lot sideways.  I had very specific ideas about how each area should look, and none of them overlapped.  I needed completely different CC for each of them.  I didn't know what I wanted and kept messing up and starting over.  The views didn't work the way i wanted so I had to redo terrain, and I messed that up multiple times. 

This is a story arc ending.   Thank you to everyone who stuck with us on this long and bumpy ride.

Chapter 23: Home

Rafe in a Garden

After 6 months, we may actually post something pretty soon, conceivably even today.  I burned out on taking shots for the update so I kept sneaking away and making other things.  Like this.

Beach Lot Set

This was originally supposed to be just a beach with some plants, but I got carried away.  I'm almost done with it, just a couple more things to do.  I doubt I'll do much with the interior.  I kind of like it, though.

For Mothers and Friends

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!  It can be a day to contemplate, to appreciate your children, to love them,  to get stuff, and to be with friends.   From me to Gayl, thank you, and have a happy day!

Extra Shots

I finally finished the second scene and I'm starting on the third.  It's in a different room so it's like completing a whole new set before I can take the shots.  This is turning out to be really ambitious...